With today’s economy, jobs are getting harder to come by. With the U.S. unemployment rate at about 8 percent, higher than it has been in three years, and Utah’s rate sitting close to 6 percent, the job market has changed.
With the national and state unemployment rates, students at Weber State University are seeing the effects of hiring for both part-time and full-time positions. Not only can it be difficult to find a job as a college student, but juggling both school and work is something many students struggle with.
Erin Thurgood, a newlywed WSU student, explained her family’s experiences with juggling school and keeping their household income flowing at the same time.
“My husband is extremely busy; he is either working or at school,” she said. “When he isn’t at school or at work, he is always doing his homework or studying.”
Her husband runs his own landscaping company, which she said gives him more time for school and their family. She also said he is not half as stressed as he would be if somebody else were determining his schedule.
“With Nick having his own company, it is something that we can both count on to get us through school until he is ready to start his career,” Thurgood said.
Thurgood and her husband recently visited the Career Services Center and talked with their personal counselors. She said the counselors helped her family find ways to better handle the stress of school and work schedules.
Shanda Thornel, a recent graduate, said the Career Services Center helped her land her first teaching position as a kindergarten teacher in Draper. Thornel attended WSU for five years and recently graduated with her teaching degree.
“When I was getting ready to graduate, the Career Center was an essential tool that helped me get my resume together, make connections in the real world and learn valuable interviewing skills,” Thornel said.
During her time at WSU, Thornel took around 12 credits and worked part-time as a teller at a bank.
“Being a full-time student and working at somewhere I didn’t enjoy really stressed me out; I wasn’t very happy and had a hard time staying on top of school,” she said.
Thornel said WSU’s Career Services Center helped her find another job she could enjoy, which not only made making money easier, but also helped her stay up on her grades.
“They really helped me find something I would enjoy. I had hands-on help in not only planning for a part-time job, but also planning for the career I am in now.”
Alec Combe is an incoming WSU freshman this year. Combe’s parents had always supported him financially up until this year, when they told him he needed to start looking for a job to help with the costs of college.
“It is a shock going from high school to college; I can barely handle my classes, let alone trying to find a job to make some money,” he said.
Combe said he felt good about the advice he received from Career Services. He said he plans to use that student resource to help him make career decisions in his upcoming years at WSU.
Combe got the idea to start taking classes out at Ogden-Weber Applied Technology College to get his pharmacy technician certificate.
“Being directed to go out to the ATC is something that has really helped me,” he said. “Although I am not making money right now, I will be done in a few months and making more than the normal college student.”
The Career Services Center is located in the Student Services Building and is open to all WSU students.
