Navigating Work in College as a Low-Income Student

During the first couple of weeks on campus, most first-year students on Barnard’s campus are preoccupied with navigating new friendships, settling into their classes for the semester, or even spending time exploring the city. With all of these moving parts, this is obviously a major time of transition for all first year students. For FLI students like me, there is another factor to worry about-finding a job. 

Since I have a work study component of my financial aid, I knew that I would have to find a job on campus. What I did not know is that the process of actually finding a campus job is not as instantaneous as I had hoped. I logged onto BarnardWorks, which is the online service for finding campus jobs and opportunities. There were plenty of jobs, but I wasn’t really sure how to apply, what jobs I was qualified for, or what jobs I even would want to do. I started to worry, knowing that it was only a matter of time before the money I had saved from my summer work in Georgia would run out (not to mention, the cost-of-living is quite different). 

Thankfully, I knew about campus resources like Beyond Barnard, which is our career services office. Their office helps students and alum with anything they could need that is related to employment. I made an appointment and was able to work on a resume and cover letter to use when I applied for campus positions. I was also told to sign up for Barnard Babysitting, which is a site where local parents cast post babysitting jobs for Barnard students to apply to. 

Almost immediately I began a babysitting job down by NYU. The job was pretty simple, I just had to take him to after school activities and hang out with him at home while we waited for his parents to come home. I occasionally helped out on weekends, taking him to birthday parties, playdates, and even got to go to the Hamptons with them during the summer! I continued babysitting in the second semester, but by that time I began my work study job in the Admissions office. Having both jobs provided me with the stable income I needed to take care of my basic needs, but also allowed for me to have extra spending money. I really enjoy having these two jobs that are rather different. Babysitting allows me a consistent time to get off campus during the week, and I really enjoy being with kids and just getting to have a fun break from campus (which, is very necessary since we both learn and live here!). I also love working in admissions and having a connection to both current and prospective students in Barnard’s community. It’s really fun getting to interact with prospective students and families, be a part of campus admissions events, especially those targeted toward students of color of FLI students like myself. 

I am thankful to have had access to offices on campus Financial Aid and Beyond Barnard to help with the process of finding a job. Even more important was being able to speak with people who understood the specific needs of low-income students. While the process may have been initially complicated, I am happy to have jobs that not only put money in my bank account, but that I genuinely enjoy!