KATY HAR
Books, tuition, gas, tickets, fees, meals, rent, clothes and bills.
The variables may change with different students, but the need remains a constant: funding.
Many students find on-campus jobs to be a convenient means of earning extra money.
“When I’m on campus I can go to work, class and everything else in one place,” said Chris Simons, a junior from South Jordan, majoring in business and Russian, who also finds time to work in the Harold B. Lee Library.
“I don’t have to drive all over Provo,” he said.
Penny Morrell, the Student Employment manager, agrees that location is one of the top benefits for the 10,000 to 11,000 students working on BYU’s campus. In addition, she said, full-time students who work on campus do not have to pay Social Security tax.
The Student Employment Center, in C-40 ASB, is the place to begin the search for an on-campus job.
“As departments have openings they call us and tell us the times and qualifications needed,” Morrell said. “Once we get those, we type them up and put them on the board for the students.”
The Student Employment Center gives initial interviews to help each student find the job best suited to his or her qualifications and the employer’s needs, Morrell said.
“The purpose (of the Student Employment Center) is really twofold. We want to help the students find jobs, continue through school and graduate, but we also want to help the departments find adequate help so they can do their jobs,” she said.
Morrell also recommends that students seek jobs in their majors or fields of interest.
For Jarie Bohnam, a senior from Ogden, majoring in molecular biology, a positive experience with a class led her to a new major and her current job as a teaching assistant for Biology 100.
“I had a great teacher and a great TA who helped me fall in love with the subject matter,” Bohnam said.
When a teaching assistant job opened up, Bohnam realized that she could help someone else fall in love with biology.
“Besides that, it’s a great review of the subject matter for me,” she said. “It’s also an opportunity to meet and work with some of the greatest people in my field here at the university.”
However, despite the location benefit of an on-campus job, time is still an issue. Organizing can be tough, Bohnam said.
“It’s difficult to spend the time papers deserve to correct them well and get them back quickly to the students,” she said.
Diligence is also necessary, Simons said.
“You have to set your schedule in stone and stick to it,” he said.
But for those still looking, the beginning-of-the-year rush did not deplete the job pool. In fact, many available positions have not been filled yet, Morrell said.
Cafeteria work from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and early morning custodial jobs even offer wage differentials to make the jobs more appealing.
Bohnam also recommends students taking the initiative to find a job in their department.
“I think students tend to underestimate the possibility of getting a TA job,” she said.
Melinda Beal/Daily Universe
I LOVE MY JOB! Libby Nally, a junior from Plano, Texas, majoring in recreational therapy, works in the Spencer W. Kimball Tower mailroom. Many students find that on-campus jobs fit with their busy school schedules.
