Campus jobs handy for CSULB students

Cash. Moolah. The green stuff. For college students, money is a constant concern.

Class schedules often clash with full-time work loads, and part- time jobs are often more trouble than their paltry hourly wages are worth. If only a student could find employment that is close to cam pus, gives consideration to school schedules when assigning work hours and pays a (somewhat) decent wage.

Jobs are available that meet the above criteria, and they are readily available to Cal State Long Beach students. On-campus employment at CSU LB has many benefits. I work in the shipping and receiving department. My boss, Frank Alarcon, is easygoing and demonstrates genuine concern about the education of the students in his charge.

He understands that education is the first priority for the students he employs. Many supervisors in the "real" working world have a problem with the concept of "education first." They are more concerned with productivity - the almighty bottom line.

The fact that I work on campus enables me to work mo re hours; at the same time, I can take more units because I don't have a long commute between work and school. When my literature class lets out at 1:45 p.m., I can be working by 2 p.m. When I leave work at 5 p.m., I can be in my next class at 5:05 p. m.

Working on campus saves me money on gas. It saves me the aggravation of navigating traffic. It is as close to an ideal situation as I can imagine.

Pay for on-campus work varies, but my job hunting experiences this summer found most wages of fered to be in the $6 to $7 an hour range. This pay range is typical for part-time employment, and students are limited to working 20 hours a week when classes are in session. During the summer or vacation periods, students are free to work fulltime, or even overtime.

Another major advantage of on-campus work is the lack of paycheck withholding. Your check will be for the full amount you earned.

But payroll procedures provide the biggest drawback for on-campus work, too. Student workers are paid once a month (on the 15th), and their first paycheck does not arrive until one month after the end of the first pay period. This can cause serious problems in paying rent, bills or providing for luxuries, like food.

Payroll procedures aside, on-campus work is a great opportunity for students to earn much-needed book, rent or beer money.