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The Experiences of Working While Studying: A Case Study of Postgraduate

Students at International Islamic

Article · October 2018

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 The Experiences of Working While Studying:
A Case Study of Postgraduate Students at International Islamic
University Malaysia
1* 1
Tumin and Ahmad Faizuddin

1
Kulliyyah of Education
International Islamic University Malaysia
*
Email: tumin.ashe@gmail.com

Abstract

This study explores the experiences of working while studying of

postgraduate students at International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM).
The main objective is to know what is the meaning of working while studying
for postgraduate students at IIUM. Four research questions were formulated:
(1) What are postgraduate students’ perceptions of working while studying?
(2) What are the positive and negative effects of working while studying? (3)
What are the challenges faced by postgraduate students when working while
studying and how do they overcome the problems? (4) What are suggestions
and recommendations for students who are working while studying? Two
informants were purposively selected and interviewed to collect the data. The
result shows that postgraduate students understand the meaning of working
while studying and how to deal with them in term of overcoming the
challenges. The recommendations include postgraduate students who decide
to work while studying should have good time management, be committed,
disciplined and responsible for what they are doing.

Keywords: Student working, working while studying, IIUM postgraduates

INTRODUCTION
Working part-time has long been part of university students’ experiences. Various
changes in terms of funding mechanism have resulted in increasing numbers of
students undertaking employment during their academic studies (Watts & Pickering,
2000). Although the exact numbers of students working part-time are difficult to
determine, several studies found that between 50 and 60 percent of all university
students are engaged in some forms of part-time jobs (Curtis, 2007; Häkkinen,
2006).

The issue might be due to the introduction of student loans, which provides a large
extent government funding for university fees. It is then argued that obtaining debt as
a direct consequence of studying will encourage students to get involved in part-time
employment (Metcalf, 2003). Even though many countries, including Indonesia and
Malaysia, have allocated specific budget for education by providing scholarships, but
not all students have the privilege to get them. Thus, loans become an alternative for
postgraduate students to continue their studies (Lucas & Lammont, 1998).

With regard to the above-mentioned issue, researching and investigating the

experiences of postgraduate students who are working while studying is considered
significant. Especially at International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM), the
research in this area is still limited. This will contribute to future studies in the field of
education related to students’ experiences who are working while studying. The

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following research questions were used to guide the research in answering the main
objectives of the study:

1) What are postgraduate students’ perceptions of working while studying?

2) What are the positive and negative effects of working while studying?
3) What are the challenges faced by postgraduate students when working while
studying and how do they overcome the problems?
4) What are suggestions and recommendations for students who are working while
studying?

LITERATURE REVIEWS
Students engaged in part-time and sometime full-time employment while studying is
increasingly a common phenomenon everywhere. Steinberg et al. (1981) stated over
30 years ago that working while studying provides students with quite naturally an
indication of the requirements that will be needed to function effectively in one’s later
career (Schill, McCartin, & Meyer, 1985). In recent years, further studies found that
students who are working part-time can easily develop team working,
communication, costumer care and practical skills (Lucas & Lammont, 1998; Curtis &
Lucas, 2001).

Students can directly relate the experiences of working part-time to enhance and
improve their academic knowledge, motivation and employment prospects (Curtis &
Shani, 2002; Curtis & Williams, 2002). Consequently, a number of researches have
concluded that a combination of financial needs and the opportunity to gain
experiences will ultimately enhance career opportunities in the future (Harvey, 2000;
Devlin, James & Grigg, 2008; Nonis & Hudson, 2006).

According to the research conducted by Watts and Pickering (2000), while working
part-time and studying full-time has a variety of positive outcomes, respondents
generally viewed part-time employment as a necessity to survive in the contemporary
higher education sphere. In Manthei and Gilmore’s (2005) study, it is said that the
money earned from part-time employment was typically spent on essential living
expenses.

From the perspective of students themselves, part-time work is often an introduction

to the real world which will assist them both in personal and career development
especially in higher education sector (Tymon, 2013; Tomlinson, 2007). Higher
education institutions should identify opportunities to increase the extent to which
students could be more familiar with work and expose them to educational, part-time
vocational and career experiences (Yorke, 2004; Glover, Law & Youngman, 2002).

Balancing Studying and Working

A variety of studies have examined the impacts of part-time employment on full-time

students. Manthei and Gilmore (2005), for instance, considered that working part-
time leaves less desired time to study. In addition, Jogaratnam and Buchanan (2004)
stated that new students who choose to do part-time job while having full-time
academic load were most likely to suffer from stress. As many studies suggested,
indeed a combination of full-time studying and part-time working can have a
detrimental effect in the physical and mental health of students. It can create the
negative effect on academic performance (Hovdhaugen, 2015; Creed, French &
Hood, 2015; Darolia, 2014).

2
Curtis and Shani (2002) believed that students who are working part-time will most
likely miss lecturers and feel that they could achieve higher grades had they not been
working. For that reason, universities should be aware of contemporary student lives.
They should introduce an element of flexibility as a means of structuring assignments
and course requirements to support this (Curtis, 2007). Positively, perhaps students
might acquire personal transferable skills, enhance employability and increase
confidence in the world of work (Watts & Pickering, 2000).

