College students deal with classes, schedules, exams and stress, but many also deal with something else: jobs. Finding time to make money during school is difficult and being a freshman in a new environment only makes it harder. Applying, interviewing and networking during the first couple of semesters in college just adds to the stress of normal everyday life. Therefore, to reduce this stress, I’ve found the easiest and most convenient place for working as college students. It’s closer than you might think: on-campus jobs.
Proximity to Classes
One benefit of working on campus is the obvious winner: it’s close to all your classes. If you have a class that gets out at 2:50 p.m., you can be scheduled right at 3:00 p.m. and only be a couple of minutes away. I work at Mizzou Market-Central, and since it’s located right in the Student Center, it’s close to a large portion of my classes. Furthermore, you can show up right from class and just change in the bathroom real quick. They don’t mind because they understand.Â
This greatly helps college students who have a tight schedule or possibly no car, since you don’t have to travel far to get to work.Â
School Schedule Flexibility
Additionally, they are able to work with your school schedule. You can’t work at the Mizzou Market without being a student, so everyone has different schedules each semester. You don’t have to worry about your schedule because the manager is the one who has to figure out who can work when; you just send them your schedule. Regarding breaks as well, you get all of them automatically off. If you’re staying in Columbia during Thanksgiving, winter or spring break, you can absolutely still work, but it’s not required.Â
This is so incredibly helpful as someone who always goes home for breaks since I don’t want to have to ask off for every single break. At any other regular job, you could get in trouble for asking off so much, especially for the entire month of winter break that the University of Missouri gets.Â
Tax Exemptions
The last benefit is definitely the best in my opinion: you actually will make more money at an on-campus job at Mizzou. According to the IRS, students at specific universities, Mizzou being one, are eligible for an exemption from the FICA tax. This tax subtracts 7.65% of each paycheck, 6.2% deducted for Social Security and 1.45% for Medicare. This means that even if you make $15 an hour at your on-campus job and another job at home, you’re technically pocketing roughly $1.15 more per hour at your on-campus job.
This might not seem like a lot, but it adds up over each paycheck, and I have certainly noticed a difference. Especially in college, every penny makes a difference and an on-campus job can help you save.
Final Thoughts
Ultimately, where you work is completely up to you, but on-campus jobs have many benefits that off-campus locations can’t always guarantee. Off for breaks, flexible schedules and tax exemptions are just some of the perks, but at the end of the day, the decision is up to you. Getting any job in college is impressive and regardless of the route you choose, on or off campus, the bragging rights are all yours.