The Eight Best Campus Jobs You Could Get

College is expensive. If that simple reality sends you fumbling into the on-campus job market, you'll soon find out that jobs aren't hard to come by. But working for dorm crew or washing dishes in a House dining hall might not be what you had in mind. Research jobs are available as well, but for some, it might feel a bit too much like another class.

"Research jobs and creative computer jobs are probably considered the best," says Martha H. Homer, associate director of financial aid and director of student employment. "But some of our kids prefer a not very strenuous job."

Sound like you? Although Homer says jobs during which you can do your homework are scarce, students working on campus say such low-intensity jobs can be found.

And even if you can't get your course work done on the job, there are other surprisingly interesting and relaxing ways to make money.

Go Underground

If you're a first-year who hasn't fulfilled your language requirement, you'll soon be getting cozy with a tape recorder in the Boylston Language Lab. And down in the bowels of Boylston, you'll find a student who can provide you with the necessary audio or videotape. Or instead, you could be on the other side of the counter.

The crew of some 15 self-dubbed "labbies" who work at the lab each semester monitor the circulation of tapes and software, help students access material on the server, redub audio tapes, service computers and VCRs, water the plants and are responsible for cleaning the booths in the lab.

"The work itself requires organization and a working knowledge of the lab and its resources but is not inherently all that difficult," says Sarah E. Jackson '98, who worked at the lab for almost three years.

And while students estan estudiando el espanol, you too can get some study time in.

"There is plenty of time to get schoolwork and reading done," says Peter S. Manasantivongs '98, who began working at the lab last fall. "Unless a VCR or a computer breaks down, you can usually get much work done."

According to employees, the job also has a social aspect-"labbies" say they often end up talking to each other instead of completing their course work.

Jackson describes lab employees as "a quirky bunch" who provide a fun environment.

The starting salary for the Language Lab is $6.95 per hour, with raises each semester a students works. "Labbies" work an average of 10 to 15 hours per week; Connie Cristo, who directs the Lab, says she prefers a commitment of at least eight hours per week. The lab is scheduled to move to the sixth floor of Lamont during this academic year and "labbies" say they've heard rumors of an espresso bar.

Back to the Sandbox

Wishing you still had recess? Consider a job with one of the University's on campus child care centers and live vicariously.

"We're looking for a warm person who enjoys being with children and can get along with other adults too," says Melissa Chieppo, assistant director of Soldier's Field Park Children's Center at the Harvard Business School (HBS).

"There are incidents of skinned knees, spilled apple juice and glue stuck in hair," says Julius A. Bishop '00, who works at the Harvard Law School (HLS) Child Care Center. "But the work is a lot of fun and can hardly be described as strenuous."

As an assistant to the center's teachers, undergraduates help supervise children on the playground, help out with arts and crafts projects and prepare snacks. One caveat: Chieppo warns the position at the HBS center-which cares for children from two months to four years of age-could include some diaper Changing.

The centers, which all hire independently, offer a variety of scheduling options. The HBS facility is seeking students to fill regularly scheduled afternoon positions, preferably five days a week "for consistency for the children's sake," Chieppo says. The starting salary is $7.25 per hour.

The HLS center hires five to 10 undergraduates; students may work between three and 20 hours a week. The starting salary is $7.50 per hour and more permanent student employees can earn as much as $10 per hour, according to center Director Jim Morin.

Be forewarned that not all centers hire undergraduates, including the Radcliffe Child Care Center located on DeWolfe Street.

Show Me The Money

Make money by just asking for it.

Join a phonathon and get paid to solicit alumni for contributions. Radcliffe, Harvard College and Harvard Law School (HLS) all hire undergraduates to do phone work for their fundraising campaigns.

"It's very relaxing work," says Eliza W. Harrington '00, who works for the Radcliffe phonathon. "Once I got over feeling self-conscious about calling strangers and essentially asking for money, I began to appreciate the pool of graduates we call for what they are: really neat women who actually do want to talk to us."

Heidi S. Towne '98. Who is now a student supervisor for the HLS phonathon, said she also enjoyed her conversations when she was a caller.

"You get to call some pretty interesting people-Supreme Court Justices, governors, CEOs of companies," she says.

And callers say you learn to handle rejection.

"There are some less successful calls but they make for great stories," says Vandana L. Madhavan '98, who also works for the Radcliffe campaign.

Student callers can win prizes and gift certificates that phonathon supervisors use as incentives. The Harvard phonathon also offers bonuses for each credit card pledge a caller secures.

The Radcliffe phonathon has a starting salary of $7 an hour which increases each semester a student works. The minimum commitment is six hours per week, usually worked in two three-hour shifts. At HLS and the College, undergraduate salaries start at $8 an hour, and time requirements are similar.

All three phonathons also use students in higher paid supervisory positions.

Get Cultured

Student life at Harvard is all about multi-tasking-reading while you eat, using extracurriculars as social opportunities, catching up on sleep during class-so what could be better than getting paid to attend performances as an usher?

