Dancing with Capitalism: Exploring the Lives of Students and their Experiences of Work


Emily Hammond, University of Toronto

In Canada, the costs associated with a post-secondary education, such as tuition, books, and living expenses, are higher than ever before. Research suggests that the cost of post-secondary tuition alone has increased by approximately 40% over the past decade, and that Canada is amid a student debt crisis (OECD, 2015). This is particularly concerning considering the increasing rates of precarious, low-paid, and part-time employment opportunities available to young people. Despite limited secure prospects, work is a necessary part of obtaining a post-secondary education for many students. Currently, over half of undergraduate students in Canada are engaging in paid work while studying full-time (Maury, 2020). This paper provides an in-depth analysis of students’ first-hand experiences with work. In particular, I use mixed methods to better understand how students’ engagement in the workforce impacts them and their studies. Through a combination of both focus groups and in-depth individual interviews, I interviewed 62 students who are working while attending a university or college in the Greater Toronto Area. This sample size enabled me to capture the experiences of a range of students, including a broad spectrum of gender identification and students who are diverse by class, race, and citizenship status. Moreover, it allowed me to talk to students working in a vast array of jobs. Through this research, I answer three central questions: (1) How do students understand their experiences of work? (2) How do students manage the demands of both work and study? (3) How do students’ social locations shape their perception of, and experiences in the labour market? Findings of this research reveal that when individuals start to work, they also begin an adult relationship with capitalism. However, the type of relationship they have with the labour market varies; while some students are working due to deep financial needs, others are working for ‘fun’. As such, my findings show evidence that capitalism does not dance the same way with everyone (e.g. working at Lululemon for a discount versus working as a server to pay rent). Furthermore, students use many strategies to manage the competing demands of work, school, and their personal lives. These include working on the weekend, finding jobs that enable them to complete schoolwork on the job, working night shifts, picking courses that align with their work schedules, making sacrifices and prioritizing. While many students feel exasperated trying to uphold this lifestyle, attending school and living in the Greater Toronto Area necessitated it. Finally, central to this study are the identities of my participants. Students’ race, class, gender, ability, etc. and the intersection of these identities are significant to understanding their experiences entering and within the workplace. This study teases out the ways in which one’s social location can impact their experiences within the labour market, and provides an important basis through which the experiences of students can be better understood. This research provides critical insights on how students’ experiences of work affect their capacity to study and survive. It illuminates the way that students balance the responsibilities of work, schooling, and household. In this balance, students develop understandings of work and the broader economic system in which they find it. These experiences shape their understandings of their social and economic futures; it reflects how they come to understand paid labour. Student work is not merely transitory, it is formative.

This paper will be presented at the following session: