On-Campus Employment: available, flexible, and enjoyable!

I’m Kathleen, conspicuously and deliberately absent from the group photo, and here is my story about finding work at AU.

When I first moved to Tenleytown (the D.C. district where AU is located), about a month before the Fall 2006 semester began, I needed a job—immediately! I had spent a lot of my savings to cover the security deposit and first month’s rent of my newly rented room in a house that was walking distance from AU (and the convenience of that was reflected in the price of the room), so I had to replenish my bank account for groceries and fun times at Adams Morgan (the Vegas strip of D.C., the party scene). I knew I wanted a job on campus so that I could easily move between my job, my classes, and extracurricular activities, without losing hours and hours commuting around D.C. (hey, and anyone who says you don’t need a car in D.C. because public transportation is “so good,” is either lying to you or has never had the luxury of owning a car—you DO need one!).

Before my move, I had checked out AU’s own webpage for on-campus jobs, http://www.american.edu/hr/pt_staff_main_frm.html, and had sent out my resume and cover letters to the personnel directors of several positions. Two days after my move, I already had two interviews lined up, and I was hired during the first one to work as a Fitness Leader at the gym. It was quick, simple, and convenient. I got started right away, and I even had early access to the gym (which otherwise was not available to new AU students until the start of the semester).

I worked at the gym for two months, and then another on-campus employment opportunity was thrown my way by a friend and classmate of mine. He worked part-time (20 hrs/wk) at the SIS Graduate Admissions Office, and they were hiring. The job he told me about, a work-study office assistant, paid nearly twice as much as my position at the gym, and it didn’t require me to work on weekends or start at 5am like the gym did; it was great! I applied, got an interview, and started a few weeks later. Since it was another job on campus, I didn’t even have to fill out any new paperwork for taxes and direct-deposit when I changed over, and my direct-deposit wasn’t interrupted at all—it was seamless.

It is very easy to find a job on campus at American University, and I highly recommend opting for a work-study position (if you’re eligible for one, which depends on your FAFSA results). Being able to choose your own hours helps a LOT with managing a full-time load of graduate classes, and the pay is plenty enough to support a comfortable student lifestyle (eating out a few times a week, and partying on the weekends). AU makes it a little less difficult to be a grad student, and for those who have yet to discover how “challenging” (to phrase it gently!) grad school is, let me tell you that this means a LOT! ;p