4 Skills You Learn as a Student Without Even Realising

Published:
December 12, 2022
Last updated:
March 8, 2024
Students at a library.

You will learn a lot at uni for your degree: the modules, writing an essay, how to apply research. Yet amongst those Red Bull fuelled all-nighters and pressing the snooze button for your morning lecture, you will pick up crucial life skills that will serve you later on. Here are 4 skills you learn as a student without even realising.

A white alarm clock on a pink and blue background.

Time management

Between balancing your lectures, tutorials, buzzing social life and likely your part time job, you will learn how to prioritise your time.

It’s a very human thing to leave things to the last minute and you’ll learn the hard way, when you procrastinate on that coursework or watch that extra episode on Netflix, the importance of your time.

You’re an adult, you have to do things you don’t want to and dedicate the time to do them.

Money management

This is the first time you’re living away from home and you’ve got bills to pay but your student finance most likely won’t be enough.

If you’ve got a part time job then you’ll have more income coming in, and again, this is where responsibility comes in: knowing how much money you have coming in and out, budgeting and deciding on what to spend it on.

 It’s setting the foundations for later on adulting when you need to pay your rent or mortgage, bills, council tax, deal with HMRC, and choose the right deals for you.  

A black board with white text next to a laptop and a cup of coffee.

Accountability

You are an adult, although at times it doesn’t feel like it and it’s time for you to take 100% responsibility. You now have to do the boring stuff to move forward in life: get up on time, eat the right food, do the laundry, take out the bins, clean.

You’ll realise that your decisions have consequences; watching that extra episode on Netflix can affect your sleep and energy the next day, going to the gym will help your mental clarity and physical health, going to that morning lecture means you’ll understand your next tutorial.

Emotional resilience

University can have its ups and downs emotionally. You’ll experience every emotion: stress, passion, happiness, overwhelm, frustration, pride, patience.  

 The work and business world are made up of different characters and people, it doesn’t always offer flexibility when it comes to deadlines and targets, and you’ll be evaluated on your performance. You’ll apply to jobs and get rejected, you’ll have challenges with work and customers/clients.

Little do you appreciate right now as a student, that you’re being trained for this in the future. In the real world you’ll be working towards deadlines, you’ll have to work with people who aren’t your cup of tea, you’ll be weighted on your quality of work.

Your time at uni right now, is training you for this. This isn’t the same as what you’ve experienced up until now. Enjoy it.

A person sitting at a table with food.

Kaz Bosali was HYBR’s first editor in chief, and joined the team back in April 2020. She joined because she liked how it cut out the middle man and connected students to landlords transparently and fairly.

One of her most popular articles was, ‘5 Types of Housemates You Will Come Across’. Have a read here.

Connect with Kaz Bosali on LinkedIn here.

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