Moving to Ireland: Juggling College and a Part-Time Job (A Guide to Success)

 

This blog aims to help you navigate through the challenges faced in balancing college and part-time work concurrently. Let’s start with identifying the purpose of moving to Ireland followed by what challenges most of the students face and how to effectively manage studies alongside work and how much can you earn weekly/monthly in part-time work.

 

Identifying your goal:

Firstly, it is crucial that the objective of moving abroad is clear, making money while studying is probably the last on that list. It’s important to remember, the end goal is successfully completing studies, earning whilst studying is secondary and you have the rest of life to work and make money. Securing a full-time employment upon completion of the course is what everyone hopes and desires for.  Everybody comes from different background and a lot of students intend to work while pursuing their studies and why not, it’s a great way to cover your living expenses and more importantly, it helps you in adapting to Irish culture and gaining some Irish market experience too (quite beneficial in landing future job in my opinion). While working part-time has its own benefits, it brings numerous challenges as well. 

Let’s jump on to our most important section where a lot of students struggle in managing studies while working their quota of 20 hours.

Challenges in managing work alongside studies:

 Difficulty in staying focused: It is easy to lose track when the money hits your bank every week, as much as it feels good, it also influences your spending habits. You will feel like you can buy yourself or your family something more if you work another 5 hours, 6 hours, an extra day and so on. Students, especially in early 20’s end up devoting more time towards part -time work and they start treating this as their full-time objective. This not only affects your studies adversely but also deviates you from your initial goal. One can only do a limited number of things in a single day, so try to stay focused on your college work, give yourself some me time (living abroad can make you feel lonely at times). While the colleges here don’t have too many classroom hours, the assignments and their deadlines does get intense, so make sure you are giving adequate time in doing those assignments well.

College is not a cakewalk: College work requires a certain number of hours to be spent in order to pass with good grades. There are constant assessments, individual assignments, group assignments, exams, dissertation, etc. that keeps you ticking throughout the year. Once you commit yourself to the job, it often gets difficult to devote the required time & attention towards studies. A lot of students often have clashes in work & study schedules and majority of the students end up opting for work over class. So, try and always stay on top of your calendar to avoid such clashes where you have to chose between class/work. 

Top tip: Avoid any external help for assignments, you will come across multiple people who outsource their assignments so that they can do more part-time hours. This near-sightedness doesn’t help you at all, instead it harms your studies in multiple ways. Doing the assignments by yourself will help you understand your course modules in depth and aid you when you get the opportunity to apply them in real-life situations.

 

Follow the process:

One size doesn’t fit all, I completely abide by that. For majority of students that I have known, the best practice is to make a calendar (save and update it digitally on your phone/laptop/tablet) where you have your class timetables, book some extra time for studies & assignments after college, add a couple of hours for household chores (it’s a big part especially when you live in a shared accommodation), some family time (it’s important to stay in touch with your family when you are far from home), treat yourself some me time, and then if you have any spare hours, feel free to make money. Easier said than done, but doing this will serve you good for long. Having an up-to-date calendar will give you the flexibility and visibility of what other things you can squeeze in the remaining hours, whether it comes to scheduling any ad hoc work or knowing how many hours you can spend in your workplace. There are plenty of part-time opportunities, especially in bigger cities like Dublin, Galway, Cork, etc. Some of the most student friendly jobs are working as sales assistant in retail shops, kitchen porter, security,

How much can you earn in part-time jobs in Ireland?

At the time of writing, the minimum wage in Ireland is 11.30€ per hour. Stamp 2 allows students to work 20 hours a week during college months and 40 hours (or full time) during summer break (June-September). Having allowed 20 hours and 40 hours respectively does not necessarily mean you have to work the threshold, see what suits your timetable. If you are quite good with managing time, working for 20 hours can help you earn approximately 1000€ a month and about 1800€ during summer break. 1000€ will help you in covering your living expenses (average spending per month, can vary depending on your lifestyle) and good financial planning can help you save some bucks during summers.

 

Where to find part-time work?

1)  Online Tutoring: This one to me is the standout when it comes to making money while studying. A platform called FirstTutors brings teachers and students together. They have a very straightforward signup process. If you are comfortable in teaching Mathematics, Science, History, English or any subject of your field, then waste no time and register yourself as a teacher on this platform. You can set your hourly rate, anywhere around 20-25€ per hour is an average. No prior teaching experience is required to register. Once you register, you will start receiving leads via email and you can decide to accept or refuse the requests, so it gives you more flexibility to work on your own hours and terms. This one is more like a side hustle than a proper job but it does allow a steady stream of income if you are good at what you are doing. Use resources like Youtube, ChatGpt, etc to help you prepare in conducting your classes.

2) Resume Distribution: If teaching is not your cup of tea or you would rather prefer a more reliable source of income, then distribution of resumes/CV in local shops is the best way. The easiest and most fruitful way of finding part time work is to drop in your resume in the shops nearby your college or your accommodation. Majority of the shops advertise ‘Staff Wanted’ on their nice and clean window glasses. Finding work close to your university or accommodation will help you save a lot of travel time and will help you manage your time effectively. Dublin Business School and Trinity College have their campus right in the heart of city where most of the shops are located and they are constantly looking for sales assistants. So, that is your best bet as you can hop to your work directly after you finish class or vice versa. If you don’t see staff wanted adverts, feel free to go in the shops and ask the staff member inside to check if they are hiring, hand them your resume, and don't be shy to ask them if they could refer you for work, Irish people are very friendly and helpful, so don’t let your chances slip in any possible way.

3) Security: Another popular student friendly job is to work as a security guard. Ireland hosts many sporting events, music festivals, concerts, etc. Swords Security often hire students to work as security in these events, it allows you to earn money and experience these events for free. You can also apply for a security license, this will help you earn higher than minimum wage.

4) Job Portals: Keep an eye on job portals like Indeed, Jobs.ie, LinkedIn, these portals have some part-time opportunities as well as some great internship opportunities as well. Securing an internship is a great way to kickstart your professional career but some companies (mainly startups offer unpaid internships). Before jumping on to these options, do diligent research about them, read ex-employees/interns reviews on Glassdoor to know what they have to offer in longer term. Working for free with limited scope in future doesn’t help your cause.

Refrain from cash in hand jobs, for obvious reasons, firstly it's not legal, secondly you don't have any right to defend your claim if your employer is cheeky and refuse to pay you for the hours that you have worked. A lot of students are tempted towards cash in hand jobs for various reasons and situations, most commonly is the feeling of having the liberty to work unlimited hours to maximize earnings. In truth, cash in hand jobs often pay 20-30% less than the minimum wage, so its not worth considering that option as your take home pay by working 20 hours lawfully will be equivalent to 30 hours worked illegally. The stakes are high if you get caught working off papers and is totally not worth your precious time and efforts. So, it's a big no on that part. Always look at the bigger picture and a very apt English saying- "Penny Wise and Pound foolish" explains the rest on this matter.

 

Conclusion:

To wrap up, it is vital that you have clarity of what you want to achieve during the length of your studies and more importantly how this impacts your goals beyond these 12 months. Effectively managing time is a key to thrive in such situations. If you are struggling in finding the right part-time opportunity, be persistent, keep applying, rejections or no response will only help you prepare for the future and give you required experience in fighting these battles. Don’t forget, you are student, make the most of this year as everybody says, this time doesn’t come back!

For any queries on resume build up for part-time/full-time work or for any suggestions at all, feel free to drop a comment.