The number of students in higher education has risen sharply in recent years, and an increasing proportion of students combine paid employment with university life. In a review of studies which have investigated the relationship between "earning and learning", it is noted that the overall focus to date has been on the negative impact of combining these roles. This suggests that term-time employment leads to poorer adjustment to university life in terms of academic performance, social inclusion and psychological well-being. However, we suggest that methodological problems are evident which make it difficult to draw firm and generalizable conclusions regarding the interrelationship between university life and part-time employment roles. The paper suggests that a psychological transactional approach focusing on both positive and negative outcomes of role interrelationships could be adopted to more accurately inform universities, student bodies and employers of optimal ways of combining study and employment.