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What does a student employee do?

Updated January 8, 2025
7 min read

Student employees are students who have a job within a school campus. Their duties may include working in the classrooms, cafeterias, and dorms. These employees receive a salary for their work, provided they maintain the grade requirements set by the school. The requirements for this position vary for every school. These may include having a minimum of 3.0 for graduates and 2.0 for undergraduates. They typically work 40 hours a week and may hold two or more positions to reach the required number of work hours.

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Student employee responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real student employee resumes:

  • Manage club documents and advertise several events through Facebook.
  • Install structures and fixtures, such as windows, frames, floorings, and trim.
  • Instruct in helping students who struggle with mathematics.
  • Enhance, retouch, and resize photographs using Photoshop.
  • Create posters promote special guest speakers visiting CNM using Photoshop.
  • Coordinate college recruitment activities at career fairs, high school scholarship awards and specific industry requests.
  • Maintain and monitor computer and printing labs by fixing jam and empty printers, troubleshoot basic computer problems.
  • Address payroll, financial reporting concerns for a private high school and affiliate non-profit organization that owns it.
  • Field inquiries concerning PTO, payroll, FMLA, and leaves of absence as well as professional development opportunities.
  • Help install wood paneling, a door and windows and trim, carpeting and roofing for a security gate shack.
  • Incorporate images within PowerPoint presentations.
  • Organize findings into PowerPoint presentations.
  • Receive a scholarship for academic excellence.
  • Demonstrate ability to troubleshoot instrumentation and determine solutions.
  • Perform clerical work as relevant to gifts and donations receive from university alumni.

Student employee skills and personality traits

We calculated that 22% of Student Employees are proficient in Customer Service, Food Safety, and Financial Aid. They’re also known for soft skills such as Detail oriented, Emotional skills, and Customer-service skills.

We break down the percentage of Student Employees that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • Customer Service, 22%

    Provided world-class customer service and ensured customer satisfaction by fostering a welcoming environment and informing customers of daily specials/menu options.

  • Food Safety, 9%

    Consulted with supervisors and managers to consistently provide satisfying customer services based on the food safety standard.

  • Financial Aid, 7%

    Assisted students with daily financial aid needs including but not limited to collecting specific paperwork or looking up financial related information.

  • Front Desk, 7%

    Facilitated effective communication by answering questions at front desk.

  • Food Preparation, 5%

    Performed various tasks including food preparation/organization, cleaning of food preparation areas, washing dishes/containers.

  • Public Facilities, 4%

    Worked with Custodial Staff to sanitize, clean, and deodorize public facilities and major walkways.

"customer service," "food safety," and "financial aid" are among the most common skills that student employees use at work. You can find even more student employee responsibilities below, including:

Detail oriented. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a student employee to have is detail oriented. Their role and responsibilities require that "general office clerks perform many clerical tasks that require attention to detail, such as preparing bills." Student employees often use detail oriented in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "detail mastery/organization: supported financial aid advisor, analyzed and calculated financial aid/loans; requested specified information for loan applications. "

Customer-service skills. This is an important skill for student employees to perform their duties. For an example of how student employee responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "general office clerks often provide general information to company staff, customers, or the public." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a student employee: "ensured that dishes and food preparation stations were sanitary utilizing organizational skills to ensure customer satisfaction. ".

Organizational skills. A big part of what student employees do relies on "organizational skills." You can see how essential it is to student employee responsibilities because "general office clerks file and retrieve records." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical student employee tasks: "assisted hr generalist with monthly update of organizational charts. "

Most common student employee skills

The three companies that hire the most student employees are:

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Compare different student employees

Student employee vs. Clerk typist

A clerk typist is responsible for data entry procedures and document transcriptions, alongside other clerical and administrative duties as required by the employer. Clerk typists create reports and presentation materials, transcribe audio meetings, write business drafts, and send documents to appropriate office personnel or clients. A clerk-typist must show excellent organizational and time-management skills, especially with handling various typing tasks under strict deadlines and minimal supervision. They also respond and take calls from clients and customers, assisting with their inquiries and concerns.

If we compare the average student employee annual salary with that of a clerk typist, we find that clerks typist typically earn a $7,660 higher salary than student employees make annually.While the two careers have a salary gap, they share some of the same responsibilities. Employees in both student employee and clerk typist positions are skilled in customer service, front desk, and office equipment.

