University students take on jobs each semester in addition to classes, and between helping reduce college debt and earning some additional money for food and drink on the weekend, the reasons for students to take on a job are many.
Dawn Chong, the director of Student Employment Services, said students who work between 10 and 12 hours are more likely to successfully complete their college career. Students learn time management and interpersonal skills through employment, she said.
WorkNet, an online job service shared by Student Employment Services and the Career Center, contains jobs that are specific to certain majors and fields of study with pay ranging from $8.15 an hour to upwards of $20 an hour. The only exception to jobs offered on the site are teaching positions.
“A lot of classes require a resume, and we can help you with that,” Chong said. She recommended going to Student Employment Services event “Resume Rookie” Wednesday, Aug. 30 or Thursday, Aug. 31 from 3 to 4 p.m. in Room 208 of the Union. The workshop gives students assistance polishing older resumes and building new ones. Even if students will not be immediately looking for jobs, the workshops can still be good skill-building events for future jobs, she said.
Also, Campus Fest is set for Thursday, Aug. 31 where Student Employment Services and several employers will be manning tables to answer questions.
Some types of employment offered on campus fit well with student interests and offer unique experiences.
Rebekkah Gresh, a senior integrated science education major, is a stargazing leader. “I love taking students up and showing them how cool science is,” she said.
While stargazing is normally a night job, she was working in the middle of the day on Aug. 21 due to the solar eclipse. On the roof of the Physical Sciences Laboratory building, she took guests to the University-owned telescopes that allowed them to safely observe the eclipse.
She also said her work ties in well with her major. “I want to be a science teacher,” Gresh said, “so I get to teach people about science, so it’s literally ideal.”
Student employment can also enable students to innovate in matters related to their work.
Mike Gulas, a senior studying math and physics, was employed over the summer at The Learning Commons. While he was assisting students taking summer courses, he also took advantage of the reduced class sizes to create educational videos for students taking math courses at the University.
Gulas said that each video is about three to five minutes long, but takes about 12 hours to produce because he writes a script for each episode, draws custom diagrams to illustrate the math and uses a green screen while filming.
These videos were made to help students who need to study on the go or when The Learning Commons is closed once they have been published.
University employees can go beyond the basic job description to help their employer and have unique project experiences they can show to others.
