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Student Employment Services Blog

What is the Work-Study Program?

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Have you ever heard the term “Work-Study” thrown around by classmates or friends? Have you ever wondered what it is or how it works? Well, we’re going to clear up any confusion regarding the work-study program today!

Quick View:

  • If you qualify for the Pell Grant, you likely qualify for the Work-Study program. 
  • You can use our federal Work-Study calculator below to see how many hours per week you can work.
  • The Work-Study Waitlist opens on August 1st at 7:00 am. The waitlist works on a first-come, first-serve basis.
For more information, Keep reading…
What is the Work-Study Program and Do I Qualify?

The Work-Study program is a method of funding for student employees. On-Campus Jobs, located on our website can require two different types of student status. “Work-Study required” or “Work-Study optional”. Anybody can apply to and land a Work-Study optional position. On the other hand, only people that qualify for the Work-Study program can apply to and land the Work-Study required positions. So, how do you know if you qualify for work-study you ask? There are a few requirements you must meet. 

You must…

  • Have filed a FAFSA for the current academic year, so that we can ensure there is a financial need that has not been met.
  • You must be enrolled in at least 6 credit hours per semester in the Fall and Spring. During the summer you must be in a minimum of 3 credit hours.
  • You must maintain a 2.0 GPA.
  • Work-Study funds must be available, if they are unavailable at the time, you can sign up for our waitlist (see next section).
  • Unfortunately, Graduate students and International students are not eligible for Work-Study.

Another good thing to note is that your Work-Study eligibility is determined by your financial need from your FAFSA results. Students who qualify for a Pell Grant may qualify for the Work-Study program. So, if you’re reading this to figure out if you qualify, check your financial aid records and if you have qualified for, or received a Pell Grant and fulfill all the requirements above, then you likely qualify for Work-Study! Work-study students are paid through federal funding that is allocated to the university. With all of that being said, it is important to know that the Work-Study program does not work as a grant or a loan but rather as a regular job. You will be paid for the hours you work each pay period. While it’s, of course, an option, you are not required to use your earned money towards your tuition. You can use your earnings in any way you need to. Food, housing, gas, books, those jeans you’ve had your eye on that are finally on sale! 

Why Work-Study? 

You may be asking yourself, “why do some positions require work-study qualified students, while others don’t?” That’s because some departments on-campus don’t have the budget to pay a student employee out of their own pockets, but they have plenty of work to go around. This is where work-study comes into play. Work-Study allows the department to hire student employees and pay them without going outside of their departmental budget constraints. 

Let’s discuss the number of hours that Work-Study student employees are allowed to work. The student’s hours are limited by the amount of the work-study award and cannot exceed 1,000 hours in any given 12 month pay period. That means that depending on how much your work-study award is worth, you will be able to calculate how many hours a week you can work. You can find more information about this on our website but here is a simple breakdown. 

To find out how many hours per week you can work to fully maximize your work-study funding, use the formula below. 

Take the award amount and divide that by the number of weeks you plan on working during the academic year, and then divide that by your hourly pay rate. This will get you your allowable hours per week. Example below: 

Award Amount: $3,500 Weeks to Work: 33 Pay Rate: $10.30

$3,500 / 33 Weeks / $10.30 = 10 hours per week

Work-Study Waitlist? 

Have you heard of the ‘Work-Study Waitlist”? This is a question we often get in our office. If you qualify for work-study funding and you did not receive it on your financial aid awards, you can sign up for the work-study waiting list. The link to sign up is located on your My Missouri State menu under the financial aid section. Work-study waitlist funding is awarded on a first-come, first-serve basis as it becomes available. It’s important to take care of these items as soon as possible so that you can be near the top of the waitlist and get a job as soon as possible! The waitlist opens on August 1st at 7:00 am, if you qualify for Work-Study and want to get a job on-campus, be sure to be one of the first people to sign up for the waitlist. For more information about the Work-Study waitlist, visit our website! Image of the Work-Study Waitlist located on the Student section of the My Missouri State Webpage.

We hope this helped to clear up any confusion you had about the Work-Study program. We understand that it is a complicated system that not many students understand. We are always happy to help if you have questions. Feel free to visit our website, give us a call, or come by the office! (Shannon, room 113)

The Top 5 Benefits of Working While in College

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Are you considering getting a job while attending college? Here are the top five reasons you should get one! 