While similarities exist, there are also some differences between student employees and clerk typist. For instance, student employee responsibilities require skills such as "food safety," "financial aid," "food preparation," and "public facilities." Whereas a clerk typist is skilled in "data entry," "telephone calls," "payroll," and "input data." This is part of what separates the two careers.

Clerks typist earn the highest salaries when working in the education industry, with an average yearly salary of $32,312. On the other hand, student employees are paid more in the education industry with an average salary of $25,582.The education levels that clerks typist earn slightly differ from student employees. In particular, clerks typist are 1.3% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a student employee. Additionally, they're 0.3% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Student employee vs. Clerk

Clerks are responsible for many of the general administrative tasks in the office. They are in charge of manning office telephone lines, managing incoming and outgoing mails, filing paperwork and other needed records, scheduling and documenting meetings, typing out documents when needed, disseminating memos and other official announcements, and keeping an inventory of office equipment and supplies. Clerks should have good office skills, communication skills, business writing skills, and time management skills. They should also be able to treat any document or paperwork they handle with confidentiality.

On average, clerks earn a $7,077 higher salary than student employees a year.Only some things about these jobs are the same. Take their skills, for example. Student employees and clerks both require similar skills like "customer service," "front desk," and "office equipment" to carry out their responsibilities.

In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, student employee responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "food safety," "financial aid," "food preparation," and "public facilities." Meanwhile, a clerk has duties that require skills in areas such as "basic math," "math," "data entry," and "cleanliness." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.

Clerks may earn a higher salary than student employees, but clerks earn the most pay in the health care industry with an average salary of $31,380. On the other hand, student employees receive higher pay in the education industry, where they earn an average salary of $25,582.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Clerks tend to reach similar levels of education than student employees. In fact, they're 1.4% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.3% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Student employee vs. Office specialist

An office specialist is responsible for performing administrative and clerical duties to support the organization's daily operations. Office specialists must be highly organizational, as well as having excellent time-management skills to handle work units. They have duties including data entry procedures, greeting visitors, responding to customers' inquiries through phone calls and e-mails, and filing and sorting documents. Office specialists are responsible for creating meeting reports, scheduling appointments, evaluating financial statements, coordinating with other staff for event planning, and assisting the senior management with complex functions.

On average, office specialists earn higher salaries than student employees, with a $9,391 difference per year.By looking over several student employees and office specialists resumes, we found that both roles require similar skills in their day-to-day duties, such as "customer service," "front desk," and "office equipment." But beyond that, the careers look very different.

There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a student employee is likely to be skilled in "food safety," "financial aid," "food preparation," and "public facilities," while a typical office specialist is skilled in "data entry," "patients," "phone calls," and "office support."

Office specialists earn the highest salary when working in the finance industry, where they receive an average salary of $37,752. Comparatively, student employees have the highest earning potential in the education industry, with an average salary of $25,582.Most office specialists achieve a similar degree level compared to student employees. For example, they're 0.6% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.0% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Student employee vs. Office associate

Office associates have varied duties and responsibilities within an organization. They are responsible for the cash management operation, customer service functions, and administrative services. Other responsibilities include organizing and maintaining files and documents, administering all bookkeeping activities, and managing the entire office. Office associates also oversee the overall human resource activities within an organization, such as handling employment forms and health insurance administration. The skills required for this position include communication skills, organizational skills, and active listening skills.

Office associates average a higher salary than the annual salary of student employees. The difference is about $7,190 per year.While their salaries may vary, student employees and office associates both use similar skills to perform their duties. Resumes from both professions include skills like "customer service," "front desk," and "office equipment. "Each job also requires different skills to carry out their responsibilities. A student employee uses "food safety," "financial aid," "food preparation," and "public facilities." Office associates are more likely to have duties that require skills in "patients," "data entry," "patient appointments," and "telephone calls. "office associates enjoy the best pay in the finance industry, with an average salary of $36,923. For comparison, student employees earn the highest salary in the education industry.In general, office associates hold similar degree levels compared to student employees. Office associates are 0.7% more likely to earn their Master's Degree and 0.3% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Types of student employee

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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