The semester’s started; now get to work!

Aside from contemplating the effectiveness of semi-colons, what are you doing during your non-class time? Sleeping? Flipping channels? Flipping burgers?

If you answered, “yes” to that last one, then you have the idea. Sort of.

College students are broke by nature, a fact that’s inspired such company titles as the über-successful “Starving Students” moving company. A company that, by the way, ripped me off earlier this month. But people do crazy things when they’re hungry, so whatever.

So how do college students get money? Other than loans? And parents? And just, finding it?

Jobs! Yes!

But a flipping-burger job isn’t the best flipping answer, unless it’s on campus.

Top 10 Reasons to Get an On-Campus College Job:

10. It’s close to your classes. Get off work 5 minutes before HIST 200 begins and power-walk to the building! You could really burn off that 2-week old pizza you had for breakfast.

9. It’s probably close to your bedroom. Roll out of bed and into work. Pajamas are coming back in style, you know. Work-appropriate pajamas, that is.

8. On-campus employers understand your student schedule. Your on-campus boss will most likely be very lenient with allowing time off for midterms, professor office hours, and that dreaded group project meeting. Off-campus burger-flipping employers don’t give a crap about your group project. Of course, neither does your group.

7. Pick your own schedule. This goes with Reason #8. Again, on-campus student employees are generally expected to prioritize classes above their job, so your boss may ask YOU for your schedule.

6. They’re everywhere! Like birds. (Seriously, there are a lot of birds.) Almost every office on every college campus hires students for part-time work or work-study programs. If your college has already filled their student employment positions for the fall, check back during the winter session, when they’ll likely be hiring again.

5. The “in.” Whether you work for an academic department or for an administrative office, working FOR your college gives you an incredible amount of insider-info that you wouldn’t get anywhere else. Being part of the behind-the-scenes process will help you in the future, whether you’re looking for a petition form weeks before graduation, or trying to track down a professor in another department whom you wouldn’t have known otherwise.

4. Work with your peers. This may be one of the most beneficial elements to the on-campus job. If you work on campus, you will likely work with other students in your same position. Some of the most successful post-college networking begins during student-to-student interaction at internship and job settings, the most accessible of which are… on-campus.

3. Make money, duh! All of the other perks sounded so good, I almost forgot about this one. In my experience, on-campus jobs only allowed students to work part-time. However, they offered frequent pay raises, since on-campus student workers tend to stay at their positions for their entire college career. No reason to quit… You’re there every day anyway.

2. It’s fun. No, this is not a throwaway-we’re-almost-at-number-one point. It really is fun! Many college students who work in outside retail, foodservice or office jobs feel removed from their studies when they go to work, and they often suffer the burden of “two lives.” Raking in the dough on campus allows you to consolidate your major responsibilities in one place.

1. It keeps you involved. The people who get the most out of college are the ones who are present. The people who hardly attend class enough to find out what textbook to buy generally hate college and get nothing out of it. Working on campus not only gives you another little on-campus niche to call home, but it also keeps you connected.

Now, before you go running into the campus Student Services Building waving around your resume like a crazed game show contestant, just wait. Stop waving that paper around. You look silly.

Just take a moment to leave us a comment about this post! Ask a question about how to find an on-campus job, or offer some suggestions on getting one.

We look forward to your feedback! Happy on-campus job hunting.

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Tip: A good way to start brainstorming is to make a mental catalog of the different buildings on your campus, and the next time you have a few extra minutes before class, stop in to get a feel for the different offices and ask if they’re hiring. If you’re not yet a college student, visit some buildings at the colleges near you to get a feel for the professional atmosphere.

A couple quick ideas:

All academic offices

Administration Building

Career Center

Admissions Office

Alumni Relations

Human Resources

Student Health Center

Mail Center

Maintenance Department

Financial Aid Office

…and a big, fat “etc.”