New Battle for Work-Study Spots
Posted 17 Jun, 2009
Students may find it tougher to get a job on campus this Fall. According to the New York Times, the employment crunch has finally spread to student positions on college campuses–and that means bigger competition for work-study jobs.
What is Work-Study?
If you have a child attending or preparing to attend college, you have no doubt checked and rechecked his or her “Award Letter”–the page or two that details your student’s financial aid offerings for any given year.
On it you may find from one to three types of aid; grants or scholarships (which are “free money” that don’t need to be paid back), federal student loans and work-study. Work-study is a federally subsidized form of student aid in which a student works an on-campus job. Students are guaranteed pay at or above minimum wage, and can work until they earn the maximum amount listed on the Award Letter. The federal government pays 75% of the student’s wages, while the college foots 25 percent. Once students get their paychecks, they can use the earnings to pay for college.
Before and After
While the economy was robust, work-study jobs were typically easy for students to get. They had to apply just like they would to a regular job, but if they had received a work-study award, they were extremely likely to end up with a position. The NY Times article reported that one school offered 4 times more work-study awards than the number of positions they had available, because even at that high volume they had a hard time filling the spots!
Now, however, more and more students are in a financial pinch, and colleges do not have the federal funding to create all the jobs they need to support these students. The competition for work-study jobs is becoming fierce.
Work-Study Alternatives
Most students prefer a work-study job because they tend to require 20 hours or less each week–leaving students with plenty of time to study. However, even in a tough job market, work-study employment is not the only realistic option.
If your child needs to work to help pay the bills, he or she should look outside the work-study listings, as well. Many on-campus jobs are not work-study specific, so your child can still apply to work in a mail room, at the cafeteria, or as a research assistant or admin assistant for a professor.
Your student can also look for off-campus jobs using the campus career services listings. Off-campus jobs listed through the school want college students for the position, so they will usually work with your student to make sure the hours are conducive to studying, class schedule, and completing homework. Whether students work a regular or work-study job, the part-time earnings can certainly add up to help make college more affordable.
All the best,
Deborah Fox
Deborah Fox is the founder of Fox College Funding®, a nationwide company that helps families find creative ways to reduce their college costs.
photo by lusi
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Students may find it tougher to get a job on campus this Fall. According to the New York Times, the employment crunch has finally spread to student positions on college campuses–and that means bigger competition for work-study jobs.
What is Work-Study?
If you have a child attending or preparing to attend college, you have no doubt checked and rechecked his or her “Award Letter”–the page or two that details your student’s financial aid offerings for any given year.
On it you may find from one to three types of aid; grants or scholarships (which are “free money” that don’t need to be paid back), federal student loans and work-study. Work-study is a federally subsidized form of student aid in which a student works an on-campus job. Students are guaranteed pay at or above minimum wage, and can work until they earn the maximum amount listed on the Award Letter. The federal government pays 75% of the student’s wages, while the college foots 25 percent. Once students get their paychecks, they can use the earnings to pay for college.
Before and After
While the economy was robust, work-study jobs were typically easy for students to get. They had to apply just like they would to a regular job, but if they had received a work-study award, they were extremely likely to end up with a position. The NY Times article reported that one school offered 4 times more work-study awards than the number of positions they had available, because even at that high volume they had a hard time filling the spots!
Now, however, more and more students are in a financial pinch, and colleges do not have the federal funding to create all the jobs they need to support these students. The competition for work-study jobs is becoming fierce.
Work-Study Alternatives
Most students prefer a work-study job because they tend to require 20 hours or less each week–leaving students with plenty of time to study. However, even in a tough job market, work-study employment is not the only realistic option.
If your child needs to work to help pay the bills, he or she should look outside the work-study listings, as well. Many on-campus jobs are not work-study specific, so your child can still apply to work in a mail room, at the cafeteria, or as a research assistant or admin assistant for a professor.
Your student can also look for off-campus jobs using the campus career services listings. Off-campus jobs listed through the school want college students for the position, so they will usually work with your student to make sure the hours are conducive to studying, class schedule, and completing homework. Whether students work a regular or work-study job, the part-time earnings can certainly add up to help make college more affordable.
All the best,
Deborah Fox
Deborah Fox is the founder of Fox College Funding®, a nationwide company that helps families find creative ways to reduce their college costs.
photo by lusi
Subscribe in a reader
Subscribe by Email
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