Hello! Work study at Oberlin is a suggested amount of money a student should be contributing to their education each semester, and that contribution usually comes in the form of working in a campus job. Most positions on campus are open to any student, whether they have “assigned” work-study or not.

There are a few places on campus that do require you to have a work-study (or more specifically, federal work-study) designation, but it will be clearly stated either on the application or in the job description.

When it comes to finding work on campus, there are many many many options. Most offices on campus employ students in some capacity — including but not limited to admissions, development, the alumni association, communications, athletics, the dean of studies office, student academic services, etc. etc. etc. There are also positions through campus dining services, residential education, the libraries, the student union, and more. Many of these positions will be listed on the Oberlin classifieds starting in late August and early September with the exception of the library (applications are in the main library center, Mudd), the student union (I believe you have to have been on campus for a semester already to apply there and you can ask about applying at the front desk of Wilder), and campus dining services (their application is online). A bit of advice based on personal experience: I would recommend solidifying your class schedule before applying for a campus job, since you are attending school first and foremost. Shaping your schedule around non-academic work can be limiting to what you’re trying to take.

For future reference, I wrote an extensive Oberlin blog post about student employment that may be of some help to you as well.

- Ma’ayan Plaut ‘10, Social Media Coordinator