Work Study Difficulties

Paying for College
1

<p>I had a post about this same problem about the same time last year, but this is getting ridiculous.</p>

<p>I elected to receive work study as a part of my financial aid package when I was a freshman, did again this year. I have not gotten a job. I have sent emails detailing my interest (which is how we find jobs here) to practically every single job that I could find - 11 this past fall semester, only to get an email saying "Oh, we already filled that position. Too bad for you." Or I don't get any response at all, which ticks me off. I called the work study office, who gave me told me they don't help with placement, so we can't help you, sorry. This coming from a school who says, right on their website that they have more work study jobs than students in the program. I have tried everything, even sending emails to food services - which I swore I would never do - but everyone is filled. </p>

<p>My family and I had been counting on work study to take care of living expenses - going out with friends, stuff for my sorority, laundry, whatever. But I haven't been able to get one, so this has put another financial burden on my family and we don't have that much money to being with. My only option left is to take an off campus job - but no one within walking distance is hiring. I don't have a car so I would have to take a bus for anything farther away and while I have free busing, the buses aren't really reliable time wise. They also don't guarantee the hours of the work study program (no more than 15 hours a week) and probably won't hire me because I can't work year round. </p>

<p>I'm at my wits end with this. I don't want to work two jobs over the summer again. It ran me into the ground this year and barely helped me at all financially. Any suggestions?</p>

2

<p>Not sure there is anything you can do about finding a work-study job now. It’s too late in the semester. (Although at some schools, WS jobs are posted throughout the term. You need to check the job postings frequently–at least once a week. Probably more often.)</p>

<p>If you elect to accept work-study next term, I’d be more pro-active about finding a position. Email contact isn’t enough. (People ignore it.) You need to go in person to whatever office/dept is posting a job as soon as possible. (Not next week, that day if possible. As soon as the job is posted.) Take resumes with you and leave one with each office. Follow up with a phone call a couple of days later. If they tell you they have no openings right now, follow up via phone every couple of weeks or so. Be persistent and polite.</p>

<p>Start looking for a position before classes begin. Perhaps as early as the last few weeks of this term for next fall. </p>

<p>Don’t be picky. Contact food services again. Ask to be put on the substitute worker list.</p>

<p>As for your immediate money needs–do you have any special skills? Could you tutor?</p>

3

<p>Agree with above ^^^ good advice.</p>

<p>Also it is my understanding that just because you are awarded work study that it does not guarantee you’ll be able to find a job.</p>

4

<p>You should check the available work study website every morning. Two new positions were posted yesterday. It took me abou 2 minutes to find the site. Just bookmark it and check often. Stay on top of it and maybe you will find something. Good luck. When I was at Pitt decades ago there were always restaurants and fast food places hiring in Oakland. Since most of the employees were students, they were very accommodating when making out schedules as long as the student gave his/her availability for work.</p>

5

<p>D just mentioned last night that her friend at American U. has been unable to secure a work study position in two years–it’s not a matter of trying, there just aren’t nearly enough positions to accommodate all the students who have work study in their financial aid packages. It’s highly deceptive for schools not to disclose this information when providing financial aid information. Students need good info to make good decisions.</p>

6

<p>Talk to people. Ask students who have WS jobs about what’s up–they can put in a good word for you, they may be able to alert you if a job opens up, or get you a short-term gig. I once had a friend who worked in the campus library as a WS student who then hooked me up with some work at the library when they had to do a bunch of book-moving and hired “temp-students”. Not a solution, but a temp situation can lead to contacts within the dept and a potential WS hire later.</p>

<p>There are usually jobs on campus that are not work-study related–so also go in and talk to departmental secretaries, mention to your professors/advisors you are looking for work (WS, non-WS, on and off campus - BE FLEXIBLE).</p>

<p>Get a bike or itsy-bitsy second hand moped and work off campus. Carpool.</p>

<p>Do childcare for a professor’s family.</p>

<p>Restaurants almost always are hiring.</p>

<p>Go to job-places/offices/contacts more than once. I once got a job at college because I asked the professor in charge of the program more than once–she was impressed by my checking in at appropriate intervals and hired me when someone suddenly quit.</p>

