The student balancing act

It used to be that university was the final step before entering the workplace. However, for increasing numbers of students, it is now at university that the first steps are made into the world of work, in all its gritty glory.

According to a report on student employment, ‘All Work and Low Pay' published by The National Union of Students in the United Kingdom, the number of full-time students working in paid employment rose by 54% between 1996 and 2006. The figures are eye-opening. The numbers of working male students increased by 47% during that time, while for female students, this increase was 67.5%.

Most work in low-paid jobs in retail and hospitality - some 40 % in retail and 21% in hotels and restaurants. Average salaries ranged from £6.21 an hour in retail and £5.70 in hospitality for men to even less for women - £5.98 in retail and £5.51 in hospitality. 

Most also work long hours considering that they are also full time students - the average was 14 hours per week. Some work even longer. At least 20% worked 15 to 20 hours per week and a further 20 % worked 20-plus hours.

So why do they do it? Why may you well end up doing it?

There are two main reasons, both having to do with need. They are the need for experience and the need for money.

The need for work experience is key to university education these days. Job-placement components are increasingly popular on university courses. Employers want well-rounded graduates, who possess not just theoretical knowledge but the ability to apply it to a job, borne out of hard-won experience. At top universities around the world, summer vacations are no longer for relaxation, as driven students spend the time competing for and acquiring high-profile internships to burnish their resumes. A standard rule about many of these internships is that they are unpaid. Some give a meagre travel-and-food stipend. However, they are viewed as a valuable way of ‘getting your foot in the door'. An article in the Times of London quotes expert Karen Scarborough, director of student placement agency Place Me First as saying that more than 60 per cent of students who receive placements are later offered full-time employment. Hence, competition is fierce.

However, the far more pressing need driving students to work is money. Caribbean nationals, like other students classified as ‘international' have to pay hefty fees at universities in North America and Europe. Over the course of a three or four year bachelor's degree, fees can run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars and it taxes the pocket of even the very well off, pushing their children to work.

It can have its impact and can create a dilemma for students who need to work to get by but are also aware that their school work is supposed to come first.

The NUS study reports that nearly three-quarters of full-time students who also worked, felt their jobs had left them with less time for studying and two-thirds said they felt it had affected the quality of their work.

The reality behind these figures like these convinces some students that it is not worth it. Shernelle, a Barbadian who studied in Scotland in 2004 to 2005, mused:

"Part-time jobs are rough depending on your student schedule. It must be something flexible. Never forget that you are there to study, not work. Better to scrunt and get all your work done than to have money and be behind."

Of course, there are perks.

"Getting a part time job as a desk was invaluable - you get to do your homework and get paid. I bought my entire entertainment system in one semester with that job," commented Jerome, who studied in New York City in the late 1990s. I used some of my wages to pay for a trip to Geneva.

Having said all that, if you do want to work, there are regulations which you must abide by and they differ from country to country. Below, we offer a brief run-down of the student work rules.

 United Kingdom

International students are allowed to take on part-time or holiday work, but it must be no more than 20 hours a week during term time. An exemption to this rule is only allowed for placements that are part of one's studies, approved by the university and will lead to a degree.

 United States

Students under the F-1 visa status (official student visas) may accept on-campus employment but spouses may NOT engage in work or full-time study with dependent visas.

Canada

International students are allowed to work on campus at their own college or university without a work permit once they are a full-time student at a public post-secondary institution or a collège d'enseignement général et professionnel (CEGEP) in Quebec or a Canadian private institution authorized by provincial statute to confer degrees and they have a valid study permit.

International students may also work off campus under the Off-Campus Work Permit Program once they are a full-time student enrolled at a participating publicly funded post-secondary educational institution or in an approved programme at an eligible privately funded institution. They should also be located in a province or territory that has signed a memorandum of understanding with Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) and has signed an off-campus work agreement with their provincial or territorial government and has approval from their provincial or territorial government to grant specific degrees. A list of eligible institutions (which covers most Canadian universities) is available at the CIC site.

Once this permit is attained international students may work up to 20 hours per week during regular academic sessions and full time during schedules breaks such as Christmas and summer vacation and spring break.