Career
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When Jasmine Lee-Downie’s son Isaac started school three years ago, the plucky 30-year-old says it prompted her to ponder her own pathway through the education system.
It was then that Lee-Downie finally realized that she was disappointed she hadn’t furthered her own education and pursued her long-held passion for photography.
“When my son started kindergarten I started wishing I’d gone to uni but then I thought, ‘Hang on, what’s stopping me? I decided that I wasn’t content with leaving school after my HSC but I also knew I needed to have a degree in order to have the confidence to follow my heart and my passion,” says Lee-Downie.
Lee-Downie is now two-thirds of the way into her Bachelor of Design degree, majoring in photography at Raffles College of Commerce and Design in North Sydney.
Since leaving school, Lee-Downie says she had worked as a waitress, as a real estate agent and as an admin assistant. She says it was a “total revelation” when she decided not to be “one of those people stuck in a dead-end job they dislike”.
Although she says she wasn’t daunted by the prospect of sacrificing a steady income in order to focus on her studies, Lee-Downie advises prospective students to be prepared for the shock of not relying on a regular salary. “Going from fulltime work to part-time work and study is not something to be taken lightly and is a major investment on so many levels,” Lee-Downie says.
As well as commuting four hours each day from the Central Coast to the North Sydney-based college, Lee-Jones juggles her commitment to her coursework with part-time work as a wedding and portrait photographer to help subsidise the $55,000 course fees.
She acknowledges the financial cost of a university education is one of many factors prospective students must consider, she concedes that struggling to balance her work and studies has also taken a huge toll on her family life.
”It has been really tough on my family and a huge adjustment for us all; it has also put a lot of pressure on my marriage,” says Lee-Downie, who credits her husband and extended family for helping to cover a lot of unexpected expenses while she works toward achieving her dream.
“I will finish my degree in June next year and although I will have a huge HECS debt it will still be like, ‘Yay!’If it takes me 30 years to pay off the debt so be it. I will be doing a job I really love and earning more money than I ever have,” she says.
Lee-Downie says that as well as learning to make a lot out of a little, she says those studying and working part-time must hone up on their time management skills.
Postgraduate marketing manager at the University of Sydney 
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Michaela James, agrees, adding that future students should also be aware of the Federal Government’s Fee Help option of deferring payments until after graduation.
While many universities have big scholarship and bursary budgets only a select few students are given a slice of the fee-free life.
For the majority of the student population – who must squeeze in study around work commitments - James says she’d recommend one subject per semester only.
Giving support to students working and studying part-time is a priority for most Australian tertiary institutions. As well as offering academic support, many universities and colleges also help to find students a casual job that won’t have a negative impact on their studies.
“Managing your finances while studying can be difficult. There are a wide range of health and welfare services to help students fulfill their academic, individual and social goals,” she says.
Wherever possible, James also agrees that students should opt for a job that might help them get a leg-up in their chosen career.
For those students who do find themselves needing financial assistance, talk to a bnext adviser about the awesome interest rates on offer for Credit Cards that are paid off at the end of each month.
To find out what the credit card repayments are, check out bnext’s Credit Card Repayments Calculator.
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