Before arriving to college, I knew I'd likely try to find a job during my time in college.
When I got to Harvard, I realized having a job on campus would allow me to help cover my flights home, as well as the expenses that come with leading my life as a student in college.
But what does it mean to have a job on campus? I quickly learned that it could mean a lot of different things. Essentially, working as a student during college can be whatever you want it to be.
Finding jobs on-campus
Student Employment Office (SEO): The most direct way is to browse Harvard’s SEO website to see what jobs may be available. Here you’ll find jobs offered by different offices around campus, employees around Harvard, and even gigs like being a babysitter or a cat-sitter for a family. There will generally be more postings at the start of each semester, but this is a great place to search throughout the year whenever you may be looking for a job.
Email Lists: It may feel like you already receive so many emails in your inbox, but keeping an eye out for job postings here is also a great way to learn about positions available. I found my first campus job because I heard about it through an email during my first semester here.
What is it like being a student-worker?
A student employee would usually work from 6-10 hours a week per job, with the expectation of working less than 20 hours a week in total.
Jobs will typically require that you incorporate shifts into your weekly schedule. For this I’d recommend setting up your Google Calendar with your course schedule, meeting times for other commitments, and then finding what times would work for you to have weekly repeating shifts.
Besides these commonalities, jobs while being a student can look very different. I’ll share some of my experiences here.
My experience with jobs on campus:
HFGP Student Coordinator: During my first semester of college, I applied for a position as a student coordinator with the Admissions Office under the Harvard First-Generation Program (HFGP). I’ve loved this job and plan to continue it until my last semester of college. The work I've done for it has consisted of different tasks, like leading tours and panels with visiting students, writing blogs (like this one) about my student experience, doing Instagram story takeovers on the Harvard Admissions Instagram account, and writing for our monthly newsletter that is shared with the undergraduate first-gen community.
It’s also introduced me to a wonderful team of colleagues who have enriched my college experience immeasurably.
Harvard Foundation Intern: I also began working as an intern at the Harvard Foundation for Race and Intercultural Relations, which focuses on supporting the experience of students during their time in college. For this job, I am more involved in event planning centered on celebrating cultural groups on campus. This means planning small dialogue events centered on diverse student experiences, planning events that celebrate cultural holidays, or helping to put together the annual Cultural Rhythms Showcase.
Cat-Sitting: Finally, one of my favorite jobs has been cat-sitting. I got this job because I expressed my love for cats, and eventually an adult on campus asked me to care for their cat while they were away for the weekend. Jobs like this are also great!
This has been some of my personal experience with different jobs on campus, and being a student-worker.
All in all, finding a job on campus that fit what I was interested in worked out well. If you're looking for a job on campus or planning to work in college, I hope it is as rewarding an experience as it has been for me!
