Working While Studying in the UK

Written by Loleini - 18/08/2018

Having a job can be a great way to see a new place from a different perspective. You will likely interact with more locals and people that are not necessarily students. It makes you feel like less of a tourist, and more integrated into the everyday function of your new chosen home. University can feel like a tight little bubble, and a job can coax you out (in a good way).

Here are a few things to keep in mind when working in the UK for the first time:

You’ll need a National Insurance Number

Equivalent to a social insurance number in Canada, you are required to have one in order to receive paychecks properly. The process can take some time, so you are allowed to start working without the number, but you are expected to be in the process of obtaining one. It's not hard to do; you’ll need to call a hotline and set up an interview. You’ll bring documentation showing your address and identity, and within a few weeks you’ll receive your number in the mail.

It’s a great way to get experience in your chosen field

Summer is a great time to build your CV and pick up some experience that you may not find during the school year. From the first day of my law degree, we were drilled on the importance of receiving actual legal experience. It’s a very competitive field and you need to have something to make you stand out. This can be hard to reach during the school term when you’re stressed and drowning in deadlines.

I got very lucky, and I’ve spent the summer interning at a law firm in London. I'm able to work there for three months, gain invaluable experience, and still visit Canada for a few weeks at the end of the summer. It’s been amazing!

Brits and Canadians have different styles of work

A job is a great way to discover more differences between your old and new homes. I’ve worked in offices in Canada, and now offices here, and the culture can be very different. British people have a healthy sense of humour and they don’t leave it at the door when they arrive at work.

You can make money for more adventures

If you’ve read any of my other blogs, you know that train tickets don’t come cheap! The more hours I work, the more disposable income for trips to Brighton and flights across Europe. Enough said?

You can experience a city differently than as a student

Living in London as a legal professional and as a student have been two different experiences. I commute in work wear every day, and I have my entire weekend to take advantage of the city. I can go for brunch on a Sunday morning without any nagging guilt about an essay that needs to be written. There were periods during the semester where I had so much coursework, I would only leave campus once or twice a week. Now I make a point of visiting as many boroughs as possible every week.

Working in a new place can feel overwhelming, but there’s huge benefit to sticking around in the UK during the summer and doing something different with your time.

Find out more about studying in the UK.

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Surviving Your Dissertation

Written by admin - 01/08/2018

Aug 1, 2018 9:00:00 AM

Starting your Master's is a big step and is an exciting new chapter in your life, but the work and stress that can come along with it can be demanding at times! For me, even though I am in a course-based program I am still required to write a 15,000-18,000-word dissertation now that my classes are done. I am only a few months away from submitting (yay!) and thought I would share some helpful tips that have allowed me to stay focused and on-track so far!

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Start Early

I know this one has been said to you time and time again ever since you started school, but this tip is actually very important for a big piece of writing like this. This is one assignment that you cannot do at the last minute and requires a lot of planning in advance. If you don’t pick a topic early enough you won’t be able to submit ethics in time, which means you can’t start collecting data in time and then won’t have anything to write about before the submission deadline! Start early, even if this means just writing down topic ideas as they come to you and doing some research to see what’s been done already. I have classmates who have are still waiting to hear back from ethics (its mid-July currently) and may not finish in time for our submission deadline (mid-September) meaning they will have to delay their submission and therefore their graduation date, which is not fun to think about considering all the time and hard work we’ve all put in to this course!

It may seem daunting at first to pick a topic, but that’s okay. You don’t have to stick with what you decide on initially! My topic was tweaked and adjusted many times before I finally decided what to do. Try not to stress and just do the best you can at the time, I promise you can do it!

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Don’t Compare Yourself to Others – Do What’s Best for You

There’s probably some people in your course who will finish their dissertation weeks or months before the due date, and others who will still be writing hours before the deadline (this is ill-advised as you need to plan for time to print your dissertation and have it bound properly). This is okay though, everyone is different. Some work better under pressure or are busy with other important commitments, and others may have what seems like all the time in the world to be able to go to the library and write. It’s important to know how you work best and stick with that. If you do your best writing at night, don’t force yourself to try and spend all day in the library. I have often spent my day doing other thing only to do my best writing after 11pm – whatever works right? Of course, it’s good to have friends to check-in with to make sure you are all making progress (whatever that means for you), but don’t let that one friend who can write 3,000 words in one sitting pressure you into feeling in-adequate. You made it this far because of your own skills, know that they can help carry you over the finish line!

Take Time for You

Some days it’s just not going to work. Know that this is okay and that if you follow the step above by starting early, taking a day off because things aren’t working is totally fine! I recently had a bit of writers block so I took a nice, short 2-night trip to Scotland to clear my mind and get away from the confines of my dorm room and the campus. Looking after yourself and making sure you are feeling good will help you prepare to face your dissertation the next day (or the day after that haha). Taking time for you can be as small of an effort as turning off all screens an hour before you sleep (which is recommended anyways for a better sleep) or binging an entire Netflix series of two! Making sure you are at your best personally will help make your work be the best it can be. Don’t try and force things if they aren’t working! Take a step back, relax, and breathe – you got this!

Fees and Funding

These are just a few tips to help you when writing your dissertation! If you are feeling up to the challenge and are considering studying abroad Across The Pond can help. Please contact one of our Advisors today for more information!

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