Abstract:
In recent decades university student populations have become more diversified with increasing participation of historically underrepresented groups, such as those who are the first in their family to attend university (first-in-family students). This development has been accompanied by growing student employment. Research shows that especially first-in-family students tend to work more often, a higher amount of hours and are more likely to be affected negatively by term-time employment. In addition, first-in-family status often intersects with other forms of disadvantage (O'Shea, 2023).
However, little is known about how first-in-family students balance study and work, and what happens once this cohort enters the graduate job market. Shedding light on study-work-balances and graduate transitions is highly important, since graduate outcomes vary due to structural inequalities. Within an increasingly blurred and de-structured graduate labour market, the rules of the game (for career success) become even more tacit, which means that the classed ability to negotiate these unwritten rules and successfully navigate the labour market becomes even more important.
Against this backdrop, this paper aims to explore the following research questions: How do First-in-Family students navigate balancing study and term-time employment? How do these students progress their career futures and experience their transition out of university into graduate employment? The data consists of interviews with first-in-family university students and recent graduates (total sample = 34) in Austria, Europe. It has been analysed by coding procedures (Saldaña, 2021) and hermeneutics. Through the use but also critical discussion of the work-life-balance concept, the paper gains valuable insights into the experience of First-in-Family students’ balancing study and work as well as their graduate employment seeking.
The paper discusses the challenges these students face by constantly juggling work and employment and it illuminates the classed nature of accessing legitimate forms of work-related capital (e.g., ‘high-status’ internships). Furthermore, it shows how students draw on their existing capitals, including those acquired by term-time employment, to interact with the job market and to achieve (desirable) graduate employment. Findings from this study point to a number of urgently needed strategies for the first-in-family cohort to achieve student and graduate success, and to reduce existing inequalities in education and beyond.
References:
O’Shea, S. (2023). ‘It was like navigating uncharted waters’: exposing the hidden capitals and capabilities of the graduate marketplace. Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, 1–14.
Saldaña, J. (2021). The coding manual for qualitative researchers. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
However, little is known about how first-in-family students balance study and work, and what happens once this cohort enters the graduate job market. Shedding light on study-work-balances and graduate transitions is highly important, since graduate outcomes vary due to structural inequalities. Within an increasingly blurred and de-structured graduate labour market, the rules of the game (for career success) become even more tacit, which means that the classed ability to negotiate these unwritten rules and successfully navigate the labour market becomes even more important.
Against this backdrop, this paper aims to explore the following research questions: How do First-in-Family students navigate balancing study and term-time employment? How do these students progress their career futures and experience their transition out of university into graduate employment? The data consists of interviews with first-in-family university students and recent graduates (total sample = 34) in Austria, Europe. It has been analysed by coding procedures (Saldaña, 2021) and hermeneutics. Through the use but also critical discussion of the work-life-balance concept, the paper gains valuable insights into the experience of First-in-Family students’ balancing study and work as well as their graduate employment seeking.
The paper discusses the challenges these students face by constantly juggling work and employment and it illuminates the classed nature of accessing legitimate forms of work-related capital (e.g., ‘high-status’ internships). Furthermore, it shows how students draw on their existing capitals, including those acquired by term-time employment, to interact with the job market and to achieve (desirable) graduate employment. Findings from this study point to a number of urgently needed strategies for the first-in-family cohort to achieve student and graduate success, and to reduce existing inequalities in education and beyond.
References:
O’Shea, S. (2023). ‘It was like navigating uncharted waters’: exposing the hidden capitals and capabilities of the graduate marketplace. Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, 1–14.
Saldaña, J. (2021). The coding manual for qualitative researchers. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.