How to balance university with working part-time as a student

Working part-time as a student can be tricky. It’s sometimes hard to juggle your uni studies with your work shifts. However, we know that there are many students working part-time. If you’re one of them (or considering becoming one), we’re here to help.

When you’re working while at uni, it takes a little thought and careful planning to set yourself up for success without burning out. So that you can achieve that all-important balance, here’s our top advice for students working part-time at university.

Working while at uni isn’t optional for a lot of students. Many people need a part-time job to help cover their basic living costs at some point during university.

The silver lining? Working part-time as a student doesn’t just make financial sense – it can benefit you in your future career, too.

Firstly, having a part-time job is a chance to develop skills not taught in your degree. As well as technical knowledge that can prove useful later, you’ll learn how to work well with other people in a professional setting. Communication is a must-have skill to succeed in any industry.

Working part-time while you’re studying at university also gives you valuable stuff to include on your CV and to talk about in job interviews. Even if you don’t think your part-time job matches your chosen career, employers are still likely to look favourably on work experience of any kind. It shows that you understand your basic responsibilities as an employee and that you’ve got transferable skills.

One final bonus? You’ll be able to list your boss or supervisor as a professional referee in the future. Quality references are application gold dust.

If you need a job urgently or aren’t sure what sort of role you want, you might feel like your best option is to apply to everything and keep your fingers crossed. However, there are things students working part-time need to consider that other potential employees might not. If you’re going to work while at uni, you need a role that will suit your lecture and seminar schedule. You’ve got to achieve a balance between work and study.

If you’re considering working part-time as a student, weigh up the following things:

How much will you earn in the part-time role? While many part-time jobs for students will pay around the minimum wage, they still need to be viable. For example, if you’re going to be working four-hour shifts, is it worth the commute? Think about how much money you’ll receive from the job and how much it’ll cost to get there and back.

If you’re unsure what to expect from pay, make sure you look at different job listings so you get a benchmark for the hourly rate you should expect.

You can also create a spreadsheet of your living costs to give you a better idea of how much you need to earn. That will help you work out how many hours you’re looking for.

If you pick up local part-time work, you’ll save on transport costs and keep more of your wages for other expenses. Having a workplace that’s near you will also be less time-consuming, so you'll have more time for studying (although you could do your reading while on the bus).

A convenient location will also reduce your risk of running late – regularly showing up late because of delayed trains isn’t a good look (even though it’s not your fault)!

If you're going to be living elsewhere during the holidays, you might want to consider working for a large company that has a location near your university campus and other home. That way, you might be able to transfer between branches to keep working during the holidays.

Of course, you could consider remote part-time jobs too.

As a student, you need a role that fits around your university commitments, such as contact hours, studying and hobbies (including society involvement). While you might have to give up some socialising to go to work, you don’t want to miss out on everything. You also need to give yourself enough time to do your uni work.

It might be worth looking for jobs at your university. Unis employ students in different roles and understand the challenges you’ll be facing with balancing work and study.

Think about the skills you’ve already got and those you’re looking to grow.

Is there anything you’re particularly good at that could help you fetch a higher wage? For example, if you speak an in-demand language, could you tutor people who want to speak it?

Alternatively, what could a potential job teach you that you could use later in your career? If you’ve got a skills gap, working part-time at uni gives you the chance to fill it. You'll learn transferable skills whatever part-time job you do.

Don't feel like you're qualified enough to get a job? Read our advice on securing a role with minimal experience.

For students working part-time, effective time management is super important.

One top time management tip is to have a reliable way of logging all your commitments in one place. Set up a Google Calendar or similar and record all your lectures, coursework deadlines and work shifts. You’ll be able to see what you need to do and when, which will help you avoid double-booking.

It’s also a good idea to schedule study sessions and note down what module or assignment you plan to work on during each one. That way, your uni work won’t get squeezed out. You want to avoid finding yourself starting an essay the night before the deadline.

You can also use reminders on your phone to give yourself lots of advanced warning that you need to be somewhere. It’s not helpful to have your phone remind you of the exact moment you’re meant to be clocking in! Instead, set up your alerts to give you time to get ready and get there – just in case a shift slips your mind.

There’s no getting away from the fact that working while at uni demands a lot from you. Being a student in part-time employment can be tough. That’s why it’s so important to take care of yourself.

