Having a part-time job at university

In the next installment of Living's series on having a part-time job alongside your studies, we hear from our Living Editor, Hope Riley, as she tells us about her job at Bristol's world-famous nightclub, Motion.

There is something on for everyone at Motion: vintage kilo sales in the Marble Factory on a Sunday morning, the cult hit ‘Bingo Lingo’ at 6pm on a weeknight, or, of course, one of the venue’s characteristic all-night dance parties, which are often packed out until the lights are turned on at 6am.

If you asked the average UoB student what springs to mind when they think of Bristol’s iconic warehouse venue, they might come up with something along the lines of: ‘pills, techno and an Uber XL.’ However, when I think about nights spent at Motion, I am reminded of standing out in the cold, cobbled courtyard for hours at a time scanning event tickets, re-stocking the beer fridges and walking (yes, walking) all the way back uphill to my home on St Michael’s Hill in the early hours.

The prospect of giving up your Friday and Saturday nights to scan electronic tickets, or to serve double vodka-Red Bulls to drunken revellers may not appeal to most, but I have quickly been exposed to the wealth of benefits that come with being part of Motion’s diverse workforce.

After spending five days a week with my eyes glued to the ground on Woodland Road to avoid eye contact with people I have on Facebook, it is a welcome break to arrive on shift to the camaraderie of the fifty-strong team of Bristolian bouncers; the smiley, accommodating nature of my friendly female supervisor; and the infectious upbeat positivity of inebriated party-goers. In fact, to my surprise, my experience of dealing with Motion’s clientele has been almost uniformly positive. Apart from one memorable episode with a 5’5 red-headed male about four years my junior (in summary: ‘is she really going to make me show her my f**ing ticket?’), the customer service side of things has been smooth sailing.

As a Motion employee, you quickly learn that 8 hours spent serving up Jaegerbombs to the soundtrack of deafening drum ‘n’ bass goes a whole lot faster than 8 weekly contact hours of third-year English – a.k.a. Advanced Book Club – for which we pay £9k a year for the privilege. I would recommend it to anyone.

To apply for temporary weekend work at Motion to balance alongside your degree, please email your CV to Natalie King (natalie@motionbristol.com).

Featured image: Instagram / @motionbristol