Having a part-time job at university

Do you have a job alongside your studies? Are you considering getting one? Imogen Rogers talks to us about her experience having a part-time job with the Careers Service in her third year.

I have worked in many part-time jobs since the age of 14. I have been a fruit picker, a cashier and kitchen porter to name a few and have always enjoyed working. Thus, when I started at university I begun applying for jobs early on. During first year, I worked in a pizza restaurant, but after four months of bad pay, late nights and almost constant washing up, I quit. In second year, I focused more on volunteering work in order to complete my Bristol Plus Award, which includes working at the Bristol Museum and Art Gallery- which I recommend to everyone!

Now I work at the University of Bristol’s Career Service as an Event Ambassador. I applied for, and was aware of, the job following my completion of the Bristol Plus award, in which I realised how helpful our career service is here. For those of you who haven’t checked out the Career service yet, I really recommend it, and that’s not just because I work there! My job as an event ambassador involves helping out with the various employer and career-based fairs that the service puts on, aiding the promotion and running of the events- you will see me walking around in a purple top! The team I enjoy the job because it is so varied and unlike any job I have had before, I will be doing everything from putting up helium balloons on Woodland Road to handing out sweets to students. The hours are flexible and change each week, which for me is perfect, but if you prefer constant, structured hours this may not be for you. It also means I never have to work evenings or weekends. Shifts can vary from 30 minutes to eight hours so they first perfectly around your timetables. Moreover, it gives me the opportunity to engage with various employers and create networks with people offering me CV or interview support.

Because I work for the University they understand that I am also a third-year student with a dissertation to write and therefore they never over work me. In light of this I really recommend applying for a job within the University, they pay well and are respectful of your commitments, unlike other jobs I have had in the past.

Featured image: Epigram / Imogen Rogers