College of Arts and Sciences junior Lauren Boyer said after easily finding a work-study position last year, she figured this year wouldn’t be any different.
Instead, like many other Boston University students who had trouble finding a work-study position this year, she encountered difficulty.
Boyer had a work-study position at the European Union Study Abroad office last year and started to search for another job on Aug. 17 – the day the employment board was posted. She said she emailed and called multiple offices.
‘ ‘I received absolutely no responses from emails and these were all jobs that were listed on the work-study website,’ she said.
BU awarded approximately 3,700 students work-study for the 2009-10 academic year, according to the Student Employment Office. But many students already had work-study positions set up before the semester began, Work-Study Manager Rachel Weiner said.
Each year over 450 freshmen are assigned work-study jobs through the pre-placement program, and another 1,500 upperclassmen are rehired into the same jobs they held the previous semester, Weiner said.
‘ However, some of those who were not preplaced or rehired, like Boyer, were left without jobs.
‘ Weiner said the first few weeks are the busiest for finding students work-study jobs, and this year is no exception.
‘We do our best to ensure that any student receiving a work-study award is placed into a job,’ Weiner said.
‘ College of Communication freshman Kay Loftus filled out the freshmen pre-placement survey with hopes of having a job before arriving on campus.
‘ ‘At first I received a catering job with difficult hours,’ Loftus said. ‘But I ended up going to the library to see if they had anything available and found a great position.’
The work-study program should do a better job of making sure students participate in the pre-placement opportunity, she said.
‘ ‘They make it seem like it’s just an optional step and it’s not necessary,’ Loftus said. ‘But once you get on campus you realize that there are not as many jobs available as it seemed.’
‘ Aimee Caplen, a School of Hospitality freshman, also used the pre-placement opportunity but faced problems.
Caplen said she was misinformed by her supervisor in Enrollment Services about the number of hours she was allowed to work per week and struggled to immediately fix the issue.
Despite her difficulties, Caplen said she is still happy she found employment.
‘ ‘It’s a job, and I need money as a college student,’ Caplen said.
‘ Boyer said students have difficulties finding a work-study job mostly due to scheduling conflicts with class and extracurricular activities.
‘Most often the reasons pertain to a student’s individual situation,’ Boyer said.
‘ Although finding a work-study position this year has been difficult for some students, Weiner said students can call or stop by the work-study office for assistance Monday through Friday during business hours.
‘ Boyer said she was finally assigned a job after a month-long struggle.
‘I just felt there weren’t as many opportunities,’ Boyer said. ‘I’m not sure I would apply for the program again next year if it wasn’t offered to me.’
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