Rise of the student worker

A juggling act.

Endsleigh’s 2014 Student Survey of 2,128 students, conducted by NUS Services on behalf of Endsleigh and has found that students are assuming an ever greater responsibility for their finances whilst at University.

The survey found that 41% of students do not have a paid job – indicating that 59% of students are employed in some manner. A third of students work part time throughout the term and perhaps more significantly 13% of all students now work full time.

Analysis conducted by Endsleigh found that the arts and humanities students were more likely to have a job during term in comparison to the students which took science subjects and that females were more likely to say that they were working.

The figure has shown that nine out of ten working students are spending up to 20 hours a week working in 2013 – compared to just over half (58 per cent) spending 11 hours a week or more earning extra cash in 2012. This suggests that with ongoing economic uncertainty and living costs higher than ever before, students are bearing greater responsibility for their own maintenance whilst at university.

The research also discovered that the top source of funding for students was a loan (67%) while more than half the students in the survey required some form of financial contribution from their parents (52%). 37% of students are using savings to help support themselves throughout the duration of their studies.

There are a variety of reasons for students working during the duration of their studies. To obtain additional money to socialising (58%), paying accommodation bills (55%) and to gain vital work experience – which is becoming increasingly important as more graduate jobs require a previous insight into the industry.

A number of practical students (38%) say they are saving for the future and 35% are saving to avoid being in debt.More conscious of their future career prospects than ever, over half (56 per cent) of students across the UK are confident they will find a job having completed their course, and use part-time work to gain work experience (59 per cent) and improve their CV – hoping that this will make them more attractive to employers.

Milan Lakhani, 2^nd year Maths and Stats student, remarked:

“I believe 59% of students working is from a national point of view a drastically high figure. In terms of academia we are falling behind our competitors because students have less time to focus on their studies. We should aim to gradually reduce these figures by aiming to reduce the financial pressure off students by offering further grants for students who work as unpaid interns to further career advancement and those from disadvantaged backgrounds.”