Students’ employment and internships

Paid jobs can help students to meet their expenses, to participate in activities with fellow students, to be accepted and to belong to higher status groups. However, in contrast to these positive aspects, working while studying can be detrimental to academic performance, lead to longer duration of study, and increase the risk of dropping out of higher education. This chapter therefore not only shows that most students have paid jobs, but also analyses the extent of students' work and the motivations behind it. It also shows how students' jobs are characterised, e.g. whether the work content is related to the study field, and which differences exist between groups of students. In light of the ongoing discussions at EU level on the financial remuneration of internships, the chapter also takes a closer look at the characteristics of students' internships.