Part Time Work

Hi, I have an offer to study MSc in Strategic Marketing, September '22 from Cranfield Uni. I am an international student and would love to work part time for my day to day expenses. I just wanna know if there are opportunities to work part time in and around Cranfield/Bedford/Milton Keynes. And if I can work, does the coursework allow enough time to actually work part time without hampering my studies ?

Hi!

Congratulations on an offer to study a great course!

There are plenty of opportunities for part-time work in and around Cranfield. I definitely can't list them all, but I can give you a few I know are popular

First off, there are some online opportunities that you can do remotely. Many students choose to be tutors, teaching people specific subjects that are in their field of study (for example business, maths, science) for their GCSEs or A-Levels.
Others, like me, become student ambassadors for the university. This involves talking to perspective students, or those about to join, helping them prepare as best they can for life here. We have chats through unibuddy, can call applicants who have requested to chat with a current student, do tours during open days, and other things like that. Some of these roles are online, others in person, but it's a very flexible arrangement.

There are also some jobs available on-campus. The Cranfield Student's Association (CSA) typically recruits students to work in the shop and cafe (which is a great place to grab some lunch) with flexible hours.
There's several other businesses on campus, including a Co-op, which is a small grocery store that includes a post office you could apply to.

Cranfield is also very close to Milton Keynes and Bedford. Both of these places have grocery stores, coffee shops, restaurants, etc. who hire students regularly.
The Tesco I do my food shopping at regularly recruits staff for evenings and weekends (when they are the most busy).
Many restaurants also look for delivery drivers which would be an evenings-only job, meaning no clashing with classes!

Maintaining a part time job while studying for a postgraduate degree is a great way to reduce costs, but also show employers that you have great time management and multitasking skills, as well as demonstrating the 'soft skills' associated with whatever role you choose (e.g. customer service roles require good communication and people skills, which employers love!). So while it will reduce your free time a bit, I think it is definitely worth doing.
You can also choose a job with a certain number of maximum or minimum hours per week that will allow you to maintain a good study/work/life balance. Each job advertised will come with a description of how many hours per week you would be working, or if it doesn't you can always ask the hiring manager.

Do any of these jobs sound like something you would be interested in?

Ciara
2nd year Agrifood PhD student
Cranfield Student Ambassador

Thank you, this helped me and put my mind at ease about opportunities to work. Now i just have to check whether I would have enough time to work while pursuing the marketing masters 😅

Dear Ciara,

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