Can a master's degree student work full-time at an educational institution?
2025-11-27 09:05:00 / News

A master's degree student's primary responsibility is their studies. Therefore, they are only allowed to work during their free time. It does not matter whether they are studying traditionally or remotely. In both cases, their primary responsibility is their studies.
According to Article 184 of the Labor Code, the working hours for medical workers, teachers, and other categories of workers whose work involves a high level of mental, intellectual, and nervous strain, i.e., is of a special nature, are set at no more than thirty-six hours per week. Accordingly, the weekly working hours for all teaching staff do not exceed 36 hours, and the legislator has established this limit for one workload. According to this rule, a master's degree student cannot work these hours while studying, and therefore cannot work full-time at an educational institution. In this case, a master's degree student can work at a rate of between 0.50 and 0.75 hours, depending on the hours of classes at the university. Completing the weekly workload requires seven hours per day. Even with at least two classes per day in a master's program, this takes almost three hours. Even with two classes per week, the requirements of Article 184 of the Criminal Code cannot be met.
A. Patayev, Head of the Legal Services Center of the Pakhtachi District Department of Justice
