Finding Work at the College of New Jersey

Paying for college can be difficult. Many students at The College of New Jersey find the need to hold a job while they are at school. However, do to the large number of students on campus, finding a job can be a little difficult.

Many students are feel they forced to limit themselves to on-campus employment due to a lack of transportation or other issues such as scheduling. The College of New Jersey offers a student employment service that lists all the jobs on campus that are available through the college. Students can apply for these jobs online. Jobs include things like office work and checking people in to the various residence halls in the evenings. The employment website is the most popular way to look for work. However, it is not always terribly effective. There are far more students who want to work on campus than there are jobs available. In fact, the employment website warns that if you are not one of the first five applicants, your application probably will not even be looked at. If you want to get a campus job, you must therefore be very diligent about checking the student job listings. Also be sure that your contact information is up to date. You can't actually view the contact information that the employment office has on file, but you can email them the correct information and ask that they check or update your information for you. They usually are very good about getting this done within a day or two. Because getting campus employment is so competitive, I highly recommend giving your cell phone number as your contact number. They may pass over people who do not answer their phones because, with the number of applicants available, the college can afford to do that.

There are a few on campus jobs that are not listed on the TCNJ employment website because they are not hired through the college. This is because several services are contracted out to other companies. The bookstore is one such place; it is really a small Barnes and Noble. The library café is run by Starbucks, and the dining hall, which is run by Sodexho, also sometimes hires students. These jobs are also very difficult to get because, once again, there are so many students looking for work.

If neither of these options work out for you, you may want to consider off campus employment. Many students work in the establishments in and around the Quakerbridge Mall. If you do not have a car, you can take advantage of the NJ Transit bus line that comes to campus. The bus stop is outside the student center. These kinds of jobs are most convenient if you only want to work on weekends. However, it is important to keep in mind that if you are using the bus to get to work, it often runs a little late. The bus schedule is also very different on Sundays than it is during the rest of the week, so it is important to have an up to date schedule.

If off campus employment isn't an option, there are still ways you can make a little extra money. Many students do paid surveys online or participate in other online programs. One even made a website called Online$ to help others learn how to do this. You can also check the bulletin boards on campus. There are often fliers looking for students to baby sit, participate in paid studies, or do other odd jobs for a little extra money. The bulletin boards in the student center and in Eickoff hall are very heavily used. You probably will not make as much as you would if you had a regular job, but can still make some decent money. Hopefully these tips will make your job search less stressful and ultimately help you to find employment at the College of New Jersey.