The cultural and economic significance of part-time work among University students

Abstract

This quantitative study aims to look at the reasons as to why students choose to pursue part-time employment whist attending a full time academic course. Additionally, this study will also observe the students outlook on whether working is a positive or a negative attribute. To further understand the experience of students, throughout this study the option to further elaborate on their experience was given in the comments section. The aim of this study was to analyse multiple aspects and views of students with questions mainly focusing on how one balances between working and pursuing studies, the reasons as to why students choose to work in part-time employment, under what circumstances would students terminate their employment and whether they view their experience of working to be a positive one. It is also interesting to note similarities and differences between students coming from different socio-economic groups and faculties. This study applied a survey of students in the University of Malta which mainly included 55 questionnaires. Results of this study were consistent with the literature. The results also indicate that students mainly work out of financial necessity and overall even though they work out of financial necessity, most students find their working experience to be a positive one. In addition, the majority of students maintained that the key to a successful working and study balance lies with good time management and state that they would terminate their employment if they cannot maintain their studies. Students also gave further suggestions as to how the University of Malta can provide additional support to students in general. Although this study is not representative of the whole university population in Malta, nonetheless, it still offers an alternative look into the experience of working students