Hey all, it’s Alx, your favorite they/them from the class of 2027. I’m here to talk about campus jobs, or more specifically, how to manage campus jobs along with school work and your social life. I feel that I am more than qualified for this since I do have about five campus jobs. Most students on campus have about 1–3 jobs themselves. I have two jobs in the theater department, one passing out posters and the other spreading awareness about upcoming theater productions. The other job is in the costume shop, helping Ms. LeVonne sew and put together outfits for the productions. I also have a job as a tour guide, where I work in admissions, giving tours to incoming families. I work at the Black Cultural Center as a House Coordinator Intern, where my job is to organize events and make sure the house stays in tip-top shape. Lastly, I work as a Student Academic Mentor (SAM), where my job is to be an academic and social resource for students at Swarthmore, helping them navigate college life and the complexities of it. My favorite right now is tour guiding. I just get to yap and talk about my life at Swarthmore (Swat).

You may be wondering, what is wrong with you—why do you have so many jobs? Do you ever get any sleep? Hahaha, well, there’s nothing wrong with me; I just need money. I am a first-generation, low-income (FLI) student from Los Angeles. I don’t have the luxury of being able to ask my parents for money, so I have to work instead. I actually like working sometimes. All of my jobs are relatively easy. But that’s the case with most campus jobs at Swarthmore. The employers at the college know you are a student and still treat you as such and don’t try to overload you with work, and some even allow you to do school work during work hours. Lots of students get jobs on campus, some just to have extra money, some to help pay their tuition. Everyone works for different reasons. 

How to get a job is so simple. You look at Jobx, which is the hiring site the school uses. Then you apply to jobs that seem interesting to you. You don’t need any experience at all; the employers know you are a student and are here to learn from the experience. After a week or two, you’ll hear back from them, and they will conduct an interview. After the interview, you either get the job or keep applying to more jobs. After you get accepted for the job, you have to go to the Student Engagement Office so that they can look at your two documents that verify your identity. That could be an ID, birth certificate, social security card, or passport. Then, after that’s all sorted out, you are able to go to work and make money. 

Now back to the bigger question at hand: how do I manage everything and still get sleep and remain sane? Well, although I do have 5 jobs at most, they aren’t your regular 9–5 shifts; they are sporadic and at different times on different days. I never work more than two jobs a day, unless I’m picking up shifts for others. Managing my schedule is also relatively easy because, since you really get to pick out your class schedule, you are able to arrange your job schedule around your class schedule. Most times, when you apply for the job, they will have a section asking for your class schedule so that the employers aren’t putting you on shifts that conflict with class. Another great tool that has helped me with time management and just life management is my planner and Google Calendar. Having a good planner and calendar is key, because then you have a place where you can look to see what you have to get done and when you need it to be done. I have a calendar for everything, and my friends have this running joke that you won’t see me unless you schedule a calendar invite first. While jobs and school work are my utmost priorities, I also try to prioritize taking breaks and relaxing. I don’t think I’d be able to manage everything I’m juggling without taking those much-needed breaks and resting so that I can continue to keep on working. 

Although having five jobs along with school work and club and social responsibilities is taxing, I’m glad that Swathmore provides possibilities for balance and reciprocity.