How to balance studying and part-time work at college

See how to combine working and studying at college in ways that help you take care of your wellbeing too. Balancing work and study can be hard, but it’s possible!

The pros and cons of working while studying at college

Many universities and colleges recommend that you only do up to 15 hours of paid work per week. That might not sound like much, but if you are studying full-time, you need to put your studies and wellbeing first.

Then again, you may need to pay bills and living expenses! You might also want to save money to pay back a student loan, if you have one.

There are lots of benefits to working while you study at college:

• You are developing independence and increasing your options
• You are learning life skills (like budgeting) as well as work skills on top of your studies
• It looks good on your CV
• You might be earning a salary and studying at college as part of a structured programme like an Apprenticeship.

What about the cons?

Sometimes balancing studying with a part-time job can be trickier than it sounds. You might be facing tiredness, lack of concentration and focus, or added emotional stress from juggling your work and studies.

It’s important to take care of yourself, so these tips may help you find the perfect balance.

1. Find a job that ties in with your studies

You don’t want to take on a job that requires you to work during your class time. So find something that you can do at the weekends, in the evenings, or in weekday shifts that give you space to study.

Make sure your employer knows that you are studying part-time and that you can only manage a certain number of hours each week. This helps to make sure your employer will not ask for more time than you can give.

Consider working in:

• A bar (evening and weekend work)
• A restaurant (free food and flexible hours)
• Retail (typically weekend work and holiday work)
• Hotel (flexible shift work in a variety of roles)

2. Embrace the college’s learning support system

You are going to have to be organised in order to manage both your part-time job and your studies, but you won’t be the first student to do it, and you won’t be the last.

Ask your teachers and tutors about virtual learning environments or e-journals that you can access remotely, so that you can study from home where possible.

3. You don’t have to get a job straight away

Wait and see what your timetable looks like first. You don’t know what your workload is going to be like, so the last thing you want to do is commit to a part-time job and then have your studies suffer as you try and fit it all in. Wait a couple of months after starting college before you begin job hunting.

4. Know your own routine

You know when you’re most likely to want to knuckle down and study, so don’t choose to work during your most productive hours. If you’re a night owl, try and get work during the daytime and vice versa.

You want your part-time job to fit around your studies, not the other way around.

5. Make time for yourself

The only way you are going to be able to maintain this happy equilibrium is if you regularly take time out, just for you and for doing what you want to do. Otherwise you will burn out or get bored and lose focus of why you are trying to balance work and study.

Make sure some of this time you take for you also includes sleep time. The benefits of sleep on productivity cannot be shouted about loudly enough.

Finally, remember that you are at college to learn, not earn, so don’t get hooked on bringing in the big bucks. There will be time enough after your studies to do that!