Learning and working: types of combining university studies with employment

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to mark out and describe different types of combining university studies with work among 4th year university students of Yaroslavl and Tatarstan and to analyze their influence on academic achievement. Seven ‘study-work’ types are defined on the basis of two variables: work schedule and work relatedness to specialty. 1) Full-time work from the 1st-2nd university year not in a specialty field (223 students), 2) Full-time work during senior university years not in a specialty field (264 students); 3) Part-time work / working from time to time not in a specialty field (1101 students); 4) Full-time work from the 1st -2nd university year in a specialty field (114 students), 5) Full-time work during senior university years in a specialty field (127 students); 6) Part-time work / working from time to time in a specialty field (491 students); 7) Only studying and not enrolled in working during university (1023 students). Every type is characterized from the point of view of academic achievement, motivation to study, future plans and some other important variables. One of the main results is that part-time work in a specialty field doesn’t have a negative influence on academic achievement and can even be beneficial to the learning process.