With a newly framed degree under your arm and a fresh new perspective on the world, courtesy of university tutorial discussions, the thought of going back to uni already, may make you double over in pain. Freedom, venturing into the big wide world, hopeful steps ahead, but the graduate job market may bring those dreams to a screeching halt. Oh that oversupply situation, yes that one.
The life of a university student is difficult enough during your Bachelor, but while your friends flaunt their new salary packages at the bar, the friend enduring post-grad is left to sip sadly on the same $5 vodka from the opening special. If you want to upskill yourself but you’re afraid of compromising the best years of your life, here’s a few tips to making it work.
Study Part Time
Instead of tuckering yourself out on a non existent salary, take your time with your Honours or Masters pursuits. Drop your full time study load down to a more manageable part time situation and you’ll have enough time outside to work a little too. If you’re knowledgeable enough you may even secure a gig as a university tutor preaching your research topic to freshies. And get to be a better tutor than all the awful and oblivious teachers you endured during your undergrad. You could instead pick up a job in the same field as your study. Compounding your soon to be extensive theoretical knowledge with a practically sound approach, you’ll be irresistible to employers with that combo under your belt.
Study Online
Thanks to the Internet, study doesn’t have to be delivered in person. Hooray! This one requires a certain level of motivation, so your HECS fees aren’t getting flushed down the proverbial government loaned toilet. But if you’re all about pushing yourself, what a great way to spend your evenings, expanding your mind. Open Universities is a smorgasbord of educational offerings but individual unis offer offline post graduate studies a plenty. Be warned, this path may induce 3am cram sessions and long weekends engrossed in monolithic texts.
Get Your Employer To Pay For It
No, don’t just forward Pam in accounts your university bill or use the company credit card. Please. But if you’re at the right company, there’s the possibility they’ll cover the costs to further your study; while you work of course. How epic is that! If it’s an MBA you desire or perhaps a proficiency in Business Administration you’d like to polish, big corporates often reward dutiful employees with such schemes. If you’re lucky enough to enjoy this setup, make sure you realise what a good thing you’re onto and give back to the company at hand. Or freeload accordingly, but it’s not advisable to behave as such.
Look Abroad
International students are subject a torrent of extra fees when they choose to study abroad. If you don’t believe us, just see the eye-watering figures international students coming to Australia have to finance. You will suddenly worship your amounting HECS debt as a blessing from above. But if you plan on pursuing a career abroad, in most job markets post grad study is all but the standard. Find a program with a stellar exchange program and you’ll be eligible for a whole heap of travel loans from the government. Not only will you be soaking up a foreign culture while you study but you’ll be able to experience life abroad, think of it as a taste test.
For those talented thinkers, most universities and programs overseas offer a range of scholarships for foreign students specifically. That way you can apply for your dream program without having to battle the vast amount of students applying from the home country. And you’ll likely be eligible for cheaper student housing and part time work overseas, making your student life a little easier to manage.
Work On Your Side Hustle
Entrepreneurial at all? It’s time to turn your side hustle into a money maker. Whether it’s a DIY product of instagrammable beauty or a crafty app that you could make a dollar or two off, get cracking. Every extra ounce of cash will make the difference between a diet of mi goreng en masse or a once a week cafe lunch. Sell your unworn wares on eBay, or offer your social media savviness to small businesses. Welcome to the freelance life.
Call Up Centrelink
Uh. Wait, hear me out. For all their awful system malfunctions and unending wait times, for students Centrelink is an underused resource. The government literally subsidise your basic living costs, we’ll admit it’s not much but it’s certainly better than nothing. There’s an undeserved stigma attached to those who claim it, but that’s honestly bullshit. If you’re contributing to society via your learnings or investing in your own development, the government is happy to foot a portion of the bill.
But before you start working up a complex plan of money making schemes, be realistic. Are you willing to compromise your lifestyle in favour of study? If your answer wavers even a little, perhaps it’s not best to study further right now. Give it a year or two and then make it happen, just bookmark this article til then.
Image source: Lionsgate Publicity.