Working-class postgraduates’ perceptions of studying while working at a selected university

The life of working-class postgraduates can be exhilarating and daunting, juggling the commitments of full-time employment and postgraduate studies. Insofar as can be established, little, if any, research has been conducted on exploring the experiences of such students in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. An in-depth investigation is necessary to assist management and academic institutions to support such students. The purpose of the study was to understand the selected working-class postgraduate students’ perceptions of studying while working simultaneously, as well as explore the experiences, challenges and coping mechanisms of the cohort of students