Canada is a rustic filled with world-class academic institutions, and a ton of wonderful profession opportunities. For this reason, many students select to work while taking post-secondary studies. However, it will probably be a challenge to understand international students’ working hours for college kids in Canada, while understanding and obeying the terms of your study permit. From a piece, school, and life balance perspective, we’ve captured some key learnings below.

Working While Studying in Canada FAQs

Can I Work While Studying in Canada?

The answer is: mostly yes. You don’t need a separate work permit to work on or off campus for those who are enrolled full-time at a recognized institution and meet all eligibility requirements. Your study permit also must include a condition allowing you to work on and/or off campus.

What are International Students’ Working Hours in Canada?

In the past, international students could only work for 20 hours per week while classes were in session, and full time (up to 40 hours per week) during school breaks, just like the Christmas holidays. Currently, Canada’s recent temporary public policy allows international students’ working hours to be up to 40 hours every week. This temporary policy is in place until April 30, 2024.

Do I Need to Apply for a Co-op Work Permit?

If you might have a piece placement or co-op through your study program, it’s possible you’ll not need to apply for a co-op work permit under a brief public policy valid until April 30, 2024. Other eligibility conditions may apply.

For official and up-to-date information on applying for a study permit, please refer to the Government of Canada’s Immigration and Citizenship website.

Work-Life Balance while Studying in Canada

Now, for those who’re eligible to work while studying, listed here are just a few tips about how to balance all of it. With international students’ ability to work more hours in Canada, even temporarily, it’s more essential than ever to prioritize a work-life balance.

Use a Calendar Tool

Use something where you retain track of all of your time. This may be the best and most vital thing to assist you work while studying in Canada. As uncool because it could appear, we also recommend including all of your personal appointments in the calendar. This ensures you never double book yourself. While some people may prefer a paper agenda, we propose an electronic version for just a few reasons:

• If you lose your book, it’s gone. No backups.
• An e-version might be synced across quite a few devices (phone, tablet, computer, etc.)
• You can receive alerts across all those devices.

Take a Job with Defined Hours

As nice because it is to have flexible work hours, they’ll make it more of a challenge to commit to certain plans. With set hours, you recognize what you’ll be working on and when, and minimize surprises. In addition, try to secure a job that doesn’t require you to “bring your work home with you.” This ensures your time is fully segmented, which allows your mind to deal with the duty at hand moderately than trying to juggle work and faculty throughout the same time-frame.

Plan for Leisure

Sometimes when you find yourself juggling work and faculty, having fun is an afterthought. The problem with that’s leisure is required for good mental health. Therefore, even when it seems counterintuitive, taking day without work will mean higher coursework and a healthier mind. As such, ensure that you schedule in your leisure time, otherwise your calendar will likely keep getting booked up.

Plan for Study

Similarly, use your calendar tool to make sure you schedule in some study time because otherwise, that leisure time may also begin to interrupt your study time. Remember: the calendar is your buddy.

Monitor your Stress Levels

Due to work and faculty, you’ll be able to get too stressed. Monitor that and ward off in your work hours if you might have to. Keep in mind you might be there to study first, and work second. Unless there may be a financial imperative, ensure that your studies come first, and offload some hours for those who can. Don’t forget to reach out to student services on campus, whether you wish someone to talk to, or need to access the campus food bank. We’ve all passed through rough times, and there’s no shame in asking for help.

Being a world student is an incredible adventure, but it will probably even be stressful. Check out our top mental health strategies for college kids.

Plan to your Career

This is simpler said than done, but don’t get a job simply for the sake of getting a job. Try to get a job that is not going to only provide you with money today, but will help provide you with money in the long run by developing a robust resume now. This isn’t all the time possible but sometimes it’s value taking a financial hit to get a greater job. Again, unless there may be a financial imperative, this might be a very powerful consideration with regards to work while studying in Canada.

We hope that this blog helps you make sense of international students’ working hours for college kids in Canada, in addition to some ways to incorporate work into your life while keeping a balance together with your studies and private life. We wish you the perfect of luck in your study abroad endeavours!

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