Not sure if it's worth it

I've gotten a job recently and it's with a really good organisation and I was informed that it would be tailored to work around my studies - after speaking to the hiring manager today she told me that whilst the job would work around my studies I would have to do mandatory training for fulltime for 4 - 6 weeks.

I'm starting my master's degree at my dream uni and it is really challenging - so not going to my classes would really hit me badly especially for that length of time. I'm not sure what to do with this job now, I was so happy when I got it, but now I'm not sure if it's worth damaging my master's degree over.

Can anyone please advise?

Reply 1

Trinculo

4-6 weeks sounds like quite a lot of training. What kind of job is this, because it sounds quite in depth.

Is this job particularly well paid? Are you likely to be able to find another job to support yourself - because if this is a 1 year Masters, you're missing out a significant part of your course.

Reply 2

MJ1148

Original post

by Bean_cat

I've gotten a job recently and it's with a really good organisation and I was informed that it would be tailored to work around my studies - after speaking to the hiring manager today she told me that whilst the job would work around my studies I would have to do mandatory training for fulltime for 4 - 6 weeks.
I'm starting my master's degree at my dream uni and it is really challenging - so not going to my classes would really hit me badly especially for that length of time. I'm not sure what to do with this job now, I was so happy when I got it, but now I'm not sure if it's worth damaging my master's degree over.
Can anyone please advise?

No way, missing classes for a part-time student job is not an option. Not only are you paying thousands of pounds in tuition to attend university, you will not be able to recover from missing over a month of classes. Your degree has to come first, otherwise why are you doing it?

Imo this is very poor behaviour from the company - they should absolutely have informed you about the training before you accepted the role. They know about your degree and they're seriously expecting you to drop everything to do full-time training? If they really won't let you do it around your studies, you need to cut your losses and decline the offer. Especially for only £12 per hour, which is barely above minimum wage.

(edited 1 year ago)

Reply 3

MJ1148

Original post

by Bean_cat

Thank you for being brutally honest, I really needed to hear this. It's annoying because they said 'full time training' and 'we'll work around your studies' in the same breath. I let them know multiple times about my masters - so I and others assumed it would work around my degree, but it's a shame it's turned out like this. They even amended the contract for an earlier start date without talking about it with me - so they made it even worse, because a bit of the training could have been done in the holiday period, but now it's entirely in the term time.

Yes, it sounds like the company is poorly managed, especially since they've had the entire summer to let you do the training! It's so annoying when you find a job you think you might like but it just can't logistically work. Options are so limited for students as it is, and it's tough out there for everyone at the moment. I'm sure you will be able to find something better though, it's just a matter of time 🙏

Reply 4

Trinculo

Original post

by Bean_cat

It's for a customer service role at a bank - the pay is around £12 per hour - though I'm just wanting to work to save up and I am going to be commuting to uni whilst living at home. It took me a while to get a job and I haven't signed anything for this yet, but I do have some other opportunities in mind but I'll have to wait for those.

Is the job actually PT in terms of hours?

Is it on site or remote?

Are you intending to stay on after your postgrad, or is this something just to earn while you are at university?

Reply 5

Trinculo

Original post

by Bean_cat

Thanks for your response :smile:

1.Is the job actually PT in terms of hours?
Yeah - 16 pw
2.Is it on site or remote?
Remote
3.Are you intending to stay on after your postgrad, or is this something just to earn while you are at university?
Both really, though I would have moved to another department that is more fitting for my degree - it is a massive organisation and there are a lot of roles on offer.

In terms of the whether or not you should skip uni for the job - I'd have to say no. It's such a poor trade-off in terms of time and money. Depending on how your course is structured each day at university is costing you something like £150-250 on fees alone, so to take those days off for a job that likely pays you less than that isn't good business.

In terms of the job itself, thats' just too bad, my advice would be to say sorry, but you can't make that kind of FT commitment for the training and see what they say. I don't think they've done anything wrong - its just not a meeting of the minds. After all, they're offering you a job and you can't fulful the training requirements due to timetabling. These things are always going to be some kind of compromise.