<p>S is a college freshman. He interviewed Friday for a position as a residential aide at his university. He was told he would have to work weekends and holidays. When S told me that, I was upset. I honestly thought a work-study job would be Monday thru Friday. There is no way I am going to want him to stay on campus during holidays! And he doesn't want that, either. Was I stupid to think this was all just going to work out smoothly and that they would give him 12 hours of work around his weekday schedule?</p>
<p>I was also miffed that he was told this his first week as a freshman. Does a somewhat homesick college kid have to be told immediately that to be eligible for a program he'll have to give up so much of his free time, especially holidays? S said that the guy who interviewed him was not necessarily very personable.</p>
<p>S should see if he can get other positions in college (tour guide, work in professor’s office, etc). RAs generally do work long hours (sometimes very late at night) and often have to stay over holidays because some students may also be remaining there. Many colleges offer an array of positions for work-study (possibly in library or in the college bookstore) These are often hours on weekdays and are more reasonable about holidays, etc.</p>
<p>But many RA’s trade off for weekends and holidays. In my D’s dorm, there are two on her floor- and they work this out. During short breaks when the dorms stay open, one or both may be gone- but, someone in the dorm is there to handle things. And, when dorms are closed, no issue. What I wonder is how a freshman knows enough about the school and school challenges to handle this job effectively-?</p>
<p>The key here is he interviewed for the job, he didn’t get the job yet. Your son could get any job he wants on campus, and it is up to your son to find a job which suits his schedule, just like any job he would get off campus. Your son doesn’t have to work if he doesn’t want to, you would just have to make up the difference. </p>
<p>D1 worked in an office on campus for 4 years. They were very flexible with her hours. She worked 10 hours a week, but they changed her hours depending on her schedule every semester. Some of her friends worked in the gym, library, and they were required to work in the evenings and weekends.</p>
<p>Agree with above - why would a school let a freshman be a RA.</p>
<p>at my son’s school a freshman cant be an RA but the process of interviews, training etc starts in freshman year.</p>
<p>If the school offers a big discount on housing and meal plans for being an RA… i dont think it is unreasonable that the RA’s may have to work some weekends and holidays. That is a nice discount to the costs so there is a price to pay also.</p>
<p>Are you talking about Federal Work Study, or a residential assistant position? For work study jobs, you interview for whatever you want to do, and often can set your own schedule. For a residential assistant job, you would reasonably be expected to work weekends and holidays. However, I have never heard of a freshman student being offered a residential assistant job…</p>
<p>Upperclassmen sometimes have an advantage over freshmen as they don’t have to be interviewed if they held the position before. They might also get to choose the schedules before new hires.</p>
<p>Check his department to see if they need people (my son’s department has already sent out a few emails looking for lab assistants and office assistants and the postings are worded to provide a lot of schedule flexibility for students to work around classes). He probably wouldn’t be able to get a tutoring position until the spring semester. Lifeguards always seem to be in demand. Check out the library as those are good jobs where you can study when things are quiet.</p>
<p>I would doubt that the position is for a “resident assistant” (RA) as many of us know it. Most colleges have a specific interviewing process and students know in the spring about their fall placement. Those RA’s would be working now to help with the freshmen transition. This residential aide must be different but somehow connected to work in a dorm? Also, at most schools it is the “job” of the work study student to find a “job” under the work study umbrella. Our daughter worked all 4 years in the library and as others pointed out the hours and flexibility are key.</p>
<p>Most work study jobs we’ve heard of involve working in the library, campus offices or labs (often washing glassware!) Sometimes the schools have job fairs or job opening websites for the new freshmen…</p>
<p>I wouldn’t be miffed he was told he needed to work nights, weekends and vacations while interviewing for the job. Better to be upfront about that info than find out later. </p>
<p>I suggest he continue to look for other jobs. I am sure many are M-F, but I have several neices and nephews that do WS and they are all working nights and weekends.</p>
<p>Miller, it’s the nature of the job. Your son applied for the kind of work where they need people 24/7. I don’t see why, applying for that job, anyone would be surprised it might not be standard office hours.</p>
<p>For many students, a job where there are hours available when they’re not in class would be a positive, not a negative. If your son wants to work during standard office hours then he should try for one of the positions, say in admin, where that’s the only time they’re open.</p>
<p>He applied for the work-study, and this was the job interview that was assigned to him. He didn’t have a list of jobs to go after, this was what the university set him up with. They didn’t have any kind of postings where you could apply for this or that position.</p>
<p>is this a position that allows him to be an RA in future years??? ie do the residential aids become RA’s or is that a different process. if you need that perk, might still be worth considering</p>
<p>As a quick fyi, with work study jobs it might end up taking two jobs to be able to get in 10-15 hrs/wk. Otherwise it’s probably not uncommon to end up with 4-9 hrs/wk.</p>
<p>Hmmm that’s interesting. I guess we lucked out- my kids go to schools where there are more WS jobs than students to fill them. I have heard of schools though, where not everyone assigned to WS gets a job. Something to think about and research when deciding between schools…I always learn new things here on CC.</p>
<p>Usually work study job postings will tell you if you will be expected to work weekends and holidays, and this requirement can easily be overlooked if you’re excited about finding a job opening. But like any job the employer can usually assign whatever hours they want so they can definitely do this. Even if your son doesn’t want to work weekends and holidays (not a bad thing, most students wouldn’t) there are other students out there who wouldn’t mind that.</p>
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<p>Lol, you find this a lot when you’re a student looking for a job. Just like in the real world of job hunting there are usually way more students than there are work study jobs, and these employers sometimes have to go through dozens of applications. If he already interviewed ten other kids that day who were shocked that they would have to work weekends and holidays he probably wouldn’t be in the best of moods.</p>
<p>Check with the financial aid office about job postings. Usually work study positions will be listed somewhere in the career services page. You could even try looking under the regular ‘employment’ page for the university. Offices hire a lot based on hours they need to fill, not necessarily on the student’s schedule.</p>
<p>Also, tell him to keep an eye out for job postings on bulletin boards around campus. Sometimes organizations, like the newspaper, will be hiring for students. Students are usually on their own as far as finding a work study job goes so you have to get creative.</p>
<p>DD did not do work study but was a lifeguard at the pool. There may be other opportunities like that that aren’t really work study but will accomplish the same thing. It was very flexible on when and how many hours.</p>
<p>Just have to say that working the front desk can be one of the best jobs- you get to meet everyone. I did this in grad school. Met DH in the dorm, but really got to know him by being the front desk gal. Sure, it included some wee hours and some weekend time. And, it’s easssy.</p>