Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Higher education

Talk to other parents whose children are preparing for university on our Higher Education forum.

Flip

1 2

Original poster

Feasible to work 20 hours per week?

44 replies

Meowmaids1 · 27/11/2021 09:05

Is it feasible to work 20h per week while studying a full time undergraduate degree? The working days do not clash with lectures etc, I am just trying to work out if it is doable if I am very organised with my workload. It’s in an area of work which would help me get a graduate job. Tia

OP posts:

NoNotHimTheOtherOne · 27/11/2021 11:28

I've certainly known students who have done it. However, you need to be aware that:

(a) you are expected to spend around 30-40 hours a week studying; attending lectures will account for a minority of the time you should be spending on your course

(b) there may be additional activities you are expected to engage with that require you to work synchronously with other students; you might not know before the course starts when these will be scheduled

(c) the workload will be uneven through the year: there will be weeks when you don't have a lot that needs to be done and other weeks where you have several things to finish

Most (not all) undergraduate courses are still designed on the asumption that all students are school-leavers able to attend as and when needed 08:00-19:00 Monday to Friday. This is beginning to change, and Covid gave it a bit of a kick-start, but it doesn't seem to be moving very quickly. Also, everything that comes out of government about expectations on universities is based on an assumption of all students' having come straight from school.

RampantIvy · 27/11/2021 11:33

Pretty much what @NoNotHimTheOtherOne has said. It also depends on the course. STEM degrees are pretty full on with lectures, seminars, presentations, group work and lab practicals.

Last winter DD found that she would get 5 lectures one week, then 27 the next. She is meticulous about writing up lecture notes as well, so it is very time consuming.

Blogdog · 27/11/2021 11:51

Do you have any other commitments or constraints on your time OP eg children? I contemplated doing the same but wasn’t sure if it would be possible without adding unmanageable levels of stress.

To test whether it might be doable I signed up to take two modules in a semester at a university close to me which offers ‘open learning’ - it allows you to take individual modules in various courses and attend lectures, do exams etc for a credit which can be just for your own interest or work towards entry to degree courses down the line.

I found the lectures and study requirements for two modules were manageable around my work and family commitments for the most part (until Covid hit and home schooling threw a spanner in the works!). However I did choose a course with a low lecture/tutorial requirement.

Most undergrad degree courses there required students to take 6 modules a semester. I might - just about - have been able to balance it with work (but most of my free time would have been spent in the library or studying), but there was no way I could have done degree + work + family. Maybe in a few years when they are older.

newstart1234 · 27/11/2021 11:57

If you have no other commitments and it’s not practical or lab based then yes. For the first and second year. After that probably not if you want to get the most from your studies. You get out what you put in ime and it’s worth investing time if you can afford it.

AmigoingcrZy · 27/11/2021 11:58

Hi, I did a STEM degree and graduated in 2016. I worked part time in various bars the whole 3 years just weekends and used annual leave around exam times to avoid work. I'd do anything from 10-16 hours a week and would sometimes pick up extra weekday shifts during half term/easter holidays /reading weeks etc. I couldn't have done 20 hours a week every week but a part time job is 100% doable if you manage your time well. Lots of employers are also quite flexible when it's because of education, I had very understanding managers.

ErrolTheDragon · 27/11/2021 17:00

My DD finished a STEM degree this summer. No way would she have had time for a job in termtime or the Xmas/Easter vacs (she did work for most of all the summer vacs). Since starting full time work - with a commute - she's finding she's got significantly more free time than she had while she was a student.

Some degrees really are full time; tbh I think any which aren't are short-changing their students.

RampantIvy · 27/11/2021 20:14

Some degrees really are full time; tbh I think any which aren't are short-changing their students.

I agree, and I can see why some people think that some degrees are "easier" than others. One of DD's friends is studying chemical engineering, and she is at university 9 - 5, then staying late at the library. Her friend has no time for a paid job as well.

jayritchie · 28/11/2021 21:58

Hi OP - what would you be studying? The level of intensity and time flexibility varies hugely between courses.

