How are working students meant to survive?

Tea_Bag · 11-01-2011 01:51AM #1

I just got home from work just there, and my boss called me over for a chat. i was hoping he'd say i was getting a Christmas bonus (ive been working 5-6 day weeks for the last 15 months there, only taking 2 weeks off for the entire duration of my employment, and never got a bonus/raise/anything)

Anyway, it turns out the business isnt making enough money (shocker:rolleyes:) and so everyone has to take a 15% pay cut. This brings my hourly rate to €8.00 on the dot. fantastic. (i was previously considering asking for a small raise - pffft)

[RANT]
I am doing a 4 year university science degree. i get ZERO support from my family, infact, my mom has to frequently "borrow" money from me. as a result of my working, my grades were woeful last semester, so this coming semester, I can only justify working 2 days a week @ 5-6 hours a day (full shift)
after calculating my budget, income (being optimistic with hours here) minus my rent = €30 a week left over for bills/groceries/misc.

WTF!

i actually dont know what to do with myself. my work colleague broke down and started crying. im more pissed off. i did nothing to deserve this current economic climate. ive been working since i was 16 and earning **** all. i took a 2 year gap after LC before going to uni, in which time i worked as much as possible. even though i qualified for the dole, and would have been given more than i was earning at the time per week, i refused to be a parasitic leech on the irish system. whenever i lost my job, i found another one within weeks, even though people kept telling me "its hopeless, there are no jobs". **** you loser, ive found several while you stayed scrounging on the dole you lazy ****. i moved out at 17 and have been fully independent ever since (only 3 and a half years, but its 3.5 and counting++)

now though, i dont know where to turn. Im going to try find a job that'll let me work weekends only @ 2 x 12 hour shifts. failing that, i guess im going to have to drop out of college because i cant pay the fees and become a bum on the dole like half my friends. THANK YOU IRELAND/POLITICIANS/DEVELOPERS!

[/RANT]

mods i posted this here and not R&R because i wanted reaction posts too, and people to tell me im an idiot and TL;DR etc..

starbelgrade · 11-01-2011 01:55AM

Life is hard.

You can't expect everything to be handed to you on a plate & more often than not, you have to work your bollox off to get the things you want.

It's shit, but if you really want something, it'll be worth it in the long run.

In the mean time, chin up... it could be worse.

Really, it could be.

fedor.2. · 11-01-2011 01:58AM

Day by day

Mr Benevolent · 11-01-2011 02:00AM

Teabagging?

FreudianSlippers · 11-01-2011 02:00AM

Agreed. OP, that's life. If it's worth having, it's probably difficult to get.

It's not "IRELAND/POLITICIANS/DEVELOPERS" - the fact of the matter is that some people have to work their assess off if they want to go to college. Just be thankful that 3rd level education is effectively free here and you're not burdened with $100,000 worth of debt like you would be in the USA.

melekalikimaka · 11-01-2011 02:01AM

surely if your renting your away from home and can apply for all sorts of lovely grants.

squeakyduck · 11-01-2011 02:03AM

melekalikimaka wrote: »

surely if your renting your away from home and can apply for all sorts of lovely grants.

This is very true.

EverEvolving · 11-01-2011 02:05AM

melekalikimaka wrote: »

surely if your renting your away from home and can apply for all sorts of lovely grants.

That, and you could also get a small student loan and try paying it back during the summer.

There is little point breaking your balls to keep your neck above water while in college and then coming out of it failing because you had to work to survive.

Mahatma coat · 11-01-2011 02:06AM

I think the OP might just be a bit Resentful that they come from a lower socioeconomic foundation.

Yes OP things are always harder for the Rif Raf

We designed it that way, now quit your bitching and know your place, if you dont work menial tasks then who will deliver my Foi Gras or clean the Vomit off the streets after me and my wealthy friends get drunk on really expensive wine, take solace in the fact that the Vomit you will be cleaning up is worth more than your Car

mikom · 11-01-2011 02:07AM

Tea_Bag wrote: »

How.....

Count yourself lucky........ In the last recession we used to hang teabags on the washing line.

FreudianSlippers · 11-01-2011 02:07AM

Mahatma coat wrote: »

I think the OP might just be a bit Resentful that they come from a lower socioeconomic foundation.

Yes OP things are always harder for the Rif Raf

We designed it that way, now quit your bitching and know your place, if you dont work menial tasks then who will deliver my Foi Gras or clean the Vomit off the streets after me and my wealthy friends get drunk on really expensive wine, take solace in the fact that the Vomit you will be cleaning up is worth more than your Car

:eek: The mods are going to start thinking we're the same person.

