Balancing uni and casual work (1 Viewer)

[krayziekarnevil]

Most of my time is spent with my gf. And to an extent my work is a form of socialising....

 

[fatmuscle]

eh, it's 1st yr uni

work 40+hrs and do full-time uni.

u only get like 3-hrs of sleep a night, but oh well.

 

[hipsta_jess]

Originally posted by Tenax Propositi
How many hours a week of casual work do you think is suitable to balance with uni if you are doing a double degree, one of which is Law.

i heard that many professors class a full-time degree as equivalent to a full-time job (by the time you take in contact hours, independant study, etc)
so...that just shows the amount of dedication to our education they expect from us

 

[copious]

i think it is highly advisable that uni students have atleast a casual job, unless your parents are willing to give you money every week. The financial burden of uni can get demanding at times, though being a cheapskate works.

 

[Ribbon]

You cannot expect a studenmt to give up thier youth allowence and support themselevs by working... to get the equivilent, which is, by the way, not enough, at $10 an hour thats 20 hours a week. Ontop of 16 contact hours (which is what I have) + anouther 16 ('for every contact hour students should do another at home) and thats a 52 hour week. If you think you can keep that up and still get good marks, fine, go ahead! And as for people not wanting to work past the $237 threshold... think of it as every hour they work over that threshold, they are getting paid 1/2 of thier normal wage (because centrelink takes 50c out of every dollar over the threshold). Would you work, ontop of a packed out study shcedule (assuming yopu were trying to get good marks) for $5 per hour?

I worked all throughout the HSC. I am also doing commerce/law and based on the idea it is the same amount of work as the HSC I wouldn't go over 15 hours per week if you want to stay sane, and have an hour or two here and there to vege out, or you want a social life of some description... Keep in mind also, that ceertain jobs like manual types (supermarkets, labourer ect.) take alot out of you, and you cannot expect to have enough energy to concentrate on study afterwards. Office/admin jobs you could probably work a few more hours because they take less out of you...

I would reccomend starting around 10 -12 hours a week and working more or less, depending on how much you feel you can handle.

 

[Pearl]

Hey fatmuscle, do u work at Coles Hornsby?

 

[iambored]

Originally posted by Ribbon
You cannot expect a studenmt to give up thier youth allowence and support themselevs by working... to get the equivilent.

it's a waste of study time, of effort, of everything. i agree.

 

[Generator]

If you want to continue living in your little fantasy world then I am not going to stop you, but at some stage you will have to realise that you are entering the adult world and much more is expected of you, one such thing being that you are responsible for yourself. Thousands manage to work and study (the average number of hours worked per week per student is 16), so why should a number of you be any different?

 

[SoCal]

Originally posted by krayziekarnevil
I am doing law/commerce 18 hours a week.
I am working
Wednesday 9pm-1;30am
Friday 9pm-5am
Saturday 10pm-5am

So about 20hour per week part time work.

Hopefully it will go ok... it worked fine for the hsc ;o

edit: and i think i will soon be working thursday nights aswell

Originally posted by *~Dazed~*
shit dude you arent going to have a life at all... friday and saturday nights! i was complaining about having to work fris and saturdays finishing at around 10... at least ill have thew rest of the night/morning but fuck you wont be able to do shit all... i feel for you...

Not only that, but he is going to be absolutely stuffed for University the next day!

 

[SoCal]

Originally posted by fatmuscle
eh, it's 1st yr uni

work 40+hrs and do full-time uni.

u only get like 3-hrs of sleep a night, but oh well.

Even though it is only first year University, I believe that if I started on a bad note (i.e. not putting in the required effort) I would find it very hard to start the following year. I want to get into a good habit from the beginning. The hardest part is going to be kicking the habit of following all those television shows I started watching in the holidays.

 

[SoCal]

Originally posted by hipsta_jess
i heard that many professors class a full-time degree as equivalent to a full-time job (by the time you take in contact hours, independant study, etc)
so...that just shows the amount of dedication to our education they expect from us

I have heard that too (maybe the same talk).

 

[SoCal]

Originally posted by copious
i think it is highly advisable that uni students have atleast a casual job, unless your parents are willing to give you money every week. The financial burden of uni can get demanding at times, though being a cheapskate works.

Even that doesn't even work, considering a night out costs at least $50.

 

[golfstick]

Originally posted by natstar
but the only thing my parents are paying for is half my HECS, i have to deal with the rest myself.

That's quite good, my HECS debt will be around $35,000, about $50,000 if I transfer next year (HECS goes up).

 

[krayziekarnevil]

Originally posted by Merethrond
Not only that, but he is going to be absolutely stuffed for University the next day!

No i have it set up so that i wont be
Like, on thursday i go to uni only in the afternoon so that i can sleep during the day

Anyways, the point of working is not just for money/selfsatisfaction... its for future employment opportunities.

If you have lived on youth allowance your whole life and never even applied for a job... do u think that u will get the job over someone who has worked for the past 6years, and has the same qualification as you?!

yeh... thats right...

