College Strategies

Lesson 7: Part Time Jobs: the Good and the Ugly

If Work Restrictions Apply to You

If you are an international student you might face restrictions to where you are allowed to accept employment. Classically you are only allowed to work on the campus at which you are registered as a fulltime student. If your college is large, and has several campi, then you have to realize you are allowed to work at all of them! So this broadens your search a bit. Try to apply for a work visa, because it opens up a world of options otherwise unavailable for you. In most cases you should already have a job to be able to apply for a visa, so do apply for those jobs you find interesting that are off campus and then apply for your work visa. The only problem here is that you are technically not allowed to ‘start’ right away. So sometimes you have to apply for a job that will open in the somewhat long term, considering your visa application needs time to be processed.

If you want to get around to these working restrictions, you can even without the proper documentation. You should have no problem working on a freelance basis, so without a contract. This means you are not entitled to benefits or anything like that. If an employer has not specifically stated ‘freelance’ in the job description, then ask him is that possibility would exist. If you really empress them, perhaps they will consider hiring you on that basis. You do want to check with your local immigration authorities if this rule applies to your area!

”Financial Aid Jobs”
On many campi there are job openings only for students who qualify for a federal loan and still have financial problems. In Canada they are often called “work-study” opportunities. Do not fully give up on those; my motto is “If I were a native, I would qualify and I do have financial problems”. To every rule there are exceptions and most of the time they are not exactly advertised! Unless you ask nobody will tell you there is an application form to receive an ‘exception’ in the work-study process. If you are hired by your employer, you can then apply to make it legal. Considering many colleges are making a large percentage of campus jobs of this type; it is definitely very important to realize it does not have to close the door for you entirely.

”Working Under the Table”
Working under the table means you accept employment illegally. You do not have a work permit and you are not allowed to be holding the job you are. Basically the employer also does not keep a record of you. Often people are paid in cash at the end of the day. This is an option many people embrace, but I am definitely not supportive of it. There are several reasons, but two of which are the risk and the job type.

The risk is usually not worth the reward; if you are discovered you can easily be kicked out of the country! And then? You have a half finished education and you are sent back home never to return. In the end you have more trouble and cost than they money you made. Granted there are thousands of people who work like that for years and are never found out, but I don’t recommend risking it. The jobs where you are considered for work like that are usually also not very good. It ranges from being a waitress to factory work and beyond. Most of the time rather dirty, unhealthy or terribly unpleasant work. You are also a target for abuse and blackmail; you employer knows what boat you are in and if he/she want to get you to do something they can threaten you with going to the police. If something like that would ever happen to you, go to the police yourself and explain the situation. Explain you had no other option because you were about to starve, but do not let someone get to you like that!

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