Riamfada · 11-01-2011 02:10AM

it could be worse,you could have to pay for college.

scientific1982 · 11-01-2011 02:17AM

Thats rough OP and 4th year for a science subject is a bastard. Are you female. If so may I suggest stripping.

Wompa1 · 11-01-2011 02:19AM

I was a student pre-2007 and was the same thing, only I was on 8.65 an hour. Working long long hours having my grades going to ****e. Rent and most other things were more expensive...if you have worked consistently than do what I did calculate up how much you need and get a student loan.

'twas a bummer at the time, Having debt leaving college whilst my colleagues all either went travelling or back to college, graduates I worked with bought themselves cars..

But joke was on them. The one's that travelled or went back to college are unemployed and the one's that bought cars have just paid off cars that have dropped hugely in value.

Sea Sharp · 11-01-2011 02:23AM

Try moving somewhere where the rent's cheaper. Single rooms can go for as low as 200 p/m if you shop around and don't mind blood stains on the carpets.

leeroybrown · 11-01-2011 02:24AM

melekalikimaka wrote: »

surely if your renting your away from home and can apply for all sorts of lovely grants.

Grants are based on a student's parents' means regardless of how little or much they contribute to their offspring. Basically you get dropped in it if your parents either can't or won't support you.

That said there's always a way if you want something enough!

Wompa1 · 11-01-2011 02:33AM

Or share a twin room. 'twas two years sharing and two years in single rooms for me and the rent is 3 euro less a week than what my gf currently pays for her own room. Oh the horrors! And the week I had hot dogs and beans every night because Sll I had was beans and the hot dogs were reduced

At x-mas I got myself 12 of the small cans of budweiser and that was all I drank for my first two years of college...guhghh yeah college is **** if you or your parents can't really afford it

CavanCrew · 11-01-2011 02:34AM

Life's a B**ch ... you can interpret the *'s as u wish.

Stop lendin ur ma money.

ArseBurger · 11-01-2011 02:38AM

Suck it up. If you think it's bad now, wait until you get a real job.

Schism · 11-01-2011 02:39AM

leeroybrown wrote: »

Grants are based on a student's parents' means regardless of how little or much they contribute to their offspring. Basically you get dropped in it if your parents either can't or won't support you.

That said there's always a way if you want something enough!

So the system is set up as such that even if you're independent it's not your income they look at it's your parent's?

http://omg.wthax.org/1_72.jpg

Kold · 11-01-2011 02:42AM

melekalikimaka wrote: »

surely if your renting your away from home and can apply for all sorts of lovely grants.

I was rejected because I'm unable to get relevant forms from my father. Thankfully I get a small bit of cash from my mother but after rent, €60 a month is not a whole lot to live on.

It's f*cking annoying because art is very rarely cheap to create and in 4th year it's meant to look pretty professional. What's more I won't actually be qualified for bugger all afterwards.

RacoonQueen · 11-01-2011 02:43AM

Welcome to life.

Potential-Monke · 11-01-2011 02:45AM

Hey, thats life. Here's a brick ----> [] Use it to start building a bridge.

We're all in the same boat (well, those of us that work). I put my life on the line everyday for €20 disposable income a week. My bank pays my mortgage and charges me extra because i never have enough in the bank. I haven't been out socialising in 4 months, and i'm dodging the tv licence man. I need new runners but can't afford the €15 to buy the cheapest pair, etc, etc, etc.

But you don't hear me bitching. It's life.

Tea_Bag · 11-01-2011 02:47AM

starbelgrade wrote: »

Life is hard.

You can't expect everything to be handed to you on a plate & more often than not, you have to work your bollox off to get the things you want.

It's shit, but if you really want something, it'll be worth it in the long run.

In the mean time, chin up... it could be worse.

Really, it could be.

I don't expect anything. Thats why ive been working part/full time from the age of 16. I have a friend who live at home and gets more pocket money than i earn in the same week. he's 22 :rolleyes:

And i certainly do understand that it could be worse. i grew up in South Africa, and ive seen what other people go through, and it makes my life look much better, but i still feel like im paying for a bunch of tossers who tore the country apart.

melekalikimaka wrote: »

surely if your renting your away from home and can apply for all sorts of lovely grants.

I dont qualify for any apparently, besides some tax credits, of which i pay very little now that i earn very little anyway. i think it also has to do with the fact that i didnt "grow up" here and carry a South African passport. (im European though)

EverEvolving wrote: »

That, and you could also get a small student loan and try paying it back during the summer.