Quick View:

  • You’ll learn critical time management skills
  • Gain professional work experience
  • Expand your network
  • Improve your grades
  • Fill your pockets – make some extra cash
For more information, Keep reading…

 

Financially, college can be a taxing experience. Yes…that was a finance pun… Student Loans, suffering bank accounts, and most importantly, nightly trips to Taco Bell. While this may not be everyone’s experience, it is common and some would question if you even lived the college experience if these were never your reality. Some students found a wonderful loophole in this lifestyle. The loophole is super secretive and isn’t something that a lot of people know about. It’s called getting a job. Working while you are in school has many benefits other than just earning yourself a nice little paycheck. Having a job as a student can teach time-management skills, provide professional work experience, help to expand your network, increase your grades, and most importantly, put a little extra cash in your pocket. 

 

Time Management Skills

Having time management skills as a student is critical. Being able to balance your class schedule, homework, activities, and sleep can be very difficult. I’m sure at this point you’re thinking “well throwing a job into the mix isn’t going to help”. While you may be right, there are a lot of ways to fit a job into your schedule that will allow you to strengthen your time management skills and allow you to balance those other factors more efficiently. One of the beauties of having a job is the amount of flexibility you can have. You get to pick where you want to work, so if you want to work part-time, you can do that. Find an employer that is very flexible with hours. In a college town like Springfield, employers understand that student’s lives are crazy, they will work with you. Once you land that job and begin working, you will then be able to set up a more structured schedule for yourself and when your schedule becomes more structured, your time becomes better managed. 

 

Professional Work Experience

Getting professional work experience is the name of the game for most college students these days. In many industries, companies are looking right over that GPA on your resume and moving their eyes down to your past work experience. While internships and service-learning are great opportunities, why not get a steady paycheck while gaining experience? There are plenty of departments hiring on campus here at Missouri State and even more hiring off campus! Chances are, you can find a job that applies to your future career that would strengthen your resume and put some money in your pocket. 

 

Expand Your Network

While many people believe that networking can only occur at career fairs and off-campus expositions, plenty of networking can be done right on campus. Many departments on campus have more connections to jobs after college than one might think. Working in one of those departments and doing a great job can be a great way for your boss to recognize your work ethic and bring you up in conversation about job opportunities. Not to mention you have earned yourself another reference for your resume. Before you look into that exposition that’s 500 miles away, stop and think about getting a job somewhere on campus that would allow you to greatly expand your network. Working somewhere such as your campus’s career center or in a department that pertains to your major might be some good places to start.

 

Improving Your Grades

I know what you’re thinking. How can having a job that is going to take more time out of my schedule and take away from my study time, help me improve my grades? Well here is your answer. Writer for CNBC Abigail Hess wrote an article covering this topic and found that students that work part-time jobs have a higher average GPA than non-working students. While the numbers are small, with part-time employed students averaging a 3.13 GPA and non-working students averaging a 3.04, there is a significant correlation between the higher GPA and being employed. However, Hess also found that students working full-time (more than 20 hours per week) averaged a significantly lower GPA of 2.95. Many jobs on campus may come with downtime that allows student employees to work on homework or other tasks. While this may not be encouraged by some employers, there are many around campus that allow it. Overall, working part-time can help you improve your GPA, so what are you waiting for? Visit our website www.missouristate.edu/studentemp to apply today!

 

Fill Your Pockets 

While most jobs you will find as a college student probably won’t be able to fully support you financially, they do offer a nice little stream of income that can come in handy. Whether it’s groceries, transportation, or impulse buying online, all college students have personal expenses. Your income from your part-time job as a student can be a great way to support that spending. You could also put your income towards student loans. I don’t want to tell you how to spend your money, but it does come in handy to have a little extra cash in your back pocket. 

 

Working as a college student comes with many benefits, while it will take up time in your schedule, and probably won’t be the most exciting job you have ever had, it does come with many benefits. Time management skills, professional experience, networking, improved grades, and extra cash are our top five reasons why you should get a job as a student, but maybe you have other reasons. Are you already a student employee? What are your reasons for working as a student? Let us know! 

 

Are you a Missouri State student looking to get a job? Click here to view all of the current on and off-campus job listings! https://www.missouristate.edu/studentemp/