Most students studying abroad choose to work while studying. This helps them earn some extra bucks on the side that can help them sustain themselves in a foreign land without any financial responsibilities. If you land a part-time job relevant to the field you are obtaining your degree in, you can add the experience to your resume and gain valuable skills.
What are the student employment rules in Australia?
Obtaining a student visa is crucial for working as a part-time student in Australia. Once your course has started, you can work while studying to a maximum of 48 hours per fortnight (24 hours per week) in part-time or casual employment. If work is a part of your course curriculum (for instance, student placements for course credit), it will not be included within the 48-hour cap. During your semester break and holidays, you can work unlimited hours. If you are doing a master’s course by research work or a PhD, there are no limits on work hours.
What is the difference between part-time and casual employment?
In part-time employment, you will be entitled to all benefits of a full-time employee on a pro-rata basis, such as annual leaves, career leaves, sick leaves, etc. The work will be regular with ongoing hours.
In casual employment, there is greater flexibility to work while studying since there is no regular, ongoing work, and the guaranteed work hours are fewer compared to part-time employment. You will get a higher hourly rate of payment, but you will not be entitled to any benefits like annual leaves, career leaves, sick leaves, etc.
Strategies to maintain work-study balance abroad
While the idea of a part-time job that funds your lifestyle expenses during your education abroad sounds great, it can get overwhelming to manage your work alongside your academics. It is important not to get swayed completely towards working more hours to earn more and end up not achieving your primary goal of moving abroad for education.
Here are some tips to balance your work with your studies without getting overwhelmed:
1. Be on top of your organization and plan the game.
Channel your type A personality and bring out all the colour-coded planners and organizational tools you have. Maintain an everyday to-do list of academic and work responsibilities and allocate sufficient time for both. Create a weekly plan where you schedule both your work time and study time, along with other recreational activities (if you plan any). List all your pending assignments every week so you don’t miss out on any deadlines due to your part-time work. You can even use highlighters and page markers to rank tasks as per priority.
2. Develop better time management skills.
Managing a part-time job with a college degree is no easy task. Be efficient with utilizing your time if you want to balance both. Stick to your schedule and routine, and do not procrastinate on any of your tasks. You can use productivity apps to enable more focused work without any distractions. Remember to not spread yourself too thin and keep some time slots during the day for relaxation to avoid burnout.
3. Set your priorities
Say “no” more often to random plans and impromptu trips if you wish to work while studying. Define your priority tasks (both academic and work-wise) at the beginning of your week and ensure that all the tasks get completed within the week, even if it means sacrificing partying with your friends every weekend. This is not to say that you cannot make any personal plans, but schedule them beforehand, as per the amount of free time you have every week.
4. Work in student-friendly companies
As a student, working in the retail, hospitality or services space is preferable since young candidates apply for companies in these sectors, and so they have more student-friendly policies. Work only for companies that acknowledge that you are still a student and do not expect the availability of full-time staff. You can seamlessly manage your academic commitments with work responsibilities only if you have flexible working hours.
5. Be disciplined and keep finding ways to motivate yourself.
Constantly switching between your job and studies can get tiring, and boring sometimes. You can feel like you are missing out on the frivolity of student life. But always remember why you took the job in the first place to avoid quitting. Think about all the things you can indulge in due to your part-time job and the feeling of self-reliance you get when you do not have to ask for money from your parents frequently, from abroad. If you are working part-time in a sector you aspire to work in the future, do not forget the big competitive edge you will have when you graduate, compared to other students who graduate without any work experience.
6. Take care of your health.
If you do not take care of your health, all your efforts to maintain a work-study balance will go down the drain. Prioritize getting a minimum of 7-8 hours of uninterrupted sleep every night and focus on eating healthy food most of the time. Schedule a workout at least three times a week and walk as many steps as possible every day.
Some popular part-time job opportunities as student
Here are some popular part-time work options you can explore as an international student:
1. Freelancer
Freelancing is a popular part-time work option among students since it allows students to take on projects depending on their availability and offers the highest flexibility in terms of hours. You can learn any high-value skill like copywriting, coding, social media management, video editing, graphic designing, etc, and use LinkedIn, Upwork or Fiverr to find clients who need these services.
2. Tutor
If you are strong in academics and confident about your teaching skills, you can opt for being a tutor. You can market your tutoring services on social media and find individual students to tutor or work for any tutoring institution.
3. Retail job
Students in foreign universities work retail jobs, like clothing stores, grocery stores, bookshops, cosmetics stores, etc. All you have to do is learn to interact with customers and develop your sales skills. You will be provided with on-the-job training that will teach you these skills.
4. Hospitality and food service
This job sector offers flexible working hours, and you can earn up to $1000 per week in Australia in job roles like waitstaff, barista, etc. Working in the hospital sector teaches you soft skills like organization, presentation, maintaining workflow, customer service, etc.
5. Research Assistant
This part-time job is especially beneficial if you are undertaking a research-intensive degree. It can help you polish your academic skills, strong research skills, attention to detail, etc. To land a job in this area, you need to be familiar with all the research tools, methodologies and academic writing. Your job will mainly involve collecting and analyzing data, researching projects, etc. This job role can add to your resume if you can co-author a study or have your name in published journals. You can ask your university professors to refer you to research assistant posts or update you on openings.
6. Administrative assistant
If you are inclined towards managing paperwork, back office work, data entry roles, etc, this role is for you. It teaches you the functioning of a workplace, practical office skills and time management.
7. Event Staff
Working as a part-time event staff will teach you organizational skills along with teamwork, communication and earn you about $15 to $20 per hour in Canada.
8. Delivery agent
If you have a driver’s license, decent driving skills, and knowledge of traffic rules, you can go for this role. All you have to do is use GPS to track accurate delivery locations and deliver within the given time frame.
Some tips to land a gig as a student
Here are some things you can do to land a part-time gig as a student:
- Optimize your LinkedIn profile and add connections relevant to the field in which you are searching for a gig. Declare on your profile that you are open to work and apply for part-time jobs in the “jobs” section.
- Create a profile on job-hunting websites and check the skills potential employers are looking for. Take free courses and workshops to develop those skills.
- Join free job posting groups on social media and attend networking events, local job fairs, etc.
- Send cold emails to hiring managers of companies and apply on their websites. You can find the mail IDs of HRs on their LinkedIn profile or through free mail-hunting apps.
- Explore the work-study programs and seek guidance from your university’s career services. You can reach out to your placement cell for opportunities.
- Work on bettering your interview skills and maintain an optimistic and persuasive approach during your job hunt.
When you work part-time as a student, you not only pave your way towards financial independence but also learn hard and soft skills that prepare you for your career in the long run. All you have to ensure is a good balance of work while studying.