As a non-traditional student, I was pleasantly surprised—and relieved—to receive work-study aid when I enrolled at Front Range Community College (FRCC). Only a month before, I had decided to take the plunge and study web development. This was after researching various programs and colleges for months.
I had struggled in a very competitive job market and felt that building my technical skills was necessary to move forward. Work-study was a rare commodity at every other college I had attended in the past. It was refreshing to see that FRCC offers a variety of work-study jobs both on and off campus. Every position on campus is different, but there are universal benefits to work-study jobs.
Valuable Hands-On Experience
I applied to a few positions I believed would give me valuable hands-on experience in the tech world. A few weeks later I received an email and soon became the Student Website Coordinator. In this position I help update content on the college’s website, fix broken links, make the website more accessible to people with disabilities, and so much more. The most valuable part of this work-study position is that I’m gaining hands-on experience, which is essential in today’s job market. It has also reinforced concepts I’ve learned in my computer classes, and has given me work experience in an office environment.
Learn What You Like—and Don’t Like
I have jumped right into the front end of the website and love every minute of it. While everything I do as the Student Website Coordinator is not entirely what I plan to do in the future, it has given me some great insights about website creation and management.
This experience is helping to direct me towards my ultimate career goals and will hopefully leave me with a stellar recommendation from my boss. This opportunity might have opened a path that I would have never realized existed, or it might even help my resume to stand out enough to get me the job I want in the future.
Earn Money!
If experience is not enough to convince you that work study is beneficial, you also earn money! Students who receive work-study aid are awarded a certain amount of aid for the year, which is earned hourly.
Every other week I get a paycheck and that has allowed me to quit my retail job (which was very demanding in all the wrong ways). I love that I am learning so many valuable things while also earning money for school and everyday expenses.
Flexible for Your Schedule
My work schedule is created around my class schedule. And since I work on-campus it’s especially convenient. This provides me the flexibility to focus on school, while also earning experience and money. I cannot speak for every work-study position, but I am able to spend weekends and holidays with my family, which is very important to me.
This work-study experience is just the first step into my future, and it is truly looking and feeling bright! If you are awarded work-study, I highly recommend you take advantage of it.
