Many students combine university studies with part-time employment. And many of them, however, don’t work in their field of study. Indeed, most job resources place a lot of vacancies in a particular category – “job for students,” which shows the acute demand for such work.
I want to talk to you about how to increase your income while you are at university, how to set priorities, and how a working student can maintain a crazy pace.
Why Do Students Combine Work and Study?
The reasons for tightening the work and studying schedule during the university years are simple. Mainly it’s a lack of money. In other cases, students think about a job when they want to gain additional experience, expand their circle of acquaintances, feel independent, and so on.
So what if you want to improve your financial situation as quickly as possible? It is necessary to find a part-time job. But in any case, when a job is found, there are other problems that need to be solved.
Key issues: how to cope with everything, how to combine study and work, and if nothing works, what to give preference to? Let’s discuss these topics!
Setting Priorities
As I noted above, the necessity of going to work for students is determined by different reasons. It means that the priorities and reasons might be different.
The combination of work and study is hardly ever perfectly harmonious. These activities require a lot of effort, time, and labor, so the combination is more like a pendulum when it is necessary to apply maximum effort to one or another activity at the same time. Living in this mode is very exhausting, and often some things suffer very much – work, study, sleep, health, or personal time. Often it seems that we can do anything, and all we need to do is to try. But in my opinion, it’s a dangerous setup.
This is a fairly common belief that you can cope with everything, be happy and prosperous, avoid mistakes, never be upset, and never lose. Unfortunately, in most cases, this is far-fetched.
Do whatever you can to facilitate this multitasking mode:
- Make plans, to-do lists
- Try to distribute tasks by importance and urgency
- Try to separate essential and non-urgent cases
- Devote time in your schedule to rest, sleep, and eating
Suppose you get a scholarship and study in a promising direction. In that case, it’s worth taking your lessons into account: the current scholarship and prospects compensate for the difficult situation.
However, in situations where the university is more of a formality, and you need money to live, it’s better to give preference to the job where you will get real skills, experience, and, of course, earn money.
Getting Job During Full-Time and Part-Time Education
Yes, there’s a difference between these two forms of education, and it lies in the studying schedules and job opportunities. However, given the workload of part-time students, they cannot be called “free”: they will still have to keep up with the learning material. And if they work full-time (8-9-hour per day), they will most likely have to study at night.
Nowadays, the working conditions offer various options – from a five-day working week to the night shifts, flexible schedules, part-time schedules, and remote working. Each of them allows you to use the available time in your way to finding the best combination.
Therefore, sometimes an employer with an understanding of your education may let you take a day off and go to university. At the same time, another one may not want to be in your shoes and won’t let you miss your work to attend an exam. Therefore, I suggest you discuss all the nuances at your interview in advance.
Where to Find a Job
As I mentioned above, many job resources have a special section – “work for students.” However, this category often includes physically demanding, low-paid part-time jobs: from a loader to a waiter, promoter, or courier.
Of course, all jobs are necessary, but considering the limited time, effort, and the need to study, a student needs to optimize all conditions. In this case, it’s essential to find the most suitable job: near home or university, with sufficient salary, useful acquaintances and the activity which allows gaining experience. I advise you to look for work in your profession. Why?
First, by the time you graduate, you will have specialized experience and develop much needed soft skills such as communication skills, stress tolerance, ability to adapt quickly, etc. Secondly, you will be able to assess your level of knowledge and the profession itself. And decide whether you like it the way you imagined in your first year of university?
Don’t be afraid of vacancies that require several years of experience from candidates. Prove your willingness to grow, develop, and learn something new. It’s always very appreciated, and a smart employer will not miss such a valuable worker.
A Сouple of Tips
If you are serious about starting work alongside the university, whether you are motivated by desire or necessity, you should start planning your schedule carefully. Regular working hours and lessons usually allow you to do this.
Make to-do lists more often, use notes in your phone, calendar, and paper planner. Right now, it’s essential not to forget and manage everything.
Be sure to save time for your basic needs, mostly it’s food and sleep. Don’t think that something from this list can be sacrificed without risk for productivity and health – it’s not true!
Don’t forget about short breaks during the day for rest. Otherwise, you will not be able to withstand such a stressful mode for a long time.
