Part-time job

I received conditional offer and I hope that I will succesfully pass my IB exams. However, I read that part-time jobs are not permitted for Cambridge students. Is it true? If yes, that would be a big problem for me as I cannot afford living in England.... :eek:

Reply 1

hobnob

14

Not permitted, you mean. Yes, I'm afraid that's true.

Reply 2

EconLou

12

no, you cannot get a part-time job, anyway, durign term time you will not have time to work anymore than a few hours a week. Instead, you have 6 weeks' vacation at christmas, 5 weeks at easter and around 16 weeks in the summer to earn plenty of money.

Reply 3

FadeToBlackout

15

Part time jobs are generally not permitted, no.

BUT you are allowed to work for the University or your college- behind the bar at the ADC theatre, in college bars, in college archives, and so on, as long as the University or college allows you to do so. Some people do things like private tutoring of kids, or sell their soul to Oxbridge Essays and the like, but this is technically verboten.

It's easy enough to get cheap accomodation in college over the holidays and work full time to earn money. You should be able to get £2,000+ from just working in the holidays.

Reply 4

Jahmez23

the holidays are long and ample time to work. During term time you'll do well to keep up with the work, and have some kind of social life. I don't think you could cope with paid employment on top.

Reply 5

Bumblebee3

8

This is an issue that lots of people suffer from but manage to deal with, even if they are short on funds. Here's what to do:

* Make sure you have a holiday job lined up before the end of term - if you work in a well paid admin/office job you could save quite a bit over the holidays.

* Ask the college financial tutor about bursaries. There are quite a few hardship funds, and (depending on the college) these could go a long way towards solving problems.

* Don't try to work in term time - you won't make much cash and your studies will undoubtedly suffer. It's disallowed for a reason.

* Make sure you're not paying too much rent - some college rooms cost more than others.

* Understand college and library rules - don't incur loads of admin and library fines (I know to my cost that these can mount up).

* Finally, often the biggest hidden cost is social life - you have no idea how much the cost of eating out and drinking can mount up if your friends have more money than you. Just keep an eye on this and organise evenings in as well. There are lots of cheap student ents and deals if you know where to look.

PS - This is the advice we gave out at the student union... I wish I'd followed it as an undergrad!!! :redface:

Reply 6

manolya

OP

1

Ok, but the first chance to earn money will be during the next holidays and I still need money to pay for the first year in Cambridge. Some universities, e.g. University of Edinburgh, support their students who wish to work while studying. It seems reasonable as that's probably my personal choice and that's me who will eventually fail the year if working too hard...so the key is to balance everything - working and studying...
What's more I'm not eligible for Maintenance Loan or Hardship Bursaries as I'm not UK national.

Reply 7

Craghyrax

17

Which college are you headed for? If you're genuinely battling financially, alot of them can help out if you ask, even if they don't advertise it.

Reply 8

Bumblebee3

8

manolya

Ok, but the first chance to earn money will be during the next holidays and I still need money to pay for the first year in Cambridge. Some universities, e.g. University of Edinburgh, support their students who wish to work while studying. It seems reasonable as that's probably my personal choice and that's me who will eventually fail the year if working too hard...so the key is to balance everything - working and studying...
What's more I'm not eligible for Maintenance Loan or Hardship Bursaries as I'm not UK national.

Firstly, it isn't necessarily the case at all that the college can't help out just because you're international. I would get in touch with the college financial tutor now by email and explain the situation. See what they say and then start to plan on the basis of that. Would might also want to contact the students' union www.CUSU.cam.ac.uk who will be able to advise on general financial matters.

The point about the univeristy not allowing part time jobs is not something that you should feel resentful about - if you think you would be able to take on a job you don't understand the workload. They can't afford to have students make the mistake of thinking they can do it, because it's hard to come back from getting really behind esp given the terms are so short. I appreciate the argument that it should be personal choice, but I think most colleges feel that the detrimental effects of letting students learn the hard way outweighs the students' personal freedom in this case.

Reply 9

manolya

OP

1

I'm headed for Homerton College, Japanese Studies.
Ok, I will try to contact CUSU and financial tutor.

Reply 10

FadeToBlackout

15

Craghyrax

If you're genuinely battling financially, alot of them can help out if you ask, even if they don't advertise it.

Bumblebee3

Firstly, it isn't necessarily the case at all that the college can't help out just because you're international. I would get in touch with the college financial tutor now by email and explain the situation. See what they say and then start to plan on the basis of that. Would might also want to contact the students' union www.CUSU.cam.ac.uk who will be able to advise on general financial matters.

The point about the univeristy not allowing part time jobs is not something that you should feel resentful about - if you think you would be able to take on a job you don't understand the workload. They can't afford to have students make the mistake of thinking they can do it, because it's hard to come back from getting really behind esp given the terms are so short. I appreciate the argument that it should be personal choice, but I think most colleges feel that the detrimental effects of letting students learn the hard way outweighs the students' personal freedom in this case.

Both speak Wise Words of Wisdom. ;yes;

Basically, your college won't want you to drop out because it makes them look bad. They might try and force you to degrade (I.e. drop out for a year) rather than leave outright, or try other tricks, but most will give you money. There are hardship bursaries and funds that are available, you just need to ask about them. They've gone to a lot of effort to choose you, and they think you're worth having- they want to keep you!

