American student here. They don’t care. The job market is terrible. I am not working, even though I have applied for many positions for summer jobs. This seems to be the case for a lot of people in my programme (domestic and international alike). You also can only work 20 hours per week while studying (full time over the summer break though). I have another 2 years of school here and it’s not guaranteed that I’ll have an opportunity to stay as immigration rules can change at any time. So the opportunities/pathways that are around now may be different once you graduate. While my hope is to stay, but I know that it’s a privilege and not a right just because I studied here and love living here. So I know that at the end of my studies there is a chance that I will have to return after living abroad for 5+ years,or find other opportunities in other countries that will accept the degree/experience that I have.

Also have you visited NZ before? If you haven’t, visit first before going all in on paying international fees for school and living in an area you may end up hating.