With a new academic term beginning and students being consumed once again by the overflow of papers, tests and other collegiate adversities, it is difficult for a student to fit in the much needed work-hours. Since students are away from home and separated from their parents, often financial difficulties take place all throughout the semester. Regardless of if the student needs a monetary boost in order to accommodate their social life, pay the monthly rent, textbooks or even tuition, The University of Alabama offers a plethora of student employment opportunities ranging from on-campus jobs to work-study programs. There are many University related jobs that are feasible with a student’s academic load and schedule.
A large number of students are employed at many locations on campus, such as the Alabama Student Supply Store, Aquatic Center, Student Recreation Center, Intramural Sports, and even help desks all over campus offer students the opportunity to fit in feasible hours that would coincide with their class schedule. However, the positions at these businesses are often high in demand; therefore, they fill quickly.
There are 85 student positions at the Student Supply Store according to Teresa Shreve, Director of the University Supply Store. The student employees work in a wide array of positions throughout the store, ranging from cashier, accounting, retail, to also shipping and receiving.
“The store hires more students during peak time frames,” said Teresa Shreve, director of the University Supply Store. “Currently, the store has give positions posted on the UA Student job site – there in the cashiering area, one in the supplies department and one in the shipping/receiving department. Students may apply by visiting https://studentjobs.ua.edu/.”
According to Alexandra Sandoval, manager of the Aquatics Program, there are normally 80-100 student employees at the campus Aquatic Center. Depending on the season, the outdoor pool complex requires more workers; therefore, the Aquatic Center typically has more students working in the summer. The Aquatic Center also trains their lifeguards to do “support-staff,” which is responsible for access, customer service and pool-surveillance. The Aquatic Center hires student supervisors, but they are normally hired from within the department from students who have been with them for several semesters who have shown strong leadership qualities.
“What we do very well in the Aquatics, we understand that the people we hire are not going to be lifeguards for their entire life,” said Alexandra Sandoval, manager of the aquatics program. “We like to teach tangible life skills, so I am trying to teach the students who work for me communication, time management and professionalism.”
The Federal Work Study Program that is present at The University of Alabama also gives students the necessary opportunities in order to help pay for their college fees. According to the Work Study Program’s website, within the work-study program, students are placed within positions that are correlated to their major and area of study. There are both on-campus and off-campus jobs available in the work-study program.
The website also says that students typically work 12-20 hours a week, and there are over 800 work-study positions over the broad range of departments found on campus. The Federal Work Study Program is different than typical student employment because it is offered and targeted to students who are in a financial burden. In order for a student to join a work-study program, he or she must apply for federal student aid.
There are also many internship opportunities that are available to students who are looking for both financial support and imperative experience in their field of study. Even though these are mostly open to upperclassmen in their individual academic domains, internships are extremely important for gaining advantages in future employment. They also give you hands-on experience in your major in which you would not receive in the classroom.
According to the English department’s website, they offer internships with the local publications American Heritage and the Alumni Magazine.They also offer positions at the Tuscaloosa Public Defender’s Office and the Office of Marketing and Communications of the College of Continued Studies. Within the Journalism department, internships are offered to students at Tuscaloosa News, while in the Engineering department, positions are offered at the Mercedes-Benz factory as well as at the International Mill Service. This information can be found on both the Journalism departments and the Cooperative Education and Professional Practice Program’s websites
There are multiple locations online where students can find job opportunities. At https://studentjobs.ua.edu/postings/search, students can browse through the selection of on-campus jobs through the departments, durations, job types and job categories in order to find the job that might fit them the best. Students can also find an abundance of options on the “myBama” website by clicking on the “Student” tab and scrolling to the bottom and clicking on “Part-Time Job Board.” These both offer a large and broad selection of choices in which the student could look through in order to find a position of student-employment that might fit them the best.
