Working while studying (SSU)

Student roles at Solent (e.g. RESO, Student Ambassador Scheme, Unibuddy live chat at Solent university)

If you just want some extra cash to fund your social life, I would highly recommend going for a job role with the university! Yeah, the university employs students for roles! There are so money different ones up for grabs as well.

Student Ambassador - This role includes taking part in University open days , setting up for them and representing the university on interview days. (This role you pick and choose when you would like to work)

Unibuddy Ambassador – This role includes responding to prospectus students on questions about the university or student life. You get paid per message you write depending on how long that message is and how much research you had to do to respond. There is also an opportunity to write blogs for the university and be paid for however long it took for you to write them. (This role you need to respond to messages within 48 hours, you will have an app on your phone that works like any other texting service and can access on your laptop as well. If you need a break all you need to do is ask your supervisor and they shall remove you from the unibuddy page for a brief moment of time until you feel you can go back to work)

Bonjouro Ambassador – This includes going into university to film personalised videos for prospectus students to see if they have any questions to ask about being a student or their application process (This role you pick and choose when you would like to work)

Print room Supervisor – Are you studying anything print based like photography or fashion photography? Theres a role up for grabs in the print room on campus. This job entails being on site for shifts where you will provide photographic paper to students as of when they need it and changing pack drops in the photographic studios. The best thing about this job is if no students need you, you can literally get paid to sit in the print room and do your Uni work while you wait for someone to need you.

Reso – The university has a on-site store called Reso. This store contains work for sale by students or previous students. The lady who owns and runs this store is actually my current lecturer called Lesley. There is an opportunity for you to sell your art or Uni work or perhaps start up a side hustle while at uni. There is also the role of sales assistant in the store and running the media sites.

Part time roles in the city

As Solent university is luckily located 5 minutes’ walk from the city centre, it means the job market is far more opportunist and easier to access if you’re looking for a part time role alongside your studies. All the student accommodations are also within walking distance. There is a range of retail and hospitality opportunities.

With plenty of students coming and going from these roles I would highly recommend looking a month before moving to university and applying two weeks before your move in date. Make sure your retail role fits in around your studies, your primarily at university to get your degree, not to work in whichever job to earn money you choose. Not all booses will respect this so make sure your clear of your intentions and how money hours you are available to work. Most courses will have you rotored in at university for 3 days Maximum, some even less. I would recommend anywhere between 12 to 20 hours as a maximum bare in mind if you are doing a course work based subject to allow yourself enough time to complete your coursework outside your lectures!

There are opportunities to get a whole year-round role or if you just need a little extra cash consider either a summer or Christmas job!

How to balance work and your studies

Biggest advice possible = YOUR UNIVERSITY WORK ALWAYS COMES BEFORE YOUR OUTSIDE JOB

You came to university to study, that’s your main aim. If your work becomes to much on top of your studies speak to your boss about reducing your hours or becoming available to cover illness or work overtime. I’m aware sometimes you need the money but as long as your sensible at the start and don’t keep splashing £100 on nights out a week or diving into your rent money you should be fine.  

If you are worried about money I would recommend going for a role with the university as these are far more flexible than retail and hospitality as you get to choose if you would like to work or not.

Your top tips for students wanting to work whilst studying

Every student’s situation is different. Your financial situation can all depend on a multitude of factors. These include;

1.      How much student loan you receive (Not everyone is eligible for the maximum amount) Your student loan is based of your parents’ earnings so if they both have a good wage don’t bet on it being the full amount

2.      How much your parents can/will help you

3.      Have you saved up before coming to university with a summer job

This can really factor in if you will need to work alongside your studies or not. There are very few students that I know of that don’t work alongside their studies.

My personal experience

I unfortunately didn’t get to work until my final year of my Bachelor’s degree as I struggled to find a job in my first year. Sometimes there can be quite a stigma in retail and hospitality that first years are unreliable due to the clubbing and partying part of their first year, please note this doesn’t include all employers it’s just what I found looking in my first year.

