UTAH TECH UNIVERSITY'S STUDENT NEWS SOURCE | March 29, 2024

What students need to know about summer employment at Utah Tech

Autumn Thomeon, a junior integrated studies major from Pocatello, Idaho, was so happy to have somewhere to work for the summer to protect students’ health at the swimming pool. Miki Akiyama | Sun News Daily

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The end of the semester approaches, and with it comes new opportunities for students to fatten their bank accounts while they continue living at Utah Tech University.

Summer is often seen as the off-season for students. Many of them return home to find work or rest until the fall comes, but if a student wishes to stay in St. George and work at Utah Tech, then they will find plenty of ways to keep busy during the summer.

The first task a student would need to accomplish is making sure they can log into Handshake.

Handshake is an employment website like indeed or LinkedIn but has an emphasis on students looking for employment during school and when the student graduates.

Employers at Utah Tech use Handshake to recruit students for the various jobs which are in season during the summer. A good number of positions open during the summer range from more manual labor type positions to jobs related to certain majors.

One of the quirks of working during the summer is the workload varying depending on what’s happening at Utah Tech during the summer. If their isn’t much happening on campus during a certain week, then students employed on campus will find their isn’t much to do. When an event is being hosted at Utah Tech during the summer, then that’s when the workload will increase.

Many religious organizations such as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints rent out facilities on campus to host events. Those stretches of time are when the workload tends to increase. Other than that, students may find the workload relatively lax compared to working during the semester.

Career Coach Lindsey Christensen is constantly assisting students with finding employment both on and off campus. Christensen and other career coaches are preparing for the summer by informing students about what they can expect if they seek employment during the season.

“I wouldn’t describe it as rough at all,” said Christensen. “It’s going to vary a lot depending on what job you have.”

Christensen said the university is being used to host the Polytechnic Global Summit from June 4 to June 7, and how custodians would see an increased amount of work due to such an event.

Christensen said more major specific positions are open during the summer as well. Christensen highlighted a position with the marketing team of Utah Tech is open for the summer and would be lucrative for those looking to get more experience in their desired workspace.

“I would also like to highlight those who are interested in things like law or political science this summer on campus,” Christensen said. “There are opportunities to work with like, the governor’s office. There are opportunities to just have fun like being a lifeguard and interacting with other students. They just need to seek it out and apply.”

For students who already have a job on campus and are looking to keep said job during the summer, then a pay raise may be coming your way depending on your position.

Bailey Borrowman, a junior communication studies major from Hurricane, who works at Stampede Station, is planning to continue her work into the summer.

“We call it a raise, but it’s more like a bonus,” said Borrowman. “They raise our wages for the summer and then they’ll drop back down for the school year.”

Borrowman said the pay increase is $2 added to her hourly wage, and she knows that other positions are receiving similar pay increases, although the positions eligible for such increases were not specified.

Summer is a time when many students take a break from school to fill up their bank accounts. Employers at Utah Tech are aware of such demand and are willing to take on anyone as long as they are up for the challenge. Both Christensen and Borrowman said employers for summer work on campus don’t discriminate when it comes to a pair of working hands, and it’s just up to the student as to whether they want to make some extra cash or build relationships for the future.