How much is it possible to earn as a full time student?

newstudent10

I'm about to start university in September doing a 4 year course (first year foundation year) in a relatively intense course.

I'm a (young) mature student, no children or partner and live in a small flat. I will qualify for the grants and loans etc and I guess that works out about £100 a week ish, although I am not sure.

The problem is I have a very healthy amount of debt, £8000 approx and owe to about 9 different creditors so monthly payments have been reduced to the minimums for everything and currently stand at approx £120 per month (all interest free). So my average weekly spend on rent, debts, bills and food is approx £180 per week with no extra spending money for anything else.

This of course means that I need to work and earn at least £80 a week plus any spending money so it would be reasonable to say £100 a week to be on the safe side.

My question is, is this a reasonable amount to be setting my sights on? The course I'm doing and my future career rests on me getting at least a 2:1 and so is it feasible to do say 25 hours a week in a job and still achieve a good degree?

Lokolo

I wouldn't say 25 hours. Maybe in your first year if you can cope, not for the rest of the years. You could most probably work all Saturday and Sunday but this wouldn't leave much free time.

You can also work FT in summer holidays, so find out term dates.

However, I have to wonder what was going through your mind when you thought about going to uni with so much debt.

stephyt23

I agree that 25 hours is a lot. I'm doing a degree in teaching which has taken up a lot more time than I realised but I'd already decided not to take on a job to give my course my full attention. Those who I know work alongside this have said they struggle to then find time to do essays which results in very late nights for them to fit it in.

I assume you're not living on campus as you say you have a flat? My brother did a law degree and managed to fit in loads of hours working in the bar on campus (although he's a bit younger than me so was happy to work then study til 3 most mornings, I however need me sleep)

So I guess it all depends on how you feel you could cope. Maybe find a part time job and just see how things go for the first 3 months? Each course timetable will be different, my lectures cover more time than my brothers did so it's hard to judge.

Oldernotwiser

newstudent10 wrote: »

The problem is I have a very healthy amount of debt, £8000 approx and owe to about 9 different creditors so monthly payments have been reduced to the minimums for everything and currently stand at approx £120 per month (all interest free). So my average weekly spend on rent, debts, bills and food is approx £180 per week with no extra spending money for anything else.

This of course means that I need to work and earn at least £80 a week plus any spending money so it would be reasonable to say £100 a week to be on the safe side.

My question is, is this a reasonable amount to be setting my sights on? The course I'm doing and my future career rests on me getting at least a 2:1 and so is it feasible to do say 25 hours a week in a job and still achieve a good degree?

Your costings are rather pessimistic. Depending on how much university bursary you receive, your weekly income from student finance should be about 130.00 . To earn an additional 70.00 pw will take about 14 hours if you earn NMW, less if you have skills that mean you can earn more. If you can work full time in the holidays, you can manage working far fewer hours in term time.

It all seems quit doable if you can get part and full time jobs.

dll

Not sure what part of the country you're in or what subjects you specialise in, but it's worth noting that in some areas, private tuition in certain subjects pays very well. If you have a natural flair for teaching and have some subjects like science or maths that are in great demand for private GCSE or A2 tuition, you can see yourself earning around £20 - £25 per hour. However, this will be term time only, and not a reliable income at all, but good while it lasts.

elainem10

It really depends on how time consuming your course is. I worked 20-30 hrs a week the whole way through uni but I was studying maths so no essays to write or research to do.

Connologs

I too am doing a four year degree course to become a Primary Teacher.

I have just finished second year, so two more to go.

Throughout my first and second year I have worked for 12 hours in a shop (as I have done since I was 16). This is plenty of money for me, I can pay for everything I need to pay for and save a little as well. Also, by working on a Sunday I get paid a little extra.

The only problem with my course is I do intense teaching placements every year, meaning I am working from 8-5 (plus planning etc) Monday to Friday and then doing 12 hours over the weekend. I soon realised the way round this was to use my holiday entitlement to book all the Saturdays off when on my placement. My employer has no problems with this and understands that it is only a means to an end.

Next March/April, at the end of the tax year, I intend to just cut down to Sundays, so as I go into my final year I have a bit more time to concentrate on studies and then leave the following March giving me the weeks before the last exams without any work.

You can do it, you may have to live frugally and not go out as much as you would like but it is possible. You can earn £6775 (or something like that) before you pay any tax as well.

Good luck with it!

PS - there will be lots of Xmas temp jobs going soon, don't be afraid to take one of those. If you are good there is a chance you will be kept on depending on budgets etc.

minerva_windsong

Some unis have a policy where the amount of hours you can work is restricted, - Oxbridge for example suggest no more than eight hours a week if you work at all, whilst when I was at York they advised no more than 16 hours a week. It might be worth seeing if they have any rules about students working, especially if you're on a particularly demanding course.

I agree about looking for Christmas temp jobs, they used to really push them when the students came back in October when I was at uni. If you can maybe go back a week or so earlier so you can have something of a head start? Also if you get a 'study week' at the beginning of term then make the most of that by nipping up to town to see what's there.

Also, have you spoken to your uni careers service? If not I'd get in there pronto - they'll have details of local part time jobs, or you might be able to get a job on campus which, while coveted (everyone I knew wanted to work in the college bars as it paid really well), were very hard to get. There'll be loads of ways to earn money on campus; you can work in the bar or the campus shop, ring up alumni to request donations or earn a bit of extra money showing prospective new students round. If you work on campus they are normally much more flexible about your workload as well.

littlepinkstars44

I'm going into my 4th year in september. Last year i worked around 30 hours a week with 2 jobs, 20 in one (7am starts and 10pm finishes) and 9 in a local supermarket, and the year before about 25 hours. And i've still came out with my degree this year.

This year, hours have been cut in work, and i'm only doing my minimum contract hours of 9 per week, so i'm looking for a new job as this year we are only going to be in uni 1 full day a week

stuckinmyflat

when i first started uni, was working around 24hrs a week earned roughly 1000 per month, then dropped down to 18hrs a week earning around 850 per month

but as far as keeping up with uni, it was very difficult

scottishblondie

I worked through all 4 years of my degree, about 30 hours a week in 1st and 2nd year, and then I cut down to 20 hours in 3rd year and 15 in 4th year. How much you can do all depends on how good you are at time management and studying. I managed well and ended up with a 1st, even though my mum was terribly worried I would fall behind! But I also knew people who worked the same amount and ended up faily modules etc, as well as people who worked less or not at all and did averagely at uni.

I'd recommend you look at getting a part-time job for 12 hours or so to begin with and then see how you go from there.