Should part time work for students be banned? A response.

So in the Guardian Education section, there is a really interesting article that a lot of students have been responding to. The article illustrates both sides of the argument, should part time work for students be banned? 

Obviously you know from the nature of this blog, we of course will argue NO, and here's why: 

Firstly, if part time work was banned, a lot of students wouldn't be able to afford their bills, or all important nights out, because even though the government reckon your parents will stump up loads of cash... they probably don't. 

Secondly, a work life balance is really important. One student commented that if they had a part time job, the job would be a chore for them and they wouldn't be able to focus on their studies. Many of us find part time work a great source for procrastination. It gets you out of the flat/house and you get to meet new people that aren't all students, (i.e. you get different conversations). 

Most importantly, away from the extra money and socialisation, you are proving to future employers that you have done more than score a certain percentage in the majority of your exams, you have also gone out and worked for something. 

Nobody wants to employ someone who has sat on their backside at uni, drinking tea and watching countdown and not done any outside work at all, (we can all drink tea and watch countdown to an extent). 

You gain excellent skills that you might take for granted, like responsibility, i.e. managing to turn up to work with a hangover and realising maybe next time you could give the hangover a miss. Other things you could mention on your CV may be, working a customer facing role. Your part time work may even be directly related to your degree course which is a bonus! 

You also make great contacts, many people even find full time employment at their part time place of work after graduation, such as management schemes etc. 

The opinion offered in this article which argues against part time employment comes from a student at the University of Cambridge. 

Now, their university structure is quite different to others, they only have 8 week terms, so have to do all their work in that time. There is also the expectation of 3 or 4 essays handed in a week, as well as monitoring over reading etc. We know that isn't the same at every university, and obviously from course to course you may have more or less time than someone else. For instance if you're studying Chemistry you are highly likely to have more hours than someone studying a more literary degree. 

Whether you undertake part time work or not should be up to you. If you feel you have the time, we would all encourage you to get involved. You don't have to work many hours, it could be anywhere from 4 hours on a saturday to, let's say 15 hours a week. If you feel it's too much, don't be afraid to have a word with a manager and see if you can resolve the issue rather than let the pressure get you. But we don't feel you could ban part-time work for students that want it without ruining the job market in the process. 

If you would like to see further comments on this article please view the Guardian's Education twitter account, (@Guardianedu),
or read the article here http://www.theguardian.com/education/2014/jan/16/should-universities-ban-part-time-work-students?CMP=twt_gu