Working Alongside My Studies

I’m Jess, an English Language and Literature student at the University of Leeds and I work part-time as an online tutor! Working as a tutor has given me a lot of confidence and allows me to share my love of English with my students. I especially love it because it allows me to be flexible, so I can easily fit in studying around my working hours.

How often do you work?

Currently, I work around 8 hours a week but this sometimes varies if students need to reschedule their lessons, so I might work 6 hours one week and 10 hours the next for example. This works really well for me because I am also able to reschedule if I have a week where I need to spend some extra time on coursework or if I want to go out to go somewhere, my work doesn’t get in the way of that.

Although I teach 8 hours at the moment, I can always pick up more hours or do less if I would like to. In the past I have done 15 hours per week but I found this a bit too much on top of uni and volunteering, so I cut back a little bit. Another great thing about online tutoring is that I work from home. This means I don’t have to walk to and from the city to work and once I have finished for the day, I can relax straight away. For some students, I have to spend a bit of extra time lesson planning but you can do this anywhere! Usually, I fit it in around studying in the library or even on the train home for the weekend.

What are the positives of having a job whilst studying?

I started tutoring just over a year ago and I found this opportunity through a friend who also tutors English. At first, I was only tutoring three Year 4 students once a week. Now I tutor from Year 4 all the way through to A Level. This variety is also helpful because lessons with the younger kids are more relaxed, whereas A-Level lessons require more focus and are great for days where I’m not so busy. Having a job is really important to me because as well as the amazing experience and extra cash I get, working provides a bit more structure to my week. As an English student, working alongside my studies allows me to organise my time better and limits my procrastination.

By Jessica Hill, English Language and Literature student.