Swiss students work (as well) ten hours a week
Three-quarters of young people who study in Switzerland are gainfully employed, the remuneration for which accounts for 39 percent of their monthly income
Every week of the semester, students spend an average of 9.7 hours on a job in parallel with their studies. About three-quarters of them are engaged in gainful employment, the remuneration of which makes up 39 percent of their monthly income.
However, more than half of their monthly income comes from the family. Four out of ten students live with their parents.
FSO survey before the pandemic
This is what emerges from the first results of the survey on the socioeconomic situation of students carried out in 2020 by the Federal Statistical Office (FSO). The results refer to the pre-pandemic situation of COVID-19.
During the semester of study, Swiss college students spend an average of 9.7 hours each week on their professional activities, compared to 35.4 hours they devote to study.
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The total time devoted each week to professional activity, study, household and family work as well as voluntary activities is 52.0 hours.
Overall, the time commitment increases with age, from 48.4 hours on average for students in the youngest age group (up to 20 years) to 60.8 hours for older students (over 35 years).
As age increases or in the presence of children, the time devoted to study decreases, while the time devoted to professional activity or household and family work increases.
One in four students has another activity
Seventy-three percent of students engage in a professional activity in parallel with their studies. Sixty-eight percent of students in employment have a maximum employment rate of 40 percent.
The rate of employment and the degree of employment depend on age: between the lowest age group (up to 20 years) and those aged 26 to 30 years there is an increase from 44 to 82 percent.
The older the age of students, the greater the percentage of those in employment with a degree of employment above 40 percent.
Slight decline for those attending university
Fewer students at universities and institutes of technology (UNI) are also gainfully employed (69 percent) than those at universities of applied sciences and universities of teacher education (UAS/ASP; 79 percent).
A good half of income is made up of family contributions
A substantial portion of monthly income comes from students’ professional activity (39 percent). The lion’s share, however, comes from monthly family support (52 percent on average).
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The share of family support in the total income of students declines with increasing age. Starting with the 26-30 age group, the source of income constituted by professional activity outweighs family payments.
Students with at least one parent with a college degree can count on family support of nearly two-thirds of monthly income, while support provided by parents with lower-level education amounts to less than half of monthly income.
One third of them apply for grants or loans
Compared to family support and professional activity, contributions to education have less impact on students’ budgets: grants and loans account for an average of 4 percent of income.
For those who benefit, however, they are of great importance. In the spring semester of 2020, the rate of students who applied for educational grants to public institutions, colleges or private organizations stood at 27 percent, with 43 percent of the cases being successful.
Four out of ten students live with their parents
Forty-one percent of students report living at home with their parents, 21% in a housing community, 18% with their partner and 10% alone or in a student residence.
Housing situations vary widely by age. Fifty-eight percent of students up to the age of 20 live with their parents, while the percentage drops to 4% for those over 35, who live mainly with their partner (1% in the age group up to 20 compared with 73% in the age group over 35).
Between one-fifth and one-quarter of students in the age group up to 30 live in a tenant community, after which the share drops.
All in all, a comparison of the above indicators with those from the last survey, dating back to 2016, reveals no notable changes.