<p>Etc. Got to really make contact with people and let everyone you know hear about you wanting a job. Again, WS might be a dead-end, so be sure to express your interest in any type of job. (If you tell someone "I want a job but it must be WS, and it must be on campus, and I can’t work XYZ hours and I need ABC… you will get tuned out and the friend or advisor will likely not bother to go search for that “perfect” job lead for you… what you want is all tips to start flowing your way.)</p>

<p>Finally, you may want to ask a friend that is capable of being brutally honest and insightful and ask if there is anything that you need to do to make yourself more hireable. You need to know if you are appearing too strange, too anti-social, too unenthused, too needy, or too whathaveyou–if you have any dress or mannerisms that are getting in your way to getting hired. Because what I have found is that yes, there is a lot of unemployment with teens and college-aged kids, BUT the ones who present themselves as intelligent, responsible, have good communication skills, and dress appropriate for the jobsite/interview DO find jobs.</p>

7

<p>I can relate to this so much. OP, I know exactly what you’re going through.</p>

<p>Over the summer, I searched for a month and a half, and applied to almost every place I walked into and drove by in my city, to no avail. I searched Craigslist constantly, sent emails, phone calls, and visited the workplace to apply. Nothing worked.</p>

<p>If you were as desperate as I was…any job would suffice. So I did just that, and got probably one of the worst jobs out there for someone like me. But it was a job. Funny story, once I got back to school, about 5 of the jobs I applied for in the summer called saying they needed help. I guess I’ll need to be applying 4-5 months in advance to have a chance at some places. It seems a bit ridiculous.</p>

<p>I learned from my mistakes over the summer and applied REALLY early for work study jobs at school. Starting in June (which was when I started at my summer job) I checked my school’s website for jobs. I sent in applications in July when I visited campus. I probably sent in about 10 over the summer, over a month before school started. The weeks leading up to school, I probably sent in five more over email/phone calls, and then another 5-10 once I actually got to campus for the semester. I didn’t hear back at all until the first week of classes, and both the jobs I was interviewing for were ones I applied to in early July. I ended up with a really good WS job…but now that I think about it, I only heard back from 4 or 5. Even with walking in to apply, being dressed professionally & being polite, calling to check on my application, etc…it was still hard to land a job.</p>

<p>So yeah. The key to finding a job seems to be to apply early and be extremely flexible. Hope everything works out for you.</p>

8

<p>Have you investigated doing community service? A lot of schools will pay FWS students to “work” for nonprofits.</p>

9

<p>I agree with MommaJ. We never got offered FWS, but really, a school should not put it in the FA package if there isn’t at least a reasonable chance for the students to find a position.</p>

10

<p>My son also had trouble with workstudy at his small LAC and second semester they offered him workstudy or a loan in the same amount and he took that. He ended up getting a non-workstudy job with a professor helping her clean up a lab but jobs were scarce. Sometimes “friends of friends” get the first open position which happens in and out of school. I never valued workstudy so much because of the * that always said, “not guaranteed” but they deduct that amount from your bill.
I agree, keep plugging but sometimes it’s just luck. My son applied for summer work starting in February/March, sent out over 10 applications, called about some, nothing. Next summer the same thing, but one day he walked into a store, saw a manager looking flustered and asked about work. He said to come see him the next day, was hired and worked that summer and perdiem for 2 years with a great work ethic and good references. The good ideas and advice didn’t work for him, but just being in the right place at the right time did.
Perseverence even when you feel hopeless and telling professors, human resources, etc. you are looking. Sometimes like with my son, they will find you a small job, might not be glamourous, but you get paid. The “early is best” advice is always wise, my daughter found all the “good jobs” (mail room, bookstore, library) go very early.</p>

11

<p>I reiterate the advice to consider what special skills you might have. If you know any foreign languages well, offer to tutor/teach them independently, both to college students and to kids in the area. Did you do any work in HS, including volunteer work, that might be applicable to a specific job? If so, that should be the first thing that you mention.</p>