Balancing part-time work and studying at Birmingham

For many students, working a part-time job is not only helpful for supporting their lifestyle but, in some cases, necessary. While the vast majority of students receive loans for both tuition fees and maintenance, this does not always cover everything, especially for those who are actively involved in societies and have a busy social life.

As a postgraduate student living off-campus, I have had to factor in travel costs that I would not have had to consider during my undergraduate degree, when I was able to walk to campus. Moreover, as I started planning for my future beyond university, the benefit of having some savings became increasingly apparent. As a result, I decided to apply for a job at a suit shop in my local town.

I started the job in August, before my course began in October, which gave me a chance to familiarise myself with the team and the role. I was initially contracted to work 24 hours a week, including both Saturday and Sunday and two days during the week. However, this was only temporary. Once my course started, I needed to be available Monday to Friday for lectures and seminars, which were spread throughout the week. As a result, I reduced my hours to weekends only, which worked well for a while.

However, as the deadlines for my first-semester assignments approached, I began to feel burnt out. Commuting to and from campus Monday to Friday and then working at the weekend started to take its toll. Eventually, I had to make the difficult decision to reduce my hours further and work just one day a week. Although it was tough, as the extra money was certainly helpful, I knew that my studies needed to come first.

Around this time, I had also applied for a position on the Postgraduate Content Creator team and was successful. Working on a casual-hours basis has given me much more flexibility and has allowed me to take on a range of different assignments. From taking part in marketing think tanks and creating short-form content, to writing blogs like this one, the role has provided me with a great opportunity to develop new skills alongside my studies.

It has also given me an insight into how a professional marketing team operates, while the flexibility around working hours has made it much easier to balance the role with my course. I would highly recommend looking into and applying for the position if you are interested in part-time work alongside your studies, as there are opportunities available for both undergraduate and postgraduate students.

Ultimately, whichever job you choose, it is important to make sure that neither your studies nor your job performance suffer because of your overall workload. As my experience has shown, finding the right balance can take some trial and error. However, it is possible to successfully combine part-time work with studying, and in my case, the experience has taught me a lot about my own capacity, priorities, and the importance of knowing when to take a step back.