Wage Slaves

Students are having to put money before their studies to get them through university, according to a new survey.

The shocking poll revealed that 68 per cent of UK students are letting their work suffer because they have to have a job to get by.

Almost a third say they spend more time working for money than they do on their degree so they can afford to complete their studies.

The average student works 15 hours a week but for one in five, this number is even higher as they work in two or more jobs at any one time.

One in 20 work 38 or more hours - longer than your average full-time job, the survey by video recruitment website www.jobs2view.com revealed.

The average student will rack up a debt of #9,348 at university and a third of parents will give their children #2,005 on top of that to get them through thier studies.

But while most workers get to relax when they finish work for the day, students have to fit in lectures and coursework in between.

And with bar work the most common student job, it means young adults have to work late into the night to squeeze the hours in around their studies.

More than 18 per cent of students said they were warned about spending more time at work than on their degree, but say not working was not an option.

So itís not surprising that 30 per cent of students who have finished university think, in hindsight, they could have got a much better result if they hadnít spent so much time at work.

Worryingly, the rising cost of going to university means the nightmare doesnít end once they graduate.

More than 51 per cent say they have ended up doing a job they donít want to do because they canít afford to wait.

Half of those are still waiting for their dream career years after finishing their degree.

Jon Glas, managing director of www.jobs2view.com, said: ííUniversity is a big part of peopleís lives today and itís worrying to think that students are risking lower results than they deserve because they have to work on top of it all.

ííWhatís even worse is that some are spending several years at university but then having to fall into the first job they can get because they canít afford to spend time searching for the one they want.

ííWe would recommend starting the search for that dream job in plenty of time so you donít end up doing something you donít want to.íí

Top five student jobs
Bar work
Shop assistant
Waiter/waitress
Telesales/call centres
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