Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore how working university students in Ghana are able to combine work and study, and the effect of this on their academic performance. Design/methodology/approach: An exploratory survey method is used to collect data from 360 working students randomly selected from four universities in Accra, Ghana. The study employs the Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient (r[superscript 2]) to test two hypotheses and both are affirmed by the results. Findings: It is found that combining schooling with work results in less time for studies which negatively affects academic performance. Again, difficulty in finding time for studies due to work requirements ranks the highest, and finally, students receive slightly better support from their academic institutions than from their employers. Research limitations/implications: The study focussed only on perspectives from working students in Ghana. The dimension of employers and officials of academic institutions was not investigated. Practical implications: The findings imply that to achieve sustainable development in the tertiary education sector and even in industry, all stakeholders -- universities, policymakers, employers, students, etc. -- must find practical ways to assist these students to combine work and study. Originality/value: The study bridges the empirical gap of this critical phenomenon in the Ghanaian context. It will inform government and corporate policy on higher-level skill development among the workforce, and also tertiary institutions on how to address the needs of the critical mass of working students.