Your Student Life: Student Life is Hiring

November 25, 2025

The end of autumn semester is a good time to consider applying for a campus job next semester. It’s not too early to start thinking about your plans for spring semester or even next year and where you could work on campus. There are a wide variety of roles available and a lot of benefits to student employment.

Develop skills
Working on campus allows you to learn new skills that you’ll use beyond graduation, like communication, time management, customer service, teamwork and many more. A job provides you with real-world opportunities to gain transferable skills that you can apply in your future career.

Flexible schedule
Student employment positions are typically more flexible and supportive of students’ academic schedules and demands. You can schedule your shifts to fit around your class schedule. Class priorities come first, so managers work with you to build a comfortable and flexible schedule.

Convenient locations
Working on campus means you could walk to work. Within Dining Services, there are over 30 different locations to choose from across North, West and South campus.

Leadership opportunities
Within your campus job are growth opportunities to become a mentor, trainer, leader or manager.
In Dining Services, Student Community Leaders serve to create and cultivate a respectful and engaged community within a dining operation. Throughout the academic year, these student leaders educate their peers on the importance of wellness and sense of belonging through one-on-one conversation and variety of participatory programing events.

Professional development
Through the SEE (Student Employment Experience) program, student employees are offered paid professional development opportunities facilities by SEE staff and partners. Students also reflect each semester on the skills and values they are learning at work, and how to make connections between that and other areas of their life. These conversations are helpful to think about how to talk about campus employment in future job interviews.

Find friends

It can be hard to meet other students outside of the classroom. With a campus job, it’s easy to make genuine connections with your co-workers and teammates.

Dining Services recognizes that student employment is not just about a paycheck and work experience, but an opportunity to connect with others while contributing to the greater community. Looking ahead to next year, a great way to meet other students before classes begin is to work for Dining Services and register for the Early Arrival Team (EAT) program to be eligible to move in early. You not only get more time on campus with friends, at no additional housing cost for on campus residents but also get to participate in paid professional development sessions centered around leadership, wellness, and career development. This is also an opportunity to knock out training ahead of time to start the semester strong.

Make money
Okay, yes, the biggest benefit to working is the paycheck. Ohio State student employees earn a minimum hourly rate of $13 for non-tipped roles. Some departments even offer bonuses or raises for students who stay employed multiple semesters. For example, students who are hired with Dining Services before March 14 are eligible for a pay increase for fall semester. And you get a free meal for every shift you work.

Apply for a job
To see all of the opportunities available on campus, check out Handshake, where students have access to search and apply for part-time jobs, internships, co-ops and full-time career opportunities. Available positions are also posted in Workday. If you have a specific on-campus job in mind, try visiting their website because some departments will post their open positions online. Learn more about finding student employment.

Debbie Wakefield
Marketing Specialist
Office of Student Life