With a yearly cost of attendance at around $90,000, it is no surprise that many Vanderbilt students need a job. Not only is tuition a burden, but in a location like Nashville, students often spend a considerable amount of money trying to immerse themselves in Southern culture. Nashville Predators games, country music concerts, Ubers to Broadway, the food scene, museums, tour buses and many of students’ other favorite activities come with a price tag. In addition, the rigorous courses Vanderbilt students endure may deter them from obtaining an off-campus job in order to maintain academic success. 

Luckily, Vanderbilt offers students an array of part-time on-campus jobs, available on Hire-A-Dore, that help put money in students’ pockets without taking too much time away from their studies. This article details an array of on-campus jobs as well as testimonies from student workers about their experiences to help guide your job hunt!

Athletics Concession Coordinator

Hourly pay rate: $14.50

If you’re someone who loves sports, a part-time job as an Athletics Concession Coordinator could be a perfect way to be on-site at all Vanderbilt sports games while getting paid. First-year Sawyer Garrett applied through Hire-A-Dore and began working in this position last fall. 

“My training consisted of walking around to all of the stands and learning how to use the online inventory system we have,” Garrett said. “My boss sends me the game schedule for the month, and then I select what games I can work on.”

Garrett said that he is required to work 10 games per semester, with a range of weekly commitment hours. 

“When I do work games during the week, my hours range from six to 20, but some of those hours are spent doing homework when I have downtime,” Garrett said. “One of the benefits of the job is that once you check in staff and take inventory, you’re free to do homework or watch the game as long as you have your radio on to hear when you are needed. I enjoy the balancing act because it feels like I’m preparing for the future. After college, time management will be crucial, so I’m getting good practice now.”

Black Cultural Center Employee

Hourly pay rate: $10.50

The Black Cultural Center has offered innovative programming, resources and opportunities for fellowship for over four decades, making it the epicenter of the Black experience at Vanderbilt.  First-year Andrea-Grace Mukuna was offered a job at this cultural and historical oasis. Instead of using Hire-A-Dore for recruitment, the Black Cultural Center emails all Black students whose emails they have, looking for students who are part of the work-study program, a government-subsidized student employment program designed to assist students in financing their post-secondary education. Mukuna describes her job here as fairly easy and details her duties as managing the front desk, setting up the auditorium after events, wiping down the bathroom sink counters, collecting the mail from the post office at Rand and occasionally giving tours to people visiting. She works eight hours a week, but she has free time to do homework on the job.

“I recommend this job,” Mukuna said. “My tasks are relatively simple, and I appreciate the Black Cultural Center’s mission that is essential to both the campus and the world.” 

Munchie Mart Staffer

Hourly pay rate: $14

Munchie Marts are a core part of campus dining, ensuring easy access to snacks and meals on the go. Working at a Munchie Mart is comparable to working at an on-campus CVS: It consists of running the register and occasionally stocking items. 

Unlike most other students interviewed, sophomore Marina Moreno-Earle did not find out about the Munchie Mart job through Hire-A-Dore but rather through Instagram and the Campus Dining hiring fair at Rand — another great way to find employment in Campus Dining. 

“The training is pretty basic — it lasts about one hour, and then you read through the handbook and expectations,” Moreno-Earle said. “Then you show up to your first shift, and you learn all the actual to-dos, like which buttons to press and which items are part of the meal plan.” 

Moreno-Earle works eight hours a week at the Highland Munchie Mart, but a part-time student can work up to 20 hours. 

“The schedules are quite flexible and the Highland Munchie is pretty slow, so there are typically days that I can bring in my readings to work and complete them there,” Moreno-Earle said.  

Post Office Worker

Hourly pay rate: $12

With the convenience of online shopping, Vanderbilt will never have a deficit of packages. Despite the use of lockers to decrease the number of staff to distribute packages, there will forever be a need for workers in the post office. Junior Meggie Huang began working at the Station B post office after applying through Hire-A-Dore. 

“The training is easy and efficient,” Huang said. “My colleagues showed me around the space and how to check out packages in the system on my first day of work. They also answer a lot of questions whenever I encounter new situations. They are nice people so I get my hands on the job quickly.” 

Likewise, Huang says she enjoys the schedule as well.  

“I like working nine hours per week and having all of my shifts end at 2:30 p.m., which allots for free time during the weekdays,” Huang said. 

