Should you get a job? Your parents have been begging you to since the clock struck twelve on your sixteenth birthday (how dare they). It never seemed necessary; more a fallacy endorsed by your parents to aid the process of growing up and learning to take responsibility for yourself…whatever that means. But now you’re at university, and the realisation has dawned that paying bills must often come at the expense of a night out.
According to The Guardian, 45% of students work part time alongside their studies. Many specified that money and CV adornment are the driving factors in committing to an average of twenty hours of labour per week. As it’s an unavoidable necessity for some, it’s important to find part time work which you cannot only endure, but also perhaps enjoy, so you can live student life to the potential promised in prospectuses. Hospitality, retail and agency work are a few options available to help bridge the gap between end of term poverty and student loan replenishment.
If, like many, you’re born, bred and studying in the UK, you’ll have a fundamental understanding of the trials and tribulations endured when serving a drunk Brit a vodka and Coke (‘two slices of lemon and precisely three ice cubes, please’). If bar work is what you’re looking for, you have three options: the traditional pub in which you’ll serve local pensioners ale; the sophisticated bar/restaurant in which ‘Mojito’ will be your new middle name; and the club, the place you formerly called home will become purgatory. If you’re a girl (or yet a woman), dress to impress for the interview, these places hire based on looks and flirtatious charm. If you’re a guy, know that the weight of the banter burden on your shoulders is normal; ‘lad’ is a prerequisite to bartender.
Despite the pressures to be fit and funny, most students who start do stay within bar work. Imagine being 20 years old and knowing the difference between the botanical infusion of Hendricks and Tanqueray 10. You’ll witness more first dates, good and bad, than you can ever imagine and pull a better pint than Peggy Mitchell.
Another option is retail work. From Urban Outfitters to John Lewis, stores generally require that you wear their items to showcase their brand. Thus, generous discounts ensue, balancing the irony of working for the places you can’t afford to shop unless it’s on loan day. Carmel, a third year student from Buckingham, described a day in retail as “the most monotonous kind to try and get through. Believe it or not, pretentious customers are welcomed, as it beats untangling hangers.” In student language, this sounds like being paid to do nothing. Perhaps retail is the ideal industry for procrastination? Only the brave will find out.
Agency work is also worth a fleeting mention. Although uncommon among students, it can provide the short term boost your bank needs, particularly around Christmas time when lectures are finished and you don’t have enough of your loan left to buy your Mum that White Company Candle set. Agencies can send you to warehouses, hotels and more. The possibilities are endless and pay is not too shabby on a 9-5 shift outside of term time. Experience has proven, however, that the working environment is perpetually miserable; no one actually enjoys packing boxes, as much as your manager will try and persuade you otherwise. (Disclaimer: no one will ever know that it was you who lost the invoice!)
It’s important to consider that most businesses willing to employ students will more than likely place you on the conveyor belt that is the zero hour contract. In this you are highly replaceable, hence why poor students are the perfect prey when employers are offering minimum wage. A 22 year old waiter from Gateshead assured me that “your social life is a thing of the past if you sign that piece of paper.” It’s true. It’s impossible to commit to plans when your hours fluctuate between thirty and zero depending on the mood of the manager. The average finish time being 3am in a city bar and the chance of a sit down seeming infinitely distant in retail, £5.60 an hour seems less worth it with every cranky customer you serve.
Despite these lows, working whilst at university enriches more than just your bank account. You’ll more than likely be working with other students as well as ‘real adults’, many of whom will remain your friends long after you finally finish your degree. Your stars will align with the most unlikely of people, and you’ll get to know the city you’re calling home well beyond the campus limits.
Images: author's own