There is little point breaking your balls to keep your neck above water while in college and then coming out of it failing because you had to work to survive.

Ive already tried the loan route. the student bank who I've been banking with for years (I've no bad credit or anything) told me they cant give me one. the manager actually sat me down and apologized profusely for not being able to help. it seems the only way to get a loan these days is to prove you dont need it at all (i need a threshold income, of which no student meets i guess.)

Grimes wrote: »

it could be worse,you could have to pay for college.

Thats the thing though. College isnt free. i know it doesnt sound like much maybe to you, but €1742 "administration/registration fees" + lecture notes (and you cant survive without them) ++ many other things really starts to add up when you earn €80 per week, of which €50 goes to rent.

scientific1982 wrote: »

Thats rough OP and 4th year for a science subject is a bastard. Are you female. If so may I suggest stripping.

male. would if i could though.

Sea Sharp wrote: »

Try moving somewhere where the rent's cheaper. Single rooms can go for as low as 200 p/m if you shop around and don't mind blood stains on the carpets.

im paying €200 a month yea. its a lovely house too, so i did get quite lucky in this respect. some of my friends pay nearly €300 (or another week and a bit wages to me)

smk89 · 11-01-2011 02:49AM

Potential-Monke wrote: »

Hey, thats life. Here's a brick ----> [] Use it to start building a bridge.

We're all in the same boat (well, those of us that work). I put my life on the line everyday for €20 disposable income a week. My bank pays my mortgage and charges me extra because i never have enough in the bank. I haven't been out socialising in 4 months, and i'm dodging the tv licence man. I need new runners but can't afford the €15 to buy the cheapest pair, etc, etc, etc.

But you don't hear me bitching. It's life.

I can think of a better use of that brick, and it involves your vas deferens!

Don't act like your better than the OP, we all may be in the same boat but I'm sure you've bored the bolocks of someone with your woes too. If he wants to rant let him, god knows we all have at some point.

funky penguin · 11-01-2011 02:56AM

Jesus man, don't give up after 3.5 years, you've worked this hard to get where you are!

Get a student loan, or a loan off someone you know who can afford it.

I was in the same situation you are, but it gets better, trust me. I'm in an MA now, and the degree has helped me get a part-time job that pays well.

Stick with it.

RacoonQueen · 11-01-2011 02:56AM

i still feel like im paying for a bunch of tossers who tore the country apart.

You are. They still earn more than anyone else on this thread and probably do less work too.

Living in Ireland is fun.

Goldenegg · 11-01-2011 02:57AM

I work full time shift work. I also am a student doing a degree through distance learning course in dcu. After my mortgage is paid, and my car loan, I am left with 200 for the two weeks. Out of this, I have to pay my gas and electricity, get petrol, credit for my phone, groceries and also put money aside for my college fees which is over 2000 and needs to be paid at the beginning of each year.

Yes, life could be a hell of a lot better right now, but that is life. It is hard and the majority of times can be quite **** but it is what you make it. If you work hard, obviously you will gain more.

Explain to your mother that you simply cannot afford to be giving lends and that you are living on the bread line.

Dont be at yourself · 11-01-2011 02:58AM

Third level education is not a basic human right. Dunno when people suddenly decided that everyone needed a degree. Nothing wrong with doing a trade or doing some other type of work.

If you really want to go to university, you should figure out your budget before you enrol, not in 4th year. If you can't make ends meet, there are plenty of grants and loans available. Universities also allow students to defer their studies for a year, which would be a great time to safe up.

Potential-Monke · 11-01-2011 03:03AM

smk89 wrote: »

I can think of a better use of that brick, and it involves your vas deferens!

Don't act like your better than the OP, we all may be in the same boat but I'm sure you've bored the bolocks of someone with your woes too. If he wants to rant let him, god knows we all have at some point.

Well i'm sorry if my bridge building brick makes you want to attack my anatomy. Alot of people have found use for my bricks, and none of them involed my genatalia.

I'm not better, nor did i intend to make myself seem that way, i was just explaining that alot of people are in the same situation, and even worse. Please accept my apologies if i came across differently. I'm not as good with words as some.

K?

fedor.2. · 11-01-2011 03:06AM

scientific1982 wrote: »

Thats rough OP and 4th year for a science subject is a bastard. Are you female. If so may I suggest stripping.

I like to think that you were being sincere when you recommended stripping:D

How are working students meant to survive?

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