Fast Cash

Books. Clothes. Late night pizza runs. And in some cases, tuition.\nThese are but a few of the expenditures college students face. According to a recent National Retail Foundation survey, college kids annually pump over $26 billion into the economy -- with each student spending $666 on back-to-school supplies every year. \nFor some, having an extra money supply in the reserves is critical for making a college education possible. And for everyone, a little extra cash can always make the weekends more fun. \nSo how does a student fill up their bank account in a way that's convenient and doesn't take over their academic schedule?\n"Having a job on campus makes everything so easy," says sophomore Richa Sharma. "If you live on campus to begin with, you can make extra money close to where you live."\nFor many, on-campus jobs seem to be the answer to working while in school. Students find their employment locations convenient on many levels. In fact, many are able to maintain several on-campus careers.\nSharma currently works at an IU chemistry undergrad lab, as an Residental Programs and Services tour guide and at the Hoosier Café in Read Center (which also happens to be her place of residency).\n"It's so nice to work an elevator ride away from my own room," Sharma says.\nAppreciating the convenience of proximity seems to be a trend among students who enjoy working on campus.\n"I can walk to work in between classes," sophomore Angie Meruani says.\nLike Sharma, Meruani steers multiple jobs while at IU: she serves as a floor president in Willkie Quad and the marketing assistant for RPS. In addition to pocketing $10.40 an hour and aggrandizing a resume, her duties include coordinating contests (such as the yearly "Cool Room Contest") and promoting on-campus living. But as a business major concentrating in marketing, Meruani's greatest benefit for working at RPS may be gaining the life skills she can call into play in the "real world."\n"There are jobs here that just weren't available to you in high school," Meruani says. "Living on campus gives you greater accessibility to opportunities that otherwise would be unavailable."\nSharma is not the only one who could relate to that sentiment, because it doesn't hurt for a biology major who is pre-med to be working at the University's chemistry lab. \nSophomore Jaymie Ockler, a journalism major, is another on-campus employee that has taken advantage of career skill-building opportunities. Not only is she a resident assistant at Wright Quad, but she's also gaining experience that will serve her well when she follows her career path into the workforce.\n"I'm the coordinator of production and station relations for the JobTraks radio program at the Office of Communications and Marketing," Ockler says. "I put together the script of each program, select music and prepare the products for mailing to each of our 18 high school radio stations."\nOckler also echoes thankfulness for location. \n"My family has five people in it and only four cars, and I get to be the lucky one without a car this year," she says. "It would be hard for me to have a job off-campus."\nAnd Meruani agrees.\n"It's great being able to just walk to my job," she says. "The streets in Bloomington are crazy."\nWhile experience and location are clearly advantages to staying on campus to find work, in many cases, Sharma, Meruani and Ockler don't even need to leave their dorms to make an income. \nThe pay is something that is never to be underappreciated.\n"In payment I receive room and board, a meal point plan and a $1200 stipend paid monthly through the school year," Ockler says on her RA position. \nShe also nabs $7.50 an hour with her job at the Office of Communications and Marketing. As mentioned earlier, Meruani sees nearly $11 an hour with RPS and around $2000 a year as a Willie Quad floor president. Sharma gets $7 an hour at the Hoosier Café, which is only an elevator ride away. \n"It's really nice because $7 an hour is basically average pay, you can make that much anywhere," Sharma says. "So it's great being able to make a typical job's pay so close to you in college. It's convenient for everyone, especially people from out of state, freshmen and people who may not have cars at school."\nBut perhaps the greatest concern is flexibility. As many parents will frequently offer their children unsolicited nags of: "The only reason you're there is to study and get good grades," many may worry that working at college might interfere with academic progress.\n"My employers are very flexible," Meruani says. "Naturally they wouldn't want work to interfere with my classes, so they allow me to create my own schedule."\n"My boss is very adamant that school comes before my job," Ockler says about her job at the Office of Communications and Marketing. "So I pick my hours to fit my school schedule."\n"Management initially scheduled the duties for me, but I can usually switch with another RA if needed," Ockler says as far as her RA schedule is concerned.\nFor more information regarding jobs available on campus, log onto http://www.slis.indiana.edu/admissions/student_employment.html. Students can post resumes to attract campus employers and get all the information needed about available positions from all walks of life on or around the IU campus.\nIf you're looking to pull in some extra moolah, chances are there is a job around here that piques your interest, and chances are also good that you won't spend any gas money to get there.