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COMMUNITY- December 2009

Student jobs: better on or off campus?
by Alexis Gutter (Unwind Contributor)

As if finding enough time to finish homework isn’t hard enough, lots of students are also balancing jobs.

But when starting the job search, there’s one important question: on or off campus?

For junior art and psychology major Cara Mellea, convenience led to jobs on campus.

“I wanted a job that was on campus so I could work in my free time and between classes,” Mellea said.

Mellea has been working at the Van Munching Copy Center for more than a year but recognizes the benefits of off campus work.

“They probably give higher pay,” Mellea said. “It’s probably not worth it, though, because of the price of gas and possibility of traffic.”

While sophomore journalism major Sami Monk agrees that she probably makes more money at her job as a hostess at Applebee’s than she would on campus, getting a job on campus had been her first choice.

Monk tried finding on campus work but she could not find any available and could not wait for a spot to open up. Most of the jobs on the campus are work-study and only hire between semesters, Monk said.

“I don’t like my job but I wouldn’t switch now because I make more money,” Monk said. “It just stinks when I have to walk home alone late at night.”

Monk sometimes gets irritated with her employers for not always understanding of her busy schedule.

Junior math and economics major Tim Van Blarcom said that his job is great at working with students and their availability.

Van Blarcom works for the Department of Transportation Services as a student manager and was a bus driver last year. He said his primary reason for getting a job on the campus was because he did not have the transportation means to have one anywhere else.

“I had a transportation problem,” Van Blarcom said. “Becoming a bus driver fixed that problem and made me money.”

Keep in mind that with the holiday season coming and the academic semester ending, job opportunities are opening up both on and off campus.