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Summer is supposed to be everybody’s big break. You’ve worked tirelessly for the first half of the year and you’re more than ready for a little break. But what happens when you don’t get that much needed summer break?
People in education, especially at university, find it incredibly hard to get the time off that they deserve. They get a 4 month summer but are still tirelessly working. Instead of writing essays they work at other meaningless jobs that pay minimum wage. Whether they stay at University or go home for the summer it’s only the very lucky few that don’t have to work 25 plus hours a week to support themselves.
So why do they do it? In my case it’s to continue supporting myself while I pursue journalism. I didn’t want to leave the life I had in London and all the opportunities it brings with it to retire back to my life in a town the size of a pin head. So I moved into a house with three of my friends which cost me over a grand straight off the bat, and nearly £600 in rent without even the mention of bills included in that sum. With my student loan barely stretching to accommodate the set up fees for moving house, and my overdraft quickly disappearing before my eyes on food shopping and travel I quickly came down from the high of London life and back to reality. I had to get a job if I wanted to continue my life in the city.
Now I work as a waitress full time at a restaurant that opens at 9 in the morning and doesn’t close until 10 at night (11 on the weekends). This means I could be waking up at 7 in the morning and not returning home until midnight. The wage is minimal (£6.95 an hour) and I’m lucky enough to work somewhere that adds gratuity to the end of all bills- that I get 1% of. It’s not a lot but it does mean I can earn between £700 and £1000 a month to cover rent and the cost of food. You may say that it’s my own fault for wanting to stay in London over the summer. And it completely is. I could have returned home and picked up my part-time job at the cinema and not had to pay for rent or food. But I also would’ve had no opportunities for journalistic growth, no opportunities to make contacts, and quite frankly I would’ve been bored.
My situation is what millions of students across the country experience. Some have gone home and have had to work equally as tirelessly to afford the rent on a house they will move into, whereas some students have already moved in and are working tirelessly to maintain enough money for the rent. Whatever the circumstance there is no escaping the pressure put on us to earn. My question is how is this fair? We are trying to better ourselves by becoming more educated and moving beyond our boundaries and yet we are receiving no reward. The housing prices are only going to continue rising, causing difficulties for students and home owners alike.
With university starting back up at the end of this month I wonder how we will deal with assignments that will help our futures, while working part-time in dead end jobs that will pay our rent. I am lucky enough to have a student loan big enough to financially support me in paying my rent, but others aren’t so lucky. And to them I wish you the best of luck.
Comment below you’re part time jobs, and how you financially support yourself at uni.