Making money: part time, easy, and on campus

Job-hunting is by far the most frustrating yet prevalent aspect of being a university student in today’s world. Trust me, I’ve been a university student since 2018 and looking for a part-time job has been a learning curve for me. 

One of the best things about studying at a university with a huge campus is the availability of numerous job opportunities. However, what gets you results is looking in the right places and being ahead of the game.

Residence Life, the SU, Essex Food, and the University itself are some of the biggest employers on campus.

Being a Senior Residents’ Assistant, I am here to give you eight reasons to apply to Residence Life to be a Residents’ Assistant (RA).

1. It is an on-campus job  

You literally do not have to go anywhere and can do all your work, being on campus. 

2. You get guaranteed on-campus accommodation   

Yes! Guaranteed (great benefit considering most people only get the option of being waitlisted after their first year) so it is efficient and easy to work while being a student.

3. Be a leader…

You will interact with students and be the go-to person for advice, guidance and the solutions to their problems.

4. … and a Team Player

As an RA, you will be in a team with other RAs and hence get to know more friends, colleagues, supporters and fellow students.

5. Great addition to your CV

Being an RA will equip you with essential soft skills like communication, working in a team, being a leader, taking the initiative, managing multiple responsibilities, etc. It will also give you experiences which you can use to answer competency questions in job interviews.

6. Additional work opportunities  

In addition to the usual duties, you can apply for many different work opportunities throughout the year thus enabling you to make extra money and experience new things. 

7. Easy to manage

This part-time job is easy to manage because it fits incredibly with being a student. It pays well while having a doable workload. 

8. Diverse and flexible 

Whether it is resolving your residents’ issues, organising a programme or conducting welfare checks, different days on the job will bring you different learnings and different forms of enjoyment.

I hope this article helped you. I can understand the frustration of not getting a part-time job… I was in the same place and now I have two of them. So, all I want to say is, ‘don’t give up’, because you’ve got this! 

Apply now

If you’ll be a full-time student in the 2022-23 academic year, there’s still time to apply to become a Residents’ Assistant. Find out more and make sure you apply before the deadline on Sunday 6 February 2022. If you have any questions, just email reslife@essex.ac.uk.