Sydney Life

A lot of people ask how much it is possible to work without sacrificing your studies. The quick answer to this question is “no more than 10-20 hours a week”. It’s much easier to find a job if you have one or more week days off. A lot of my arts and commerce friends have at least one day off (I know someone with 3 days off.. I mean when it gets to the point where my weekends have become equivalent to his days at uni... it’s just ridiculous).

We science students generally have one of the highest amount of contact hours (yes, I know it’s a shock for you arts folk, but last year I had class on Fridays). I realised I’ve never had a regular, checkout chick / retail job in my life, so here’s all the random ways I earned money in jobs last year, as a full time, 5 day a week student:

*Taking an after school club teaching origami at the school where my mum works (just across the road from Sydney Uni... bliss!).

*Tutoring a girl in Japanese once a week.

*Working at the Sydney Uni Alumni office, calling back alumni that have donated money to the university and thanking them (they are usually middle aged to old and are so grateful to receive a call! We have a good chat sometimes).

*Work for a promotions company - I’m one of those people giving away free stuff in supermarkets and shopping centres.

*Doing ABA Therapy with an autistic boy - this was really rewarding work and I would encourage psych sudents to look into doing something like this.

*Working at the Rocks markets on saturdays - this was really great because it is easy to get to from my house, and though it’s one long shift it’s a lot of fun.

*Babysitting! Don’t underestimate this job. I have a few families living on my street that I’ve worked for for several years, and it’s always good - usually parents go out at night so you just put the kids to sleep and do some homework! (slash.. take advantage of the two big Fs... Foxtel and Fridge!!!)

*Filing music for my bassoon teacher.. I did this for a while in the hols just before uni started. She had brought 4 huge cases of sheet music from her schools and pretty much just said “ok.. sort!” It was a hefty task.

*Selling beaded earrings - I got soo into beads in year 8/9/10 and though I don’t make them as zealously these days, I’ll make up a whole bunch just before the yearly fete at my mum’s school, or when my parents go to other fetes.

The general tip is.. try and get a job that is convenient for you, one that doesn't involve too many hours, and one that you enjoy!

Also, my first best friend at Sydney Uni was the Casual Employment Database. You can access it online if you are a Sydney Uni student, employers list job availabilities, and they are very often random. (I’ve since moved onto human companionship). The best thing is, they are specifically targetting uni students, so they are aware of your studies and often they have flexible hours. I remember before uni started I’d trawl through the jobs in the paper to no avail because I knew I’d be at uni very soon and my availability hours would decrease...