However, negatively, students who are working part-time tend to achieve poorer
marks compared to their classmates who are studying full-time. Given that part-time
working students is a common phenomenon, Jogaratnam and Buchanan (2004)
suggested that universities have a moral requirement to more effectively understand
and manage the stressors experienced by students studying full-time and working
part-time. Perhaps providing suitable trainings for students would be an alternative.

Finally, universities who are struggling with the debates regarding the cost or validity
of practical skills training might be able to take advantages of the synergy that exists
as a means of solving these tensions. Consequently, it is the purpose of this study to
develop an understanding of part-time employment amongst postgraduate students.
Specifically, this paper aims to determine the extent of part-time employment
amongst International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) postgraduate students, to
determine the reasons for engaging in part-time employment in the first place and to
find out their strategies to overcome the challenges in studying while working.

METHODOLOGY

Overview of the Design

This qualitative study employed semi-structured interviews to explore the

experiences of postgraduate students of International Islamic University Malaysia
(IIUM) who are working while studying. A qualitative method was used to explore
more in-depth and rich data for the study (Cresswell, 2012). A pilot study was carried
out first to find out whether postgraduate students are aware of the issue of working
while studying, and tested out specific research questions and interviews. Later on,
two informants were selected purposively among postgraduate students who have
more experiences and information about this issue. The interviews were recorded
using voice recorder and transcribed later on.

Data Analysis Procedures

In order to ensure that information obtained from the informants would not be missed
or misinterpreted, the interviews were transcribed verbatim, words by words. The
following six steps were used as a method of transcribing the data:

• Step 1 – The whole interviews were transcribed verbatim without leaving a

single word or comments.
• Step 2 – The transcripts were carefully read and examined to validate its
accuracy and clarity. The focus is more to spelling and pronunciation.
• Step 3 – The transcripts were re-read to find out special statements, key
words and phrases which point to an aspect of phenomenon that reveals
something essential about informants’ experiences.

3
 • Step 4 – The transcripts were re-read more closely to figure out the context of
the statements. It aims to interpret essential meanings from key words or
phrases to formulate the main ideas.
• Step 5 – The main ideas were elaborated to identify the themes. To generate
a theme, interview questions, key words and main ideas were carefully
compared. Several themes from other studies were also compared for a
better result.
• Step 6 – The themes were extracted to match the main ideas and sought
elaboration from experts or inter-raters. Finally, the findings were presented in
the discussion and analysis.

Credibility and Reliability

Two trustworthy inter-raters were chosen to check and test the information generated
from the interviews. This step is important to know the credibility and reliability
towards the study. The two inter-raters were doctoral students in educational
administration at the International Islamic University Malaysia. They are given full
transcripts and selected themes generating from the main ideas. The reliability of the
researchers’ coding and that of the inter-raters was calculated using a formula:
number of agreement divided by total number of agreement plus disagreement. The
result shows that the first rater gave 86.66 per cent and the second one gave full
point 100 per cent. The total average of both raters is 91.66 per cent, which indicates
a good reliability to confirm the study.

FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

The findings and discussion will be organized according to the research questions
and interview questions. This way, it will be easier to see the patterns and direct
responses from the informants. To keep the privacy of the informants, in the
discussion they will be coded as Informant 1 (F1) and Informant 2 (F2).

Research Question One – What are postgraduate students’ perceptions of

working while studying?

This research questions tried to explore the perceptions of postgraduate students on

working while studying. Based on the informants’ responses, it is confirmed that
financial support, self-development and internal motivation to integrate theory and
practice are among the driving forces of working while studying at university. From
the responses, it can be inferred that the informants seemed to fully understand the
motivation and reasons behind working while studying. Five interview questions
below show various responses of the informants:

What motivate you to continue studying while working?

I feel that I am in need to improve my quality of life. So I decided to

further my study even though I have to work as well. (F1)
For me it is just to get the experience and additional financial support.
(F2)

What do you think about working while studying for students?

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 Theoretically, it is very good actually. But to integrate and do both at
the same time, it is very difficult indeed. (F1)

I believe that education is important, but we also need money for

studying. So seeking money is also important. (F2)

Do you have any friends who are studying while working?

Yes, I have many friends who work while studying. It sometimes

make them have to be absent from the class and often the
communication is done through email. (F1)

Yes, some of them work at formal sector and informal sector. (F2)

What are the differences between student who are studying while working and
working while studying?

I would say that students who work while studying, they still focus on
their study, working just to support their study. However students who
study while working, their main focus is to work not to study, so the
result is of course different. (F1)

I think both of them focus on working and studying to get the life
experience (F2)

What are the reasons for you to work while studying?

Personally, I want to increase my skill. When my skill is stronger, I will

be able to give it to my students in terms of knowledge and needs.
(F1)

I want to become independent. I don’t want to be a burden to my

parents, so I can pay my own expenses and tuition fees. Besides, I
can get experiences and it is good to do my hobbies. (F2)

Research Question 2 - What are the positive and negative effects of working
while studying?

