Students at Notre Dame are known for their hard work and dedication in the classroom. However, the University also recognizes them as hard workers outside of class - in on-campus jobs ranging from secretary to sandwich artist.Joyce Yates, the assistant student employment coordinator for the Office of Student Employment, said from the interest shown on the University Job Board, Notre Dame students seem anxious to work."As soon as we post a new position [on the board], it's gone," she said.The online resource has been in use for about three years and is touted as the best place to start looking for an on-campus job. For some students, employment is a necessity, a reason campus jobs are highly sought. Sophomore Molly Kealy has three jobs under work-study. Kealy, an Alumni Association employee, serves as the assistant to the alumni newsletter editor and works on editing and mailings.Kealy said her office job pays $6.50 an hour, but she also receives income from being an Academic Services tutor and note-taker for the Office for Students with Disabilities.Yates said that a position like Kealy's in the Alumni Association is coveted."Students would like to work in an office-type setting," Yates said. "There's a lot of competition for those jobs. The thought of working in a dining hall is irksome, especially for freshmen."While he does not have an office job, freshman Brogan Ryan said working at Subway is a good experience."I would say that Subway is not the best job on campus, but if you work with the right people, it can be fun," he said. "The perk of working at Subway is the free sub at the end of the shift."Ryan also said the on-campus location was an added advantage to his job, despite his comparatively low earnings."I think [the wage rate for University payroll jobs] is pretty fair, for working on campus," he said. "There is no doubt I could be making more money off campus, but that wouldn't work."Currently, there are 3,611 students on the University payroll. Yates estimates about half of all these students work for Food Services. Academic Services is the second largest employer, providing about 500 jobs.However, not many businesses are allowed onto Notre Dame's closed campus, somewhat limiting the variety of jobs available for the 40 percent of undergraduate students employed by the University. Students must make an effort to get the available jobs - whether they are ideal positions or not."There are no perks for working in the dining hall beyond getting paid," said freshman Zach El-Sawaf, a Food Services employee at South Dining Hall. Food Services jobs typically begin pay with an unskilled wage of $6.45 an hour.El-Sawaf is one of the 602 freshmen with jobs on campus. There is typically an increase of about 300 University payroll job recipients, usually about 600 to 900, from freshman to sophomore year, Yates said. Seniors constitute the highest number of students employed by class."Freshmen are trying to adjust, and working is just not an option for some," Yates said. She said that as time goes by, students become more organized, begin seeking work experience and are generally more available as course loads lessen and as requirements are fulfilled.Students who love their jobs tend to remain in their positions throughout their years on campus."I'd definitely say I have one of the best jobs on campus," junior and Writing Center tutor Curtis Leighton said. "Flexible hours, human interaction and good pay" are all positives for working at the Writing Center, he said. Tutors start at the skilled rate of $7.35 an hour.Leighton has worked at the Writing Center for two years and will continue working there until he graduates.
