Can anyone share how much they earned from work/study? Are the hours fixed or can we work less/ extra hours? thanks
It’ll completely depend on the job and the state (in terms of minimum wage).
You won’t earn much. In my state, there is a definite limit on the total number of hours and hours per week, but a flexible supervisor will sometimes let you balance out the schedule during busy times. The key thing is getting in early to obtain a “good” position that you will enjoy.
On my kids’ campus in WA state, regular campus jobs pay $11/hr and work study pays $13/hr. We have the advantage of a high state minimum wage. This semester, S1 works 11 hours per week, D works 6 1/2. S1’s girlfriend works about 20 but she is at one of those bonus jobs where she has lots of time to study and do homework.
My school (private university in Ohio) has a minimum wage of $9.20/hour for on-campus jobs. I make $10/hour as a peer tutor. I work as much as I can, but it’s usually only ~8 hours per week because people have to sign up for tutoring and they usually choose half-hour appointments.
Generally, I believe schools limit work-study to around 20 hours. Some limit it to less, like 12-16 hours. They’re supposed to be paid at least minimum wage, and at a lot of them you can study a bit on the job. It’ll vary a lot school to school.
This is old info and things may have changed.
When I had a work study job in the dark ages, the department that hired me was granted a set amount of money to pay me with, the same amount specified I was entitled to through the financial aid office.
When that amount of money was used up, the work study job ended.
In my case, every time that happened, my department, thankfully, still needed the work done and kept me on, paying me out of their own budget. So I was able to make more than what was designated as work study.
It might be worth asking for any job you’re offered, if you might have the option to continue once work funds are used up.
@MACmiracle Hello, fellow dinosaur! I too had work study, and it “worked” for me just like it did for you. Set amount of money as part of your financial packet, worked hours at a per-hour amount, and when the total was reached, I was done. That you got to stay on was great, but I had two other part-time jobs, so I didn’t mind work study ending for me.
If it still sort of works they way it did back then, you could negotiate your hours with your supervisor to either work less per week (stretching the timeframe of the job out) or more (speeding it up, and then maybe trying to stay on if they need you, like your work and can pay you outside of the work study $ award.
I have it right now. It comes in your financial aid package. I get $1000 per semester. My school allows you to up to 15 hours. You don’t make much money. I make 7.50 an hour. I work about 6-7 hours a week since I’m taking five classes. My hours are flexible.