Work, Rest and Study: Two Thirds of Students Work During University

UK students collectively earn around £4 billion a year whilst working to help fund themselves through university. With student debt now reaching over £23,000, UK students are working to support themselves and manage their finances through university. Over two thirds of UK students work with over a third working during term time. Students spend, on average, 14 hours a week at work with first year students spending more time at work than in lectures .

(PRWEB) August 22, 2010

The new Lloyds TSB Student Work survey conducted in association with Push reveals that 68 per cent of UK students are working to help fund themselves through university. The findings reveal that the collective student bank account for all UK students is topped up with earnings of £4 billion a year.

The survey of more than 1,000 UK students has found that one in three (34 per cent) students now work during term time, spending on average 13.9 hours a week at work. Today’s economic climate and the increase in living costs has contributed to more students having to work to help fund themselves through university, particularly if they are not living at home.

First year students typically work 15.9 hours a week, this is more than the number of hours they spend in lectures. Unsurprisingly, the survey findings record a decline in the number of hours worked as students progress in their degrees, before rising again by the time they’ve moved on to graduate banking. Students appear to be shifting the work-study balance as they prepare for their final year at university, with more hours spent studying and in lectures than in the workplace.

Students studying at universities in the South West region such as the University of Bath, Bristol and Exeter typically work the highest number of hours a week (15.4 hours) during term time, followed by those studying in London (14.8 hours) and Scotland (14.6 hours). In comparison, students studying in Northern Ireland work the least number of hours (10 hours) during term time compared with other UK regions. Meanwhile, the average hours worked at some of the more remote universities are also lower.

The hourly rate typically earned by students during term time is £7.20 with weekly earnings averaging at £96.37. Interestingly, students earn more as they progress through university possibly because of the experience they have acquired.

Despite the reduction in the number of hours worked during the course of their degrees, the hourly rate and weekly earnings that UK students earn increases progressively each year they study .

Breakdown of UK students working during term time:

Students in the South West receive the highest hourly rate and earnings a week, with £7.52 and £115.67 respectively, students in this region also work the longest hours. In comparison, students in Wales earn the lowest hourly rate (£5.27) and weekly rate (£56.25). The survey has found the hourly rate earned by students increases by around 26 per cent from their first year at university to after three years.

Jatin Patel, Personal Current Accounts Director, Lloyds TSB comments:

“A huge majority of students are working during term time to help fund themselves through university. Understandably, this adds an additional pressure as they balance working life with their studies. At Lloyds TSB, we try to make it easy for students to manage and make their money go further by providing tools such as free mobile banking which allows students to check their balances, transfer money and also receive text alerts, as well as a range of discounts such as a free three year NUS card.”

Top tips to help manage a work-study-student life balance:
1. Money management – work out a realistic monthly budget to help manage your financial inflows and outflows, it may turn out you do not have to work as many hours or you can manage your finances by working through holidays rather than term time.
2. Relevant work experience provides invaluable experience and will develop your CV. When applying for jobs look for something that is linked to your degree and will help your future job prospects.
3. Check your tax code for tax-free allowances – the basic Personal Allowance, which is the amount of taxable income you’re allowed to earn tax-free each year is currently £6,475.
4. Work hard, study hard and play hard – you will be working for many years to come so don’t forget to enjoy student life!

For more information contact:
Risha Parmar, Media Relations Officer
020 7356 2499, Risha(dot)Parmar(at)lloydstsb(dot)co(dot)uk

Notes to Editors:
Lloyds TSB Student Current Account includes:

•      Interest-free Planned Overdraft of up to £1,500 (up to £1,500 in years one to three, and up to £2,000 in years four to six).
•      Mobile Banking includes Text Alerts and a Mobile Banking application including limit alerts, high/low balance alerts, weekly balance alerts and overseas alerts (Note: we don’t charge however Mobile Operators may charge for some services)
•      Internet Banking and PhoneBank. Easy access to banking 24 hours a day.
•      Lloyds TSB Visa debit card. To use at home and abroad.
•      Lloyds TSB Student Credit Card. A helping financial hand when you really need it (subject to application and status).

Plus discounts and offers:

•      NUS Extra Card free for three years. Exclusive student discounts with over 80 brands, including Amazon, Odeon, McDonalds, Superdrug, JJB Sports plus many more
•      YHA membership for three years. Discounts at around 4,000 hostels around the world
•      Improved offer of 40 free music downloads from eMusic plus a free LAVA Mini Speaker (subject to availability)

Lloyds TSB also offers a Shariah approved Islamic Student Account.

About Push and the Lloyds TSB Work Survey
The research for this survey was conducted on behalf of Lloyds TSB by Push, the leading independent resource for students and university applicants, which conducted face-to-face interviews with 1,064 randomly selected students from 74 universities.

Push was founded in 1992 as an independent organisation that visits every university in the UK every year gathering the country’s largest resource of information for prospective students.

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