For many Dartmouth students, the search for the perfect job begins long before it comes time to polish a resume or enter the first round of corporate recruiting. Before becoming doctors and lawyers, the more than 1,300 College-employed students are swiping ID cards and shelving books.
Each campus job offers its own perks. Research related positions present opportunities for laboratory experience and educational value, while such jobs as CD operator for hockey games provide free admittance and food.
The highest paying campus jobs advertised on Jobnet -- an online student employment database maintained by the Student Employment Office -- typically require technical skills.
Positions such as research assistant for Environmental Studies Programs and the Thayer School of Engineering, taking class notes for the Academic Skills Center and writing computer programs for the Tuck School of Business offer wage rates as high as $10 per hour.
However, the highest paying, low-skilled jobs are positions at Dartmouth Dining Services.
Recently, employers at the College's six dining facilities have had to institute a higher than normal pay scale in order to attract more students into its ranks. According to Kelly Mousley, the personnel administrator of dining services, there was a shortage of student workers Fall term.
"We greatly appreciate our student employees and we're trying to make the positions as inviting to them as possible," Mousley said.
DDS pays starting wages of $6.75 per hour -- compared to the regular College wage of $5.75. For students who work more than 10 hours a week the wage increases to $7.25 per hour plus a 20 percent discount on all DDS purchases. Students who work at least two hours after 10 p.m. receive an extra dollar in their wages.
On average, the 20 percent discount adds an extra $15 a week bonus in the student's DBA, the equivalent of an additional $1.5 per hour.
Amee Patel '00, a third-year Topside employee, now earns $8.50 per hour as area supervisor.
She said she enjoyed her job even though "it's not like a desk job in the library where you can work while you study. You're on your feet all the time."
"After this long, [the employees have become] a social group. I can't imagine working anywhere else," Patel said.
Library and administration jobs are best for students seeking to be able to study while they work.
"[My job is] a study period. I'm in a room and I don't have to do much except pull out papers when they come up and order them," Samir Desai '00, who sorts printouts from the Choates printer, said. "You can do this when you're drunk."
Kerry Bystrom '99, the administrative intern to College President James Wright, loves being able to "see a totally different side of the college. It gives me a lot of insight into how the college works, and the aim of the college for the next 20 years."
Bystrom's responsibilities include monitoring issues that are taking place on other ivy league campuses, serving as coordinator for student groups that want to meet with President Wright, running a weekly student - President lunch group and representing student opinion in the office of the president.
"President Wright is amazing and the people in the office are amazing," Bystrom said.
The office pays $1,900 for three terms of work.
Other campus jobs utilize the personal skills of students to sell Dartmouth.
"It's kind of fun to watch the prospectives come in and be all nervous," said Stephanie Chen '00, who is a reception area assistant at the admissions office, a job that employs approximately 10 students each term.
According to Donna Desjardins, the director of student employment, the largest on-campus employers of students are the library, Dartmouth Dining Services and the Dartmouth College Athletic Department.
The College policy on student wage rates mandate that the lowest possible wage rate is $5.75 per hour, but an employer can offer anything above that at their own discretion.
