<p>How does work study work? Is it the same as having a normal job except you work for the school? What are the advantages of doing work study?</p>
<p>Federal work-study feels like a regular part-time job for you but there are some administrative differences: work-study is subsidized by the government (up to 75% of your wage!), eligibility is based on financial need and you can only earn as much as your work-study award (say your award is $2000 a year; then you cannot decide to work extra hours to earn $3000). The key difference between work-study and a regular job is that it is subsidized.</p>
<p>Work-study jobs are not only on-campus positions; some off-campus employers (e.g. non-for-profit organizations) can hire you under the work-study program as well. </p>
<p>Instead of commenting on the advantages or disadvantages of a work-study job vs a regular job, I will say something about the respective advantages of jobs on and off campus.</p>
<p>Advantages of on-campus jobs:
They are usually more flexible to fit around your academic and extracurricular schedule.
They are easier to find.
Transportation is not an issue.
You meet more people on your campus.</p>
<p>Advantages of off-campus jobs:
They often pay more, sometimes significantly more. (At many colleges on-campus jobs just pay the minimum wage.)
You may get a position that is more relevant to your career development than giving tours of the campus, working in the dining halls or tutoring fellow students.</p>
<p>Actually, for the hours...work study jobs pay a lot more than most off campus ones. That's only for my college of course, but they're pretty lax on wages and the min work study wage is something like $9.50, going up to $15 and hour.</p>