Part-Time Student Employment
Duke offers many great student employment opportunities both on campus and off campus within the community of Durham. Here a just a few of the many benefits of student employment:
- Supervisors and coworkers that serve as a built-in support system in addition to professors, family, and friends
- Begin and continue to grow professional networks and cultivate potential future references
- Explore opportunities for exposure and experience in a personal, academic, and or career interest area
- Earn income to help with educational and living expenses
- Develop core skills and competencies that will transfer into various roles long after your time at Duke
Skills and Core Competencies
As defined by the National Association of Colleges and Employers, NACE, career readiness is a foundation from which to demonstrate requisite core competencies that broadly prepare the college educated for success in the workplace and lifelong career management.
Career Readiness Competencies
There are eight career readiness competencies, each of which can be demonstrated in a variety of ways. You can begin building these core competencies during your part time job as a student! Review a definition of each competency and reflect on which competencies you can continue to build and practice!
Students
Consider the following tips when searching and applying for part time student employment opportunities:
- Explore opportunities for exposure and experience in a personal and or career interest area.
- Flexible part time employment requires fewer hours to allow adjustment to college and a new schedule.
- Put your academic studies first and commit to work hours you know you can manage.
- Seek positions that will build references, professional contacts, skills, and core competencies.
- Seek employers that will offer flexible work hours and will support your commitment to your academics.
- Consider using your Work Study Awards! Scroll below to Work Study Financial Aid Awards to learn more!
Where to Look for a Part-Time Job?
Find openings on-campus and within the Durham community by logging into JobX – Duke’s Student Employment Platform. Filter through various opportunities and find the one that best fits you and your interests! Each Duke department manages its own hiring. If you are interested in working in a certain department, you can filter via Job X by clicking the option to filter called “Jobs by Department”.
Some (NOT ALL) of the largest on-campus employers include:
Duke University Libraries employs over 250 students to work in a variety of jobs. These positions are an excellent opportunity for you to gain valuable work experience –from traditional library jobs in circulation and shelving to opportunities to put your academic, technology, or language skills to use.
Duke University Athletics has student job opportunities within marketing, communications, ticket sales, tutoring, videography, facilities and game operations, and more!
Duke’s Biology Department has various student job research assistant opportunities. Find what areas are most interesting to you via Duke’s Student Employment Platform and Muser’s Projects Platform.
Sarah P. Duke Gardens has student job opportunities including student gardener, student ambassadors, spanish language children and family garden educators, photographers and videographers, programs interns, weekend visitor services assistants, and more.
Duke students also find employment in a wide variety of organizations in the greater Durham, North Carolina area. To explore opportunities, log into Duke Student Employment’s Site. Some places to consider include:
- Office of Durham and Community Affairs
- Duke Lemur Center
- Book Harvest
- Emily Krzyzewski Family Life Center
- World Relief Durham
- Human Kindness Foundation
- Park Institute of America
- PLUS SO MANY MORE!
Need assistance in searching for a part-time student employment opportunity? Schedule an appointment with Sydney Reid, Duke’s Career Advisor for Student Employment by logging into Handshake.
Work Study Financial Aid Awards
- Work study is a program that helps students get part-time jobs, both on campus and off campus. When a student finds a job and has work study awards, financial aid pays a portion of their wages.
How do I know if I have Work-Study Awards?
- Log into your Duke Hub account and click tab labeled, “Financials.”
- Under “Financials”, click “Financial Aid”
- See if Federal Work Study or Duke Work Study is listed
Did you know that you can use your Work-Study Awards to do research?
- And that you can apply for a URS Assistantship Grant to cover the gap in wages for your employer not covered by the work-study award itself?
- Visit Resources for Work Study – Undergraduate Research Support Office for more information on how to get started in using your work study awards to conduct research.
Research Opportunities
Doing research in any department of interest is possible here at Duke, including Arts & Humanities, STEM, and Social Sciences. Research as an undergraduate will look different depending on the discipline, and mentorship structures in different fields will vary. In STEM departments, research groups are often larger, with undergraduates, graduate students, postdocs, and faculty working together in a lab-type setting. In contrast, Arts, Humanities, and Social Science, research groups are smaller.
- MUSER – Muser is where you can find research projects (both paid and unpaid)
- Duke’s Student Employment Site-JobX
International Students
If you are an international student here at Duke and are currently receiving need-based aid, and if you have work eligibility here in the United States, you may be eligible for Duke work study. Students should contact the Office of Visa Services to determine the number of hours they are eligible to work based on their visa status.
If you are an international student and did not check the box on your initial admissions application requesting need-based financial aid, you are not eligible for need-based aid while you are an undergraduate at Duke. This includes Duke work study. However, there are many departments that are able to pay their employees’ full wages, so students would not need to have work study in order to work there. If you have work eligibility in the US, you may be able to find this type of position without work study funding.
Career Center Resources to Help You Prepare for Applying and Interviewing:
Are you an employer looking to hire Duke students?
If you Part Time opportunities on Duke’s Campus or within the Durham Community? Visit Part-Time Campus and Community Employers for more information!
