Hi everyone, my name is Garrett, I am from the United States and a current Masters student here at Bournemouth University. As an undergraduate student I never really looked for part-time work; I saw it as something that was unattractive and would make my life much more difficult. One thing I realized since I have been in the UK is that taking advantage of opportunities is the key to success.

My Experience:

While I continue my studies here in England, I also work part-time as an associate consultant. My main responsibilities include, creating proposals, gaining clients, and adjusting documents for my company. Something that has always been a priority for me is properly managing my time. We are all here in Bournemouth to succeed on the education side of things, and anything extra is exactly that: added activities that are only part of the main goal. I make sure to always plan out my days. I want to know how much time I will spend in class, how much time I need to spend studying, and then how much extra time I want to allocate to my job. One of the beautiful aspects of my current job is that I can choose my hours. I have an open dialogue and strong communication with my boss. He is rather understanding, and he knows that I am completing my Masters to better my education and that it will help me in my position in the company, so he gives me leeway on assignments and work hours. Much of my work is done remotely, which gives me the opportunity to complete assignments at any hour of the day (or in many cases at night.) The nighttime is where most of my free time lies, so I take advantage of any time in which I am able to do a good couple of hours of work.

Advantages:

Partaking in part-time work overseas is a great experience and I would recommend it to students looking to try different things. It gives you a bit more spending money, where you have some much needed extra for living on your own. Also, the experience in itself can teach you numerous different lessons. For example, I am currently gaining experience for a job in my potential career path. That is so important, and I am doubling up on both extra education and experience in the workforce, while at the same time earning some money to have a bit of fun and travel when possible. I would still advise not to put too much on your plate, however. School is the priority, so if you have difficulty doing work and classes you should probably look to simply spend more time on your education and let the part-time job go.

Looking forward:

I hope my story has helped and that you look to take advantage of opportunities with potential part-time jobs. Challenges help a person grow and doing so overseas increases the growth tenfold.