Working While At University: A Love Letter

I began university with two conflicting ideas about working while studying. The first one was: I need a job to sustain me financially at university. The second one was: the huge workload at university will make it impossible to work at the same time. These two thoughts fought a war in my head, making me both desperate to find a job, and terrified at the prospect of additional work.

I have always had part-time jobs since I could legally work. I was lucky that unskilled 16-year-olds were in demand for local cafe and bar jobs in my local town, mostly to clear tables and wash up crockery! This meant my CV wasn’t completely bare, but perhaps not ready to hold up against more experienced workers.

Of course, I had been told by everyone that university is a full-time job – and in some ways, it is! The first subject-based meeting I had for my degree, a tutor warned us that we would be reading and learning and working for 16 hours a day, seven days a week. This absolutely terrified me! The prospect of detracting time from my ‘allocated’ eight hours sleeping time seemed like a big commitment, probably only to earn minimum wage. My fear of finding a part-time job only increased…

(It goes without saying that this tutor was incorrect. My terror at her statement was short-lived, as I soon found out that a 16-hour study schedule was absolutely not necessary. Perhaps some of her other students had promised they spent 16 hours a day on their essays in the hope of a higher grade!)

Despite my fear, I continued applying for part-time jobs, and after a few rejections I found myself with a job offer. I was surprised at the pay jump from my rural town to this new position – anyone remember being paid £4.05 an hour? Just me? My new wage was almost double what I had previously been handed out in cash, and I was even entitled to holiday pay! Although the hours weren’t huge, it was a regular job that could provide me with useful money that I wouldn’t have had before.

Although I expected my payslip to be the best thing about my new part-time job, this soon changed when I started work. The regular time commitment really helped me to establish a routine, making the jump from home to university feel slightly less daunting. My previous work experience had always been in hospitality, and although interacting with customers was fun, my new position in a youth theatre offered so many more benefits. I could put my teaching skills to use, which had only been used in a voluntary setting so far. Getting to know my co-workers was also an amazing opportunity – I was one of the first in my class to know students in higher years in my degree. They advised me on which modules to take (and avoid), what reading I didn’t need to bother with, and gave me another friendly face that I could wave to around campus.

I can genuinely say that one of my favourite aspects of university life is my part-time work. This might seem strange – surely having a job is the opposite of being a student? I argue otherwise – part-time work during university gives you an outlet outside of university life. It helps you remember that there is a world beyond Warwick’s campus, which is a welcome reminder when student life gets overwhelming. Work also helps you make connections and friendships that you may not have made otherwise, and can give you a purpose beyond Warwick!