<p>Well, I'm going to be a freshman at a small college next year, and I have to get a w-s job (well, "have to" just sounds bad, I actually want to since it will be, pretty much, my lone source of spending money).</p>
<p>From the people who have been through the whole work-study rush, what exactly should I be looking for as an undecided student. Specifically, what jobs should I avoid? What jobs, at least in your experience, were not worth the extra money they might pay. The school has set wages (Basically, 6.00 + (.25 * Years at the School), so freshman year would be 6.25 (first year * .25 = .25), sophomore 6.50, etc.), with the exception of food services and event planners and such (1-2 dollars more per hour). I worked in food services before and it wasn't much fun...although I have to figure even working in a dining hall would be slightly less stressful then a baseball stadium (slightly), but I don't know.</p>
<p>Basically, here is an example of some of the jobs (other ones are in other departments and such).</p>
<p>Good questions. I'm also wondering what I should be looking for once I start. I want to start working my in my first semester(I really need the money.). How many hours do ppl sensibly manage without really letting their studies suffer?</p>
<p>Sometimes you have no choice, depending upon your schedule and seniority. Sometimes you luck out and can do something you really want or in your major, but most times not. It's important to look at your college WS or employment website.</p>
<p>Look for tutoring jobs if possible, I got a job in the French department making 8.50/hour with a ten cent raise every quarter, but maybe that's just my school ... even if you don't make 8.50, tutoring looks good on your resume and is actually kinda fun/stress-free. I recommend it!</p>
<p>Try to look for something where you can work about 10 hours a week. If you have to work every day, it will be 2 hours a day or if you have a schedule where you have big lulls of time, you can probably get it down to 2/3 days a week. this way you can still maintain a balance between work, school and your social life.</p>
<p>Since some workstudy postions pay every 2 weeks, you will get about $120 (on a $6/hr job) per pay check and you will still be able to balance your school work.</p>
<p>My D told me at her school most of the types of jobs where you are working at the gym, athletic assistant, etc. really do not have a stable set of hours, or they may not give you enough hours to make enough money. Sometimes you can get crappy hours because the gym is open early in the morning and late at night. So if ws is you main source of $$, it may not be a good move.</p>
<p>Over the years, she has had jobs where she worked as office assitant. most of the hours for these jobs take place between the hours of 9 and 5 where people are at work, so you can manage to squeeze in a few hours in between classes and you will always have your evenings free. She said the superviors are usually very flexible when it come to you setting up your hours and as you can give some sort of advance notice they are really flexible if you are not coming in because you need to study for exams. Yes, the work can be a little boring; answering phones, filing , word processing, but you come in, do your thing and no one really gives you a hard time.</p>
<p>For many students, the circulation desk is a dream job, beacause you can have a little more flexibility as far a time ; the library is open late during the school year, it is quiet, you are checking in and out books, answering a couple of questions, and you do get an opportunity to get some reading/ homework done on the job.</p>
<p>Oh, and I work about 8 hours a week (possibly 9 this year) and since I always work my hours to be somewhere between 10 and 5, it really doesn't affect my schoolwork since I always study at night (if ever, heh).</p>
<p>Do the dorms at your school have student-staffed front desks? That's a pretty cushy job - not only are you getting paid, but you can also take your study materials with you to the desk.</p>
<p>Front desks, library proctor, and similar jobs let you do your own work while you're "on the job." This is really nice to be able to do, even if you end up just chatting with your friends instead of doing work- when you need the time, you know you'll be able to do schoolwork if you have to.</p>
<p>At my college, I was assigned to a w-s job. (although I filled out an application and gave my top three choices) It's in the marketing dep't. I'm assuming I'll just be doing clerical stuff, answering phones, typing stuff, etc.</p>
<p>At my school we have to apply to the jobs we are interested in. The one I applied to a few days ago is actually really cool. The community service office offers it to people with federal workstudy and you basically pick one of the community service locations nearby and work there (I guess its not really community service anymore since you get paid for it, but all of the locations sound more interesting than working the other on campus jobs)</p>
<p>Luckily (or not so, depending on what happens), the students apply for specific jobs in this case, and from what I've heard, it's a pretty mad rush for people who don't have jobs in the first three days or so. That's why I ask, but thanks for the suggestions and I'm always open to more.</p>
<p>Don't wait until the last minute to get started. Right now, you should definitely start getting your resume and a basic cover letter together as some of the on-campus jobs do have a contact name. You can e-mail that person about your interest in applying for one of the postions and have your job already set up when you get on campus. Definitely apply for multiple postitions to increase your chances of getting a job. Depending on when your school year starts, you can have your job set up before even arriving to school.</p>
<p>good luck with this.</p>
<p>From D's experience, sometimes they will send you an additional application to fill out, other times, they will talk on the phone and work out a work schedule with you, or sometimes the supervisor will just tell you to drop by when you get on campus and will work out your schedule with you. </p>
<p>Work study is definitely the type of thing where the early bird gets the worm.</p>
<p>Most people go for the desk jobs - front desks of dorms, info desk in the student center, library, various office assistance jobs like answering the phone for maintainance requests, etc. This way you can have a book out and get some homework done while waiting for someone to call or walk in or whatever. I would imagine those kinds of jobs go fairly fast, though. </p>
<p>I didn't want to deal with people so I have a job filing papers in the admissions office, and there are pretty much always openings for that one...they don't have a set number of people they want working it or a set schedule or anything. There wasn't really any application/interview process, I just met with the supervisor and she basically said if you're smart enough to get into this school you're smart enough to put things in alphabetical order, so we don't bother with interviews or resumes.</p>
<p>If you're a people person, I've found jobs working at the front/info desk of a student union to be quite nice (you even get a computer w/ internet to use). I also worked as a cashier/customer service person at the bookstore for a while. I really like it, as it kept me busy without being hectic (save for the beginning and end of the semesters).</p>
<p>If you're a science major, there are some lab assistant jobs. It's great--all I do is go put flasks in a dishwasher, leave to do hw, and come back 2 hours later to take them out. Paid for "2 hours of work."</p>