Hello everyone! My
name is Austin Skipper, and I’m currently a junior in the Food and Resource
Economics Department. Being originally
from Archer, right outside of Gainesville, I have grown up around the
University of Florida. I always had
aspirations of attending, and was able to attend as a freshman right out of
high school. Once accepted, I put in a
lot of thought into what major and clubs I wanted to be in on campus. I also realized I would need a part time job
to help put myself through college, but had not considered working on
campus. However, I soon came across the
opportunity to work on campus, and have realized how valuable opportunities
like this can be.
I started working at the UF Meats Lab, in the Animal
Sciences Department. Now, it has been
about two years since I began working there, and can honestly say, I have not
regretted one minute of it. Not only have
my bosses been extremely flexible with my schedule, but I have been able to network
with professors in the department and the college through working there.
At my job, I have learned a trade. I now know how to cut meat as good as the
butchers in Publix, but I can also actually slaughter animals. I am familiar
with the USDA inspection regulations throughout the entire process. Jobs like mine have prepared me for a trade,
obviously I have higher aspirations post college, but this does provide me with
a temporary fall back option upon graduation.
I realize not everybody wants to be a butcher or meat cutter, but it is
a viable career. It is unlike many other
jobs across campus, but it shares some of the benefits other campus jobs have.
I have found that campus jobs are flexible across the
board. All of my friends who work on
campus all are extremely happy with the scheduling. Campus jobs schedule your work around your
class schedule, and are always accepting of it.
Bosses on campus realize that you are student employees, and that
studies are more important to you.
Now of course, I was able to get in a job in the College of
Agricultural and Life Sciences, but there are jobs in all of the colleges and
departments in the college. Sudents can
find postings of jobs on jobs.ufl.edu, or bulletin boards in halls. As we approach the end of the semester,
students are getting ready to graduate and vacate their jobs, leaving more open
for the rest of us.
One very important accommodation for students who apply, is
Federal Work Study. These types of jobs
are everywhere on campus, and reserved for students who qualify for Federal
Work Study. This is where the government
pays part of your wages, if not all, in order to better present students who
need help with opportunities that will allow them to reach their needs. Also, departments really enjoy these types of
jobs because it is cheaper for them, and they get the same amount of labor.
A big employer of students on campus is Recreational
Sports. This department hires students
who work in the gyms on campus or to umpire intramural sports. Scheduling for these types of things are
great because the referees and umpires just work on nights when there are
games, probably at most three nights a week.
So your days are free, and it’s a low stress job, unless you make too
many bad calls! But it also an
opportunity for students interested in sports to take their passion to the next
level. And if sports are not your thing,
there are also office jobs everywhere or jobs available in the game room at
the Reitz Union.
So all in all, there are a lot of opportunities on campus,
not just in clubs or majors, but tons of part time jobs are available to
students on campus. So check
jobs.ufl.edu for jobs opening at the beginning of next semester, as many
students are graduating. Also, we only
have a few more weeks until the holidays, but let’s finish strong Gators!
With that, I’m out Gator Nation! Happy Holidays!
Austin Skipper
“Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing.” Helen
Keller
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Austin
Skipper
Class: Junior
Hometown: Archer, FL
Major: Food and
Resource Economics
Specialization: Food and Agribusiness Marketing and
Management
Involvement: Fountain
Wars, Filipino Student Association
Hobbies: Hunting,
Reading, and anything outdoors
After
College:
Attend Graduate School
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