I know for a lot of students, affording a college education is a challenge, so working through college is a must. Without a doubt, my suggestion is to find a job on campus. While it may be appealing to work at PacSun or Ulta for the employee discount, off campus employment opportunities won't always understand if you have academic commitments. By no means should it be your goal to call off of work ever, but assignments come up, things you need to be home for, and group projects all happen and usually a job at the college will understand and be able to work around your absence.
Now, the opportunities may change due to your university's rules on work study and the availability of student positions, but here are some places you can look to make some money while on campus!
Financial Aid - My first stop would be the Financial Aid Office because they may have leads on what offices are hiring or when there will be openings in the future. When I was a Sophomore, I went to the Financial Aid Office the first week of classes to see what offices needed a student worker and from there I was hired in the Admissions Office as a student phone caller and the rest is history! But seriously, the Financial Aid office should have a good idea about who is hiring and who is not!
Information Desk - This is a great opportunity to get paid to socialize and possibly do your homework, depending on your college. The Information Desk is where you provide information to visitors, lost students, or people who just want to know more about an event. It is usually in your college's Student Center. It is typically a pretty low-key job where you get to interact with new and different people and get paid to talk with them.
Dining Services - A major employer at any university for students is the dining hall and the catering services. Especially at larger universities who have a variety of dining establishments and host a lot of conferences and events throughout the year, working in dining services is a sure way to make some extra cash. They usually will have shifts available throughout the day working at a cash register/swipe machine, serving on the lines, preparing dishes, or waitressing at the on-campus diner. There is also the availability to work weekends, unlike most student jobs at universities.
Tour Guide - Being a tour guide might not be incredibly lucrative, but it does give you some good experiences and can open the door to other earning opportunities. If you plan on staying on campus during breaks and even over the summer, I would suggest looking into it because of that. If you are on campus during the summer, there's a possibility that you could give a tour every day, twice a day if there aren't any other tour guides on campus. You also get to work Open House events on the weekends which also opens up the door for more money!
Phonathon - Working for Alumni Relations/Development can have its perks! Yes, you have to call and ask people to donate to your college, but you also get to connect with alumni (sometimes prestigious ones) and you can learn even more about the history of your college. Making connections with alumni can be crucial for your post-college life, so why not find a job where you can network, talk about your love for your college, and get paid to do it?
The Library - Typically, libraries rely on students to put books back on their shelves, help students with their researching methods, and just keep a general watch of the library (especially at night and on weekends). This can be a fun job, especially if you like books, but it also offers an element of social interaction by getting to work with the students and faculty that come into the library looking for books, magazines and articles.
Offices - This is pretty normal, but you can always ask around different offices to see if they have spare hours or need an extra hand on certain days. Think about the Business Office, Registrar's Office, Faculty Offices, Academic Affairs Office, Student Affairs Offices ... etc. There are a lot of great opportunities to serve administrators and their secretaries so definitely look into it.
Career and Resident Assistants - Some colleges and universities hire student assistants in their Career Services Office to help with resume critiquing and practice interviews. They usually have an application process, but if it is something you are seriously interested in doing, look into it and see if the Career Services Office has any openings. Being a Resident Assistant is not very lucrative at all considering the amount of effort you put into it, but you also reap some great rewards too; room to yourself, leadership experience, great references, and oftentimes your room is paid for in addition to a stipend of some kind. Disclaimer: Becoming a Resident Assistant is not for the faint of heart, it is a lot of work and you keep some weird hours and schedules, but it is also incredibly rewarding of an experience and can definitely help your wallet if you feel committed to helping students throughout college.
I hope these suggestions have helped spark some ideas for you about finding a job on campus! Working on campus is a great way to earn some extra money or offset your tuition bill, while still being integrated into your college community! And who knows ... it may lead to even more opportunities in the future!
enjoy the chase,
skylar
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