You could probably get away with doing a part-time job rather than a big commitment like rowing or theatre. I spend 20 hours a week easily doing rowing-connected things; I could theoretically do a part-time job instead and not have my work suffer. BUT it's not allowed and it's not a good idea. People do do it, but it's far easier to get money out of college.

Reply 11

thefish_uk

14

To be honest if it was me I'd rather have a part time job than row. :wink:

Reply 12

Craghyrax

17

Bumblebee3

The point about the univeristy not allowing part time jobs is not something that you should feel resentful about - if you think you would be able to take on a job you don't understand the workload.

Precisely. To be frank, I would be seriously surprised if you still wanted to try and fit in a job after your first term.

Reply 13

camstudent123

I think the no work rule is ridiculous. Plenty of people manage to be successful whilst doing tonnes of other things - first boat rowing/university sport/running the union easily take up as much time as a part time job. If someone got a job on the weekend then they could easily fit their work in around that.

Reply 14

faik_kheft

4

camstudent123

I think the no work rule is ridiculous. Plenty of people manage to be successful whilst doing tonnes of other things - first boat rowing/university sport/running the union easily take up as much time as a part time job. If someone got a job on the weekend then they could easily fit their work in around that.

Yeah, but people usually do things like sport/music etc for pleasure rather than money, so it's not quite like spending the same amount of time doing a job (I'm imagining most people wouldn't exactly describe their part-time jobs as enjoyable or relaxing...though I could be wrong!!).

Also, you may end up with a situation where poorer students feel obliged to get jobs to support themselves and then spend all their time either degree-working or money-working, and they end up feeling really resentful towards the better-off students who can afford to spend their free time doing rowing/running the union etc.

Reply 15

epitome

11

On top of which, it's part of the university experience to try all the other things -- running the union, rowing, organising tours, writing for one of the student papers, getting involved with the JCR...that's all a valued part of Cambridge. Working in Sainsbury's, while being of short-term benefit, is simply not the same valuable experience. Cambridge wants you to fully participate in what the university has to offer, and that includes all the stuff outside your degree.

(Like FTB, I could very easily fit in a part-time job if I didn't do all the other stuff. As it is, I spend about 40 hrs a week doing 'extra' things...and then the degree (roughly equivalent time). I *could* get employed, but I'm willing to place money on the fact that the extra stuff will, in the long time, help me get a better/more fitting job).

There is enough time in the vacations to work and earn a good chunk of money, and there are very good bursaries and financial assistances available.

Reply 16

camstudent123

faik_kheft

Yeah, but people usually do things like sport/music etc for pleasure rather than money, so it's not quite like spending the same amount of time doing a job (I'm imagining most people wouldn't exactly describe their part-time jobs as enjoyable or relaxing...though I could be wrong!!).

Also, you may end up with a situation where poorer students feel obliged to get jobs to support themselves and then spend all their time either degree-working or money-working, and they end up feeling really resentful towards the better-off students who can afford to spend their free time doing rowing/running the union etc.

This is the situation in any other universiy in the country except oxford, and class war has broken out all over :rolleyes:

And ironically its the worst off students and the very richest who do best in terms of cash. If your parents are poor you get a government substantial loan grant and university funding on top of that. Its the slightly better off middle class students that do worst.

Reply 17

camstudent123

epitome

On top of which, it's part of the university experience to try all the other things -- running the union, rowing, organising tours, writing for one of the student papers, getting involved with the JCR...that's all a valued part of Cambridge. Working in Sainsbury's, while being of short-term benefit, is simply not the same valuable experience. Cambridge wants you to fully participate in what the university has to offer, and that includes all the stuff outside your degree.

(Like FTB, I could very easily fit in a part-time job if I didn't do all the other stuff. As it is, I spend about 40 hrs a week doing 'extra' things...and then the degree (roughly equivalent time). I *could* get employed, but I'm willing to place money on the fact that the extra stuff will, in the long time, help me get a better/more fitting job).

There is enough time in the vacations to work and earn a good chunk of money, and there are very good bursaries and financial assistances available.

Come on, we're all bright people here. People don't need to have the university decide that its better for them to row in the first boat than take a part time job.
Most people would probably decide not to take a job becuase of the reasons that you've stated. But that doesn't mean that the university should stop students working if they wanted to.

Reply 18

epitome

11

camstudent123

Come on, we're all bright people here. People don't need to have the university decide that its better for them to row in the first boat than take a part time job.
Most people would probably decide not to take a job becuase of the reasons that you've stated. But that doesn't mean that the university should stop students working if they wanted to.

Yes, obviously, and I didn't say people weren't.
The university's having an opinion/rule on the matter isn't that ridiculous. It wants to protect its students interests (development) and its own (results and good alumni). And students, being bright enough I am sure ( :wink:

), will surely be able to find away around the regulation if they are determined enough anyway. *shrugs*

Reply 19

camstudent123

Thats the thing though if you ban employment then yes students get around it. But it pushes them into jobs where they are unlikely to be caught ie oxbridge essays where they are likely to have less job protection and be involved in legally/morally dubious things (which potentially harm the university more)

Other elite universities in Britain and world wide manage to allow their students to work without risking the reputation of the university or students.

Part-time job

Related discussions

Latest

Trending

Trending

Articles for you