Though on-campus job availabilities have been beneficial to students, these seasonal jobs can often conflict with student schedules.
Almost 70 percent of enrolled college students work. Working while in college helps to pay for tuition, necessities like groceries and more. The decision for most college students who decide to work is to choose a campus or seasonal job.
According to Edvisors, students are more likely to continue their academic studies if they work a campus job. There are many advantages to working an on-campus job like saving gas money and more schedule flexibility.
“Some advantages to working on campus I would say is that they recognize that school comes first so they work with your schedule, and you are able to meet a lot of people who are living in the same world as you, as your coworkers all go to the same school,” student Maurianna Young said. “Proximity is also a plus because I live on campus without a car, so on-campus work helps me earn some income and save on travel.”
While working on campus is convenient and has many advantages, there are also disadvantages like a cap on how many hours one can work a week and low pay.
“A disadvantage of working on campus would be the pay. It is not as high as it would be if you were pursuing some off-campus opportunities,” Young said. “You are also only allowed to get 20 hours a week total (except for holidays and breaks) so that with the lowest pay does pose as a limitation.”
Seasonal jobs have advantages like job security and better pay. KSU students had similar experiences when asked what some advantages were to working a seasonal job.
“The advantage of working a seasonal job is a sense of job security,” student Sydnee Newsome answered. “I know whenever I’m in town for the weekends or home for school breaks, my managers will schedule me. This helps relieve the worry of me finding another job before I return to my hometown for spring, summer, and winter break.”
“I got to get a discount on clothing and other goods which made things significantly easier…” student James Williams said.
Despite these benefits, students like Newsome shared that when her employers are short-staffed, it can be difficult to fit those hours into her already busy schedule on weekends. Williams also shared that a lack of communication from management regarding when their employment period would end and has caused significant issues.
“All things considered, I have had more problems with employers in Kennesaw than back home, which is concerning due to the fact we live in a ‘college town’, I feel as if businesses are inflexible and unwilling to pay employees or treat them right,” Williams said.
With inflation of grocery prices and a rise specifically in Georgia of gas prices, expenses like these are getting more difficult to afford for the average working adult. College students worry about paying for these things on top of tuition and books. College tuition inflates every year with an average annual rate of 8 percent.
Financial stress is common among college students. 72 percent of college students experience financial stress from the fear of not being able to meet monthly expenses and the cost of tuition. A large percentage also experience stressors of housing insecurity, homelessness, and food insecurity.
