I started my job on campus in September, and after 4 months of working for the University of Iowa, I have a much better understanding of what exactly the school can do for me.

I got hired with the Office of Strategic Communications, a department that is in charge of managing how the University interacts with outside media and organizations – I run cameras at different events around campus, which is a really good experience for me to be getting while I earn a paycheck. I really enjoy it and I genuinely feel like I’ve learned just as much outside of my film classes here as I have in them.

This semester, I started a separate university job getting footage for the Iowa Spirit Squad, which is a group term used to represent Cheer, Dance, and Herky. I’ve mainly been at basketball games, but because of my job, I get to be courtside, which is really freaking cool. I also have a lot of reign over what I get to cover at those events, as long as it involves the Spirit Squad in some way, which has been great at allowing me to grow my creative decision-making.

There are some pitfalls when it comes to working with the university; a lot of jobs don’t pay as much as one downtown might, for example. It really depends on which job you get on campus, but I have heard a lot of people say that they’re not making as much as they’d like. The work is usually consistent, however, and you can bank on working the same hours every week for a lot of jobs. So it really just comes down to what you need and the kind of experience you’d like to earn.

This one has been kind of short, but I felt like it was worth sharing because a lot of people, my past self included, want to be involved on campus, but also need to work, and they don’t know if they’ll be able to juggle everything. But there are definitely certain university jobs that will make you feel involved with the school while also putting some money in your pocket.