If there’s any college kid stereotype that rings true, it’s the fact that most college kids are broke. Gone are the days that parents were there to buy the little things—shampoo, conditioner, deodorant—that didn’t seem like a chore to get or expensive. But, now that we’re far from home, we begin to realize just how hard our parents had it, and just how expensive living really is.
Although Baylor’s dining halls are much better than rival schools, many students like to break it up and head to Ninfa’s, The Olive Branch, Clay Pot, or other local places to get off-campus, and, as we soon learned, that can cost a pretty penny. My parents’ obvious suggestion? Get a job.
I spent the past few summers working as a lifeguard or an intern at my home church. Those were kind of granted to me through connections via my youth group or through my swim team, so applying for a job seemed kind of frightening. I qualified for Baylor’s Work-Study Program, so I went to the website, found a job that looked interesting to me, and e-mailed the contact asking for an application. Within an hour, I received an e-mail from the organization, a local non-profit, asking for my resume and class schedule. In the next week, I had a phone interview and was given the job.
I started work the first week of school at World Hunger Relief, Incorporated. While my job isn’t exactly glamorous—desk work, filing, and cleaning—it’s a great way for me to truly connect with the community through their big event, Farm Day, and going to Waco’s farmer’s market, where they sell the greens, milk, eggs, and meat produced on the farm. The fact that this kind of job was available to me through Baylor is so cool. It’s such a fabulous opportunity that really coincides with what I want to do with my life through my education at Baylor, as it trains missionaries to go out and teach people in third world countries how to grow plants and create a sustainable community.
Really, if you are a parent worried about whether your child could get a job, or if you are an incoming Baylor Bear worried about whether you could land a job, don’t panic.
- Find a job that works with your schedule
- Find a job that interests you (or at least the monetary compensation interests you enough)
- Apply quickly
- Be professional
- And, of course, keep your online profiles clean
If you do that, it should be no problem getting a job at Baylor. And the hours are generally flexible enough for you to maintain that 4.0!
P.S. Remember to finish your Baylor application by February 1 and, if you’ve already been accepted, reserve your spot in housing!