<p>i'm an incoming freshman this fall and i need money. </p>
<p>i plan on working first semester (against my better judgments) but heck, what is youth without a few stupid decisions. </p>
<p>so i'm just wondering if i should start looking for on-campus jobs now or can i afford to wait till after the first week when i have settled in?</p>
<p>I started looking around a little more than a week before instruction started. A lot of people will be hiring that time since all the students will be back on campus. If you are interested in a library job, don't wait to fill out an application; those go pretty quickly.</p>
<p>How difficult is it to get a job for ~5 hours a week? Do they even exist?</p>
<p>I have a 6 hour/week job but that was through luck. It depends on how much stuff your workplace needs for you to finish. Most places call for 10 hours/wk. The library is a good place to work in that you can work on weekends.</p>
<p>Can you work on campus without being eligible for work-study?</p>
<p>Yes you can. I know that you can work at the library or student store (which is more of a retail job). Though, if you have a subsidized loan, you can convert it to work study (which is what I do). Work study gives you a lot of opportunities to work in different fields on campus. They're jobs that allow you to work in places that a regular 18-year-old wouldn't find easy to get without networking or work study.</p>