Voting for TSRs Ultimate Study Playlist is NOW OPEN >>

Should I get a job whilst at uni?

Will i be able to afford living without a job at uni?

Clearing and Applications Advisor, Universities Forum Helper

It will depend on the uni you pick and the cost of accommodation in that location, how well you budget and how often you will be out socialising (nights out tend to be a big drain on student finance). You can pay anywhere between £5k and £9k per year on accommodation depending on location.

Reply 2

CardiffUni Rep

Official Rep

Original post by Ellie Skippings

Will i be able to afford living without a job at uni?

Hi there,

As said above, this depends on many factors. These include the area you living in the UK e.g. London is much more expensive than Cardiff, how often you go out (and how much you spend each time), how well you can budget for essentials etc. Another consideration that would be worth working out is how much your maintenance loan would be - this depends on household income and you can find more information here.

I hope that this gives you some insight for what you look into. Another consideration is how demanding you degree is e.g. if you have to spend 20 hrs a week on campus vs 5 hrs a week - which would make scheduling a part-time job much harder.

All the best,
Jaz - Cardiff student rep

Reply 3

WolvesRep2

Official Rep

Original post by Ellie Skippings

Will i be able to afford living without a job at uni?

Hi Ellie,

Like the others said there are a lot of different factors which could affect whether you need a job at uni to be able to afford it, some people need one and some don't.

From someone who worked part time whilst I was at uni I found it helpful in a number of ways. It allowed me to have a bit more money then what my student loan gave me to be able to spend on what I wanted/needed, it meant I was able to meet new people outside of the uni and gave me a break from uni life. It also looked good on my CV for once I finished because I was able to learn valuable and transferrable skills.

There's lots of students jobs out there which will allow you to work around your uni schedule, whether that's in the evenings, on certain weekdays or on the weekend. The job I had I worked at The Principality and the company I worked for was really good because I was able to pick and choose what events I wanted to work. Maybe there is a venue/company like this where you go to uni so you can pick when you want/need to work?

I hope this helps🙂
Louise - University of Wolverhampton rep.

Reply 4

blob88888888

It depends as some people have families that give them money to support them in uni. If that is not enough for them, then they'll definitely get a job but it's up to them.

Reply 5

Chronoscope

Volunteer Section Leader

Original post by Ellie Skippings

Will i be able to afford living without a job at uni?

Like the others have said it really depends on the university, type of accommodation, and what kind of maintenance loan / if you're getting any bursaries.In first year I didn't have a job (mostly due to covid lockdown) but I didn't have any spending money which wasn't very fun. For second and third year I work weekends in a restaurant. Initially I was doing 3 shifts a week but found that too much in third year, so I cut it down to 1 shift, and take extra shifts during reading weeks. My tip would be to try and look for jobs with hours during weekends only or in the evening, because during 9 -5 you might have some assignments or groupwork and from this years experience its definitely a task trying to arrange a time when everyone's free :lol:

Also, it might be worth considering a chain store e.g. if Morrisons is hiring in your uni town, and you have a local Morrisons back home, that's pretty good if you needed to transfer stores during holidays.

(edited 1 month ago)

Reply 6

hallamstudents

Official Rep

Original post by Ellie Skippings

Will i be able to afford living without a job at uni?

Hi @Ellie Skippings ,

As everyone has said, it just depends on your situation. How much loan you get and how much your accommodation is are big factors when thinking about this as for some people, their loan doesn't cover their rent while for others, they have money left over which is enough for them to live on. I would suggest looking online at student loans calculators and see how much loan you will roughly be receiving based on household income and then look at average accommodation prices for the uni you are hoping to go to.

It also depends how expensive the city is that you are hoping to go to - e.g. living in London is going to be a lot more than somewhere up north where things are cheaper. Another factor is what you are going to want to be doing while at uni - if you think you'll want to be eating out a lot, going out a lot etc you may need more money than if you don't think you'll be doing these things as much.

Another factor in getting a job is how much you are at uni. Some courses only have around 10 contact hours per week while some have more like 20/25 so this would affect how often you are able to work. If you wanted a flexible job, working as a student ambassador for your uni is a good idea, or if they have any other jobs available as it is usually very flexible and you can pick your hours as they don't want to interrupt your studies by scheduling you lots of hours. Or working in a pub, bar or cafe are usually fairly flexible and can often be evening or weekend work which would fit around your studies.

I hope some of this helps!

Lucy -SHU student ambassador.