Awesome Work-Study Job for Freshmen! (apply by 6/18)

Colleges & Universities A-Z University of Pennsylvania
1

<p>Hey All,</p>

<p>If you've decided to join Penn's class of 2014, congratulations! If you're considering working on-campus during the school year, I encourage you to consider working as an Information Technology Advisor (ITA) for your college house.</p>

<p>What's an ITA do, exactly?</p>

<p>ITAs serve their college house in 2 ways. The first way is by sitting in the house computer lab during shifts, making sure the printers have paper, the lab is tidy, etc. They also help students in the lab with their computers (getting students connected to the Internet, diagnosing viruses, installing Penn-mandated software, etc.). The second way ITAs help their college house is by monitoring what we call "the Queue." The Queue is an online website all the ITAs have access to where college house residents submit requests for ITA assistance. ITAs can take on cases as they please, making appointments with the residents to work on their computers.</p>

<p>So what's one sentence that describes ITAs?</p>

<p>The ITAs are Penn's awesome computer tech helpers (much like Best Buy's Geek Squad, except without the goofy outfits).</p>

<p>What are the recommended requirements for being an ITA?
*Have work study at Penn (highly recommended, although not necessarily crucial)
*Good customer service skills
*Good with troubleshooting computer problems (really optional, though, because they teach you everything you need to know in training)</p>

<p>What are the perks for being an ITA?
*You get to move in early before anyone else! You'll move in on August 29th for ITA training, where you'll learn everything you need to know to be a great ITA.
*Make tons of friends before NSO! You'll become really good friends with the other ITAs in your house and already know a bunch of freshman and upperclassmen before anyone else even arrives on campus.
*Great work study! ITAs get paid between $8 - $9 per hour, and the work is fun and rewarding. The residents in your house will think you are a hero for fixing their computers!</p>

<p>Where do I sign up!?!
Head on over to College</a> House Computing - University of Pennsylvania by June 18th to apply!</p>

<p>I have been an ITA for Stouffer College House for the past year and I have really enjoyed the program. It's nice to get some money every week, and I really like helping the residents fix their computers. If the ITA position sounds like something you might enjoy, please consider applying.</p>

<p>Best,
Kevin
SEAS '12</p>

2

<p>Someone private messaged me with the following questions, and I want to answer them here too in case anyone else has the same questions:</p>

<p>"1. So as I understand the “Queue” is mostly flexible for each person, but how much time is required for shifts weekly? </p>

<ol>
<li>Also what kind of experience are they looking for? I don’t really have any concrete experience to point to on the application. I mean, I can use computers pretty well and help people do whatever they need… but what exactly do I point to as experience?"</li>
</ol>

<p>Here are my answers:</p>

<ol>
<li><p>It depends on your college house and your ITA manager. For example, Hill has way more residents than Gregory, so if you worked in Hill you might work more than if you worked in Gregory (but the staffs are larger in the larger dorms too, so this isn’t necessarily true). In Stouffer, I ask ITAs to work at least 4 hours worth of shifts every week. I still encourage you to apply, as you can ask this question yourself to the ITA Manager of your assigned college house during the interview (which is done via phone in July).</p></li>
<li><p>There’s not really a defined experience that they want for ITAs. What they really want are people who are confident with computers. So you might not know everything about fixing computers, but as long as you are a good problem solver, know how to use Google, and aren’t afraid to ask for help, you’ll do great. As an ITA, the main thing you’ll be expected to do for residents is set up their wireless Internet connection. This is as simple as installing some software for the PC and memorizing some settings for Macs. Don’t worry about experience; they teach you everything you need to know in ITA training just before NSO. For the application, just list any times you had to fix something on a computer. If you learned something computer-related during a summer job, put that too. They’re not looking for A+ certification or anything like that.</p></li>
</ol>

3

<p>Just a reminder that the deadline to apply to become an ITA is this Friday, June 18th! :)</p>

4

<p>I saw in your descriptions that ITA training is before NSO, and I was just wondering if this means that you cannot work as an ITA if you are doing a pre-freshman orientation program as you would miss the training. That being said, would you still advise people applying to pre-freshman orientation programs to apply for the position as one does not know if they will be accepted to any of the programs and just to call and withdraw their application if they will be participating in a pre-freshman orientation program? </p>

<p>Thanks in advance!</p>

5

<p>I second FtrSCJ123’s comment…is it possible to be it if doing pre-orientation programs?</p>

6

<p>Right, if you end up doing a pre-freshman orientation program, you would miss ITA training and therefore wouldn’t be able to work as an ITA. But I still encourage you to apply, especially if you don’t know if you’ve been accepted into the pre-freshman orientation program yet.</p>

7

<p>Meh… already applied awhile ago.</p>

8

<p>So what’s the chance of getting this if i don’t have a work-study grant?</p>

9

<p>All of the houses have a few non-workstudy students, so don’t feel like it’s a deal-breaker. Plus you’ve got nothing to lose if you apply. :)</p>

10

<p>Just an update: The deadline for applications has been extended! If you missed the first deadline, get your applications in now!</p>

11

<p>yay! I’ll be an ITA@Hill this year and so will be my roommate :)</p>