In days gone by, university students were widely tarnished with the brush of little study and a lot of sleep.  However, with student debt growing rapidly, the recession has given many students a reality check – and in doing so, has put to bed, no pun intended, the stereotype of this “group” which we all know and love.

As university halls empty out for the festive season, and many a family home welcomes back their studious children – along with their bin bags full of dirty washing, it seems the Christmas holidays will be less than a rest for many.  Whilst the majority of us dig into our Christmas pudding, students around the UK will be working extra hours in our retail stores to earn, rather than spend, during the festive season.

Research earlier this year confirmed students are panicking about the debt they accrue during their years of study – particularly when being told it could take up to 20 years to pay it back!  New research by Studentgems now shows a reaction to this situation as 82% of students questioned have taken jobs during their Christmas break in order to have a little more budget on their balance sheets when the semester begins again in the New Year.

Furthermore 16% of these students will be working on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day, giving up their own Christmas in return for higher wages.

Sadly, 93% of the students questioned admitted that the jobs they’ve taken for the holiday period will neither be rewarding nor relevant to their future career but will pad their pockets and ease the burden of worry surrounding student debt and the cost of attending university in the UK.

So the question is, is this a good lesson for students in the UK to learn? Or are we hindering them with debt and worries they shouldn’t have to be concerned with, when real life is still a few years off?