Breaking news: students leave university in debt. It may not be scoop of the year, but The Push Guide to Money has calculated the average student debt to be £11,830. To make things worse, they also reckon the average price of a pint in a union bar has increased by 58 per cent since 1997, to the wholly unreasonable sum of £1.89.

We students know about debt, and are reminded about it constantly, yet somehow it still shocks us - and everybody else. After checking my balance, I usually console myself with cheery supposed truisms, such as "you can't take it with you!"., Deep down though, students know the painful truth: for most of the time, our money is in a mess.

All the more imperative, therefore, that out of term time we do our best to chip away at the Overdraft Mountain. Summer jobs, though, are generally not very enjoyable. The three-month vacancies students fill are only there because a) extra bodies are needed for a seasonal surge in demand, or b) nobody else in their right mind wants the job.

At the beginning of summer, I applied for a job as a litter picker. The application form asked me to enter my qualifications, but I was a touch wary of telling the truth. It feels vaguely ridiculous - showing off, if you like - putting down strings of GCSEs and A-levels when you will be required only to operate a litter claw. Anyway, I completed the form but still didn't get the job. Presumably they felt a degree in politics wouldn't be much use when I was sweeping up fag ends at seven in the morning. They were probably right.

Most of my friends did the usual sort of things - bars, restaurants, theme parks - but one got a job promoting the Earth Centre in Doncaster town centre. This sounded quite fun, until she was told she was to be wearing a full rabbit costume at the time. As if this were not demeaning enough, she was too short for the costume and so couldn't see out of the eyeholes. She had to be led round by the hand - or paw, or whatever - to avoid bumping into shoppers, who would understandably have had the fright of their life.

I thought I was on safer ground when I got a job as a Filing Operative. It sounded rather grand, and certainly better than poor Blind Bugs Bunny. However, when I started the job I soon realised Filing Operative actually meant "person who sticks barcodes on files". For eight hours a day.

Whoever first said that we mustn't wish our time away must never have peeled and stuck barcodes for a living. It is amazing how eight hours can go so quickly when you are out with friends, and so slowly when you in an office with just a tinny radio for company. You end up breaking up the day into sections - 8 until 10, then 10 until lunch, and so on - and congratulate yourself for reaching the self-imposed milestones. Things were becoming so bad that I actually began to have nightmares about barcodes. Don't laugh, because it is depressingly true. My boring student job was even invading the sanctuary of sleep.

When I noticed an advert for a company requiring labourers in Germany, therefore, I took notice. £300 a week it said, cash in hand. After a few phone calls, a friend and I were on our way. We thought it would be a combination of working, drinking, and exploring - like Auf Wiedersehn, Pet. It was more like The Worst Jobs in History.

When we arrived, we were told that actually - and sorry about this lads - it's 300 euros a week, not pounds. That's a drop of around £100, which didn't exactly put us in high spirits. Our accommodation was to be shared with a man who didn't so much snore, more simulate earthquakes on a nightly basis.

The van we drove between jobs wasn't much better. First there was a puncture, then a bumper fell off, and for the coup de grace, the thing broke down. I was driving past a small German town when the engine cut out. I don't know the first thing about vans, so I thought I'd do what every mechanical novice should - pop open the bonnet, scratch my chin, and wait for someone else to come and fix it.

I didn't expect the engine to be on fire. I took my T-shirt off, suffocated the flames, and sat gloomily by the side of the autobahn amidst the smell of burning metal.

The work itself was tedious and draining: I pushed over-burdened wheelbarrows up hills in 30c heat for nine hours a day. I suppose in Darlington I would have been called a soil dispersal technician. After two weeks of toil and broken vans, I decided there were probably better things to do with my time, like run a cheese grater up my face. The dream summer job had turned into another nightmare.

I gratefully arrived back from Germany with my overdraft slightly reduced, but my spirit of adventure totally sated. How my friends laughed when I told them what I'd been thinking whilst sweating on a building site far from home.

I could just do with some barcodes to peel and stick.

The students' survival guide

SURVIVING FRESHERS WEEK

OFFICIALLY, the purpose of freshers' week is to get all new students registered, allow everyone to get settled into their accommodation, and sort out timetables.

Unofficially, your first week is practically guaranteed to be the most fun - and the most expensive - of your life.

* Registration - tedious but necessary, or you could find yourself not listed on course timetables, missing your student union card and possibly with no grant cheque.

* Pick up your student union ID card - essential for claiming discounts and getting you into the Union Bar.

MANAGING YOUR CASH

With traditional student grants shrinking, money management is probably the most important skill for any student.

''Recent estimates put the cost of living as a student in the region of £6,000 to £7,000 per year,'' says Keith Houghton, author of Manage Your Student Finances Now!

''Add to that a student loan which doesn't cover the full amount of these costs and you will see that there could be trouble ahead.''

* You may be entitled to some financial help from your Local Education Authority (LEA). Once they have confirmed that you're eligible to receive student support they will send you a HE2 form to assess your household income.

* Apply for a student loan as far in advance as possible, as it can take months.

* You need a bank account to receive a student loan - open one before now.

* Avoid credit or store cards as they can tempt you deeper into debt.

* Set yourself a budget. Work out exactly how much money you have coming in, and what you expect to spend - everything from rent to biros.

* Pay bills by direct debit and set up a 'house' bank account to cover them.

* Send your Council Tax Exemption Certificates to the council as soon as possible.

COPING WITH WORK

* At university the emphasis is much more upon self-motivation - you are expected to do a lot of your work outside lectures, without having to be asked.

* You should aim to be working to the following timetable: one hour for each lecture to go over and clarify your notes, a few hours each week to prepare for tutorials, and around five hours at the weekend for homework.

* Complete work that needs to be printed out well before its deadline, as it is very likely that others will have the same deadline and need the computers.

COPING EMOTIONALLY

Starting a whole new life at university can be a frightening experience. But it's important not to suffer alone.

* The NUS advises that if things get bad, the best thing to do is to talk to someone. Start with your friends and if you feel you can't talk to your new friends from university, remember your old friends and family are only a phone call away.

* Find out if your university has a counselling system or if your students' union runs a nightline scheme (check www.nightline.niss.ac.uk for details). These can be excellent sources of free, anonymous support.

* The Samaritans offers 24-hour support on 08457 90 90 90.

WHAT TO DO IF IT ALL GOES WRONG?

* If you are having problems with your course, see your personal tutor straight away. It can be possible to change to a different course within the first few weeks.

* If you are having health problems, call the Students' Union helpline (number on the back of your union card) staffed by trained counsellors.

* NHS Direct (www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk) offers sound advice on the Internet and over the telephone (0845 46 47).

USEFUL CONTACTS

* NUS: www.nusonline.co.uk for help and advice

* General student info: www.hobsons.com

* Manage Your Student Finances Now! by Keith Houghton, is published by Random House at £6.99.