Getting a job can be critical for some university students, but it can be discouraging when the only options available seem to be waitressing or working as cashier. There’s actually a whole world of job opportunities that many might not realize even exist, both on campus and out in the city.
Adam Blanchard, a fourth-year student at St. Thomas University, works for facilities on campus delivering mail. He often meets people while out on the job who don’t even realize he’s working.
“They’re really shocked and surprised that I’m not only working on campus, but that I’m working in between my classes in kind of a casual way,” Blanchard said.
According to Blanchard, there are plenty of jobs besides the readily apparent ones like tour guides or study hall workers; it just takes the right circumstances to find them.
“I think the jobs are there if you look for them. I think you sort of have to know people in the department, and go around and make the initiative. When I heard about this job, I went down to the department, dropped off my resumé and kept in contact.”
Book Sadprasid, a third-year student at STU, is no stranger to the jobs available on campus. She works in IT services for St. Thomas University and is the communications co-ordinator for the Students’ Union. However, her jobs aren’t just limited to campus. She also works for a startup company called SimpTek that helps people save energy.
“The work culture is super different from anywhere I have worked,” Sadprasid said. “It’s a startup company, it’s very small, we all know each other. It’s not like I have to ask my boss and my boss has to ask my boss. It’s basically me shouting out ideas and them accepting it.”
Sadprasid started the job as an internship for her communications class and it ended with them offering her a full-time job for the summer. Since then, she’s been able to continue to work while going to class this semester.
“They don’t expect me to physically be in the office. We do video calls when we have meetings and I work on my own time. They don’t try and count my hours; we kind of use the trust system. As long as I’m delivering stuff by the deadline they don’t really care.”
Campus jobs can be good when you’re only in town for the school year, but finding a good summer job that can transfer into class time can be very valuable.
Rachel Slipp, also a STU student, was lucky enough to be able to stay at her summer job this semester. She works in the tourism department for the City of Fredericton. She has a wide range of responsibilities at her job that include answering phone calls, writing emails, doing research for blog posts and making deliveries.
“I’m really lucky this year that quite a few days I don’t have morning classes,” said Slipp. “I go in the mornings to work, and then I go to my afternoon classes. I’m allowed to work 10 hours each week.”
Blanchard also worked full-time delivering mail during the summer, but the nature of the job makes it easy to adjust to a new schedule. Instead, he’s able to focus on his favourite parts of the whole experience, such as all of the people he’s been able to meet because of it.
“I know a lot of people on campus now,” said Blanchard. “Not just my friends and my colleagues, but people who are departmental assistants, or office secretaries, or a lot of professors who I haven’t even taken classes with that I see on a daily basis and they know me as the ‘mail guy.'”
While Blanchard’s job is pretty flexible in relation to his schedule, time management can still be an issue. Combining classes with work can be quite a struggle to deal with.
“I can attest that there are some long days,” Slipp said. “When you go in at 8:30, and then you work until noon, and then you have class until 5:30, it can be a long day. It’s longer than my regular workday was. And then, of course, you have homework and other things you want to do in the evening. But it’s all about time management.”
Despite the long days, Slipp is grateful she was lucky enough to find a job that accommodates the life of a student.
“If you can find a job and you think you have the time to manage it, it’s really great because it gives you experience and some extra money during school, which is always nice. That way you don’t have to worry as much about finances.”
Similarly, Sadprasid couldn’t be happier with her busy schedule. She balances four jobs and an overloaded class schedule, and says it’s all worth it.
“Your friend is going to be like, ‘You have no life.’ But I don’t agree with them when they say I have no life. This is my life, this is the life I choose to live, and this is the life that I’m happy in.”
