Making a buck in an uncommon way

After keeping grades up and making sure they have a social life, the next step for most students is finding a job. There are always those jobs students wish they had. But often students will work in the very buildings where they take classes, doing research and aiding professors in their specific area of study. 

There are also a number of on-campus student jobs that wouldn't cross most student's minds — such as wedding host, enforcement officer or barber. These are just a few jobs students spoke about to illustrate the existence of lesser-known jobs at USU.

Information Technology Service Desk Assistant

When Kyle Saunders got a virus on his computer, eventually getting a job along with it was not what he expected. Saunders, a senior majoring in accounting, went into the IT Service Desk building at USU to get his computer looked at and said he had a good experience.

"There was good customer service, and it had a great atmosphere," he said.

Saunders found out about a job opening a few months later, applied and got the job.

"Even though I might not have been the most qualified," Saunders said, "it's been a great learning experience."

Saunders has worked there ever since. Some of the responsibilities his job entails include  helping students and faculty members who come in with IT problems and taking calls from students, faculty and alumni who have computer issues.

"A lot of alumni will call in, needing to reset passwords," Saunders said. "Students usually need to connect to BlueZone or help with passwords or general problems with their computers."

Enjoying his job at the IT Service Desk has never been a problem, he said.

"They're very flexible with my schedule," Saunders said. "If I had to get stuck on a desert island, I'd want to get stuck on it with all my coworkers at the IT Service Desk."

Enforcement Officer

On-campus enforcement officers, all students who work for the Parking Office, are those individuals who give tickets to people who park where they shouldn't or let their p

arking meters expire.

Cody Humpherys, a sophomore majoring in pre-medical business, has worked as an enforcement officer for two years.

"We walk around campus, most of the time, and make sure that people are parking in the right places," Humpherys said, "as well as trying to help people get to where they need to go in an orderly fashion."

Some people on campus may not realize it's solely students doing this job. Humpherys said most of the students who find out his position are not too happy with him.

"I hear ‘Oh, I hate you a lot," he said with a laugh. "We get yelled at a lot, but that's just doing the job."

For Humpherys and fellow officers, the job isn't as bad as people might think.

"It's pretty laid back for the most part," Humpherys said.

Wedding/Event Host

Trevor Davis works in what some would argue is one of the most interesting places on campus — generally because it is somewhere that nearly all students don't even realize exists — the Alumni House.  

"I'll say I'm going to the Alumni House and people think I'm going to my fraternity house," Davis said.

Davis, a junior majoring in elementary education, said his job entails many different duties. During the day, Davis said he does chores and odd jobs around the house.

"I cover the desk for the receptionist, shovel the walk or do any yard work," he said. "In the summer, I water the flowers a lot."

The actual wedding host aspect of his job is usually done at later times of the day. It includes setting up weddings and other events that take place at the Alumni House, and then "I am there to answer questions or help the party out with anything they need," he said.

When the event is done, he cleans up and puts everything back. Davis said unusual encounters are a part of the job.

"I have had some crazy people that ask me for the weirdest stuff," Davis said. "And sometimes, the way that the person in charge planned the setup for the event doesn't go with the way the caterers planned it."

He said this leads to a lot of changing things around right before the events start.

Other responsibilities of the job include being a sound technician, playing music or videos and consulting on anything that needs altering for each event.

"They're really good about working with my schedule," Davis said. "And I like it — because for the most part — because I'm on my feet most of the time doing stuff."