At 1 p.m., when the lunch lines in Ackerman Union are in full swing, Kassandra Klaritsch boards a bus on Wilshire Boulevard.
About an hour later, she is seven miles east of UCLA, arriving at her job as a legal assistant at a law firm.
The second-year German and linguistics student, who plans on attending law school, is one of many students who take on nearly full-time jobs to help support themselves through college.
“I like it a lot, but it’s a lot of time and energy,” Klaritsch said of her job, which she began earlier this year.
The time commitment and commute aren’t easy ““ Klaritsch typically gets home around 8 p.m.
“It just seems like on some days (traffic on) Wishire is so bad,” she said.
Klaritsch does receive financial aid, but she supports herself entirely, paying for rent and school fees in addition to other expenses.
Though her job can be time-consuming and logistically tricky, Klaritsch said she likes the work and views it as good exposure to the field she hopes eventually to work in.
She assists lawyers in the firm with court briefings and letters in addition to performing general office tasks.
“It was a really good opportunity,” she said.
Still, she said an on-campus job would be ideal.
“If I could have gotten something at the law school, that would have been better, but I looked and I didn’t really see anything,” she said. “The secretarial jobs I did see only paid $7.50 or $8 an hour, and I make a lot more than that at my job. But I guess (working on campus) kind of saves you for the time and commute.”
The difference between wages for on and off-campus jobs is the deciding factor for many students who need to work.
Yael Filossof, a third-year psychology student, worked about 20 hours a week at California Pizza Kitchen her first two years of school rather than taking the work-study option offered to her by the financial aid office.
“I won’t make as much on work-study,” she said. “I make at least $100 a night as a server, and you just don’t make that kind of money doing work-study.”
Filossof supports herself ““ her financial aid package covers fees, but she pays for all other expenses.
She said while the extra money she made as a server was essential, it did take a toll.
“It means that I didn’t have much of a social life,” she said. “I still saw my friends, but everything is time-constrained.”
This year, Filossof has cut down on her hours at California Pizza Kitchen to work in two research labs on campus. She sees it as good preparation for graduate school and a career, but it comes at a cost as neither of Filossof’s research jobs are paid.
To make up for lost income, Filossof said she is striving to be especially frugal.
Despite their convenience, on-campus jobs for many students have their own downside.
They solve some logistical issues, but don’t necessarily cover a student’s full need, said Justin Hotter, external vice president for the Undergraduate Students Association Council.
Hotter worked his freshman year at Tropix, an Associated Students UCLA eatery in Ackerman Union that has since closed down. He said he made about $7 per hour and worked between 12 and 15 hours per week, the typical hours cap for work-study programs.
“That wasn’t even close to paying for (fees),” he said.
Balancing an on-campus job with academics was not always easy, he said.
“ASUCLA won’t let you schedule work during class time, and rightly so. But I often found myself running from work to class,” he said. “Every hour that you’re working is an hour that you’re not studying. And every hour that you’re studying is an hour you’re not making money.”
Still, Hotter said he believes on-campus jobs offer certain advantages.
“Off-campus jobs usually pay more, but their hours are usually less flexible for students. It usually involves owning a car, or working close to a bus line. Plus, you may be pressured to skip school for work, and that’s unacceptable.”