<p>Two questions for current students:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Is it common to have a job during the first semester of freshman year?</p></li>
<li><p>Is it possible to get an on-camus job even if you're not a federal work-study student? (i'm international, but my student visa would allow me to work on campus 20 hours/week)</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Yes and yes. I wouldn't recommend a job during your first semester, since you won't make enough money to make it worth it. You're better off taking the time to get used to college, join activities, and make friends. </p>
<p>Work-study students may rush into jobs in the fall because they're required to in order to receive the grants. Finding non-workstudy jobs is a bit harder, especially ones that pay well or allow you to do homework on the job. Take the time to find a good job, and look for one at the end of the fall semester or in the spring semester. </p>
<p>Also, working 20 hours a week while taking full-time classes is really tough. 10 hours is more realistic (depending on the kind of job you have). Almost everyone I know has a job, but very few work anywhere near 20 hours. (It's also difficult to find jobs that are open for 20 hours outside of your class hours).</p>
<p>All that said, if you have any IT or technology skills, I've got an on-campus job for you that pays well and isn't work-study. We employ lots of international students (even a few from Switzerland!) PM me for details.</p>
<p>If you are a work-study student, but would rather not work the first semester and are willing to forgo half the yearly earnings from work-study, would they let you start it in your spring semester? Or is it mandatory to start in the fall if you want ANY work-study earnings at all? Which work-study jobs let you do homework on the job?</p>
<p>You can definitely put it off if you're willing to forgo some money. You may find it harder to get a job when spots are "filled," but by the spring rolls around many positions will be open again because people quit or are fired.</p>
<p>Being an ITA (information technology advisor or something like that) in the dorms is a very popular work-study job where people occasionally have to troubleshoot computers but sit around most of the time. Other jobs like that are front-desk attendants or mail-room jobs, or various other receptionist-type jobs on campus. On the flip side, research or lab jobs generally have you busy the whole time you're working (but may have flexible hours).</p>
<p>If my outside scholarships cover my work-study amount, can I still work those hours to earn additional money?</p>
<p>Auraeight,</p>
<p>It depends. If the outside scholarships reduce your aid (by removing the work-study grant), you won't be able to work there. Work-study works by getting you a grant from the government, and then the job where you work pays you (partially) out of that grant. However, if you still have the grant, you could probably use it with your job then. The best way to find a direct answer is to ask SFS (the fin. aid office). </p>
<p>Of course, you're always able to find non-workstudy jobs on campus too. There are just fewer of them, because workstudy grants mean that your employer doesn't have to pay as much when the government is subsidizing you.</p>
<p>Auraeight,</p>
<p>I actually was wondering the same thing, so I called SFS. When you get outside scholarships to replace some or all of the work-study award, you will be awarded that "credit" on your Penn account. Once you use up the entire work-study award, you cannot use the program to get work-study jobs. But as mattwonder points out, you can still work at a non-work-study job.</p>