Kent State offers many on-campus employment opportunities for students, but some students prefer off-campus jobs that offer the same benefits.

Along with that, there are outside jobs that are not on campus that provide other work experiences. 

The Career Exploration and Development director, Kristin Williams, mentioned the benefit of an on-campus job is that it provides proper balance for work and life to help students prioritize their studies. 

At a normal job you would have a six to eight hour work shift. On-campus jobs offer flexibility to allow shorter two to three hour shifts between classes across multiple days.

“The supervisors understand that you are a student and will work out the best schedule for you,” Williams said. 

Working off campus is another option for students who decide to not work on campus. 

Studies show that students who work on campus 20 hours or less each week actually do better academically than those students who work off campus, or do not work at all, according to the Career Exploration and Development website.

A junior psychology major, Maddy Mead, has worked both on and off campus and understands the demands of a typical job. Her experiences of working in high school compared to her on-campus experience were very different. 

“They care more about school and want you to succeed,” Mead said referring to on-campus employment.  

You go there to a job and then you leave whereas you can actually connect with the people around you and get to create relationships with the people you are working with. However, there is a different clientele that you are able to connect with outside of campus which can be beneficial when preparing for a real world experience. 

Both on campus and off campus jobs offer an opportunity for students to build the necessary skills to be successful in the real world. 

A job is important whether it is on or off campus. “What can be a simple part-time job and building it into something that is really preparing you for your internships or your full-time experiences in the future,” Williams said.

Emily Mays covers jobs and money. Contact her at [email protected].