 

[Ribbon]

Originally posted by Generator
If you want to continue living in your little fantasy world then I am not going to stop you, but at some stage you will have to realise that you are entering the adult world and much more is expected of you, one such thing being that you are responsible for yourself. Thousands manage to work and study (the average number of hours worked per week per student is 16), so why should a number of you be any different?

I am not the one living in a 'fantasy world' I have been in the so called adult world, and have been responsible for myself for over 2 years. How long have you been here to justify the opinion you have? Yes thousands manage to work and study, you said yourself the average is 16 hours per week. 16 hours per week is very manageble. If you wanted to live on more than just the bare essentials you would have to work many, maany more hours than 16. On av student wage of about $12 p/h. At 16 hours p/w thats $192 p/w. Lets break it down (keep in mind I am being frugal here, as we poor students must be):

Rent: Av about $125
Electircity: $5
Phone: $5
Mobile $5
Bus to and from uni (no one can afford a car on $192 per week! If student is in walking distance to uni this cost + more will be added onto rent): $7.50
Food: $40

thats $192.50 all up on very bare nessesities. And thats if your lucky enough to get $12 an hour, as coles ect. only pays around 10, in which case you are into -$$. Where does the money for textbooks, clothes, nights out come from? Sure you can work more hours but why should you have to, when you can get youth allowence and concentrate on your study, and actually get 8 hours sleep a night...

and don't think that youth allowence is taking from other taxpayers. It is logical to assume that the more time a student studies, the higher thier marks are. The higher a students marks are, the quicker they will get full time employment after finishing uni, and with that comes promotions, higher salaries ect.

With higher salaries come higher tax. And so the student on youth allowence can give something back to the other taxpayers.

oh and I just want to point of the thousands of students you mentioned that manage work and study 90% of them will have another source of income eg. parents youth allowence, scholarship ect. and will work to supplement thier income, not as the sole source of it!

 

[Generator]

1. Coles seems to pay me around $16 an hour... perhaps they made a mistake?
2. You are not helping your case by claiming that we can collect youth allowance to help fund our lives, because the greater proportion of the student body cannot.
3. My parents only provide a roof and food (which saves quite a bit, but is far from another source of income), so I cannot see how my working is a mere 'supplement' to what my mum and dad provide, and a I am sure that many others are in the same boat.
4. I did not say that youth allowance was taking something away from other tax payers...

Originally posted by Generator

Youth Allowance... I agree with Ms 12's position, although I cannot see a problem with any student taking what they need, especially when their mum and dad have been tax payers for however many years... I would never accept it, though.

 

[Ribbon]

Originally posted by Generator
1. Coles seems to pay me around $16 an hour... perhaps they made a mistake?
2. You are not helping your case by claiming that we can collect youth allowance to help fund our lives, because the greater proportion of the student body cannot.
3. My parents only provide a roof and food (which saves quite a bit, but is far from another source of income), so I cannot see how my working is a mere 'supplement' to what my mum and dad provide, and a I am sure that many others are in the same boat.
4. I did not say that youth allowance was taking something away from other tax payers...

1. Perhaps they have made a mistaake. My housemate works at coles and the adult, non supervisory rate there is $14 and something cents. I will ask her for the exact when she comes home.
2. I never implied in anyway that anyone can recieve youth allowence. If you ever look in the youth allowence thread in this section of the forum you will see that I am quite well versed in the subject. Besides, the subject of eligibility is not relevant to the context of the argument, and so I assume your post about now being in the 'adult world' refers to those who are eligable forgoing thier combination of youth allowence and work, for just work, to gain the same amount of income. I think this is a fair assumption.
3. I had to laugh at this. You say we all need to come into the adult world and be responsible for ourselves, but you live with your parents, rent free, and they pay for all your food, (I am assuming bills like electicity and house phone as well). How exactly are you in the adult world? All you have to manage is your spending money!
4. You agreed with Ms 12 who said recieving youth allowence was taking her hard earned taxes.

 

[Generator]

1. If this helps, I am 20 and a casual with set shifts (when asking your friend about the pay rates), although I do know that I am capable of reading what has been printed on my payslip.
2. I was talking about people taking responsibility for their own actions (one such thing), and by that I meant that they should work to earn what they get and not expect their parents to pay for everything. You were the one who linked students working and youth allowance: 'You cannot expect a studenmt to give up thier youth allowence and support themselevs by working...'. Perhaps it was a personal example, but from that line it did seem like a general comment on the student body. Sorry if that was not what you implied, but I was not considering youth allowance alongside parental help.
3. Laugh all you want. My real world comment was aimed at those saying that they would not sacrifice their 'study time' in order to work and strive to provide for themselves. Besides, would I be correct in saying that health, clothing, travel, lunch, and uni expenses, along with my 'spending money', count for nothing in your world?
4. I agreed with the point that people who suck the system dry (not Ms 12's term, but eh) are pathetic.


