By Rylee Baker
Susquehanna has a variety of jobs on campus for students to apply to, allowing them to make money while also attending classes and living in the dorms. Working as a student on campus can be very convenient. However, there are complications like scheduling and drama with employees. One pressing controversial con of working at Susquehanna is the wages.
Wages become increasingly important in a world where a gallon of milk and a dozen eggs will cost you $10. Especially here in Pennsylvania where the minimum wage is legally $7.25 and has been since 2006, according to the Commonweath of Pennsylvania. This is something Susquehanna has taken advantage of despite being impossible to survive on.
Looking at Handshake, a website that allows students to apply for positions on campus, the highest-paying job available to students was $11 an hour. Most ranged from $7.50 to $10 an hour. Meaning if a student works 15 hours a week on top of attending classes, they’d be taking home less than $165 on their paycheck.
Students work hard for their money. Although student jobs require a different amount of time and energy, all jobs require effort. Take Scholarly Grounds and Starbucks, two coffee places on campus, for example. The standard wage for both is $10 an hour, with some days being quite hectic and busy.
From personal experience at Scholarly Grounds, we find ourselves 30 to 45 orders behind a several times a day. It takes a good 20 minutes of straight chaos until it calms down and by then I’m winded and covered in syrup. It’s discouraging to want to work in conditions that are so demanding with such little pay. It doesn’t feel worth it all the time.
“I feel like the school takes advantage of the students because they’re so young. They pay us as little as possible,” said freshman Kijani English, an employee for the Hawk Hub.
At times it can feel as though we receive breadcrumbs for the amount of work that we put in. One-hundred-and-sixty-five dollars a week doesn’t last long when you have important things to pay for like phone bills, tuition, and gas. Everyone’s situation is different so it shouldn’t be assumed that students need less money because they live on campus.
Dining establishments can be a stark difference from other jobs around campus. For example, Gallery Assistant Avianna Conklin said, “It’s basically like a desk job.” It’s a lot less stress and labor, allowing for a lot more downtime.
“In general, I think it’s fair that dining workers make more money than other positions on campus because of how mentally and physically draining it is,” said senior Colleen Hueting, an employee of Scholarly Grounds. Dining position or not, most people seem discouraged about the wage options on campus.
“For the lack of flexibility and hours, I believe they should pay more. For granted I don’t always do the most work, but it’s a student-run job and you should be able to adapt to a student-run schedule,” said sophomore Molli Hall, an employee of the equipment room and Athletic Communications Office.
Students from states like New Jersey and New York, where the minimum wage is $15 an hour, far higher than the wages typically offered at Susquehanna, must adapt to the lower earnings in Pennsylvania.
“I recognize that I’m from another state, New York, and I’m aware Pennsylvania’s minimum wage is a lot lower, but in many cases, the workload does not match the pay” said sophomore Kelly Waldron, a catering employee.
Student workers won’t disappear despite Susquehanna handing out as little money as possible. In the economy we live in today, it’s almost impossible not to work. Getting a job on campus will not pay the bills or provide you with much leverage in finances. It’s simply a convenient way to make extra money while taking classes.