<p>So i got a job at one of the dining locations on campus. I am still deciding if i should take it or not. I will be an engineering major, and will be taking 16.5 credit hours in the fall. I am just concerned that it will be too much to deal with all my schoolwork and a job and a social life. I really want to join a couple clubs too. Any opinions on what i should do?</p>
<p>Hey,</p>
<p>I worried about the same thing my freshman year. I took 16 credits first semester, also. I DID get a job and do fine in my classes (I had a 3.8) so it’s definitely doable. I wasn’t overly stressed and I didn’t want to rip my hair out, however…and here’s the fine line…I didn’t get that job until the end of September. </p>
<p>I also lovedddd my classes first semester, so I was really engaged. And, typically, those classes are your gen eds anyway, so they’re not going to be super hard, or super demanding. Second semester was a different story. I took some major classes and those required a lot more. I got really burnt out and I was tired all. the. time. </p>
<p>My advice to you would be to wait until you have the first month under your belt. By then you will have found the student orgs. you want to be involved in and you will have started to cultivate your social life. Once you have all that under control (because, trust me, it’s a lot) THEN deciding whether or not you could handle a job on top of all of it will be much easier. 
Dining is literally always hiring, so you will definitely be able to get the job later on. Another super great job opportunity is being an OA at your dorm, but those applications don’t come out until September or later, I believe.</p>
<p>Good luck!!
Sleepy.</p>
<p>It is possible to work OSU dining and be able to do 16.5 credit hours a semester. At the large traditions dining locations your schedule is very flexible (until you get promoted to manager), but at smaller coffee shops and such it is not quite as flexible. The minimum number of hours is around 11 at most locations, so I would suggest just taking that and picking up more during easy weeks. I would suggest trying to do 15 hours a week because any less and you will make no money but any more and you will have no spare time. You will notice that you have less time for fun if you have never worked before, but there are some students in Dining Services who work the full 28 hours a week and still maintain their grades.</p>
<p>It is true that Dining Services is always hiring, but by early to mid-fall most positions are full and you will have a little more trouble getting a job. You can also freely quit at any time as long as you give 2-weeks notice (this means that if the work load is too much then you can quit the job in September).</p>
<p>If you have federal work-study I would suggest a library job as they are easy work, but you must have work-study to qualify for them. I would also suggest working as a office assistant at a residence hall as you will have a flexible and easy schedule. The one advantage that dining services has is that every 400 you can get up to a $.25 raise, managers get $9 plus raises (manager position takes at least a year and some networking), and you get free meals when you work. However, food service is not a very exciting job and may get boring.</p>
<p>I would suggest shopping around for a week and taking the dining services job if you can find nothing better. Nowhere on campus will pay you more than minimum wage (unless you have some “special skill”), so the only thing to really compare if flexibility of the schedule and the quality of the workplace environment.</p>
<p>We’re you offered a job in one of the dining halls or at a cafe location? The experience will be a little different depending on which.</p>
<p>I worked in campus dining services for about a year (I worked in two of the dining halls). Honestly, as long as you show up for your shifts and don’t cause any trouble, you are pretty much guaranteed a job there until you graduate, which is nice. The work isn’t hard in itself, but many people do get worn out from it after a while, as reflected by a high turnover rate for employees.They are always hiring, so even if you take a job and change your mind, you can always reapply for work with basically no issues as long as you’ve done a good job when you were working there and gave your manager proper two weeks notice before leaving. One thing you should be aware of is that once you take a job there and bring your class schedule to your manager, the work schedule and shifts you are assigned are pretty much LOCKED IN and you will be working the same hours on the same days every week. Picking up extra shifts is super easy to do online, and trading shifts can be done online too, but in my experience, it was extremely difficult to ever trade or get out of a weekend shift. So if you are concerned about having free time throughout the week for other activities, agree to work ONLY the minimum hours required of you, and for days and times when you think you might have other activities occurring later on throughout the semester, because you can always pick up open shifts later. In my opinion, weekday morning shifts are the most pleasant ones to work, as they aren’t too awfully busy and it frees up your afternoons and evenings.</p>
<p>Hope this helps!</p>
<p>I forgot to mention, but also, during finals week, you will be required to pick up a certain number of shifts. If you find your classes are difficult or demand a lot of your time, you should keep this in mind. If you do not pick up the required shifts, you will not be eligible to work for the following semester. </p>
<p>Thanks for all the replies! I have a couple more questions though. Do i have a say in what shifts i get (besides working around my classes) or do they just pick them for you? Is it likely I will get stuck with a weekend shift?
I got a job at the North Commons on campus, if that makes a difference</p>
<p>You will pick you own schedule and your supervisor will approve it. The returning students each semester will already have their schedules picked out and the schedules for new hires are chosen in the order they are hired. There are a limited number of time slots at each position, so it is fully possible for people to take them all (Mondays are the quickest taken while Fridays are the least). However, as long as you are not the last person they hire and you have a good class schedule to work around it should not be too hard to fit in your work times around your classes.</p>
<p>I believe North’s three basic times are from 6:30-11, 10:30-3:30, and 3:30-9 MTWTF and 9-3 and 3-8 on weekends (these may not be correct for this year). There are also various other time slots at various other times but these are the basic ones.</p>
<p>Also, North Commons, Fresh Express, and Burritos Noches are all located in one building, so you’ll be able to work shifts in any one of these locations.</p>
<p>when will i get to pick my schedule? when i go to fill out new-hire paperwork, or when i go to work orientation? </p>
<p>You will pick your schedule the first day you are there at the facility so it will most likely be at orientation. The new hire paperwork is done in a completely separate building by a completely separate group of people.</p>
<p>Also, speaking of your orientation don’t expect much out of it. Most dining facilities at OSU are mostly on-the-job training with the orientation simply being a quick tour and run through the official rules. When you start make sure to ask questions because it will take a couple weeks before you know how things actually work.</p>