The Impact of Paid Work on the Academic Performance of Students: A Case Study from the University of Canberra

Abstract

This article uses data collected from a survey of students at the University of Canberra to test the effects of paid employment on the average grade obtained in second semester, 2002. The results show that students who do well at school also tend to do well at university and that private study improves grades. Missing classes had a negative effect on grades. Paid employment did not have a large effect on grades. Our results show that some paid employment improves grades slightly, but working more than twenty-two hours per week has a negative effect.