All About the Work Study Program

Aesthetic shot of a type writer with notebooks scattered around it
I wish my work space looked like this. Photo courtesy of Pixabay.
As a work-study Career Centre blogger, I think it’s about time I blog about U of T’s Work Study program. U of T’s Work Study is available to U of T students registered in at least 2.0 courses from September to April of the school year. You cannot work more than 12 hours per week, and are paid at least minimum wage per hour. Usually, these jobs are relevant to your studies, interests, or anticipated careers. Intrigued? Read on to hear how I found my work study position, how I make time for work with a full course load, and the lessons I learned from my current blogging job.

Madeline – Work (blog version) ft. U of T

 
A GIF from Rihanna's newest music video with Drake "Work"
Sing it, Riri.
Like Rihanna, I also work (work, work, work, work).  I find a simple pleasure in putting in my time, effort and creativity into a job and in turn seeing real results. You can take a wild guess at what those results are, but I will save you the time and confirm that they come on a bi-weekly basis into my bank account. I have had many jobs over my years of working. Some of which include:
  • “Expert” pizza-maker extraordinaire
  • Marketing Assistant/person who designs a plethora of advertising
  • Bakery "Counter-person" (who also does all the other bakery jobs)
  • Barista who makes the best cappuccinos @ about 4 different cafes
  • Server (who, to be honest, really hated serving)
  • Front Desk Porter, A.K.A that person in residence who talks to you enough to know your entire class schedule but still has to ask to see your keycard upon entering the building
This year I have managed to hold down two part-time jobs while also being a full time student. Both of my jobs are on campus, and are positions that are directly affiliated with the university. One of them, (surprise, surprise) is to write entertaining and relevant material for the Life at U of T student blog. The other, is a relatively new job which involves doing admissions for a residence on campus.

Feature: MoveU Crew!

This week I thought I’d shed some light on how to get involved with physical activity on campus in an administrative role. I met with the MoveU team to talk about what they do, how they got involved and what they love about being a part of the team. But first: What is MoveU and what does the team do? Well, in their words they “do so much!” “The breadth of what we do is so broad because we promote health on campus and being physically active,” says Alcina Wey. Fellow work-study student, Naomi Maldonado, adds, “We try to promote physical activity in alternative ways. A lot of people assume that if you’re not working out you’re not active, but we try to make physical activity accessible.” As volunteers, the MoveU Crew supports and leads events. They interact with students, make them feel comfortable and get them involved at events.

Life Sciences Undergraduate Research: How do I even?

As a Life Sciences student, I understand the pressure and trepidation you feel when someone in class goes “So in my research lab…” Meanwhile, you’re screaming internally about how you can barely fold laundry properly let alone have your life so put together as to be in a research lab.

Meme of shiba-inu and the caption
(Source: memegenerator.net)

Whether you plan on pursuing a career in healthcare or science research itself, having research experience on your CV and learning lab skills are a bonus when you apply to professional or graduate programs. But where does one even start? It’s daunting trying to maneuver the Interwebs to find viable and worthwhile positions. I’ve compiled a list of possible scientific/medical research opportunities by the year you might think of applying. But first, a few preliminary questions to ask yourself: