The Struggle for On-Campus Jobs

Do students have trouble finding on-campus employment. Credit: Mary Kirk '27

For many, one of the primary goals of attending college is employment; getting that first job or internship, learning the day-to-day of life in the office and becoming professionally connected. However, due to several roadblocks that may come up in the process, this crucial step of assimilation into the real world, specifically as a college student, is just out of reach. 

Kyra Campbell ‘27 tried for a wide range of campus positions when she first arrived at Marist College last fall. She eventually found a filing job for the School of Science, but it ended a month and a half in, when she received nothing more than “we’re done filing” as a means of explanation. 

When she went to Associate Director of Student Employment Angelica Pavelock in an attempt to work elsewhere, she was told “we don’t really have any more jobs available, so you can’t get one until next year.” 

“They just say there’s a lot of problems with Handshake, but Handshake isn’t getting fixed,” said Campbell. 

“I’ve applied to a couple jobs, but I never got them. I honestly don’t know if they read them. I’ve used it a little, but I never really got anything on it.” While she was working, Campbell said the balance between her work, academic and social lives was “horrible.” 

“I was able to get the stuff done, but I definitely think my social life was harder,” she continued.

Campbell also said that she was “definitely disappointed” in the overall lack of hours the position provided. When she was on the clock, her time was inconsistent at best. “You either work 12 hours or two hours or none at all. It’s really hard to schedule things because of that. I haven’t really met anyone that has consistent hours…sometimes we just [wouldn’t] have work.” Campbell praised the library for having straightforward shifts, but derided the fact that “they hire like three people a semester.”

Sarah Alvero ‘27, despite being a sophomore, still has not worked a single hour for a Marist position, and it isn’t from a lack of trying. She applied to be a tutor and successfully navigated the on-boarding process, but has thus far been unable to coordinate tutoring sessions.

“I got…one student and accepted [the opportunity] on Sept. 19, but I have not heard back from the student yet, so I have been unable to start tutoring.”

Alvero has some of the same complaints as Campbell, chiefly, “the demand for tutoring is so inconsistent.” This comes despite claims from the Coordinator of Tutoring, Richard Cusano, about the scope of students that require tutoring being in the thousands. 

“It is slightly frustrating how my employment depends on communication to be consistently upheld,” Alvero said.

“I have another friend who has accepted two students and is waiting to hear back from both of them, so it’s not just me. I guess that’s just inherently how the tutoring system is.” 

Outside of communication and consistency-based woes, there is another concern affecting those interested in Marist employment — documentation. 

“When you apply for a job, you need two forms of identification to confirm your identity,” said Rina Clinton ‘27. “That goes for most jobs in the United States, and most people don’t come to college with those things,” referring to birth certificates, Social Security numbers and similarly intense verifiable forms of identification that are asked of prospective workers at Student Employment. 

“[A] passport is the big one people say,” said Owen Whelan ‘27, since a passport is the only document a student would need for identity verification, as opposed to the two documents that are usually required. 

“Why would I bring my passport to college?” questioned Whelan, echoing the thoughts of many when they discovered this requirement. “My parents were hesitant when I did it.”

Alvero has heard similar concerns, as one of her friends had to return home to bring back a birth certificate. 

“It was a little bit like ‘Oh, I guess I need this now…’ It’s not bad for [me] because [I] live like an hour away, but I guess for someone who’s further away, it could be more difficult.”

Though Marist provides no shortage of opportunities for their students on paper, it’s clear that there are many pitfalls along the way to securing a job with any sort of consistency. If the college were to offer more positions with consistent pay and clearer communication between employers and employees, or somehow established networks with local employers to get students in there early, praise from Red Foxes — and their wallets — would be immense.