Finding the Balance: Work and University
If you follow my Twitter you’ll probably be aware that whilst balancing a 4.5 hour round commute to university with the uni workload too, I also hold a 22 hour contract with Costa Coffee where I spend my time as a barista. But hey, that’s what I’ve got to do to get through the 3 years!
I have a lot of family friends telling me that I don’t have to work whilst studying and that student grants and loans cover the cost of living whilst I have others exclaiming that if I didn’t hold a job I wouldn’t be able to complete my degree. So, here’s my side to it all:
Yes, I do receive a student loan but no it’s not sufficient enough to last the year although it certainly does help. As I attend Birmingham City University, I live in Leicester. For my first year I lived in halls of residence, I was a care-free fresher and focused on surviving with my new-found independence that I chomped into my overdraft extremely fast and UniteStudents continued to drain my bank throughout summer. The first break back was pretty grim to say the least, I didn’t go out spending my loan on nights out or new clothes at uni, the funds provided just simply weren’t enough without using my overdraft so my heart broke as I scrolled through Instagram and saw everyone enjoying their “girls holidays” and trips out.
After working out the costs of commuting with my mum, it was decided that for second year I was to stay at home and catch the train from the city centre to university. We had decided on £200 a month board which is less than half of the cost I would be paying in Birmingham. Then the job hunting began, I had experience of working at a Bubble Tea kiosk and from this thought I’d attend a recruitment evening at Costa Coffee and luckily, was given a job mid-summer. I work with great people and when I started back in September, was set shifts on the days I wasn’t in university and was guaranteed weekends. Hello happy bank but goodbye social life and putting off assignments till the latest time possible.
The beginning of the semester started off okay, I was able to balance the commute, the working hours and the assignments but began to crumble when it hit Christmas time. Costa’s busiest time fell as assignment deadlines loomed and this is before even mentioning the inevitable Christmas shopping cost. I love job satisfaction, I’m not one to lounge around all day. It feels good for me to finish work and not have to wallow in self-pity throughout the day knowing you didn’t deserve that duvet day. There’s no denying the happy pay day feeling either and having something extra on your CV.
Although the guilt of not doing uni work on your day off from actual work is excruciating, declining student events because of work is also heart-breaking. Seeing your uni friends care free throughout summer whilst you’ve agreed to now be “fully flexible” although your course also requires 3 weeks work experience in the field makes you consider whether you can’t just scrimp through the next year.
Juggling uni and work is a challenge, a big one at that. My degree is costing an arm and a leg and I don’t want to feel as if I’m jeopardising my grades but at the same time, I also want to earn life skills and extra cash too. It’s a tricky situation with pro’s and con’s but many sleepless nights either way. I know I certainly fear whether that first might drop to a 2:1, whether I’ll be able to push through a dissertation and project with other commitments and not wanting to just give a half-hearted effort to something I’d have worked on for 3 years. However, the truth is without working I’d really struggle to pay my way through university and I’d also miss my new group of friends at work. There’s pro’s and con’s to both sides, it’s all about finding the right balance.
Asking for reduced hours won’t lose you your job and if you are to work throughout studying, make the most of your free time so your degree doesn’t suffer. Although at least you know you can buy yourself a cocktail or two (or three) when the pay check goes in to congratulate yourself on getting through another month.
