With the economy in a bind, many students at the University of Alabama are on the prowl for a convenient, student-oriented job on campus. Through various forms of job-hunting, some students have found working on campus to be beneficial.

Student assistant jobs come from various UA departments and organizations, including many academic departments, housing communities, the Student Rec Center and Aquatic Center, UA Libraries and the SUPe Store, to name a few. These job opportunities range from retail sales, customer service and office assistant positions to jobs requiring specific skills in areas such as information technology, website development and program research.

Vaishali Patel, recruitment specialist for student employment and volunteer programs, said student assistant jobs are great alternatives for students who are not eligible for work-study awards.

“Student assistant jobs become available based on the needs of individual University departments and organizations,” Patel said. “While [human resources] does not create jobs, we do encourage all departments to post available jobs on the student employment jobsite whenever possible.”

Julie Morgan, a junior majoring in elementary education, chose to work on campus because of the benefits provided.

Morgan, a student employee at the University Medical Center, explained how positive her experience has been thus far.

“[The on-campus employers] are very understanding of the demands placed on you as a student,” Morgan said. “They work around your school schedule. You do not have to work nights or weekends, and your job site is located on campus so you do not have to drive far to get to work.”

Lindsay Knight, a junior majoring in nursing and student employee at the Capstone College of Nursing, agreed that working on campus is convenient.

“I thought working on campus would be a good way to earn extra money,” Knight said. “The hours are great. No weekends, no holidays and no late nights.”

Not only is convenience key when students make the decision to work on campus, the in-house networking attached with the employment doesn’t hurt either. Whether students already have or will make connections along the way, networking becomes a major perk in on-campus jobs.

Morgan had connections to the University Medical Center before landing the job.

“My brother worked my exact same job when he was at UA a couple of years ago,” Morgan said. “He became very close to his boss, and when I moved here I contacted her to see if she had a job opening.”

If not for her previous connections, finding an on-campus job would have been more difficult, Morgan believed.

“I have talked to other students who have told me they tried for years and were never able to get a job on campus,” she said.

Students seeking a job can utilize the on-campus Career Center.

Sophomore accounting major Melanie Woodward found her job at the Alabama Disability Advocacy Program Office by attending the Career Center job convention hosted every August.

“It was very easy for me to find a job,” Woodward said. “I went around to many of the tables [at the convention] asking about what certain jobs were.”

For questions about job opportunities on campus, students can contact the Office of Student Employment at 205-348-4354