The 'W' word... Work!

The first thoughts that come into your mind when you get accepted at UEL: new course, new friends, partying! Sounds great, doesn’t it? But then the realisation hits… How are you going to pay for all of this?

Most of us are fortunate (well, depends how you see it) to receive student loans, but only living on that one lump sum for three months is hard! However good or bad you are with your money, everybody agrees that it’s not enough. This is where the ‘W’ word comes into play: 'work'...

As a fresher, the prospect of employment doesn’t seem appealing, but there will come a point, if it hasn't come yet, when you realise you can't rely on the parents forever. So, where should you look? There are always jobs advertised at the university, so make sure you are in close connection with the Employability and Enterprise team (and that you check out the Announcements/Opportunities section on your universe).

From experience: you are most likely getting short-term, Christmas or just simply temporary contacts. They will give you that extra income for that holiday you want to go on or merely the money you need to survive living in expensive London, so it definitely has a positive side!

Once settled in a job, you will learn time management and commitment skills that actually benefit your university work. Working means you have to commit yourself to certain times of the week where you have to study – otherwise it just doesn’t get done.

With all of this in mind, hopefully this will encourage you and reassure you that you can indeed both work and study (basically, you need to!) and it does have one huge benefit: the M word... 'Money'!