For students interested, the main responsibility is checking out packages and helping with Saturday check-ins. 

Recreational Center Employee

Hourly pay rate: $11

The Recreation & Wellness Center is the perfect place to go on campus when you’re looking for a fun activity. It has a wide variety of options: rock climbing, cooking classes, boxing, pickleball, basketball, a cardio room and weightlifting. The large amount of activities and building space requires just as large of a staff to manage it. Sophomore Patsy Coleman discussed her experience working at the Rec. 

“It’s super convenient, not too demanding, and has a nice environment,” Coleman said. “It offers a very flexible schedule, and aside from managing the front desk, answering phone calls and completing a few other tasks, I can get homework done and see friends while working.” 

In addition to getting paid while clocked in, Coleman is also compensated for the time she spends in staff meetings and training.  

Coleman noted that the training was her least favorite part of the job.

“The people are amazing and I always enjoy my time, but the training was extensive and long on a Saturday morning and afternoon,” Coleman said. “I am certainly not a morning person, so I struggled, but we got free snacks and lunch so all was well. Now, we have Monday night meetings and I work nine hours a week.” 

Coleman also reflected on sustaining a job while being a full-time student. 

“Being a student worker isn’t easy, and sometimes I can get frustrated with how busy my schedule is, but it is rewarding to feel financially independent and comfortable,” Coleman said. 

Special Collections, History of Medicine Collection Department Staff

Hourly pay rate: $10

Although not too many students know about this department, it has proven to be both an interesting and well-liked place for student employment. This department’s purpose is to curate, preserve and provide access to rare books, manuscripts, photographs, artifacts and other materials covering the history of medicine since 1500. Sophomore Annalise Edwards started working in the department in February 2023 and described the types of tasks she helps with there.

“I don’t have one specific task,” Edwards said. “My job is project-based, so each time I start a new type of project, I get a little more training. I did have to learn how to work the system we use for the archives, but after I picked that up, learning anything new has been easy.”  

Edwards works 11 hours a week this semester, but she says she can set her schedule to be anywhere from 10 to 15 hours per week. She also described her work environment and how it has contributed to her ability to balance work and school.

“My bosses are very generous, and if I’m stressed they are always willing to let me leave early or come in a little late,” Edwards said. “However, it can be hard to do both school and work at times because at my job I have to stay on task. There’s no time to work on my personal work or school stuff. I’ve learned to plan with deadlines so I don’t have to cut down on my hours at work.”

Study Hall Monitor

Hourly pay rate: $10

For students looking for a relatively low-maintenance and hands-off job, a Study Hall Monitor may be the perfect gig! The requirements of this job are similar to that of a front desk worker: coordinating tutor appointments, answering questions and keeping everything organized. 

Training for this position consists of attending two training sessions: one explicitly explaining tasks for hall monitoring and the other a Title IX training session. Monitors can work anywhere from five to 10 hours a week, and job details are posted on Vanderbilt’s student job portal. There is lots of downtime that can be used for doing school work while clocked in, and the student census has been that it is relatively easy to maintain while being a student.

Suzie’s Cafe Employee

Hourly pay rate: $15

Suzie’s is arguably the most popular coffee shop on campus — the line is almost always out the door. We are lucky enough to have devoted staff, both students and non-students, who put in the effort to satisfy the hundreds of students who stop by every day. With its reputation for being overwhelming, Suzie’s might be intimidating for a prospective student worker, but senior Zen McGee has experienced otherwise. 

“Training was super lax,” McGee said. “It was definitely a ‘just get started, it’ll come to you’ type of situation.” 

McGee works 11 to 13 hours a week. She touched on managing her job on top of her classwork. 

“I honestly think it’s as hard as you make it,” McGee said. “It requires boundaries and being realistic about your schedule, and I’ve managed to get a pretty good grasp on that.” 

Learning how to make an array of drinks is a pretty cool life talent, and you are also surrounded by fresh banana bread and endless company all day at Suzie’s!

These are just a few of the most popular on-campus jobs among Vanderbilt students. Other notable on-campus job sites include the Vanderbilt Student Volunteers for Science Lab, dining halls, libraries and the English Language Center. As a previous employee in the service sector, I believe that jobs like those listed above offer not only the evident benefit of extra money but also crucial life skills. If you’re not interested in the labor of making coffee during prime Suzie’s rush hour, you can easily find another option from the list above that suits you better!