Now here's something interesting: Birkbeck, University of London and The National Institute of Economic and Social Research recently published the findings of their study of over a thousand part-time students, snappily entitled: "Futuretrack: Impact of Part-time Learning Two Years After Graduation".
81% of the ex-students surveyed were working before, during and after their course, and 78% of those were working in full-time positions.
The study discovered that four out of five part-time students who'd been working while they'd studied were still working two years after they'd completed their courses.
Half of those participants who were still working for the same employer said that their studies meant that they could go on to doing more interesting work, with improved prospects and more job satisfaction.
Jane Artess, Research Director at the Higher Education Careers Service Unit, which originally commissioned the study, says: "Part-time study clearly benefits both the employer and employee, as well as wider society.
"Students quickly enjoyed the advantages that they had gained from their course after graduating, using what they had learnt very effectively - and to their advantage - in the workplace."
On the whole, part-time studies helped participants develop as a person, improved their self-confidence and 55% said they were happier overall.
Part-time studies also were of benefit to employers, according to the study, since students working for them felt better qualified and able to do their job, had more confidence in their abilities and had a deeper understanding of what was required of them and what the job entailed.
So it just goes to show that part-time studies, whether on campus or via distance learning, isn't a poor relation to a full-time university education - far from it, in fact.
And in this day and age where hundreds of graduates can be found competing for the same job, in some ways it's almost worth while getting the employment side of things sorted out first ... and then going on to study.
