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working during uni

hi, so i’m hopefully starting uni this sept and currently have a summer job at a restaurant and was deciding on whether i should either transfer to another branch of the restaurant where the potential city my uni is at or leave after the summer and find a job in the city im going to be going in sept or just not work at all

just need to know whether it will be wise to stick with my job or find a new job whilst at uni or not work at all as i don’t want to be burnt out as if i was to transfer to another branch with the current restaurant that i’m working in, i think i might be too stressed out and tired just because it can be late hours and very stressful
any advice?

Reply 1

MindMax2000

Universities Forum Helper

Original post by gojolulx

The rule of thumb is any work experience is better than none at all. The more work you do, the better it looks on your CV for similar work.

You won't know which uni you're going to until the end of August, so there's not much point in fretting over it.

If you're under 18 and just finished your A Levels/BTECs/IB, it's likely you're doing part time work and picking up shifts. Unless your employer require you to sign for shifts for X period otherwise they take you off the books, you're fine. I have come across plenty of people who didn't take shifts whilst they are at uni and then come back to resume taking shifts. If this is not the case, then you would need to check with your employer. (I would check with your employer in either case anyway.)

There is nothing to say that you can't find a different job with a different employer in the city where you will be at and still keep the job you have at home. What you would need to bear in mind is that you would have 2 jobs, and you would need to notify HMRC (or get an accountant/payroll advisor) to sort out the taxes (you would be paying higher rates of tax on your second job).

Depending on your tolerance, I would give myself about a week prior to starting uni to give myself time to recuperate. If you have a lower tolerance, take more time off. If you have a higher tolerance, I wouldn't give myself less than 3 days worth of rest prior to starting uni.
Fresher's week tend to be easy going anyway i.e. there's nothing serious that you would need to study.

If you want to transfer to another branch with the same company, you would likely need to fill in an admin form, and you need to speak to HR about the transfer. There's technically nothing wrong with this (technically because I don't know what the office politics is like at your place of work), but it would depend on whether there are any vacancies at the location that you want to work at.

Having said that, I am not sure whether it's an entirely good idea to work late nights whilst you're studying at uni. The sleep schedule can really affect your learning and how your perform during exams. If you're studying, you wouldn't want unnecessary and extra stress when you really don't need to.
There have been people who managed to squeeze in stressful work and study at the same time, but many don't really make it. Those who managed to are 1/1000 (or some high number) success stories, and they usually have a high capacity for learning.