BYU Museum of Art Security Guard
Description:
As a security guard for the BYU Museum of Art, I am responsible for ensuring the overall safety of the museum, along with providing help for museum patrons. I help to keep the exhibits safe from damage, and I help visitors in emergencies and with any questions they may have.
How I got the idea / found the employment:
I found the job opening on the BYU student employment website. I was looking for a job to help supplement the income I had saved for the school year, and I was fortunate to have learned about where I could find student employment opportunities.
Challenges I faced, and how I overcame them:
I had never worked a security job before, so I had to learn security and emergency procedures. I asked my supervisors questions, studied the orientation documents, and attended the required training for the job. I also had to learn how to be firm, but helpful with museum patrons.
What I learned:
I have learned that institutions like security and police are not here to punish us or make us feel bad, but they are here to help us better enjoy the privileges that the BYU campus provides for us.
Driving Job for College Pharmacy
Description:
I found a job working for College Pharmacy, I was a delivery driver. I would use a company car and drive to different locations to deliver prescription medication. Many of the places we delivered to were care facilities.
How I got the idea / found the employment:
How I found the employment is the important part. How I found it was through networking. I had a friend named Doug who had been working at College Pharmacy for a long time. As I started looking for work I decided that it would be a good idea to talk to my friends about and when Doug said that College Pharmacy was looking for people, I ask him more about it and he was able to put in a good word for me. I know that this helped me get the job, networking is an amazing tool to finding employment.
Challenges I faced, and how I overcame them:
One of the challenges that I faced was that I was only going to be able to work at the Pharmacy for a few months before I was going to have to leave, but because Doug put in a good word for me it helped me get the job, also I was told that when I came back I could get the job back.
What I learned:
I learned that networking can be a great blessing in looking for work and then having your friend put in a good word for you can vastly improve your chances of getting the Job. Networking is a great tool.
Editor for town newspaper
Description:
This position is a 40 hour a week job working as an editor for the Temple City Star Newspaper in Cardston, Alberta, Canada. Some of the responsibilities of this position include writing articles for the paper, working on layout and design for pages in the paper, editing stories, and coordinating and gathering information for the paper from many local sources. This is a very hands-on job and requires going out and covering stories, taking photographs to run with them, and essentially creating the page the story will be run on. This is a salaried position which is rare for a college student and is flexible enough that you can go to school and continue to write for the paper as a columnist. Working for the paper takes a lot of teamwork and willingness to compromise since there are many different reporters and columnists working together to create one finished product. People skills are an important quality to have for this particular position since lots of communication is required between many different people and computer skills are also important when it comes to actually laying out stories. It is also important to be reliable and dependable since deadlines are a major part of working in the newspaper business. There are three people working under this position.
How I got the idea / found the employment:
This position started out as the summer job of my current roommate and she has stayed on in an auxiliary capacity, writing articles every other week in a column. She is a pre-journalism major and has always been interested in a career in this field so she volunteered and spent hours after school at the paper in high school and then after graduation she free-lanced articles for a summer. The following summer she applied and was offered this full time position. It took a lot of dedication to secure this position but it has been well worth it. The main thing she credits with being offered a position with the paper is hard work and sticking with it.
Challenges I faced, and how I overcame them:
One problem that faced my roommate in this job was time management. You are essentially your own boss and must learn to do things without being forced. She overcame this problem by using a planner and scheduling time for each responsibility. As a young college student she also struggled with occasionally not being taken seriously by those she was working with and she learned quickly to act and dress professionally and to prove through her conduct that she was a professional who was capable of performing the duties of her job.
What I learned:
From this experience, my roommate gained very valuable, real-life experience for what her future career is going to be like. Because of the experience she has had she has been able to apply early to get into her major and she has excellent credentials to put on any resume. She learned a lot about interacting with people and working with and over others.
Employment through a temp agency
Description:
Finding a summer job through a temp agency was very useful for me. I was able to start working a couple of days after I applied. My job as a retail greeter was not too difficult, and paid much more than many of my friends were making. My work schedule was also very flexible. I also worked a one day conference that I found out about from my temp agency that paid $14/hour. Working for a temp agency is a great way to make a lot of money in a short amount of time or to make some money while looking for a more permanent job.
How I got the idea / found the employment:
I spent most of my summer unemployed because I could not find a job. Some of my friends were working with temp agencies, but I did not know exactly how temp agencies work and was sort of skeptical about the idea. However, once I contacted the temp agency they worked with me to get me quickly working.
Challenges I faced, and how I overcame them:
One of the challenges I faced was learning to work in a sales environment. I had never before worked in sales, and did not realize that many employees will do almost anything to make a sale. I overcame this challenge by learning more about the business, and how the employees are compensated for different sales. That helped me to understand why the environment of a sales store is the way it is.
