by Kat Musselwhite

Created on: June 27, 2009

When I was at University, it was not really a case of "don't want" a part-time job, but more a case of don't have the time, and even when I did, I struggled to find one! I wasn't relying on my parents, who couldn't afford to give me much anyway, so student loans were my only form of survival, mainly because I did not have much other choice!

I know of several people who worked full-time through their studies, and the majority (albeit, not all) found it incredibly hard finding the right balance between juggling their education, their job and (god forbid) a social life! I even know of people who actually failed because the lack of free time to write essays began taking a huge toll on them, and they weren't spending enough time on their work. Many also worked so much that their stress levels went through the roof, and it began to seriously effect their health, especially their mental health.

But my problem was, that I am really not what you could call a "people's person". I don't work well with customers, or under pressure, and since the average Student Job is either Bar work or Retail work, that cuts a heck of a lot of the potential out. I did attempt to get a part-time office job, but no one was willing to take on a Student, because it would mean that they would have to be flexible around me, and they just would not do that!

The only work that I managed to successfully obtain throughout my entire degree was during the summer of my my first and second year when I temped in an office as a File Clerk, and that was only for a very short period when I had no work to do. Between my second and third years I was snowed under with Dissertation research and writing, so working through that summer was simply not an option for me, personally.

Another issue with student jobs, is that a great deal of Retail jobs that I came across, require the individual to work over busy periods, ie Christmas and New Years, but of course, any sane students relishes on the notion of spending Christmas at home with their families, which the majority of the time, is away from where they are studying.

To conclude, I think that anyone with excellent customer service skills are the best suited for part-time jobs during education, but it's debatable whether this is at the expense of their degree. Is it really possible to find a perfect balance between working, getting an education and keeping sane? It is certainly not right to criticise someone for not having a job when they study, it doesn't mean that they are lazy people, it just means that sometimes it just isn't the right option for everyone.

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