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Transcript for Alex
My name is Alex Hobbs and I studied Business Management at the university of Surrey.
Oh, the worst things about univeristy.. not having your creature comforts and everything you're used to at home you kind of get ready to lose it.. erm.. work - you're responsible for your own work there's no-one chasing you up all the time so you have to really know what you're doing.
Be prepared for the unexpected there's so many things you'll see and you'll do that are completely unlike when you're living at home so just be ready to be resourceful.
Alex in 10 years time - he runs several successful businesses, has many houses across the world erm, and has a great family.
The don'ts of budgeting
Sarah: 'Top tips to save money'...I think I am the wrong person to ask!
Naz: I made quite a few extravagant purchases. I used to just spend money as I wished. Clothes shopping was a very bad habit of mine.
Alex: There are some people who are going to be at university who are very rich and can do whatever they want so be very careful with say, if you're going into town with them, they'll take you along to the fancy restaurants. Be prepared to say 'no, I'm just wanna go and get a sandwich from a shop'.
Ursula: I have been known to spend like, I don't know, a hundred pounds on my card in a club. So it's not good for my bank balance the next morning.
Top tips
Umut: OK...Umut's tops tip, Umut's tops ti...(laughter)
Vinit: Vinit's top tips are, 1 learn how to cook.
Alex: No 2 is to be friend's with your bank....no that's rubbish.(Laughter) Keep on top of your finances, the more you keep on top of it the better.
Jana: Don't be afraid to try new things.
Jemma: Get to like jacket potatoes, they're really cheap, they're healthy...
Jana: I haven't thought about it really, I have to think about it sorry. No 4....
Alex: is to keep your ear to the ground, there are so many opportunities out there while you're at university and the time goes so quickly so take advantage of that time and go for any opportunity that you possibly can.
Jana: Study more.
Mike: My top tip would be, if you are a smoker, stop smoking now.
Jana: Erm...make erm, make new friends.
The graduate's view
Alex: I chose my course because I was told it was very entrepreneurship based. I wanted to be in control of my own learning but I also wanted to be ready to start my own business when I finished my degree.
I chose the University of Surrey because of its proximity to London, the fact that I had a friend there who said that it was a good place to go to, and also because it was campus based.
Well I hoped I'd be earning in excess of £20,000 when I graduated.
Interviewer: Can I ask you a personal question?
Alex: You may.
Interviewer: What are you earning?
Alex: I currently earn £19,000. It's the people that I've met and the skills that I've learnt outside of the class room that have helped the most.
Travelling, travelling
Aaron: I spend probably about £60 on traveling a month.
Alex: I didn't think about the extra expense that was going to being incorporated as a result of having to commute.
Aaron: It takes a good two hours of you day so you have to be quite so you have to be quite disciplined with your time. Yeah so there...
Alex:The extra expense was about £2 for every time I went to university.
Aaron: See if you can get any student railcards, see what the best and cheapest way is to get collage is. If you can get there on the bus, it's often cheaper than taking the tube. So do your research.
Accommodation top tips
Raz: Ok my top tips are decide if you want to live in hall of residence or live at home
Jemma: Accommodation will be your biggest cost at university, so what you really need to do is work out all the costs involved, not just your rent.
Aaron: Understand that you might be forced one day to pay a water bill that you thought you had paid all of.
Mike: You should think carefully about who you want to live with. There is a lot of shared responsibility, but when it works, it works well.
Naz: Put your Ribena in your room it's the champaign of cordials.
Alex: I think a lot of people found the advantage of being able to study together a great opportunity.
Claire: It is a free part of your life and you're growing up and you're learning things. Just enjoy it as much as you can because you probably can't go back on this moment.
Working during holidays
Alex: During the summer I worked at Henley Royal Regatta.
Sarah: Over the summer holidays I worked at Chester Zoo.
Alex: I earnt about £6 an hour, it wasn't a fun job, and I had to put up with a lot of bosses being a bit of a pain.
Sarah: Over the holidays obviously you need to save money for university, so I attempted to save money, might have saved about £500, which i think I spent all over Fresher Week!
Alex: Primarily, that money contributed towards my partying.
Sarah: Your family is always your first priority when you get back because you haven't seen them in so long. I think most of the time I made sure my priority was my family, then my friends, then work way below.
Volunteering
Alex: You get a great deal out of any sort of volunteering. Things like leadership skill, marketing working with others.
Volunteering is absolutely something that could help you get a job. The contacts that you make are invaluable.
It can be quite time consuming and a lot of people see it as working but without getting the pay.
I managed to get two jobs out of working for a volunteering organisation.
I had a fantastic time volunteering and I would recommend it to anybody.