The situation however need not be hopeless and there is a lot that can be done to generate income, particularly through self employment, meaning that students can dictate when and how much they work. A really good place to start is to think about what resources are available to us and young and mature students alike often dont give themselves credit for the value of their own life experience.
I remember employing a student as a regular babysitter, often once a week and sometimes even more.She would charge per evening rather than per hour because it was unlikely that she would get two jobs in an evening unless the first was for a really early slot. After asking her how it worked for her she explained it worked well because, she would charge £20 for the night until midnight starting at 6p.m. she would request a meal, have access to tea and coffee and usually was able to sit and do coursework after 9p.m. while her charges were asleep in bed. She had a regular six evening turnover earning her £120 a week, plus a meal, and she was able to keep on top of her coursework. She could dictate her own hours, negotiate her own rates and effectively saved herself money on food.
It is with this kind of thinking out of the box that successful students actually manipulate their income producing methods to meet their academic and lifestyle needs. This page of the blog will support ideas and methods for students in different situations to generate additional income. If my fourteen year old son can earn £200 washing cars during the summer, then there is a lot to be said for being creative in terms of creating employment.