The second research question looked at positive and negative effects of working
while studying. The findings showed that informants have happy feeling and good
time management. Additionally, they become more responsible and improved their
personal life. Three interview questions below show the responses from the
informants:

How do you feel when you are working while studying?

I am very happy and enjoy what I do. The experience can help me to
get new ideas if I have problem, how to solve it, so it can enrich my
problem solving skills. (F1)

I can manage my time and appreciate it efficiently and effectively. It is

important to manage time when I study and when I work. (F2)

Is there any positive impact for you, please explain?

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 The positive impact is I can manage my time wisely. I can have more
chance to get new ideas in order to enrich my knowledge. (F1)

Mainly I am getting experiences from outside the class, how the world
works and how to be responsible to ourselves. (F2)

How do you manage your time in working while studying?

I try to balance my working hours and study times. How much time I
spend for working, I try to manage my study as well even though I
cannot do it fully because I have to do other things. (F1)

I try to manage my time efficiently by determining when the time I can

study and when I can work. (F2)

Research Question 3 - What are the challenges faced by postgraduate students

when working while studying and how do they overcome the problems?

In the research question number three, the focus is on the challenges faced by the
informants and how they overcome the problems. The findings show that among the
effective ways are through good time management and self-reflection. Three
interview questions below highlight the responses from the informants:

Is there any negative impact for you when studying while working?

Of course there are many negative impacts especially in academic

performance. When I work, for instance, I tend to focus on my
working world so my stamina will be drained drastically so I cannot
focus on study. (F1)

Depending on the situation. The bad thing is when we cannot

manage our time efficiently; it will take a longer time to complete the
study. I have to complete my draft of dissertation for several years.
(F2)

What is the effect on your academic performance?

So far I do not have problem with it. Depending on our effort to

manage the time for studying, the result will suit with it. If it is
maximal, the academic performance will be good. (F1)

Of course it affects my academic performance. Principally, the time to

work and to study will have to be divided accordingly. (F2)

How do you overcome the challenges?

The first thing that I usually do is self-reflection. It is important

because sometimes the problems come from ourselves. We need to
conquer ourselves first so we can manage our surrounding. Meaning
to say that we have to be ready to face any challenges. (F1)

The main point is how we manage the time efficiently. In doing so, I
believe that we must be healthy. I do exercise; balance the nutrient of

6
 food in order to be healthy so I will be able to manage my time fully.
(F2)

Research Question 4 - What are suggestions and recommendations for

students who are working while studying?

The last research question intended to ask the informants their suggestions and
recommendations for students who have similar condition. Among the suggestions
are the students who decide to work while studying must be first of all committed and
disciplined. They need to manage their time wisely because it is the most essential
element in balancing the work and study at university. As both the informants agreed,
it is not an easy task, but it is doable and manageable as long as the person is
responsible in what he or she is doing. The following two interview questions show
the suggestions and recommendations:

What are your suggestions for students who are working while studying?

The first thing to make clear is time management. Sometimes a

person has objective A but when he divides his time it does not focus
on A because the portion must be clear between working and
studying. The second thing is a good reflection on ourselves because
studying is not only to get the result or certificate, or we pass and get
grade A and B. The most important thing is what we get from the
study. Reflection is very important to know the source of the problem
from within ourselves. (F1)

My suggestion is that we must focus more on our studying and it is

our main objective in seeking the knowledge; whereas working is just
as an addition for experience and knowing the working world. (F2)

Do you have any recommendations to improve student’s performance when they

have to work?

Treat the time for studying like as the time for working. If you want to
be successful in both working and studying, you must balance the
time for both. (F1)

My suggestion for the students who work while studying is to

appreciate your work and be professional. Consider that working is a
process of learning in achieving a good life in the future. Do not forget
that our main objective is first of all studying and it becomes our main
basis. (F2)

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Based on the findings and discussions of the study, it can be concluded that
postgraduate students have been experiencing of working while studying at
International Islamic University Malaysia. They seemed fully understand the meaning
or working while studying and its consequences. The motivation behind doing this is
mainly due to financial support, self-development and seeking real-world job
experiences for their future. There are positive and negative impacts of working while
studying at university. Thus, the suggestions and recommendations for students who
have to work while studying are to be committed, disciplined, responsible and have
good time management.

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Finally, the researchers would like to recommend the following issues as implications
for educational practice and future research:
1. For students, working while studying at university level is not necessarily
detrimental to their academic performances. The most important thing if they
work while studying is to get real information and to know how many hours
per week in order to suit with their academic loads at university.
2. For lecturers, working students is something common in today’s reality. For
that reason, the lecturers should understand the real life situation of their
students.
3. For university authorities, make some supportive regulations or requirements
for students who have to work while studying. Some countries and
universities, for instance, permit their students to take part time jobs,
volunteering jobs and continuous jobs.
4. For future research, it is highly recommended to conduct a more in-depth
research employing mixed methods with a great number of participants or
informants in collecting the data. It is hopefully will have a better result and
implications for similar research.

REFERENCES

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