The Rise Of Side Hustles Among Students

 

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By: Olajumoke Kareem 

Side hustling is something common among students in the university, with the current economic state of the country, as a student no one will tell you to find another means of survival or reduce the dependence on parents at home. Most students are venturing into various kinds of side hustles, businesses, per time jobs, freelancing, Neolife, FHG, hand skills and so on, just to keep sane and keep surviving.

Side hustle is not actually something that students choose to do for pleasure nor enjoy the experience but as students there are certain things you don’t have to wait to be told before you do them, your instinct just makes way for it especially when it means surviving on campus.

Apart from studying hard, the majority of UI students are also the type to never be dependent too much on their parents or guardians when it comes to finance.

“Studying and hustling at the same time isn't not easy at all, I have to calculate classes and schedule for the day before setting out,” said Akinola, a 400 level Arts and Social Sciences Education student. To some set of hustling students, they have to make a proper planning of their daily routine in order to make ends meet and also keep up with classes as well, which is peculiar to many other Nigerian university students out there.

The same issue is being described by Philip a 300 BAMSA student “Working and studying at the same time is stressful, I would always have to find a balance for both and finding the balance is the actual issue there, once you can find it, it becomes easier, but it's not really easy because there are times that i have to pause one for the other which is also the process of finding the balance.” Some side hustles are overwhelming for students such that it threatens their academics so in turn, it leads to students having to choose their academics over their work.

A student from the department of Arts and Social Sciences Education said “It didn't really sit well with me at first, because studying and hustling can't really go hand in hand, one will actually affect the other and it affected me because I used my study times to be at work so I had to wake up at midnight to cover up things for the studies I missed at day time while others are sound asleep. It continued like that from 100 level, I tried to cover it up in year 2 but I couldn't really meet up but now in my year 3 I'll getting back on track but I would say that it is has its own advantages which is the ability to survive out there, be independent and on my own with experiences and skills I've gathered”. 

Through the experience of side hustles, many students who couldn't live their lives alone are made to grow up really fast and become women and .men of their own small worlds which is like the preparation for the reality of life after graduation.

According to Kairos a Physiotherapy student “Studying and hustling is not easy, it requires dedication, focus, prioritizing and time, and one has to make the right choices in life”. Studying and hustling among the university students is borderline but with the right motivation and goals the inspiration will keep coming irrespective of the obstacles that may occur at the process.

It is evident from the expression of the students above that studying and hustling is a thing of inevitability, there are many students who can not avoid or run away from it. Some of them from different family backgrounds, some already breadwinners in their family leaving them with no other choice but to cater the bills as they are also building their academic life.

At the end of the day studying and hustling can be viewed differently by students on campus, while some see it as a lifetime opportunity, some see it as a preparation into the future and others will say it is a means of survival but either way, hustling is paramount especially to students who do not have to depend on anyone before they can eat.