Transcript: Case study – Emily
We hear from Emily, a recent graduate, about how she chose her course, how she paid for it, and what her choices have meant for her now that she’s working. Emily is talking to us from the restaurant of the hotel she works at.
Hi I'm Emily and I have a Diploma in Hotel Management.
I chose to study Hotel Management because I love working with people. I made that decision by looking on the internet mostly, and when I came up with a few options I went to my Careers Advisor and she helped me come up with a plan.
I lived in a hostel on campus, which for me was a bit scary leaving home for the first time. The hostel environment was safe and secure which made it real easy.
You can go to the Sorted website or the StudyLink website - they've got really good budgeting tools. Went through that and came up with a budget.
I wasn't allowed to get a Student Allowance because my parent's income was too high. I found that out about a week before I was about to leave to go study, which was a big mistake. I really recommend anyone applying for Student Allowance to do it as soon as possible.
I got a loan, $8,000 a year but I was comfortable borrowing that amount of money because I knew my qualification was in high demand with employers. And here I am now with a job at a great hotel and I'm paying off my Student Loan.
I loved having a part-time job. I was handling money and had customer service experience which looked great on my CV.
I approached my parents actually. They were really kind and agreed to pay me $100 a week to help me with my living expenses and stuff like that, which was really helpful.
My advice would be to choose something with a career that's in high demand so you can get a job as soon as you graduate and start paying off your loan.