What I learned:
I learned that it is always important to give things a chance. If I had not given employment through a temp agency a chance then I would have missed out on the opportunity to make a lot of money last summer and would have spent the whole summer unemployed.
gold-leafing
Description:
Perform fine decorative painting and gold-leafing of objects. This includes everything from simply covering the object to gold, to accenting it, to applying specific designs and making those gold.
How I got the idea / found the employment:
The idea came from my boss, who has been a painter all of his life (his father was a painter as well), and who was the head painter at the Salt Lake Temple. When he left that position, he began traveling around, gold-leafing Moroni’s on temples and decorating new temples with gold-leafing. He also began decorating some of the smaller temples that had been dedicated without as much decoration as other temples have, making them nicer inside. I never realized that not many people are willing to travel and stand on scaffolding consisting of a handful of 2x4’s to re-cover Moroni in gold. I began helping him in 2005, after I returned from my mission. I've gold-leafed walls, statues, tables, chairs, and many other things, and I've been asked to gold-leaf frames and such.
Challenges I faced, and how I overcame them:
The biggest challenges were fear, and patience. Fear, because you’re often in a dangerous position (it helps to realize you’re working on the Lord’s House), and patience, because life is kind of on hold while you’re traveling around, and until you get back, everything but work is on hold. Honing my eye and skills to a level appropriate for Temples has been difficult. However, being capable of a high level of craftsmanship has been a huge benefit for me. I’ve also learned to not question skilled craftsman and artists in this field
What I learned:
There is a need for members capable of fine craftsmanship all over the world. This core skill is transferable to any arena of life, and the in the portability of it is found its value for us. He wouldn’t have this work without being exposed to the need through working in the Temple as a painter; I was hired blindly, as he found me as I was coming home from my mission and offered me a job. There are also shops that need people skilled that can gold-leaf statues, or frames for pictures or mirrors.
You can learn the skills by volunteering at Temples during two-week shut downs (if they have gold-leafing requirements and a skilled artists present), but don’t let the apparent ease of the task fool you. Getting it right is a lot harder than it looks. It’s a great foundation for a possible small business in the future.
I’ve also learned that having this experience is a huge conversation point in job interviews. I interviewed with Pixar for an internship, and they had never seen that before. As most people haven’t, it’s great to have that knowledge, if for no other reason than to show a breadth of skills to potential employers.
Musician
Description:
Playing for places that need a band or musician to play for them. Entertaining those while they eat, or at jam places while getting money to play for the places that hire me.
How I got the idea / found the employment:
From my love of music and skill that could be used to play for the entertainment of others. My friend is a musician who is trying to do the same. Watching other people playing at places like YOASIS has also persuaded me to consider this option, being a good opportunity for getting my music more mainstream.
Challenges I faced, and how I overcame them:
Finding gigs, places to play, and potential fans. I overcame this by posting my entertainment skills on websites, on advertisement boards, and by going to individual places that host musicians to find job opportunities.
What I learned:
I learned that it's not going to be easy to find gigs or steady fans. There aren't too many places that host bands or musicians and the ones that do probably have their favorite musicians performing but with time it is possible to find gigs, and if all goes well, fans willing to support the music.
Nike Model
Description:
My aunt was a model for Nike when she was in college. She modeled clothes for Nike print advertisements. The job was a lot of work. She had to wear outfit after outfit and sit and stand for long periods of time. She had to pose for lots of pictures so that they could pick one they liked.
How I got the idea / found the employment:
She got this job by pitching the first perfect softball game in her league. By standing out from the crowd she attracted Nike’s attention. They contacted her and offered her the job.
Challenges I faced, and how I overcame them:
Some challenges she faced were that she didn’t know anything about wearing make-up or what modeling entailed. She overcame these challenges by observing what the people around her were doing. The people she worked with who did her hair, make-up, and wardrobe helped her. She also learned from the other models.
What I learned:
She learned how much hard work modeling was and gained respect for what models do. She was also able to earn money to help with school expenses. Last of all she learned about the modeling world and how that industry works. The knowledge she gained has helped her know what to do with her daughter who is now modeling and acting.
Salon Scissor Sharpening
Description:
My friend was hired by my parents to sharpen hair cutting scissors. My parents own their own business and they sell hair cutting scissors as well as sharpening them. Hair stylists send in their scissors to be sharpened and my friend sharpened them and buffered them.
How I got the idea / found the employment:
My friend needed to make some money for school and at that same time my parents needed someone to help sharpen hair cutting scissors. I told my parents and my friend about it and they agreed.
Challenges I faced, and how I overcame them:
It is not the easiest thing to learn. It requires about 2 to 3 months of training and is expensive; however once you learn it is a very good skill to have, especially in areas where there are lots of salons.
What I learned:
There are places and people even out here in Utah that teach how to sharpen and sell the machinery to do so. So anyone, anywhere could learn. You really can make lots of money doing it too.