I unfortunately was unable to receive the full maintenance loan as my dad had cashed in on his pension for a family holiday to America for two weeks In the year they based my loan off, so the UK government thought we were rich. This also meant I was down about £2000 for my rent which I was very lucky that my parents agreed to pay the outstanding amount for under one condition. I was expected to get a job within 3 months of starting university, after then they would no longer finance me. I never felt that struggle as covid cut my first year short and went home anyway. My parents very kindly sent me £25 one week and then £35 the second working in cycles. This taught me so much about budgeting.

At the end of my second year moving into summer I found a part time retail job in the smaller mall the Marlends working as a sales assistant in retail. Over the summer I was free to work whenever so piled on the money and hours with the promise from my boss that when university started back up again, she would reduce my hours. Unfortunately, I found my boss only partially kept that promise.

She stuck to my Uni timetable days I couldn’t work but lord forbid I wanted one weekend of or a single day for a doctor’s appointment or to visit friends and family back home. The less available or flexible I was to work the less my employer would do to help me out or give me time off. I would work hard sometimes placing that job above university, running straight from lectures to cover illness or staying extra hours on the regular. I was on a 12-hour contract but in reality, I worked between 18 to 25. I honestly believe I would have received higher grades had I stuck to the 12 hours. I was under the false reality that if I did all these extra things id get something back in return or my boss will be nicer (I learned very quickly this is not always the case).

This is just my personal experience and if you’ve worked in retail before you will know its very luck of the draw if you find a place with a really nice understanding and flexible boss, they are achievable I promise, this one just wasn’t.

For my MA I again struggled for the first few months as I had kind of missed the boat. There are certain times of the year where jobs are abundance and certain times where indeed looks like the Sahara Desert. However, for most my time I have been a Student Ambassador, Unibuddy Ambassador, Bonjouro Ambassador and I work part time as an escape room host. DO NOT PANICK, YOU SHOULDN’T NEED THIS MANEY ROLES/ JOBS. This is my personal choice. I applied for every role under the sun when I came to university and found that for the first two months my income wasn’t enough from the university as open days are not often, I was not campus tour trained and Bonjouro did not start until January.

My job as an escape room host is excellent alongside university. The way it works is when I’m rotorord in I only have to go in if there is a game booked, meaning if there isn’t one booked, MORE TIME TO DO UNI WORK OR SOCIALISE! Also depending on the game, I run I just sit there and watch people to make sure they don’t do anything stupid, I often take my laptop in with me or a book to study while working so I can do Uni work at the same time as work. Lots of pros but also lots of cons.

The downside to this job is I could be in Monday from 11 to 4 however if there’s no games booked, I don’t get paid so hours re not guaranteed. This is why I have my Uni roles as well to make sure I have enough to sustain myself. The other issue is half terms and bank holidays, at the moment I average a good 12 hours a week which is perfect, during half term weeks I average about 30 which is great money wise, not great study time wise.

At the moment I am receiving a few issues with this job as well which is not just applicable to this job but im also sure other people out there in a multitude of roles have had issues with as well. When I first started, I got two weeks rotors in advance, now my poor boss bosses are refusing to pay them hours properly with a ridiculous amount of added pressure on them meaning I don’t get my rotas for Monday until Sunday night at about 9 pr 10PM. INSAIGNLY SHORT NMOTICE one week I got it at 9am Monday morning two hours before I was then due in.

I Guess all I can say is Welcome to the world of work!

Solent Future – reference the career guidance service and support available (e.g. CV proof reading)

At Solent we are very lucky to also have our Solent Futures and Solent creatives department. Solent futures provides plenty of career advice such as career advice appointments with a professional either in 20-minute slots or 45 either on line or in person. I myself had one of these and found it extremely helpful in finding out what d=to do after university. They also provide other services such as Mock interviews so you can practise and get feedback on what you need to do when going for professional interviews with companies. You can use this for aid in part time work / placements or post graduate careers.

Solent futures is also online and fully accessible. Full list of services (FOR FREE) :

1.      Interactive tools

2.      eLearning content - both Entrepreneurial and career skills provided directly from hiring managers and expert career managers

3.      list of latest job opportunities / job search engine

4.      business plans

5.      CV creation and design

A good part of the Solent creatives sweet is a chance to get some work experience in. Solent creatives works alongside companies to provide both paid and non-paid work experience to students at the university to add to your professional portfolio.