Those el cheapo 830 DMMs are more than enough.
Cheapo 830 DMMs and longevity are not compatible concepts.
It is silly to recommend anything like that to an engineering student who wants a quality meter.
I agree with rolycat, the UT139C is a good meter for the price and available to the OP.
The next good step up, IMHO, would be a BM257s. That can be purchased for around $135. It will last a long time and has really proper safety standards.
Without knowing the price range, it is hard to recommend much more.