Agata De Pangher quickly realized she needed to get a job after arriving in Vancouver to start her studies at UBC.
“Life here is, in Vancouver, is very expensive,” she said, “I didn’t want to miss out.”
The third-year international relations student began working part-time in a bookstore on Granville Island by the end of her first semester, and worked around three half-day shifts a week, commuting an hour each way.
Since then, De Pangher has taken on a second job, working remotely as an administrative assistant for a translation company.
De Pangher said she works “just to be okay financially, be able to go on exchange, be stable and put away some money for the future,” although she hopes to work less in her final year.
De Pangher is one of many students who are taking on first and second jobs to afford life in Vancouver, often while also balancing full course loads and other commitments.
Dr. Sylvia Fuller is a UBC professor of sociology, studying labour market inequalities and employment policy. She noted it’s not uncommon for students to be working while studying.
“About half of full-time students, [age] 20-24, have a job, and 80 per cent of part-time students [have a job],” Fuller said.
Fuller also noted the number of students holding multiple jobs.
“Students who are 20 to 24 … 7 per cent of full-time students and 6 per cent of part-time students hold multiple jobs,” Fuller said, “That’s pretty similar to non-students in that age range, which is interesting because students also have coursework on top of that.”
Even just balancing one part-time job along with school can eat heavily into a student's time.
“I would say juggling school and employment could be seen as a kind of multiple job holding,” Fuller said. “Your schoolwork is something that’s demanding a considerable amount of your time.”
Different reasons students work multiple jobs
Students may be working multiple jobs for a variety of reasons, including economic necessity, as tuition fees, student housing rates, off-campus rents and food costs rise.
“Often people are working multiple jobs … because they aren't earning enough in their main job,” Fuller said. “More people are feeling pinched.”
However, she added some people work multiple jobs not out of necessity, but to spend time on something they are passionate about, but can’t cover the bills alone. Students may also take on jobs in order to build up work experience.
Robbie Laughlen, who is in his fourth year studying computer science and physics, also works two jobs to cover living costs. For 10hours a week, he is a Work Learn student for UBC IT, and in his free time, he freelances as a computer scientist.
One of his main concerns is building up work experience prior to graduating.
“The job market … [is] so competitive that courses are the least of your worries, you have to do projects or hackathons or make sure you’re constantly doing something that makes you stand out,” he said.
Balancing school and work
Through her jobs, De Pangher was able to save up for a semester abroad. Leading up to the semester, however, she had to carefully plan her school and work schedule.
“I made it in a way that I had two full days of classes,” she said, “They were not necessarily classes that I wanted to take. But they were the only ones that matched my work schedule as well.”
In the most recent Canadian University Survey Consortium survey, six out of ten surveyed students worked at least one job.
Of these, 44 per cent reported that working negatively impacted their academic performance.
On her part, Fuller has reduced her reading expectations for the courses she teaches as she has seen her students face increasing outside of class obligations.
“I teach courses in work,” Fuller said, “I know that they're juggling that along with their schoolwork.”
Work and wellbeing
Working four shifts a week on top of a full course load during the fall semester led to De Pangher feeling demotivated.
“I didn’t want to put that extra effort into [schoolwork] because I was tired,” she said.
Fuller noted that the type of work that students engage in can impact the stress they experience.
“But another issue that's really important for students … is how predictable student schedules are,” Fuller said. “One of the things that creates more stress for students is… where they're not in control of their schedules, or they're getting their schedules at the last minute.”
“That makes it really hard to plan, having a social life, it makes it hard to plan around school, and when assignments are due, things like that.”
Once she began working, De Pangher found that she often had to miss out on university events she wanted to attend due to her work schedule.
“I couldn't go to certain activities organized by my department,” De Pangher said, “I could never participate because every time it would [conflict] with my schedule.”
“I thought it was really frustrating and it did impact my mental health. I got a bit sad.”
Prior to taking on a second job, when Laughlen had a few extra hours, he would attend volleyball drop-ins or other on-campus activities.
“Those little whimsical things make it fun, that you can be on campus and enjoy university,” he said. “When you have these things that ... eat into your schedule … you feel a bit more trapped in your routine.”
Fuller also spoke about the potential health risks with working long hours or multiple jobs.
“People are under more stress in that situation, and stress often is cumulative, and it has implications for folks,” Fuller said. “People just don't necessarily have time or energy to exercise, sleep suffers.”
The right kind of work
However, jobs can also be interesting and rewarding, and help students develop the knowledge and experience needed for after graduation.
“The nature of the jobs that students have also makes a difference,” Fuller said, “If you're working a job that's really tied to your career path, and it has reasonable hours … that can be really positive, and gives you valuable skills.”
Dibbya Dasgupta is an international masters of science student from Bangladesh at the School of Population and Public Health. Prior to arriving, he knew he had to secure a job.
“My concern was I have to get [a job], otherwise I cannot survive here,” he said.
Dasgupta was able to get a job through his supervisor that uses statistical skills he developed during his previous degrees.
“I’m glad that I’m working because it is complimenting my studies,” Dasgupta said.
However, finding these types of opportunities can also create stress.
Laughlen is currently searching for an internship for his co-op term in order to build job experience.
“If you’re searching for a lot and you don’t get anything, it’s fairly time intensive,” Laughlen said. “Then you’re thinking, maybe it’s an issue with my resume, maybe I’m not impressive enough to these people, I gotta do more projects ... expand the resume.”
De Pangher agrees that working is valuable for building skills, but at a cost.
“At the end of the day, it is a good point that you work while you study, for a future employer,” she said, “Because they can see you can balance work-life and study-life and personal life.”
“But you're still missing out on some things, you just have to accept it.”