Navigating part-time jobs at uni

For many at King’s and other unis in London, managing part-time jobs isn’t an issue. Not because they’re good at it, but simply because they don’t need to. With the richest students in the entire country, King’s as a London uni is home to many wealthy students who are fortunate enough to not have to find part-time work. The reality, for many students, is very different. The sheer price of just living and eating, nevermind any socialising on top of it, is staggering and shows no signs of slowing down. With this in mind, it’s important that if you want to keep up a certain level of comfort in your lifestyle, the extra cash from a part-time job can make all the difference in the quality of your uni experience.

For me, a girl raised in the North, I had never felt poor before I came to King’s. At home in Sheffield, I had always had at least one part-time job at any given time to afford my meals out, socialising and travelling habits. But when I first moved to London, I got a big shock. The £10 an hour that I thought was pretty good before, hardly went anywhere. In fact, a craving for two Starbucks on a Monday morning would have me all spent up. So, I devised a plan. I knew I needed to make some better money without spending too much time actually working. When it comes to part-time jobs, I always think: ‘work smart, not hard’. If you can work 5 hours a week in a well-paying job rather than 20 in a London living wage job, surely that’s the obvious choice. For me, I also realised I needed flexibility which many jobs just couldn’t accommodate for. So, here are some of the best part-time jobs, based on my personal experience and that of my friends, which you find worth considering.

• 1 Hospitality agency

This was actually the first part-time job I got when I first started at King’s. I searched ‘hospitality agency london’ and applied for the first three results that came up. That same day, I received two interview invites and a job offer from another agency. Here’s the thing, hospitality agencies are not for the weak. They are desperate for staff because their retention rate is pretty low. But the perks? Worth every second of fake smiling and dressing in sometimes the most outrageous outfits to serve champagne in. You can typically find that agencies pay a far better rate than your average restaurant or bar job. I got paid £12 per hour as a starting and within the first month, that increased to £14 an hour which meant that each shift I was taking home at least £20 more than my friends with other contracted jobs and got tips on top of that.

Working for an agency means you can selectively pick only the shifts that work around your schedule - you have no obligation to work a set amount a week or even in a month. I also got to go to some amazing places around London from waitressing for live immersive Charles Dickens performances to champagne service for an event the king was attending and even hosting some beauty awards. Many people I know love hospitality work and as long as you have some relevant experience, come across as outgoing and exhibit a ‘happy to help attitude’, it’s a really great option. For me, the downside was I ended up with shifts that were mainly in the evenings when I wanted to socialise or have an early night for uni the next day, so I moved on but was truly grateful that I’d done it while it was working for my schedule. 

• 2 Participating in research

You know those emails from university that are sitting in bold in your inbox because you haven’t read them yet? Yes, those ones. The ones we get constantly about new opportunities etc,. Well, when you bother to actually read them, they are really useful. King’s has many opportunities for part-time jobs within the university and pays extremely fair wages. Have a look at being a campus ambassador. Simply touring some prospective student around the campus could earn you around £14 an hour. Or, if you’re more introverted, have a look at participating in research. Many projects pay for your participation and it’s equally cool to be able to say you’re contributing to something more meaningful in your work. Both of these roles, amongst many other the uni offers, are during the day so can easily fit around lectures, leaving you with your evenings free.

• 3 Tutoring

As a tutor myself, I acknowledge my bias toward this option. However I will try to give you an objective view to give you a good understanding of its pros and cons. I first got into tutoring in my high school when my teachers noticed I was helping other children in class, and they suggested I monetise it and start tutoring. I began privately, tutoring people I knew in younger years, but many tutor through agencies online which help to find you clients. When I realised that this was the job that suited me best and I wanted to increase my hours, I too applied to work for an agency. When starting off, the average you can charge per hour as a newbie is usually £15 which helps to build up your client base. Then, increasing this over time can earn you as much as £70 per hour. What’s better is you can do it online from your bedroom, campus or a coffee shop with no travel costs or travel time required, meaning if you’ve got a gap between seminars, you can make a relatively easy £25. 

Tutoring is not for everyone, though. It requires a lot of patience, interpersonal skills and planning ahead of sessions. To really be a good tutor and to get repeat bookings and retain clients, it’s not a job you do half-effort. In my experience, the children you tutor often become very dependent on you for accurate information and guidance, which is a big responsibility knowing that you can influence their education so much. Equally, the pride you feel when you can watch it start to click for them and their excitement when they do well in a mock exam is worth every ounce of effort.