If you’re feeling the squeeze, it might be tempting or even necessary to find work in the wonderful city of York.
But it’s important to look for a position to suit you alongside your studies, with the right hours. Working on the other side of the bar is an option that might appeal.
Warning: we associate nightclubs with glamour, nights out and the more social side of life – but it’s not necessarily quite so glamorous when you’re sober, exhausted, and struggling to read the lips of yet another party animal requesting an Archers and lemonade.
It is a very sad fact of life that being paid to work at a sports social or a club night is actually never going to be as fun as blowing all your cash with your mates on ill-advised cocktails after a giggly pre-drinking session.
It’s no fun exchanging crazy fancy dress for a black shirt laced with the aroma of VK’s, and to miss out on nights in bonding with your new flatmates. If the club does not have a regular or particularly imaginative DJ, you will be likely to hear the same tracks every single night.
Legally, I believe, you should wear ear defenders at all times but there is an unwritten law which contravenes this – nobody wears them. So you will struggle even more to use your ears in lectures the next day.
Typical hours for bar staff in a club are from about 11.30pm to 4.30am, so there is an obligation to get absolutely hooked on energy drinks. When the club closes, you are likely to be expected to re-stock the bar and have a drink with your colleagues whether you can be bothered or not.
If you’re lucky, the establishment will provide a taxi to take you home to avoid the 5am perils of the city centre. Unfortunately, you are guaranteed to get home and be unable to sleep. Although there might be less academic work to worry about in fresher’s year, this is your time to party. Let the bar look after itself.