The Student Room Group

Never felt financial pressure like this before

Im going to uni soon and didn’t have any financial struggles before. My dad lost his job ( used to make good money ) and tried doing delivery for awhile but now he stopped and it low key feels like he’s giving up. Idk I js feel like its wrong for him to give up now, hes not trying to find a job and specially that our family is a big family its so hard. today he started complaining about my commuting costs and i js had the thought that its ur fault, if you were a responsible dad and didn’t lose ur job due to stubbornness you would’ve been able to support ur daughter in her journey. The thing that is annoying me even more is that he is trying to delay the idea of me getting a part time job ( cuz im a girl bla bla and my reputation will get ruined) but if you are not going to support me financially at least give me the chance to work and rely on myself.
Funny thing, now after his eldest daughter(me) is entering 19 he wants to go back to uni and study, its not wrong if your family is stable but Rn we are at the lowest peak financially, and he wants to go to uni ?
Rn I feel like exploding out of pressure and cant js keep on thinking abt this. ( btw its a Muslim household and arab parents)
Any advice or opinions is appreciated.
Sorry to hear about this, your dad is being silly with the way he is going about things. I would advise to get a part time job immediately - your father's logic is flawed when he says these things about reputation being ruined - the entire reasoning of you going to uni is to get a job, so what difference does it make to in getting one now or later? It's better for your career prospects, personal growth, financial stability and it increases your reputation! It's the best thing I did during my undergrad and I'm doing it again when I start my masters degree - it will help you for your future too!

Encourage him to keep at the job or you guys could both look into new jobs together, speak to your mum and other family members about it too, it's better to have other family members talk about it too- but do what you need to, in order to support yourself.

I understand the complaints about the commute thing, it has gone up drastically and it's nothing personal - the situation is genuinely bad because of inflation, so I wouldn't say your dad was trying to put you down for that. I hope you do feel better soon and good luck with the job search, hopefully things will get better soon for your family too Inshallah - wishing you guys all the best!
Original post by Bean_cat
Sorry to hear about this, your dad is being silly with the way he is going about things. I would advise to get a part time job immediately - your father's logic is flawed when he says these things about reputation being ruined - the entire reasoning of you going to uni is to get a job, so what difference does it make to in getting one now or later? It's better for your career prospects, personal growth, financial stability and it increases your reputation! It's the best thing I did during my undergrad and I'm doing it again when I start my masters degree - it will help you for your future too!
Encourage him to keep at the job or you guys could both look into new jobs together, speak to your mum and other family members about it too, it's better to have other family members talk about it too- but do what you need to, in order to support yourself.
I understand the complaints about the commute thing, it has gone up drastically and it's nothing personal - the situation is genuinely bad because of inflation, so I wouldn't say your dad was trying to put you down for that. I hope you do feel better soon and good luck with the job search, hopefully things will get better soon for your family too Inshallah - wishing you guys all the best!

I disagree, getting a part time job would divert her attention from her studies. It is better to focus on a getting a first for a better career in future instead of earning a little money and getting a 2:2.

With regards to financial stability lots of unis have scholarships and bursaries for low income people. There is also student and maintenance loan -but the interest is kinda high on those. If after looking at these options, you are still short on cash, you could try flexible part time jobs such as tutoring, but try not to spend too much time working as you need time to relax and socialise.
Original post by asianism
I disagree, getting a part time job would divert her attention from her studies. It is better to focus on a getting a first for a better career in future instead of earning a little money and getting a 2:2.
With regards to financial stability lots of unis have scholarships and bursaries for low income people. There is also student and maintenance loan -but the interest is kinda high on those. If after looking at these options, you are still short on cash, you could try flexible part time jobs such as tutoring, but try not to spend too much time working as you need time to relax and socialise.

Fair enough, though I managed to get a First class with honours whilst working throughout the entirety of my degree and I actually managed to save up a lot 😉- the jobs don't have to be strictly part time, they can be seasonal, zero hour contract etc so she does have these options too. Remote work/ jobs within the uni are also good opportunities too e.g. tutoring as you mentioned

Things like this really depend on how well a person organises themselves and how much time they have available

To add, the 'Save the student' website is also good for all student advice including financial and many of the scholarships and bursaries can be found on there. 'Prospects UK' will also have good info - there are student passes for transport and switching up the transport type to bus/coach can save money too. Unidays and student beans
are also excellent for student discounts
Original post by Bean_cat
Fair enough, though I managed to get a First class with honours whilst working throughout the entirety of my degree and I actually managed to save up a lot 😉- the jobs don't have to be strictly part time, they can be seasonal, zero hour contract etc so she does have these options too. Remote work/ jobs within the uni are also good opportunities too e.g. tutoring as you mentioned
Things like this really depend on how well a person organises themselves and how much time they have available
To add, the 'Save the student' website is also good for all student advice including financial and many of the scholarships and bursaries can be found on there. 'Prospects UK' will also have good info - there are student passes for transport and switching up the transport type to bus/coach can save money too. Unidays and student beans
are also excellent for student discounts

I guess it's also a good idea to look at module handbooks for time organisation. Just to see where the summatives and exams are.
Reply 5
It also broke my heart that other day when I was talking to him abt maintenance loan and how it is riba ( interest is forbidden) but he goes 1. Who said im gonna let u work sfter u graduate and I answered with so why am I studying, he goes js to get a degree and become a house daughter!!!
2. He said u dont rlly care abt it being riba but instead care abt how much money is gonna accumulate on u later on !

My part time job is literally not bad, im studying optometry and alhamdullilah I managed to somehow become close with an opticians practice manager so I can always ask them for the job but idk whats going inside his head.

I definitely agree, and a part time job is not gonna be like 3 days a week max 2 days and 1 day for my studies.
I rlly dont wanna say I give up cuz I cant but its more heartbreaking that my dad isn’t being supportive when All im trying to do is to get us out of this poverty.
Thank u for ur reply
Reply 6
Original post by asianism
I disagree, getting a part time job would divert her attention from her studies. It is better to focus on a getting a first for a better career in future instead of earning a little money and getting a 2:2.
With regards to financial stability lots of unis have scholarships and bursaries for low income people. There is also student and maintenance loan -but the interest is kinda high on those. If after looking at these options, you are still short on cash, you could try flexible part time jobs such as tutoring, but try not to spend too much time working as you need time to relax and socialise.


I agree but right now my course isnt as dense with content and will have more free time. So I would say I should exploit this for now until it gets more dense and focus on it.
Also socialising isnt a big thing for me now I dont think its an aspect I should focus on rn due to my personal issues. I would rather focus more on my education and part time job tbh but also keep in touch with my class mates !?
What do u think
Reply 7
Original post by asianism
I guess it's also a good idea to look at module handbooks for time organisation. Just to see where the summatives and exams are.


Yes as soon as I meet my lecturers Im asking them for the modules book cuz I wanna do early preparation for my course and wanna be ahead so I dont waste any time.
Wish me luck :wink:

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