By KATELYN HANDY SHRIBER
Each fall semester brings change to many students: new classes, new roommates, a new place to live. Along with these changes often comes another stress: finding a job.
For many students at BYU, a part-time job is a part of college life. There are many jobs in the Provo/Orem area, but often the best jobs can be found on campus.
According to Penny Morrell, manager of student employment, there are many advantages to working on campus. One advantage is the location -- your job is close to classes and often is near where you live.
Another advantage is work experience. Morrell said that even if students are not working in their area of study, employers will want to know if potential employees have a good work ethic.
Another advantage, that isn't as obvious as proximity and experience, is that full-time students save on taxes when they work on campus. According to Morrell, if you are a full-time student and work on campus you don't have to pay social security.
Morrell said there are over 1,000 jobs available on campus and there are just about as many different kinds of jobs available.
Most colleges on campus employ students as receptionists and secretaries. Many colleges also employ students as teaching assistants, or researchers.
BYU also has more unusual jobs, including: librarian, copy writer, assistant designer, carpet cleaner, audio visual technician, community services assistant, design and display assistant, dispatcher, electronics technician, on-call driver. There is even a position for a milker at a BYU farm in Spanish Fork, Morrell said.
Custodial, grounds and dining services are three departments on campus that hire a large number of students every semester. These jobs are usually the last to be filled as well, Morrell said.
Mitch Smith, manager of the Cougareat, said it has been a challenge filling jobs this year. But Smith called it 'a situation that normally occurs.'
Smith said typically there are positions at the Cougareat that are open into September. Most of those openings are for shifts during lunch, when many students have classes. However, with a full schedule of interviews this week, Smith said that many could be filled.
To help simplify the process, Smith's office is able to hire students 'on the spot,' rather than going through student employment, Smith said.
An exception has been made this year to help fill some positions, Morrell said. Usually only full-time students can work on campus during Fall and Winter semesters. To help fill these positions, part-time students may work on campus this semester, but only in grounds, custodial or dining services, Morrell said.
Morrell said that this exception is made from semester to semester depending on the availability of jobs in these areas.
Will Terris, gardening maintenance supervisor, has seen more positions filled when part-time students are able to apply for a job on grounds crew.
Terris has seen a decline in student employees that work for grounds crew during the last four or five years. He speculated that the reason may be that some students today might not need the financial support that has been needed by students in previous years.
Jennilyn Mortenson, a secretary for grounds department said that there are 194 student employees working for grounds. Twenty morning-shift positions and 20 afternoon-shift positions have been posted through SES, Mortenson said.