Student searching for part-time job
Life in France is quite expensive.
Ranked in the fearsome world-top-20-countries where cost of living is the most expensive, France requires a significant budget to live comfortably. Alas, the student budget is no exception to the rule: according to the UNEF (student federation) 2021 survey[1] on student cost of living in France, the student average monthly rent in France is 551 €.
The Banque Populaire has indeed developed a very useful tool allowing you to compare, item by item, the cost of living between your home city and your host city (https://www.lecoutdelexpat.com/). We can for instance learn that an apartment with one room in Lyon city centre is 600% more expensive than the same in Yaoundé, a bus ticket in Lille is 440% more expensive than the same in Abidjan or one kilo of rice in Nantes is 50% more expensive than the same in Casablanca…
Obviously, in order to get your student visa, you had to prove your capacity of gathering the sufficient financial resources to undertake your studies. But we all know that a tight budget can be a source of stress, limiting one’s activities.
The good news is that, as a holder of a student resident permit, you are allowed to work during your studies in France and this, on an ancillary basis. This means that you can do it, but this shall not be the main nature of your activities, which must remain studies.
Very specifically, this means that you can work up to 964 hours per year which represents 60% of the legal yearly duration of work. Your employer will just have to make a nominative statement to the competent authorities[2]. This represents approximatively 20 weekly hours, a threshold to observe in order to avoid any risk of withdrawal of permit.
Higher education studies often involve concentrated timetables with, for some students, a study format called “alternate” (alterné in French) with large availability periods that can easily serve a job in parallel.
By improving your “budget comfort”, you kill 3 birds with 1 stone, since you develop as well your resume and form the beginning of a professional network in France.
Then, where to start from to trade 20 hours of your time for additional incomes?
With the health crisis, the catering trade or services to individuals (home help, maintenance and care, safety, etc.), for instance, have lost many workers and are thus often looking for applicants.
Those that have shop windows clearly display their needs on their walls and others, on their websites or/and on job dedicated platforms.
There exists as well platforms dedicated to students such as Jobaviz (website of the CROUS, https://www.jobaviz.fr/), 1jeune1solution (website of the government, https://www.1jeune1solution.gouv.fr/jobs-etudiants), Jobs d’Eté (website of the Cidj, https://www.jobs-ete.com/). All these sites are full of ads and pieces of advice. They have been specially designed for you so they take into account your constraints notably the maximum work time.
Campuses are also placed where job ads can be displayed, where job fairs can be organized and where discussions can happen through word-to-mouth, which can happen to be useful in order to find a contract.
In any case, you will first have to create your application file i.e. a resume and a cover letter, in which you can highlight your strengths and skills as well as your constraints and wishes.
But be sure to watch out for scams, being in need of money shall not make you naïve. Too good offers are probably fraudulent, one does never enriches easily. Furthermore, no one should ask you money to allow you to work. Be watchful and pay attention to your common sense.
And of course, do not forget that if you need a helping hand, FIGS Education is always at your side to listen to and advise you!
Good search to all of you
[1] https://unef.fr/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Enque%CC%82te-UNEF-sur-le-cou%CC%82t-de-la-vie-e%CC%81tudiante-2021.pdf
[2] More information: https://www.service-public.fr/particuliers/vosdroits/F2713/personnalisation/resultat?lang=&quest0=1&quest1=0