Hi everyone! In today’s blog, I’m going to talk about some of the student employment at Amherst College. Please email me at sgoldsmith24@amherst.edu if you have any questions!
Getting a Job
In my experience, and from what I’ve heard from my peers, getting a job on campus is pretty easy. Amherst uses a website called Workday to manage job applications, entering hours, and issuing tax forms, so all on-campus job applications go through Workday so that the employee can be paid by the college. Jobs are listed on Workday, and the opportunities are occasionally emailed out in the Daily Mammoth, Amherst’s daily email to members of the community with relevant news and information.
Most jobs are open to be applied to at the beginning of the semester, and I have found that it is difficult to get a job during the middle or end of a semester. Employers tend to want students to be able to commit to an entire semester of work, so if you think you may want a job, I suggest looking at listing at the beginning of the semester and applying even if you aren’t completely sure that you want to work.
Types of Jobs
The jobs on campus vary widely, and between jobs in the post office, the dining hall, academic spaces on campus (the library, the museums, etc), and doing research, there is a large selection of types of jobs to apply to and choose. I have one friend who is an usher for orchestra events, and another who drives for Safe Ride on campus during certain evenings every week. Students can also work as TAs in classes they have taken in previous semesters, and get paid for taking good notes in their classes and uploading them to the course’s website.
Payment
The minimum wage in Massachusetts increased on January 1st, 2022, so the College (and every other employer in Massachusetts) is required to pay its employees $14.25/hour, up from $13.50 from last year. Massachusetts is incrementally increasing the minimum wage to $15/hour, so we’ll still be going up a little. It is my understanding that students cannot work more than 20 hours a week, because their work has to be considered to be a part-time job. Most jobs won’t offer more than 8 hours per week, but students are able to hold more than one job if they want or need.