Age also on the rise

Austria’s students: Often no university without a job

Austrian students are increasingly having to work alongside their studies.

(Bild: APA/GEORG HOCHMUTH)

On average, students in Austria are older and work more. This is shown by the latest Eurostudent study, which compares the social and economic study conditions in 25 countries. Students from non-wealthy families have to work particularly often in this country. Among those who work more than 20 hours, three quarters could not afford to study without a job. One in eight are seriously considering dropping out of university.

Austria's students are on average 27.1 years old, half of them are older than 25, compared to an average of 25.9 years or a third of those over 25 in the countries of comparison. However, there is a wide range, from an average age of 20.9 in Azerbaijan to 31.4 in Iceland.

Starting university later
In general, according to the study, students who do not come from academic families and start university studies after gaining work experience or via alternative routes are older when they start their studies. The same applies to students who work more than 20 hours a week. They are generally more dependent on their own income and can rely less on support from their parents or the state.

In Austria, the group of working students is comparatively large: 56 percent are employed for the entire semester and a further 13 percent work part-time. Women work an average of 20 hours per week, men 23. 55% of them have a job that is (very) closely related to their studies.

45 to 50-hour week
Only 31% do not work at all in Austria - this figure is only lower in four of the countries surveyed. If compulsory courses, self-study and work are added together, Austrian university students work 45 hours a week, while students at other types of university (universities of applied sciences, teacher training colleges, private universities) work 51 hours. The national average is 48 and 50 hours respectively.

Students from non-affluent families in Austria work significantly more often alongside their studies (76% compared to 62%), and they also define themselves as working more often than students from affluent families (39% compared to 17%). Three quarters of students who work more than 20 hours a week say they could not afford to study without their job. Unsurprisingly, working intensively is a problem for academic success: 14% of this group are seriously considering dropping out of their studies. Among non-working students, the figure is only half as high.

Fewer and fewer still live at home
Where Austria still stands out: comparatively few students in Austria live with their parents (20 compared to 34 percent). The proportion of students with children is also relatively low in Austria at nine percent (despite the higher average age). The national average is 12 percent, and in other countries with an older student body it is significantly higher.

Discrimination is comparatively common
The results in the study section on discrimination are also striking: students from Austria reported comparatively often that they were treated badly at their university due to certain characteristics. Overall, 30 percent of Austrian students stated that they were discriminated against at their universities. Only in Spain and Portugal were there similar numbers, the average of the 25 countries was 22 percent. There were more reports of discrimination in Austria, particularly on the basis of gender and origin, and parental education was also cited as a reason more frequently than the national average. According to the survey, only poor treatment on the basis of weight is less of an issue at Austrian universities than in other European countries.