Consider pacing yourself by working more during university holidays. That will give you more breathing room during term time.

You should also prioritise sleep and eating well. It can be tempting to skimp on both when you’re juggling a hectic to-do list. However, if you skip your downtime, you’re not going to have the energy you need to get everything done. Think of your capacity like a phone battery – give yourself enough time to recharge before you go and spend more energy.

Lastly, make sure you factor in relaxing activities and time with friends. Not being able to unwind is a direct road to burnout, particularly if you’re rushing around by yourself without a support network.

Having worked part-time as a student can make you an appealing prospect to employers for graduate jobs. But how do you tell them about it in a way that’s relevant to the role you’re applying for?

On your CV, list the name of each employer, your job title and the dates you worked there in the employment section. You should also include a few sentences or bullet points about your role. It’s your chance to show what you learned.

Remember to focus on the soft skills (ie. transferable skills) you picked up. They are things like communication, time management and adaptability. If you’re applying for an office job, the recruiter isn’t interested in how well you made sandwiches. However, they do want to know how well you collaborated with colleagues.

Here are some ways you can frame different scenarios from part-time work:

• Took on shifts at an understaffed busy bar? On your CV, you can say you’ve got experience “working under pressure."
• If you provided tutoring, you "successfully upskilled others" and "improved your communication skills by simplifying complex concepts."
• Even if you found your part-time job difficult, you can reframe challenges as "building resilience."

As for job interviews, talk about times on the job where you stepped up or learned something. Maybe you helped your team through a packed shift at the restaurant or solved a difficult problem a customer was having? Interviewers will often want you to share lived experiences of situations, so it’s good to have examples ready to go.

It might take you some time to pin down your transferable skills and relevant experiences, but you’ll certainly gain them when working part-time as a student – even if you’re not aware of it at the time.

Yes, you can work part-time as a student. While some universities may advise against working while at uni, it’s necessary for many students to cover living expenses. Plenty of students work throughout their degree. It’s important to get the balance right and find a role that doesn’t interfere with your university commitments.

If you’re on an international student visa, you can work part-time (with the exact hours you’re allowed to work varying based on your course level). You’ll need to check that you are following all the rules associated with your visa, as you can’t work in all types of employment. For example, you can’t be self-employed, so you can’t offer freelance tutoring.

The benefits of working part-time as a student include:

• Increased income. The maintenance loan element of your student finance won’t necessarily cover all your living expenses. If you work part-time, you’ll earn money which will ease some financial stress.
• Financial independence. Earning your own money (rather than borrowing or receiving funds from family) gives you more control over how you spend it. If you want to save up some of your part-time earnings for a holiday, it’s your choice.
• Meeting new people. While part-time work can sometimes mean working unsociable hours (like weekends and evenings), it can still boost your social life as it gives you the chance to meet more people outside of uni. You might find that you’ve got more in common with your part-time colleagues than your coursemates, so you could find yourself a new friendship group through work. And when you’re all working the so-called unsociable hours, you’ll make Monday the new Friday.
• Gaining skills. You’ll pick up plenty of new skills through part-time work. While you won’t necessarily be able to find a part-time role in your desired industry, you’ll still grow your transferable skills – something employers will value. Any kind of part-time job is a form of work experience, even if you can’t immediately see how it connects to your dream grad job.

It’s hard to know the exact number of students who work part-time in the UK. However, as a guide, an NUS survey of students found that 69% worked part-time on top of their studies. So, according to NUS research, most students are working part-time while they’re at uni.

The best part-time job for a student is one that suits their skills and doesn’t interfere with their studies.

Good part-time jobs for students will offer appropriate financial compensation, flexibility (so that it fits around university commitments) and the opportunity to learn new skills.

The best part-time job for you will depend on what you’d enjoy and what’s available near you. Popular part-time roles for students include shop assistants, bar workers and baristas. The list of opportunities is endless, though. You could become a part-time hotel receptionist or work on campus in the library. Alternatively, you might work remotely – perhaps writing articles on a freelance basis. What’s best for you might not be the best for someone else, so focus on finding a role that’s right for your specific needs.

While you might have to work while at uni to afford your living costs, it’s crucial that you still have enough time to study for your degree. You want to find a part-time job that gives you what you need financially without impacting your studies.