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Intellect

Record number of BYU students whistle while they work…on campus

  • November 2010 set a record for number of student employees working on campus
  • There were more than 14,000 student employees in November
  • Over the course of the 2009-2010 year, 20,000 unique individuals had campus jobs

They moonlight as secretaries, assistants and grounds technicians and some even work by the light of the moon. No matter the job title, student employees are pivotal cogs in BYU’s daily operations.

So pivotal that nearly 50 percent of students work on campus.

In fact, the Student Employment office announced this week that a record number of student employees earned a paycheck in November. The grand total: 14,054.

Assistant Administrative Vice President Forrest Flake said the high number of student employees has been a win-win for the university and the students.

“We are pleased that the university is able to provide more student employment opportunities than ever before,” Flake said. “As off-campus work opportunities are scarcer and as hiring full-time employees on campus has been restricted, students have assumed very significant roles and made great contributions.”

Student Employment records also show that during the 2009-2010 academic year more than 20,000 unique students worked an on-campus job at one point.

Historically, November and March are the months with the highest student employment rates. This November’s total is nearly 3,000 students higher than the November 2000 figure (11,276) – a 25% increase in student employees over 10 years.

 “Working at BYU is a great way to help fund your education, but it’s more than that,” said senior communications major Courtney Smith. “It has provided me with an opportunity to gain real world experience.  I’m fortunate to have an on-campus job that is also building my resume.”

This year, students are working an average of 15.3 hours a week, with the most popular job title being research or teaching assistant (3,801 total during Winter 2010). The next most common job title is custodial worker, with 1,136 students.

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Photo by Jaren S. Wilkey/BYU Photo

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