While it's important to study and make the Dean’s List in college, the goal of being at the university is to find a job after graduating. Many campuses have a work-study program and jobs for students. Finding a job, especially if you're lucky enough to find a job that can benefit your career aspirations, is a great way to get hands-on experience and meet new people.
You and your coworkers will always have something in common at work. You both applied and got the positions you hold in your job and therefore there's already a common bond built. Much like taking classes with someone you end up being friends with you will always be bonded over your job. Being around the same people will force you all to have conversations to pass the time. These small interactions could lead to new possible friendships.
I’ve had two on-campus jobs at the Mount. The first was the camera crew for all athletic events. I was a junior camera operator and would find secondary angles to cut in between the main shots for a different perspective for viewers. This job directly falls in line with my desire to pursue a career in media and gave me great experience and the opportunity to meet people that have my same interest. Through this job, I was able to expose myself to a new side of the campus seeing people I wouldn't normally see walking to and from classes. It forced me to start conversations and consistently introduce myself to new people.
Any job on campus will make you change your scenery. As students, we can get stuck in a rut because our schedules look very familiar daily. The same walk to class, the same time going to Patriot for food, and doing homework in the same locations. Having an open campus job will force you to see new parts of the campus you never intended on seeing before and put you in front of fresh faces.
The second job I’ve held on campus is working for the Physical Plant on the logistics team. This job essentially means just moving around furniture, but just like the camera crew, it puts me around new faces daily. As we have to get to different buildings during different times of the day, you're bound to new a fresh faces everywhere you go. During this job, I was able to meet people I never knew were even students on campus while sharing common bonds with them as coworkers. Developing relationships with coworkers and your boss can lead to new opportunities you may have never thought were possible before. On-campus jobs aren't just important for making money or finding a possible career path after college, but they're essentially for growing socially.