Alanna Malt

Hello, I’m Alanna and I’m a second-year BA Equine Business Management student.

I currently have two jobs that I work alongside studying for my degree and having my own pony in on-site livery – so my time management and budgeting need to be right!

Here’s my personal insight into working and budgeting while at university.

Job opportunities on campus

When you’re looking for a paid role, the first place to start is on Hartpury’s campus itself. There are plenty of business areas that offer jobs – such as working the café or student bar, Legends.

I’m a Student Ambassador, which is a paid role with the Marketing team. It’s super fun and social, allowing me to meet people all over campus and people from lots of different years and courses. There is an opportunity to progress as well, as I have just been promoted to Senior Student ambassador! As part of the role, I take people on tours of the campus and represent Hartpury at events – these range from careers fairs and UCAS events to the Badminton Horse Trials!

There are also job opportunities in the Equine Therapy Centre as well as sports coaching roles. Usually, these roles open up once you know your way around the campus.

Becoming a Student Representative is also worth exploring. You share feedback from your classmates with the Students’ Union and get paid £5 per meeting you attend. There are also higher roles in the Students’ Union that are paid! Visit the Students’ Union website to find out more.

The Students’ Union also advertise roles, so it’s worth keeping an eye on the jobs and volunteering page.

Securing an industry role

Hartpury’s Innovation, Careers and Enterprise (ICE) team can help you find part-time work in the industry you want to work in as a career. They have a network of connections across all subject areas, and share new opportunities all the time through student emails and posts on Grofar – our work experience portal.

The ICE team helped me to find my current job with Horse and Country – which I love! It’s allowed me to develop the skills I’ll need in the future alongside getting paid.

Working in hospitality and retail

Gloucester itself is a city full of pubs, restaurants and shops that are always looking for staff. There are plenty of opportunities on indeed and/or Google to find part-time work in Gloucester. I worked in a pub in Gloucester for six months and tended to do around 20 hours a week alongside my degree.

Managing your time
When you’re working and studying, the key thing is keep focused and maintain balance. To help make sure you’re allocating the right amount of time to each activity, try creating a timetable. You can schedule in time for working, studying and relaxing – it’s essential to carve out some chill time! Taking time to recharge will give you more energy to succeed in your studies and other commitments.

Budgeting

When it comes to saving money, it’s my favourite thing to do! I’ve found a comfortable rhythm now that allows me to budget nicely.

Keeping an eye on your bank account and knowing your limits is important, but having fun is also key – it’s all about finding the balance.

It’s different from every student, as it depends on how you like to shop, but here are some things I’ve found helpful over the last two years.

My top FIVE tips for saving money

1. Shop once every two weeks – it helps me to plan and make sure I never waste food.
2. Don’t get too many takeaways – in my first two months, I spent £70 on McDonald’s!
3. Take lunch to uni – I mean prep because buying paninis every day can add up.
4. Going out is expensive – I limit the amount of time I go out every month. It means I have a better time when I do go out, and also have more time for my studies – win win!
5. Look out for supermarket deals – I once got 50 fish fingers for £5; that’s a lot of meals.

When it comes to being savvy with money, my fellow Student Ambassador Skai has a few extra tips…

1. Make note of how much income you have – be it from your allowance or salary.
2. Get an approximate idea of how much money you spend per week/month. You could break this in to essentials i.e. food, rent, medicine, phone bills, hygiene items, etc. and non-essentials i.e. clothes, eating out, fun activities etc.
3. Make it fun by trying to beat your monthly expenses by spending less money.
4. You could save for a month and treat yourself the next one.
5. Life should bring you joy, so spending money on things/activities that bring you happiness every now and then is fine – so long as you’re only spending what you can afford!