Edit: I doubt that we will reach a common view with regards to point 3, point 1 is useless, point 4 is a misunderstanding of sorts, and point 2 seems to be revolving around justifications for what we have assumed.

 

[sei]

Originally posted by natstar
Yeah i was wondering that too. I wana get a job for some extra cash, but i cant earn more than $237 a fortnight or my YA money will go down.

it does sound like you're 'sucking the system dry'. Think about it - you are already making $237 per week, and can make more (but heaven forbid, that may take away some of your Centrelink money). If you have the time to go to uni, work enough hours to make that kinda money, AND get centrelink, AND your parents are paying half of HECS you are very, very privileged.

Originally posted by iambored
if you can get money, there is no point working extra hours to make the same or less of what YA would give you if you didn't work. because it just takes away study time.

yeh, if you don't care about sucking the system dry, iambored. A lot of uni students work, and don't receive YA. What makes you think that you should just live off YA so it gives you 'more study time' when others have to work to get the same amount as you when they move out, just cos their parents are over the threshold? What you said was a really naive.

Originally posted by natstar
I am in genuine need, my parents are not paying a cent for me except half my HECS, so i do need the money. Even with the $350 max u can get per fortnight, i have to pay $200 rent per fornight, which only leaves me $150 for everything else per fortnight. So id be struggling still. Its ok for most ppl here cuz it seems nearly everyone is in the Sydney area which is ok cuz theres heaps of uni's in Syd, so u's dont have to move outa home, ur parents can still look after u, cook for u, wash ur clothes etc etc etc. I understand that it comes outa tax payers money, but i pay my taxes (nearly $3,000 so far since i started working), and there are lots and lots of ppl out there bludging money off the goverment and cheating the system and doing nothing. I only want to go to uni, not my fault theres none near where i live. Even the closest-Newcastle-if i went there (which i was hoping too) i would still have to get the YA.

Yes you are in genuine need
With $350 centrelink per fortnight, and your rent being $200 per fortnight (sounds like you decided to get a nice place too, since you get somewhere decent for that in/around the city for UNSW/USyd, you must have a very nice joint, or one that's ripping you off), what do you mean it 'only leaves you withe $150 for everything else? I know families of 4 who survive with a bit under $150/fortnight for travel and food expenses - what the hell do you need that much money for that makes you have a 'genuine need' that everyone else doesn't have (most people would be happy for getting $150 per fortnight for doing bugger all, it's more than enough for meals etc). Let alone the fact that your parents are paying half your hecs (they can't be too hard off, most ppl I know with parents over the threshold aren't paying them a cent), and that you are still allowed to make another $237 per week ($474 a fortnight!!), without docking your centrelink.

 

[Ribbon]

Originally posted by Generator
1. If this helps, I am 20 and a casual with set shifts (when asking your friend about the pay rates), although I do know that I am capable of reading what has been printed on my payslip.
2. I was talking about people taking responsibility for their own actions (one such thing), and by that I meant that they should work to earn what they get and not expect their parents to pay for everything. You were the one who linked students working and youth allowance: 'You cannot expect a studenmt to give up thier youth allowence and support themselevs by working...'. Perhaps it was a personal example, but from that line it did seem like a general comment on the student body. Sorry if that was not what you implied, but I was not considering youth allowance alongside parental help.
3. Laugh all you want. My real world comment was aimed at those saying that they would not sacrifice their 'study time' in order to work and strive to provide for themselves. Besides, would I be correct in saying that health, clothing, travel, lunch, and uni expenses, along with my 'spending money', count for nothing in your world?
4. I agreed with the point that people who suck the system dry (not Ms 12's term, but eh) are pathetic.


Edit: I doubt that we will reach a common view with regards to point 3, point 1 is useless, point 4 is a misunderstanding of sorts, and point 2 seems to be revolving around justifications for what we have assumed.

Ok I agree point one is useless. You didn't get where I was coming from on point 2, so that is, like point 4, a misunderstanding... I thought you were saying people relying on YA needed to take responsibility for themselves, not people relying on thier parents.

I don't get though, how you can bag out people why rely on thier parents, when you yourself are relying on them, admittedly not for everything, but for rent, food, electricity, home phone ect. which is 3/4 of your expenses... I think it is irrelevant that you pay for your own uni fees, books, travel ect. ect. because this would amount to, I am guessing around $2000 a year (excluding hecs, because very rarely do peoples parents pay that anyway) when the free rent/ food you are getting is (again a very rough guess here) worth around $10 - 15k a year. In my books, you are still relying on your parents to get you through (though I have never said there was anything wrong with that).

There really is no difference between you and me except that centrelink provides me with the cash for those essential expenses, where your parents provide for you...

Edit: I would consider clothing, travel and lunch to be in the category of spending money. Health no, but that is what medcare is for. Travel is only a huge expense if you have a car, and I consider a car to be a luxury that goes with spending money, because poor people catch the bus!