It is no news that international students in the U.K. pay higher tuition fees than domestic or EU students, while funding their accommodation and living costs during their course. In 2018, students from the U.K. and EU enrolling in to English universities had to pay up to £9,250 as the annual fee. However, the fee for international students vary considerably, ranging from £10,000 and going up to £38,000 or more for medical degrees. Along with a high cost of living, the average cost of studying in the U.K. is estimated to be £22,200 per year, needless to say, studying in London is likely to be significantly more expensive.
Fortunately, there is support available and ample opportunities for part-time work for international students to top up funds and pay university fees. If you are an International student , and are enrolled into any full-time undergraduate or postgraduate degree programme at a recognised university, you are allowed to work part-time during the term for up to 20 hours a week, and full-time during the holidays.
Here is useful information on employment preconditions and types of jobs that international students can pursue.
Range of jobs
There is a range of part-time jobs to expat students in the U.K. Flexible in nature, the KRAs of such jobs are designed such that they suit the life of a student. Websites such as indeed.com and studentjob.co.uk are most sorting by both employers and students for jobs such as:
Sales assistants in retail
Customer assistants inhospitality
Research assistant in universities
Data analyst in corporates
Event organisers
Catalogue distributor
Shopping assistant
There are other jobs like babysitting and pet-sitting as well. Paid internships can earn you additional money and give you vital extra skills, which is also beneficial for your CV.
Minimum wages
The U.K. has set national minimum wages, which means you get paid according to your age and nature of job. The ‘National Minimum Wage’ is the minimum pay per hour almost all workers in the U.K. are entitled to. Regardless of the scale of an enterprise, they still have to pay the correct minimum wage. Such as:
21 or older: £6.70 an hour
18 to 20: £5.30 an hour
16 or 17: £3.87 an hour
25 and above: £7.20 an hour
Apprentices: £3.30 per hour
*These rates are as on 2016 and are reviewed annually by the U.K. government.