Student Financials Consultant
Description:
I am a student financial consultant here at BYU. This job might sound like a counseling job, but it really has nothing to do with counseling. I maintain computer security for the BYU community. Using the software People Soft, I grant access to users that need access to perform their jobs on campus. I am also involved in developing training modules that are used to help train new employees. I work in a group of about five students. I am responsible to keep everyone’s People Soft access current. Doing this required me to learn how to use the software and also helped me to work effectively with other people.
How I got the idea / found the employment:
I returned home from a church mission in the summer of 2008. I decided that I wanted to attend BYU, so I signed up for classes and then determined that I needed a job. I started out like most students, just thinking of possible job opportunities. After not coming up with anything, I acted smarter. I called one of my cousins that was going to BYU. He said he had worked as a grounds keeper and a vending machine supplier. Neither of those jobs sounded interesting, but he said that he got those jobs by looking on the internet at the BYU jobs website. So I looked into finding a job that way. No luck. Then, one day in July, I was up in Provo looking at the school. My dad told me that my other cousin really liked his job here at BYU. I called my cousin and asked him where he worked. He referenced me to his boss and said I could go talk to him. I went into the office and within a week, I had a interview and the job. I really believe the best way to get employed is to know someone in the field that you are interested in. Getting a referral is where it is at.
Challenges I faced, and how I overcame them:
The biggest challenge that I encountered was that of knowledge. In order to do my job, I am required to know a lot about computers. I have to use software to perform a lot of tasks. I have to do queries and other searches. To overcome this challenge, I have depended heavily on my supervisor. I have used a lot of patience in learning and my supervisor has had a lot of patience with me as well. I have learned that it is better to ask questions and get it right, then to not ask and waste a lot of time and get the problem wrong.
What I learned:
I learned humility because I didn’t know the answer to every problem. I had to learn how to ask questions to gain knowledge. This required me to be humble and to learn from others. I have learned a lot about computers, which is something that I can use for the rest of my life. The first semester I had my job, I felt like going to work was just another college course. I learned so much about different software and business techniques that it really helped me intellectually. I also really enjoyed working with my coworkers. This helped me to know that I didn’t want a career where I only work by myself. I like working with others. I have learned how to be a better person from this job.
Telemarketing Researcher
Description:
This job is not telemarketing, which everyone despises. It entails conducting surveys over the phone on various subjects. Often they include political polls, satisfaction surveys for businesses, or even government research studies. As a telemarket researcher, you do not actually sell anything. Numbers are randomly dialed by an automated machine, and people choose if they want to participate, and they often get some kind of incentive. In many surveys, the respondents sign up ahead of time to participate. There is no pressure to sell anything and you are paid by the hour, not by how many surveys are completed. At BRG Research Services in Provo, starting pay is around $9.00 an hour. The best part of this job for college students is the flexibility of the hours--you can set your own schedule and hours, easily working around your classes! It is a very relaxed work environment and easy to take off work for school tests, emergencies, and so forth. If you speak Spanish, you actually start off with a higher wage if you are willing to do occasional surveys in Spanish.
How I got the idea / found the employment:
I was actually referred by a friend to this job. He told me how convenient it was for the college lifestyle and about creating your own work hours. I applied for the position on site and started working a few days later.
Challenges I faced, and how I overcame them:
The biggest challenges accompanying this job was to learn patience and to master cold calling. The cold calling was easy to do once I realized I was not selling anything and when I made that clear to the respondent. In any case, many people become irritated with phone calls during dinner time and from people they don't know or care about. While most people are very polite, there are some who become very angry and rude. I quickly learned to not worry about the rude people, and I also learned how to be patient, polite, and professional on the phone. Another challenge was boredom--some surveys were much more boring than others, or more difficult to actually get one so time went by slower. The work computers do have games so you can play, or you can even read books or do homework in between calls.
What I learned:
I learned how to be patient with people. I encountered many angry, frustrated people over the phone, but I learned how to do deal with them in a polite and professional manner and how to diffuse the situation. I also improved my Spanish a great deal by doing surveys with Hispanic people. I greatly enhanced my communication with this job which is vital to my ultimate career goal: a physician.
Wildland Firefighting
Description:
Train through BLM or other private contractors and become a wild land firefighter. Potential to earn anywhere from $8,000 – $17,000 in a summer, depending on how many fire there are. It is slightly regional because there aren’t frequent burns everywhere but any BLM agency in the Northwest will have a Fire Fighting division.
How I got the idea / found the employment:
My dad works for the BLM and realized the great amount of money that could be made for college students over a summer.
Challenges I faced, and how I overcame them:
The main challenge I faced was long hours. I was on the clock for thirteen hours a day while on fire. Not to say you’re doing grueling work that whole time but it is a long day. But because of this you make lots of money from overtime; I logged 95 hours in a week last summer. You just have to take advantage of every rest opportunity you get and eat well and it’s not that difficult.
What I learned:
I learned an immense amount about teamwork and the importance of being able to trust the people around you. I learned how to be a better teammate to the people around me as well. Also after working such long hours I gained a much stronger work ethic that transferred into everything else I do.