First McDonald’s for lunch, then paying for laundry and eyeing that poster sure would look good above the bed. Suddenly, hundreds of dollars from high school graduation checks are gone, but what now? New College’s bustling campus is also a thriving ground for valuable employment opportunities. As the academic year kicks off, students at New College have the opportunity to embrace a diverse array of paid academic internships and on-campus jobs. These jobs provide not only financial support with a forgiving schedule during classes, but also give students a chance to hone in on essential skills in their field of interest.

On campus jobs encompass a broad spectrum of employment opportunities across many different working environments. Some examples of on campus jobs are Resident Advisor (RA), Teacher’s Assistant (TA) and various entry level office and engagement jobs. These positions often serve as a starting point, providing students valuable workforce experience and a flexible, reliable way of supporting themselves. 

These jobs are often considered to be the best option for students for several reasons. To begin, they are very convenient as they’re located right on campus, which eliminates the need for personal or public transportation, saving even more time and money. Being on campus while working allows students to efficiently balance work with their academic schedules. Having this cushion reduces stress, allots more free time and enhances the overall college experience. These positions can also provide many valuable networking opportunities and resources. The chance to build professional relationships with faculty and staff are something that student workers can take advantage of to help them push forward in their career. 

Over the summer, thesis student and New College Student Alliance (NCSA) Co-President Colin Jefferis got the campus to raise the minimum wage for on campus jobs. He also gives an insight into what it is like working an on campus job.

“So the proposal was initially a hike to 15 [dollars an hour], but what we decided on was $13 an hour this year as the minimum, and then next year we’ll be $15 an hour— But yeah, right now the minimum is $13, which only by state we’re required to be at 12, so it’s kind of a good step up anyways.”

Although the minimum is $13 an hour, on campus jobs have a range of payments. For example, TAs can get paid, but also receive the option to instead obtain a class credit. He continues on to describe his own experience working a wide array of positions across campus.

“I worked at the waterfront last year, and I was also an RA,” Jefferis said. “This year, in addition to being president, I’m still working at the waterfront so, yeah. And then being an RA is like, you get compensated through your hourly rate for a set amount of hours each week and then you also get a housing discount that’s incorporated in. So they’re kind of paid a little differently for the hours that they work.”

Continuing on, Jefferis gave his opinion on which on campus jobs are best for students at different points in their college career.

“Yeah, I think first year students after, people who have been here for a semester or people who have done [events] like ‘Welcome Wednesdays’ and gotten themselves familiar with NCF, orientation is a good place to go for that as student ambassadors. Then another good place to go for first years is NCSA. It’s also good because a lot of people have experience from high school student government and it’s a lot less hours and kind of more entry level positions. Then second year RAs, sometimes they will hire in the spring semester too, just due to changes that happen over the year. So looking out for that as second and third years.

Even fourth years maybe. And then the fitness center is another good entry level position.”

“One other thing that’s interesting is we’re working with HR so that all the student worker positions have learning outcomes essentially, which are like core things that you can put on your resume, [like] working at the fitness center helped you learn communication and people skills and kind of using that later on. After last year, we had this student worker survey from last spring, which was just about general student worker feelings on campus. And one of the main [requests] was compensation. So then we addressed that by fixing the compensation, but people also wanted to have that upward movement, like learning outcomes in positions. So having those learning outcomes set before the positions are done helps with that aspect, making sure they’re actually getting stuff out of it.” 

Handshake is an app in the NCF student portal that allows students to search for jobs and internships currently available. As of right now, a couple positions that are open include Traditions Coordinator, student events assistant, waterfront employee and the recreational facility. To get more information on any of these opportunities, either visit the CEO in the library or visit the Handshake app.