Feasible to work 20 hours per week?

[Meowmaids1]

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

That puts a different slant on things. If we couldn't afford to support DD she would just not have not gone to university.

@RampantIvy - I think we can presume if the OP had a condition that made it difficult for her to work, then she would have mentioned that as an important factor.
The question wasn't "Should every student do X hours paid work a week?" the question was "Is it feasible?", and, for the overwhelming majority of students, it is, if that is what they want (or need) to do.

Yes, as a rule, arts courses tend to have less contact time and more self study, and STEM tend to have more contact time, but there are very few courses where a physically able student isn't able to work, if they are driven to do so.

I just looked at the contact hours for a Biomedical Science degree at a random university (Warwick)

Contact hours for that course are 12-16 hours per week. Roughly half of my daughter's contact hours (30 hours per week). It equates to approx 2 full days or 4 half days per week.

So, assuming a student is fit and healthy that leaves plenty of time for independent study/essays/reading etc etc plus a part time job.

I know nothing about Musical Theatre (other than that I really enjoy watching it ), but Comefromaway I think you are misunderstanding the time required re. biomedical science – that's 12-16 hours a week of lectures; biomed students are also in the labs 2-4 days a week. So maybe 20 hours a week in the lab, plus 12-16 of lectures, plus time for self-study/writing essays. That's around 40 hours a week, which is a regular working week for many people. A further 20 hours of paid work would equate to 60 hours a week. I for one don't think we should be encouraging our 18-year-olds to be working 60-hour weeks…

Lab work needs preparation and then writing up afterwards as well. Lectures are delivered at a fast pace so notes from them all need to be written up again so that the student can understand them. The last assessment involved reading, understanding and annotating a 30 page pubmed document before being examined on it.

Anyone who has tried to read any pubmed publications will understand where I am coming from

I do know that performing arts degrees have a lot of contact hours as DD has friends doing them, but the amount of self study is nothing like the amount DD and her peers have to do.

......and that is very doable Thing47, when you consider how many hours there are in a week.

The question isn't whether we think we should be encouraging 18 yr olds to do it the OP asked if it were possible to fit it all in, and the answer is of course it is for most, whilst accepting there will be individual circumstances for a few that won't be able to.

I worked 20-25 hours a week when doing my undergraduate degree as well as my masters. Shifts never clashed. I got round this by doing early shifts - think 6-10am or 6-12pm.

I wasn't wasting my time as normally I'd be asleep or lounging about anyway so it just meant that I had to wake up earlier rather than eating up other parts of my day.

@Kite22

......and that is very doable Thing47, when you consider how many hours there are in a week.

The question isn't whether we think we should be encouraging 18 yr olds to do it the OP asked if it were possible to fit it all in, and the answer is of course it is for most, whilst accepting there will be individual circumstances for a few that won't be able to.

I was actually replying to Comefromaway as I thought possibly she had misunderstood the nature of contact hours re. biomed, where there is a lot of time spent in the lab. I should imagine a number of medical and science courses are the same.

Lots of things in life are feasible but nevertheless may be ill-advised. Pretty sure I'm allowed to offer an opinion on anything I want, whether it is a direct answer to the question in the OP or not.

@RampantIvy

What degree did you do *@NoHeavenNoMore*?

Sorry for the delay, I studied English Language and Literature

but the majority of undergraduate degrees are approx 12-15 contact hours per week.

When we develop modules, we plan around 2-3 hours of preparation and independent study for each hour of teaching contact.

So 12-15 contact hours means a workload of around 36 to 48 hours a week. Full time study is just that - a 40 to 45 hour working week.

That sounds more like the work level that DD has @KaycePollard.

@NoHeavenNoMore

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!

I did this too.

I studied psychology bsc at non oxbridge top 10 uni

I had 8-18 timetabled hours per term.
In my final year I was doing about 30 hours per week in term time as fees went up.
I didn't have a huge amount of choice so just got on with it. Still managed to go clubbing 3 nights a week too 🤷‍♀️

DD1 worked her first 2 terms of a dairy farm, starting at 6am, she worked 2 shorter days and chose mostly afternoon scheduled modules, to fit the job in, however couldn't fit the 3rd term around the cows so started riding /schooling horses at double the rate of pay, being self employed meant she was far more flexible, and could work far less hours than before.

@KaycePollard

but the majority of undergraduate degrees are approx 12-15 contact hours per week.

When we develop modules, we plan around 2-3 hours of preparation and independent study for each hour of teaching contact.

So 12-15 contact hours means a workload of around 36 to 48 hours a week. Full time study is just that - a 40 to 45 hour working week.

I do understand that. My daughter has 30 contact hours per week and is expected to also do preparation and independent study each week. (She has to present something different in class every week.)

Many of her work colleagues are students, they have plenty of time to work and study.

This is beginning to sound like The Four Yorkshiremen now.

I had 60 contact hours a week yet still found time to work full time and go clubbing every night

I agree Rampltvly. Of course it's doable but maybe not feasible as in advisable . I have worked 100 hours in a week (NHS) "doable" but not, I am guessing what OP meant. (Ended up looking up "feasable" possible to do easily or conveniently).
Dc uni advising not to do more than 16 hours.
But OP may be in a different situation. Maybe getting a "paper certificate" in hand more important than getting a good result.

@RampantIvy

This is beginning to sound like The Four Yorkshiremen now.

I had 60 contact hours a week yet still found time to work full time and go clubbing every night

Quite.

If you work a 40/5-hour week and came home one evening and told your DP you were planning to take on a second job consisting of an extra 20 hours a week, would you expect them to say:
a) that sounds like a great idea honey, or
b) are you sure that's a good idea, sounds like it could be a lot to take on?
Doable, yes. Advisable, possibly not…

Of course it's doable but maybe not feasible as in advisable

Yup, this is an important distinction.

I think it's sad that students have to compromise their time studying, or getting involved in all sorts of other activities, in order to work so many hours in a job.

Maybe some students & their families feel that all the extra-curricular activities are fripperies, but IME, these activities will lead to graduate employment opportunities just as much as a degree - or rather, in tandem with a degree. Volunteering, community work, hobbies done seriously, and so on.

20 hours a week is a half-time job. A student is full time ie 40-45 hours a week.

Why compromise this precious chance at a degree? Why compromise your learning?

The OP said that the job is in an area of work that would help her get a graduate job.