One of the most commonly used phrases among the population of millennial college students has got to be that we are all just “broke college students.” We use that phrase quite often, mainly as a joke and a way of referring to ourselves. However, despite the sarcastic undertone beneath its use, there is definitely some truth.
In Oct. 2014, BuzzFeed published an article identifying 25 features that classify an individual as a broke college student. Some of these comical listed features, which can be found painfully true by a good portion of students, include: signing up for loans, worrying about your choice in major, being resourceful without many actual resources, refusing to spend money on trash bags, etc.
For Maddie Wickham, a sophomore at OU studying strategic communications, the difficulties of being a “broke college student” have been stressing her out in ways very similar to those listed in the BuzzFeed post.
“What’s been stressing me out is that I need to get a job, and I’ve had a really hard time when applying to jobs on-campus. I’m worried about making my rent next year, and I think if I could get some extra money in, I could keep my savings. I think there are a lot of students who need jobs and not a lot of openings, so it becomes really competitive, making it hard for people to become employed on campus,” Wickham said.
While finding a job on-campus sounds much more desirable to a college student since it is so close in proximity, there are also pros to getting a job off-campus.
For instance, when you have a job on-campus as a student, there is a weekly hour cap of, on average, 20 hours per week in order to avoid overloading students too much. Off-campus jobs, however, may not have this cap, allowing students to work as much as they would like, thus, making more money.
Off-campus jobs can also open other avenues and allow for potential jobs/careers even after your time at OU. For example, applying for off-campus internships can open doors to future careers and create connections with certain individuals that can help guide you through your professional life, while also helping to make a little extra money while here in college.
Some different avenues that can be used to help students find jobs both on and off-campus can be found on the Ohio University website, sent through emails from the university or done the old fashioned way: walking into a business to ask if they’re hiring. On the university website, students can also find jobs that are directly related to their major, which can help provide experience for future careers.
It’s inevitable, and we all know the struggle of searching for a job all too well; it can definitely take a toll on a person’s stress levels. The most important thing in the search for a job, however, is to remain calm with a positive outlook and keep an open mind to whatever opportunities may come your way.
Bri Shaniuk is a sophomore studying journalism at Ohio University. How do you handle the stress of paying for college? Let Bri know by emailing her at bs714714@ohio.edu.
