Looking at best choices for on-campus job postings

On-campus jobs are in high demand, but their variety can lead students to ponder which opportunities are the best choice.

"The average posting for an on-campus position is five days if it is a brand new position," said Mike Major, director of the Career Planning and Placement Office. "During that time, you will see 70 résumés for that position."

But some of the 600 jobs on campus may suit a student better than others, based on scheduling demands, career interests and financial needs.

Hours That Work

Some jobs on campus have hours that suit the busy college student.

"One of the most popular that students want to work on campus is the Ryder Center at the desk swiping ID cards," Major said. "A lot of times, it offers students an opportunity to work on homework on downtime while getting paid for a position."

Physics senior Chandler Benjamin holds this coveted campus job.

"[Downtime] is the number one attraction to the job," he says. "People come and go in spurts, so you have the chance to get a lot of homework done. As long as you show up, are nice to the people who come in and do your job properly, you don't have any issues."

Benjamin says this job is ideal for a busy student - it helps him to budget his time.

"One of the things I have found with my schedule is that you're pretty much in class or studying," he says. "You don't have much interaction with anyone else outside that if you want to do well."

Career Opportunities

Some jobs on campus allow students career advancement and relevant career experience. For example, Dining Services, the largest employer on campus, promoted accounting senior Raymond Goll to the position of student manager at Real Food on Campus, more often known as the RFoC.

"I started as a student employee," Goll said. "I was offered to move up to management as student manager. I took the position, and they allowed me to intern as accounting intern part-time."

As a student manager, Goll makes sure workers are on time and on task. He also makes sure the RFoC is presentable to customers.

"I would consider this a really good job because you work for the school, but the company that oversees you is Aramark, which is a huge Fortune 500 company," says Goll. "If you can get moved up to management, you have a chance to work with a desirable company."

Goll says he hopes to stay with Aramark and climb the corporate ladder.

More Than The Minimum

While most campus positions begin at minimum wage ($7.40 an hour,) several jobs on campus offer students more compensation for skills in high demand.

"Depending on the skill set required for the position, some jobs may start as high as $10 per hour," says Major. "Oncampus entities are competing with off-campus entities."

Information Technology has the largest number of these higher-paying jobs. Students familiar with the complexities of necessary software are paid a premium for their skills.

Graphics design senior Cherie Noble works in the University Communications office, where she says her experience, design portfolio and creativity were the primary factors in her finding employment. Noble says she has the best job on campus.

While off-campus employment could offer similar opportunities in terms of wages and career planning, Noble says that she would still choose to work at SVSU.

"Even if there was another position off campus that paid more, I don't think I would take it because I can says that I did something for the University rather than just another firm. Working here, you have a relationship with the University - it's my favorite thing about SVSU."

by Noah Essenmacher

January 18, 2010