by Jared Rouse
As a non-traditional student, I have held the same off-campus job for the last five years. I work at a relatively large liquor store in Clifton, aptly named Clifton Liquors. In that time I have moved up the not-so-corporate ladder to earn the title of night manager. Clifton Liquors is a small family owned business that has been in operations for the past 38 years.
I can’t tell you how grateful I am to have had this job the entire time I have been in school. They have worked around my crazy schedule every semester without complaint. Finding a job that will do that is not easy.
In my experience most employers, especially employers for larger corporations, want their employees to bend over backward for them and work around their needs, not the other way around.
This may not be true of all corporate jobs, I know several people who go to school while working in restaurants or retail for instance, but most long-term employers want dedicated, loyal employees who will work whenever they need them to.
This is why I highly recommend to all students starting college and looking for a job to try and find a small local business for employment if at all possible. My place of employment not only works around my school schedule, but they also give me the time I need to get my school work done. Plus they have raised me to the level of management with a significant increase in pay.
The owner of the liquor store, as well as my manager, are both very approachable and often go out of their way to accommodate me. These are all the advantages of my off-campus job, and the reason I have stayed there so long.
The only disadvantage to my job is that after five years I now make more money there than I would start at most jobs in the field of my major.
I’m a mass communications student and, from what I’ve seen so far, most jobs in that field pay relatively low to start. This would mean I would have to take a significant pay cut just to get my foot in the door with any news organizations.
Because of this, as I get closer to graduation, I’ve been thinking about starting my own business in my field. If I can’t have a great boss and good pay in my field I’ll just be my own boss and pay myself.
