Have you thought about possibilities for working during your studies abroad? Working while studying is very common especially in countries where education costs are high, but it is not rare in Finland either: around 55% of students work during their studies. If you are interested of working while studying, this blog will tell you how you can gain valuable work experience and extra money during your studies at LUT.
LUT University wants its students to create valuable connections with companies already during their studies. To achieve this goal, the university provides students free and easily accessible career services that include organized job search training and career planning during the semester.
Career services organize, for example, face-to-face and virtual (during COVID-19) coaching sessions where you can update your CV, write a good application letter and get to know the Finnish labor market. They also arrange a few recruitment events per year where students are able to introduce themselves to companies and ask about work opportunities, like summer jobs or Master’s thesis positions. In this way, the university promotes students’ networking with companies and hopefully finding a suitable job.
In some cases, there are a few limitations for working during your studies. If your studies in Finland take longer than 90 days, you need a residence permit for studies. The residence permit for studies allows you to work without restrictions if the work is related to your degree (e.g. practical training and thesis work). Otherwise, you will be able to work an average of 25 hours per week (during the academic year) and without restrictions during the times when your educational institution offers no instruction, for instance, in summer. Even though the limitations are restrictive, students wouldn’t usually be able to work more than 25 hours per week in any case, as the studies also take up time.
All in all, if you are active and show initiative, you have the best chances to find a job in Finland. Even a lack of Finnish language skills is no longer such a great obstacle because many companies are international and use English as a working language. However, if you don’t succeed in finding a job at a company, LUT University offers many part-time jobs for its students, for example, as exam invigilators or LUT assistants – short-term jobs around the campus for you to earn some pocket money. To see more student job opportunities, check out this article for additional examples.