"We use students as ushers for just about every event that happens in Sanders Theater," says Brian S. Yankee, production manager for the Memorial/Lowell Hall Complex.

Ushers take tickets, hand out programs, help performance goers find their seats and usually get to see the event. They may also sign up for jobs setting up and striking stage equipment.

Hours are flexible with most opportunities occurring nights and weekends. Students sign up at Yankee's office for events they would like to work. Although this probably isn't an ideal job for students who need a consistent source of income, ushering does pay $8 per hour.

Study Hall

Library jobs are the meat and potatoes of campus employment. And if you're looking to turn work time into study time, house libraries are the place to start.

"It's a very comfortable, nice job-low stress, few demands and you can even study a bit at the same time," says Franklin Liu '98, head student librarian at Quincy House who worked previously as a desk attendant.

Unlike jobs at main campus libraries, house attendants don't handle much circulation work and generally are responsible for maintaining an environment conducive to study.

But house library jobs are not the easiest to come by. Like other house jobs, these positions are generally limited to work-study students.

Visual Appeal

Get paid to go to class. Sign up as a media aide and you'll learn the wonders of overhead projectors, slide carousels and videotape.

Audio Visual Services (AVS), located out of the Science Center, employs about 30 students each year. Students may be assigned to videotape a class or provide technical support for a given professor throughout the semester.

"We try to let students pick classes they're interested in," says Amy Thompson, manager of AVS.

Media aides also cover special events and can "find themselves at events they might otherwise not be allowed to attend," she says.

Aides working out of the Science Center AVS work a minimum of four hours a week and earn a starting salary of $6.95 per hour.

At the Graduate School of Education Media Center, there is the possibility for even greater earnings. The starting salary is $8.05 per hour but the positions are primarily for students on work-study.

User Friendly

Love computers? Get hired as a User Assistant (U.A.). Positions for the technically savvy are available across campus, in the Houses and at the various graduate schools.

U.A.s working within the College can get hired as Science Center support staff (and work at the lab's help desk) or as House U.A.s who split their time between in-house work and Science Center support.

In the Houses, U.A.s maintain the computer labs, hold office hours and help students in the houses with their computing questions.

"For the right people, it's a fantastic job," says David J. Malan '98, a U.A. in Mather.

While being a U.A. demands a high level of expertise, for those in the know it can also provide some downtime.

"There are often periods where I'm merely sitting around waiting for someone to ask a question," says U.A. Janice M. Tsai '97-'98.

Salaries for U.A. positions vary but most fall within a range of $8 to $11 per hour.

Fine Dining

Your feet might hurt a little, but for $11.48 per hour, how much are you going to complain?

Serving at the Faculty Club might not be an inroad to your career goals, but it offers excellent pay and flexible hours.

"It's a very nice place to work, a place you can be proud of," says Timothy F. Hart, dining room manager at the Club.

Students work one or two four-hour shifts per week serving lunch or dinner, working in the Kitchen or at private Club functions.

Working at the Faculty Club also provides an excellent opportunity to get to know your professors on a more personal basis. Just don't spill coffee on your Moral Reasoning professor or you might be calling for justice when you get your grade.CrimsonGrigory TovbisLINGUISTIC LOGISTICS: MARYANN COCKERILL '00 files audio tapes at the Language Lab.

According to employees, the job also has a social aspect-"labbies" say they often end up talking to each other instead of completing their course work.

Jackson describes lab employees as "a quirky bunch" who provide a fun environment.

The starting salary for the Language Lab is $6.95 per hour, with raises each semester a students works. "Labbies" work an average of 10 to 15 hours per week; Connie Cristo, who directs the Lab, says she prefers a commitment of at least eight hours per week. The lab is scheduled to move to the sixth floor of Lamont during this academic year and "labbies" say they've heard rumors of an espresso bar.

Back to the Sandbox

Wishing you still had recess? Consider a job with one of the University's on campus child care centers and live vicariously.

"We're looking for a warm person who enjoys being with children and can get along with other adults too," says Melissa Chieppo, assistant director of Soldier's Field Park Children's Center at the Harvard Business School (HBS).

"There are incidents of skinned knees, spilled apple juice and glue stuck in hair," says Julius A. Bishop '00, who works at the Harvard Law School (HLS) Child Care Center. "But the work is a lot of fun and can hardly be described as strenuous."

As an assistant to the center's teachers, undergraduates help supervise children on the playground, help out with arts and crafts projects and prepare snacks. One caveat: Chieppo warns the position at the HBS center-which cares for children from two months to four years of age-could include some diaper Changing.

The centers, which all hire independently, offer a variety of scheduling options. The HBS facility is seeking students to fill regularly scheduled afternoon positions, preferably five days a week "for consistency for the children's sake," Chieppo says. The starting salary is $7.25 per hour.

The HLS center hires five to 10 undergraduates; students may work between three and 20 hours a week. The starting salary is $7.50 per hour and more permanent student employees can earn as much as $10 per hour, according to center Director Jim Morin.

