How to Make Money at UBC – Part 2

Click to view the first segment: How to Make Money at UBC Part 1.

6. Scholarships

Profitability: UBC has a curious tendencies of drastically downsizing the scholarship amounts after luring us in Freshman year. If you didn’t struck gold with the $20 000+ Major Entrance Scholarships, you’ll have to “make do” with mere $500 – $4000 scholarships for the next few years.

Time: The great things about some university scholarships is that you don’t even have to apply – they come straight to your mailbox thanks to a faculty committee handing them out. Others might require application forms and reference letters.

Skills/Difficulty: Not top in your class? Not to worry, you get something even if you’re second sometimes! Woot! Sarcasm aside, there is a bit of competition for grades and whatnot but we all know the atmosphere at UBC isn’t as cutthroat as those of MIT or Berkeley. So try your best kids.

Continue reading

How to Make Money at UBC – Part 1

First of all, there’s no quick trick to success. Making money is hard work and even with all the loose money thrown around at UBC, it’s still an arduous process. Be prepared to invest time if you’re serious about making a few hundred quick bucks on the side. This guide is by no means all-encompassing. The stars are sort of random, but they’re quite pretty so I’m using them.

1. Workstudy Jobs

By far the most lucrative job on campus, “UBC Work Study is an employment program that provides students who are Canadian citizens or permanent residents with the opportunity to work on campus in a variety of jobs and earn additional income to help finance their education. Students can work a maximum of 10 hours/week and earn up to $3,000 for the Winter Session (September – April).” I applied for a few but didn’t get them, and slacked off on applying for the rest of the year, heh.

Profitability: Workstudy wages are superb for a students. At the low end there are opportunities for simple sitting-down for $12/h; most are around $16/h while those that require course and/or technical expertise can go up to $18-$20+/h.

Time: Maximum 1 work study job/year, usually maximum 10 hours/week. Perfect for a full time student with a medium course load!

Skills/Difficulty: There is competition to a degree for these jobs, and many of them require upper class credits or understanding of financial modelling, for example. Some of my friends have really easygoing supervisors and allow them to work from home, while others have to adhere to strict hours and standards. These jobs have intellectually glamorous titles which would add some great sugar coating to your already sweet resume. But we’re not doing it for that, are we? It’s all about the experience baby!

Continue reading