At the U, about 3,500 students are employed in student jobs. But who’s making the most dough: the research assistant or the locker room attendant?
On average the highest-paying student job on campus is actually with Commuter Services as a vehicle operator, averaging $14.15 hourly.
Claire Hacking, who recently graduated with a masters of public health, is a shuttle driver for Commuter Services. While an undergraduate at Purdue University in Indiana, Hacking worked in Alaska every summer as a tour bus driver. She came to the U for her graduate degree and picked up the job here.
“In my opinion, transportation jobs are the best college jobs ever,” she said. “It’s a good way to make money, but I don’t have to stress my brain more than it’s being stressed for school.”
The flexibility, good pay and fun environment are all part the reason Hacking loves this gig. In a similar field, parking service officers, who ride bikes around campus and give parking tickets, are also among the top student earners. Their hourly wage is $11.98 per hour.
After Commuter Services, University Information Technology offers the next-highest-paying student jobs, with an average of $12.30 for computer technicians and $12.16 for other student computer jobs.
Nick Lloyd, a senior in computer science, works on the network operation team for Information Technologies. Lloyd took the job because it challenges him and provides a good learning opportunity. He believes the pay rate is so high because of the skills required.
“We work in a fast-paced environment that requires a lot of knowledge,” he said. “It’s difficult to pick it all up, but it’s also extremely rewarding. You get a lot of experience here that you would not get in any other student job that I know of.”
The UIT students work as a team and have a one-to-one mentorship program that helps them if they come across a difficult problem.
Most of the next-highest-paying jobs are research assistant positions, which make up about 20 percent of all student jobs on campus.
The lowest-paying jobs on campus fall under the cultural arts category. This is a shift from previous years, where salaries averaged $15 hourly.
The majority of students who work in administration or clerical work at the U receive around $1 more than minimum wage. Amy Christensen, a senior in information systems, has been with Outdoor Adventures for one year as a staff lead, working at the Student Life Center and leading student trips. All students start at minimum wage there, with the possibility of small pay raises based on responsibilities.
Christensen said the benefits of leading trips and having flexible hours make up for the low pay.
“I’ve worked at retailers where the starting is $9 an hour, and it is a lot less demanding than this job can be,” she said. “It would be nice if we got paid more but it’s also balancing the rewards of different things — getting to know people and being on campus.”
@carolyn_webber