Be forewarned that not all centers hire undergraduates, including the Radcliffe Child Care Center located on DeWolfe Street.

Show Me The Money

Make money by just asking for it.

Join a phonathon and get paid to solicit alumni for contributions. Radcliffe, Harvard College and Harvard Law School (HLS) all hire undergraduates to do phone work for their fundraising campaigns.

"It's very relaxing work," says Eliza W. Harrington '00, who works for the Radcliffe phonathon. "Once I got over feeling self-conscious about calling strangers and essentially asking for money, I began to appreciate the pool of graduates we call for what they are: really neat women who actually do want to talk to us."

Heidi S. Towne '98. Who is now a student supervisor for the HLS phonathon, said she also enjoyed her conversations when she was a caller.

"You get to call some pretty interesting people-Supreme Court Justices, governors, CEOs of companies," she says.

And callers say you learn to handle rejection.

"There are some less successful calls but they make for great stories," says Vandana L. Madhavan '98, who also works for the Radcliffe campaign.

Student callers can win prizes and gift certificates that phonathon supervisors use as incentives. The Harvard phonathon also offers bonuses for each credit card pledge a caller secures.

The Radcliffe phonathon has a starting salary of $7 an hour which increases each semester a student works. The minimum commitment is six hours per week, usually worked in two three-hour shifts. At HLS and the College, undergraduate salaries start at $8 an hour, and time requirements are similar.

All three phonathons also use students in higher paid supervisory positions.

Get Cultured

Student life at Harvard is all about multi-tasking-reading while you eat, using extracurriculars as social opportunities, catching up on sleep during class-so what could be better than getting paid to attend performances as an usher?

"We use students as ushers for just about every event that happens in Sanders Theater," says Brian S. Yankee, production manager for the Memorial/Lowell Hall Complex.

Ushers take tickets, hand out programs, help performance goers find their seats and usually get to see the event. They may also sign up for jobs setting up and striking stage equipment.

Hours are flexible with most opportunities occurring nights and weekends. Students sign up at Yankee's office for events they would like to work. Although this probably isn't an ideal job for students who need a consistent source of income, ushering does pay $8 per hour.

Study Hall

Library jobs are the meat and potatoes of campus employment. And if you're looking to turn work time into study time, house libraries are the place to start.

"It's a very comfortable, nice job-low stress, few demands and you can even study a bit at the same time," says Franklin Liu '98, head student librarian at Quincy House who worked previously as a desk attendant.

Unlike jobs at main campus libraries, house attendants don't handle much circulation work and generally are responsible for maintaining an environment conducive to study.

But house library jobs are not the easiest to come by. Like other house jobs, these positions are generally limited to work-study students.

Visual Appeal

Get paid to go to class. Sign up as a media aide and you'll learn the wonders of overhead projectors, slide carousels and videotape.

Audio Visual Services (AVS), located out of the Science Center, employs about 30 students each year. Students may be assigned to videotape a class or provide technical support for a given professor throughout the semester.

"We try to let students pick classes they're interested in," says Amy Thompson, manager of AVS.

Media aides also cover special events and can "find themselves at events they might otherwise not be allowed to attend," she says.

Aides working out of the Science Center AVS work a minimum of four hours a week and earn a starting salary of $6.95 per hour.

At the Graduate School of Education Media Center, there is the possibility for even greater earnings. The starting salary is $8.05 per hour but the positions are primarily for students on work-study.

User Friendly

Love computers? Get hired as a User Assistant (U.A.). Positions for the technically savvy are available across campus, in the Houses and at the various graduate schools.

U.A.s working within the College can get hired as Science Center support staff (and work at the lab's help desk) or as House U.A.s who split their time between in-house work and Science Center support.

In the Houses, U.A.s maintain the computer labs, hold office hours and help students in the houses with their computing questions.

"For the right people, it's a fantastic job," says David J. Malan '98, a U.A. in Mather.

While being a U.A. demands a high level of expertise, for those in the know it can also provide some downtime.

"There are often periods where I'm merely sitting around waiting for someone to ask a question," says U.A. Janice M. Tsai '97-'98.

Salaries for U.A. positions vary but most fall within a range of $8 to $11 per hour.

Fine Dining

Your feet might hurt a little, but for $11.48 per hour, how much are you going to complain?

Serving at the Faculty Club might not be an inroad to your career goals, but it offers excellent pay and flexible hours.

"It's a very nice place to work, a place you can be proud of," says Timothy F. Hart, dining room manager at the Club.

Students work one or two four-hour shifts per week serving lunch or dinner, working in the Kitchen or at private Club functions.

Working at the Faculty Club also provides an excellent opportunity to get to know your professors on a more personal basis. Just don't spill coffee on your Moral Reasoning professor or you might be calling for justice when you get your grade.CrimsonGrigory TovbisLINGUISTIC LOGISTICS: MARYANN COCKERILL '00 files audio tapes at the Language Lab.