Western Oregon Journal

Issue date: 9/28/07 Section: Headlines

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Being a college student is very expensive. Once you combine tuition and fees with books, supplies, and other expenses, it all adds up to be more than almost any student can afford on their own. About half of the students in the United States graduate with loan debt. The average loan debt is about $10,000 (according to the National Center for Education Statistics). That is a lot of money when you are trying to get on your feet after school and make it by yourself.

If you're not lucky enough to have a ton of grants and scholarships to pay for college, there is something you can do to lessen the amount of debt you incur from college. Even if you are on track to have significantly low debt after college, how many of us couldn't use a bit of extra cash?

Getting a job wile going to school is a sure way to shrink the tumor of debt that you will owe back after school. As a student you are obviously already busy; from classes and homework to finding that little amount of time you actually do have for your friends or even just relax. School should definitely always come first but if you can conceivably find just a few hours each week it might be a good idea to look into getting a job if you don't already have one.

There are many students employed on campus. There are students preparing food, maintaining our buildings and grounds, working with campus computers or networking,working as tutors, and even refereeing intramural sports games. Working on campus can be a very enjoyable, and often low-demand, option.

Employers on campus are very good at working around your schedule and can even schedule you in for that hour you have between classes that seems like a waste. If you live close to campus, or on campus, your job would most likely be within walking distance making it the commute much easier. Adding a job to your class schedule gives you an opportunity to develop those time management skills as well. Depending on the job you get, you may even be able to study and do your school work while on the clock. Yes, that means getting paid to do your homework.

There are some jobs on campus that require you to be a part of the Federal Work Study Program, but there are several that don't. To find out about different on-campus jobs that are offered at Western you can check out all of the listings at http://www.wou.edu/student/career/wolflink.php. This site splits the available jobs into two categories; non-work study part time jobs and work study. You will also find many listings for off-campus jobs on the site as well.

Some of the jobs listed are in Monmouth, but some can be as far away as Portland. Getting a job off-campus can also be beneficial. When recruiters post their listings on WOU's website they know that they are advertising to students and will have to work around their busy schedules. There are postings about available jobs on different bulletin boards in the Werner University Center as well as throughout the rest of campus.

So, if you have a bit of extra time and would like, or need, a little bit of extra money, it might be time to consider a part time job.

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