YerAWizardHarry · 28/11/2021 22:00

I did it for the first three years of my four year teaching degree. Looking back it was horrendous (especially during placement) but I had a small child and needed to pay the bills…

NoHeavenNoMore · 28/11/2021 22:07

Yea. I did it and then flexed up to 40 hours during holidays... when your student loan doesn't cover your rent, you kind of have to I still managed to have a social life and time to study, I graduated with a 2:1 so it worked for me!

RampantIvy · 28/11/2021 23:01

What degree did you do @NoHeavenNoMore?

Kite22 · 28/11/2021 23:09

If you are young and energetic with no dc to look after, then yes, it is feasible.
My youngest is at university now, between my dc, and their partners and house mates etc, it was pretty unusual to not work at all, and plenty did shifts totally 20 or more hours.

There are 168 hours in a week. If you sleep 8 hours a night, that leaves you 112 hours.
Yes, you have to shower, shop, cook, eat, but that should still leave plenty of hours for directed study, self-directed study, paid work and relaxation, even including traveling from one place to another etc.

bluetowers · 28/11/2021 23:52

Yes. There are 14 waking hours in any one day... nearly 100 in a given week. Take off 3 -4 hours a day for eating / getting ready etc.
If you take off 4 hours a day, it's still 7x 10 hour days. Take off 2 hours more for travel it's still 50 hours.. but people study on the bus / train.
You've easily got 40 hours study time

Comefromaway · 28/11/2021 23:56

My daughter works between 22-25 hours per week.

She’s in Uni Mon-Thursday 9.30-5.30 plus one hour tutorial every other Friday

Then she works Tuesday, Thursday & Friday evenings, Saturdays & half day Sunday.

jayritchie · 29/11/2021 00:36

@comefromaway - which course does your daughter take? I think this makes a huge difference.

amber763 · 29/11/2021 00:39

I did until my 4th year then it was too much. Good luck with ur studies

RampantIvy · 29/11/2021 06:54

@Comefromaway

My daughter works between 22-25 hours per week.

She’s in Uni Mon-Thursday 9.30-5.30 plus one hour tutorial every other Friday

Then she works Tuesday, Thursday & Friday evenings, Saturdays & half day Sunday.

And when does she find time to self study? DD spends a lot of her free time rewriting her lecture notes so that she can understand them. It isn't just a case of sitting through a lecture and being able to commit it to memory. She needs to go over every lecture.

Then there is set work, seminars, presentations and lab work to prepare and write up.

I proof read a 2,000 word cancer biology essay yesterday for her and the detail that she has to go into takes my breath away.

Comefromaway · 29/11/2021 09:33

She is studying Musical Theatre. It is a course with very high contact hours (30 hours per week of face to face classes). She has Monday evenings, Wednesday evenings and Friday daytimes to study/practise. She also has Saturday and Sunday mornings and Sunday evenings but tends to use those times to shop & socialise.

RampantIvy · 29/11/2021 09:48

She has Monday evenings, Wednesday evenings and Friday daytimes to study/practise

That wouldn't provide enough self study hours for DD's biomed course.

Comefromaway · 29/11/2021 13:33

What are your dd's contact hours?

RampantIvy · 29/11/2021 13:50

Pretty much most of the day every day. She also suffers from CFS.

Comefromaway · 29/11/2021 13:59

Some (often medical and performing arts courses) are more intense but the majority of undergraduate degrees are approx 12-15 contact hours per week.

Even allowing for study that is plenty of time for a part time job.

RampantIvy · 29/11/2021 14:03

As ststed in my previous post, DD also has CFS and simply doesn't have the stamina to work on top of a very intense course.

Just because your DD is capable doesn't mean that everyone is

Comefromaway · 29/11/2021 14:06

I'm assuming that the OP would have said if they had any similar limitations.

Comefromaway · 29/11/2021 14:08

And not that it's relevant but my dd HAS to work. She is not entitled to Student Finance so I pay her tuition and her rent. I cannot afford to pay her living costs on top.

Flip

1 2