Working while Studying Can Increase Salary and Chances of Success

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Research shows that working while studying increases the likelihood of employment after graduation by 19% and boosts salary by 14%. One in two students has worked for at least a month while studying full time. The greatest benefits come from being employed during the final years of study, when students have the opportunity to begin working in their chosen field. These findings come from a team of authors at the HSE Faculty of Economic Sciences.

Combining work and study has become a common practice among students, with more than 50% having worked for at least one month during their studies. They rightly believe that work experience can make them more competitive in the employment market and increase their chances of securing a higher-paying position after graduation. While only 18% of first-year students balanced work and study, this proportion increased to 40% by their final year. 

Drawing from comprehensive Graduate Employment Monitoring data on over 200,000 graduates who completed full-time bachelor's and specialist degrees in 2021, the authors analysed trends in balancing work and study in Russia, as well as its impact on post-graduation employment. It was found that among those who graduated with honours, a slightly higher proportion worked while studying. Students from more prestigious and highly rated universities are also more likely to balance work and study, with 59% employed compared to 50% at less selective universities. Students with qualifications in mathematics, information technology, and natural sciences are more likely to begin working during their studies, whereas humanities students are less likely to do so, with 58% versus 47%.

The likelihood of finding a job within a year after graduation was 19% higher for those who combined work and study. Moreover, the longer a student worked while studying, the greater their chances of finding employment after graduation, with each additional month of work experience increasing the likelihood of employment by 1%. Such graduates also earn 14% more, with each additional month of work experience boosting their salary by 0.7%. 

Combining work and study during the fourth and fifth years of university appears to be significantly more important. Part-time work during the early years of university has little effect on the likelihood of employment, whereas internships in the final year increase it by 26%. Students in mathematics and computer science gain the most from this combination. Their chances of finding a job are 10% higher, compared to just 4% for economists. The university also plays a significant role; students who earn qualifications from top-ranking institutions have a 21% higher likelihood of finding employment.

The authors of the paper—Ksenia Rozhkova, Junior Research Fellow at the Laboratory for labour Market Studies, HSE Faculty of Economic Sciences; Sergey Roshchin, Head of the Laboratory, and Pavel Travkin, Senior Research Fellow—highlight a significant shift in perspectives on education. An increasing number of students are now shifting from balancing study with work to balancing work with study. Acquiring work experience becomes their primary goal, while academic performance takes a secondary role.

Ksenia Rozhkova

‘In our view, students are increasingly combining study with work because they value not only income but also the experience and competences they acquire. Being employed enables them to enter their chosen professional field. In contrast, internships provided by universities are often limited to formal introductory programmes that do not focus on developing applied skills,’ according to Ksenia Rozhkova. Given that universities aim to ensure their graduates are successfully employed, it would be beneficial to rethink their approach to educational processes by focusing on providing more practice-oriented skills and collaborating with potential employers.