See my student job: Simon juggles balls, business and studies

Name?
Simon Atli Larsen

Subject?
Political science, 3rd semester

Student job?
Self-employed. I run a business with a friend where we offer shows, workshops, lectures and events based on street football and especially freestyle football. There is much more autonomy and your work tasks are completely different when you suddenly have to be your own boss and struggle to move the company forward. This also means you have to put a lot of time and energy into it. I work about 20 hours a week, which means that it can be tough to fit it in to my studies. Luckily it helps if you plan your time properly and focus your work on the hours you have put aside for it.

Hvor long have you worked there?
We started in August 2015.

How did you get the job?
We had both played freestyle football at an elite level and thought it would be cool to make some more money. It started out low-key with a few shows for confirmation celebrations and birthdays here and there. But then the word got out, and we started getting more and more jobs for both large and small events. We started a business and diversified into workshops, lectures and sales of clothing specifically targeted street football players.

Describe a day at your student job
The cool thing about my, slightly unusual, student job is that there are never two days alike. One day I could be spending all my time at the computer to negotiate contract details with a clothing retailer from Norway, the next I can be on a plane heading to the Faroe Islands to do a show and a workshop for a football tournament. However I often work most Wednesdays, where I don’t have classes and have to answer mails during breaks. In the evenings, I first do my readings for my studies, then work the rest of the evening or into the night, before going to bed.

I think the most important thing for me is that I’m doing something that I find fun and challenging. And I really feel that this job fits the bill. Despite the fact that I don’t work as a student assistant in a government agency, I feel that I have acquired a lot of knowledge, and a practical dimension to the things I learn on my study programme.

uni-avis@adm.ku.dk

Would you like to tell us about your student job? Write an email where you respond to the same questions asked in this article – and tell us about your day on your student job. Send the e-mail to uni-avis@adm.ku.dk.