Hello, I’m an incoming freshman at UCSD, and I want to get a work-study job as soon as I can.
I logged into Port Triton, but there are not a lot of options right now, some even prefer experienced 2nd/3rd years. Should I apply before I enroll in classes? Or after? I still haven't figured out my official "schedule".
When do incoming freshman start applying for decent jobs (what date)? Dining halls are last resort for me because I want to make most of my job experience.
How difficult is it to balance 4 classes, clubs/orgs, and a job (trying to earn $2700)?
Which jobs pay the most and are the most newcomer-friendly? I'm quite nervous I'll mess up because I don't have much experience.
Can I keep some of the money I earn or does all of it have to go towards my tuition?
I understand that as a freshman, you want to experience a lot of things but you need to set your priorities straight.
Your first priority should be your health, then academics, then jobs.
Having said that, let’s answer your questions in order.
It is currently summer and I'm assuming you're going to be attending UCSD next Fall since you said "incoming" freshman. Regardless though, there's not going to be a lot of availabilities for freshman during summer because summer jobs is usually an extension from the Spring quarter because summer is where students can work for longer hours because there's not that many classes. And most jobs do prefer experienced students because of various reasons like the time required to train an unexperienced student is not efficient or they can't risk having someone unexperienced working with whatever tasks they deem necessary, etc. As for when to apply, I would suggest applying after enrolling because employers will ask for your schedule so they know if you're fit for the position (if they want someone on Wednesday afternoon but you have classes then, you do not fit their criteria)
There is no set time for applying because jobs become available at different times. Also, dining hall is a "easy" application so to speak because there's usually no experience needed for applying to a HDH job. It's also a first job because you would be able to put that on your resume so it shows that you have experience in a work environment.
In terms of balancing, its doable (depending on how many clubs and responsibilities, etc.) but it all depends on the hours. If you have not formed the habits or are still getting use to college schedule, I would not recommend doing that for your first quarter or second quarter because it would be difficult. Also, before even talking about finding work study, you should confirm that you have work study. The amount differs between each person. And are you thinking asking about $2700 per month or per year? Its impossible to earn $2700 per month under work study because work study is part time and you're limited that way.
You have to know which area you want to develop and how you want to work. At this point, its better for you to build experience instead of looking for well paying jobs. It also depends on your major (if you're a history major, it would be more difficult for you to find a job in the CS field, etc.) In my experience, if you want a well paying job, you have to build up the experience before getting it (you want to work in the labs for pay, then you might need to volunteer first or second year and then see if you can get hired in third year)
The salary you earn in work study is yours to keep. However, if you have tuition you need to pay and no other source of revenue, then you would have to use your earnings.
Just a word of caution for you 10 week quarters go by very fast. I would recommend that you use your first quarter to just adjust to college life and classes and join the clubs you are interested in. After seeing how it goes you can then add a job during your second quarter.
@Susu11 Thank you for your advice, it helped a lot! Yes, I was officially “awarded” the max amount of earning $2700 per year for work-study in my finaid and accepted it. So I was curious if I would be able to achieve that amount while juggling 4 classes and joining clubs.
Kamtea, you don’t have to achieve 2700. You can use up all of the funds or parts of it. I do believe that if there are some left over, you can use it for summer. However, don’t quote me on that. I think you have to work Fall and Spring, to qualify for summer work study. So, basically just take it slow, you are the only one that will know if you can handle it or not. Some weeks you may be able to work more others less.
Yes, I was officially “awarded” the max amount of earning $2700 per year for work-study in my finaid and accepted it. So I was curious if I would be able to achieve that amount while juggling 4 classes and joining clubs.