Starting uni for the first time can be super exciting.  We’ve seen it first hand at our stalls across all the major Victorian universities!

I like to think of the first few weeks as a game of Fresher Bingo: you get lost trying to find your first class, realise that no one forces you to wake up and go to lectures, find out what hangovers are, and you join a club or society that you will never actually be involved in.  If you get yourself an insecure job, then that’s Bingo.

School-to-work transitions have always been tough, but since the 1980s and 1990s we’ve been stuck working in insecure jobs for much longer than our parents. 

We’re working those entry level, casual jobs for way longer – 4.7 years to be precise! 

What this means is that we find it harder to pay rent, stay healthy and even to maintain strong connections with our friends.

It gets even worse for those of us who end up working cash-in-hand or ‘black market jobs’, where we’re off the books, underpaid and uninsured when things go wrong.

So what can I do to make sure my first year at uni is safe and secure?

1) Try to plan classes and work around time for rest and socialising.

2) Make an effort to see your friends IRL at least once a week.

3) Join our Young Workers community – just make sure it’s not the club you never get involved with!