Who worked during the last year of uni?

pavlovs_dog

reehsetin wrote: »

yeah that was my thinking over the last two, but i always end up working more than i should, it would be 3-5 days a week, so thinking just avoid temptation altogether

i know its hard but sometimes you just have to say no. im certainly finding that the longer im in my job, the easier it gets. its exactly that - a job, something to finance the degree, not a career, so its no major trauma if i p*ss someone off by refusing to work a bank holiday/cover maud's shift/take holidays at an inconvenient time. although in all fairness my employers are quite flexible and understanding, as a large proportion of our workforce are students!

main problem is your not allowed to take holiday over christmas which is the main time for coursework

yes, i also have this excuse. and i say excuse and not problem because i know weeks in advance what my essay titles are and when my deadlines are. it is my fault however that i have a bad habit of leaving things to the last minute. that comes down to a lack of self discipline and poor organisation on my part. its not the uni's fault and its not my employers fault, its my fault. if i'd pulled myfinger out in october/novemebr instead of watching re-runs of x/y/z on the tele, it wouldnt have been an issue. so whilst i sympathise, its probably something that you yourself need to work on there. i know i will come september! ( i work for argos - time off at christmas just does not happen!)


one approach is to timetable yourself a few imaginary lectures/seminars. you may only have 20 hours of contact a week, but your lecturers expect you to put in the same amount of time doing individual study. few of us actually do. my aim for september is to step up to the mark and put in the work that i ought to be doing. i've got away with cruising so far, but my final year is much more heavily weighted towards my degree classification :eek: best not slip up then :cool: so for example -

two hours monday = reading session
two hours tuesday = dissertation work
two hours wednesday = update notes
two hours thusday = work on coursework
two hours friday = tie up loose ends session/plan next weeks work

granted, those wont be the only hours you put into your study, but even if you do tend to leave things late, at least you know you've put in some of the groundwork already.

another tip is to get yourself a copy of the study skills handbook by stella cottrell, to help you make the most of your talents, strengthen your weak areas, and generally make sure you are studying in the most effective way possible

i've added some thoughts - hope they help :beer:

maniac886

I worked for the first two years while at uni. I knew that the course was going to be intense in my final year and did not want to take the risk of working. I had plenty of money saved up anyway from working the first 2 years so I was fine for money in my final year. There were a lot of assignments in my final year and I was in uni for at least 12/14 hrs a week so it was pretty intense.

Idiophreak

maniac886 wrote: »

I was in uni for at least 12/14 hrs a week so it was pretty intense.

Is that a typo, or did you do an Arts degree??

Ytaya

Idiophreak wrote: »

Is that a typo, or did you do an Arts degree??

:rotfl: I was thinking that, too! I was on campus a minimum of 15 hours a week for my entire degree! And that was just timetabled classes! Study-time could easily double that. In crucial crunch periods during the last year, it's been more like 50 hours a week on campus.

maniac886

Idiophreak wrote: »

Is that a typo, or did you do an Arts degree??

No it wasn't a typo, 12-14 a minimum,however for one of my modules I was working for a company which meant that I had to visit them 2 days a week(3hrs a time). Then on top of that assignments and my dissertation. I think that is quite a bit considering a lot of my mates from other uni's did around 5/6 hours a week!

Gem_

Yes.

I worked 25 hours a week during my final year and 15 hours during my MSc. Personally I think I worked harder because I had to manage my time and remain focused.

Gem

pavlovs_dog

i think theres a fair amount of truth in that. i for one am certainatly much more focused when under the pressure of time

retepetsir

I believe it heavily depends on the course that you are taking. I've worked the first 2 years of my engineering degree, and am currently on my placement year. However for my final year I've saved money from this year to survive....it's going to be a busy final year.

emma396

i agree with retepetsir, it does depend on your course. i did maths, and it was basically 12 lectures a week and some tutorials. i worked 4 hours on a sat morning in the bank, and fri and sat evenings in my parents shop. didn't do much uni work until the exams, still managed to get a first :j

freebie_junkie

i worked for myself all the way through, usually doing 3/4 evenings on ebay a week and either one or two full days at teh market at the weekend. then more markets during hols. ive just got my results for my diss and final year classes and got 1st's so it didnt affect my grades.