One in four university students in Korea is working part-time to make money, but they mostly work in low-paid service jobs that do not help them prepare for their career.

The Korea Research Institute for Vocational Education and Training on Thursday said analysis of data from Statistics Korea indicates a growth in the proportion of students in work from 24.6 percent in 2007 to 26.3 percent last year.

But their average hourly wage was just W6,351, a mere 44.4 percent of workers who graduated either from university or vocational college.

"Many university students take paid jobs due to the recession and rise in tuition fees, but their wages are low because they mostly work in convenience stores or restaurants, which do not help them develop the skills they need for white-collar jobs," the institute said. "We should take more interest in creating jobs that are pertinent to their future through collaboration between universities and industry."