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60% Of Students Have A Job While At University

12 Aug 2014

60% Of Students Have A Job While At University

A new survey has revealed that almost 60 per cent of students at UK universities are working in a full or part time job while they are studying.

The survey, undertaken by student insurance specialist Endsleigh, researched more than 2,000 university students and found that over half of them were managing to hold down some form of work to help boost their incomes and gain some work experience.

In total, 59 per cent - or almost 6 in 10 students - are working in at least a part time role while studying towards their degree. 13 per cent - or around 1 in 7 students - are somehow managing to hold down a full time job of some description. Most of those full time workers are finding holiday jobs in summer or at Christmas and Easter, but some university students are even working full time hours during term time.

The figures beg the question as to whether students are finding jobs for financial reasons - or because they are trying to get some work experience which they can use on their CVs. 58 per cent of students say that they are working so that they can earn extra money for a social life, whilst 2 in 5 students have found a job so that they have something to fill out their CVs.

Commenting on the findings, education sector manager at Endsleigh, Kim McGuinness, leaned towards the latter scenario: “The results suggest that working students are, at least in part, finding employment in the hope that the additional experience will help them stand out from the crowd when it comes to kick-starting their careers.”

And, speaking to the Guardian, a University of Sussex student, Matt Cowling, gave his reasons as to why he works a part-time cafe job during term time while also holding down a factory job during the summer holidays:

"The main reason I work is to have disposable income and money for rent – my rent would be too expensive otherwise. I definitely wouldn't want to work, but I need to. The fees aren't a problem, but my rent in Brighton is £460 a month without bills,” explained Mr Cowling.

If you’re a student at university in the UK, or even college for that matter, then why don’t you join the majority and find some part time work while you study - or a full time job during the holidays? There are tons of different sorts of jobs you can choose from in almost every town and city in the United Kingdom. Get started now with a search for flexible work or a holiday job from our complete page of Part Time Jobs & Holiday Work In The UK.

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