I will be starting my freshman year REALLY soon, and I have received work study as part of my financial aid package for $2500 for the entire school year. I will be a bio major/chem minor pre med taking 14 credit hours (one of my classes doesn’t count as a credit). I have a few questions about work study and I’ll be super grateful if someone can give me some more information about what it’s like!!
How much hours during the week do you usually work? Is it manageable? Will I still have enough time to study/participate in organizations if I do it?
What are the interviews like? I’ve never had to interview before, so it makes me really nervous. How long is it? What kinds of questions are you asked? How can I prepare? Any tips?
If you’ve done work study, I’d be so grateful if you could maybe share your experience. Thank you!!
It really depends on which university you attend. There are work postings and you select what will generally work for your schedule. Your hours worked in the semester arent that many hours. They typically pay minimum wage.
A large number of the jobs are in the food areas so that includes busing tables cleaning out trash, etc. It could be a breakfast shift or it could be a late evening shift. My eldest daughter had a dorm mate who couldn’t get a job during decent hours and ended up in the kitchen and worked the late evening shift till three in the morning. It really depends on the school and their work schedules and how many work-study jobs they have.
My eldest daughter’s school had tons of work study jobs. My middle daughter’s school had more jobs in the education area and labs.
My middle daughter’s job had her coming in when she could, as long as she worked 10 to 15 hours per week. Her interview was as simple as handing in her information, and the supervisor, then asking “when can you start?” After she finished her work-study hours they wanted to continue to keep her on in the first semester. Because it was a lab job, the regular pay for non-work-study, was significantly better, so they hired her as a lab aid and she quit work-study after the first semester (the regular pay for lab assistants was a lot better than work-study pay).
If they interview you, then they will have information and they will ask you about home chores, etc. but any experience that you’ve had will help; it’s generally very easy-going because you have the job, so this would make good practice for future interviews.
My kids worked up to 10 hours a week. This was manageable. But it does depend on your job. Usually work study jobs are not more than that per week by much…if any.
Yes
This is a chance for the employer to get to meet you. Just be yourself. No need to be nervous!
[quoteHow long is it? What kinds of questions are you asked? How can I prepare? Any tips?
[/quote]
Hard to say. Again, it depends on the job. One of my kids worked on campus at a competitive job that had three levels of interviews over about 6 weeks. That was her second job. Her first job (at the call center), the interview was more like an introduction and took all of 15 minutes.
I did work study back in the Stone Age. My first job was in the school cafe…and it wasn’t glamorous but it gave me income. A plus to it was that it was also funded with university funds, so when my work study allotment ran out, I was able to keep working.
My kid who worked in the call center…she had to commit to 4 hour shifts…but there were a lot of those. She had to do one a week at least, but usually did two.
Th nice thing about work study is that your employers will be understanding when mid term and final exam times come. Some WS jobs end before finals. And you work study earnings are not included on subsequent financial aid forms as income (well…they are included in you income but there is a line asking how much of your income was WS, and that is not used in the calculation).
Some jobs, just by where you are, allow you to meet a huge range of other students. Some may let you work in your dept. You need to look at what your school has listed and get started applying as soon as you can.
My first ws job was at 8am in the music library, awful cuz it was empty then. Later I worked in the main library. Friend’s kids worked in the rare book room (he loved it) and admissions, first answering phones, then admin work. Plenty of time for other activities.
I also did work study back in the stone age. I went to a smaller college, and was just assigned to a place my freshman year. I received notification when I arrived that I would be working in the campus coffee shop. My interview was: Hi! You’re the new person. Here’s what to do, what’s your class schedule? Our manager scheduled our shifts around our schedules, which could be altered if need be.
For the other years, you could apply for other jobs if you wanted. And then, it was general interview questions like what job did you have last year, any issues, what did like/not like, etc. They’re basic questions, you’ll do fine!
