For many students, finding a job — whether it be for the summer or for the school year — is a necessity. Here are a few reasons why your next job search should begin on campus.

After holding jobs both on and off campus, I’ve found that one of the best perks of working at the U of S is that university employers understand that you’re a student first and an employee second. University jobs are often accommodating of students’ class timetables and willing to construct your work schedule based on your courses.

Campus employers also tend to be more understanding that you may need some additional time off around midterms or at the end of the semester. They want to see their student employees succeed and don’t expect students to choose between academic excellence and achievement in the workplace.

While not all university jobs are associated with a specific field of study, many can be conducive to giving their employees work experience relevant to their degree program. Working in the field that interests you is not only rewarding and enjoyable, but can also be extremely valuable in gaining a foothold into your future career path.

This can be a major benefit when applying to postgraduate programs. For many degree programs, this type of relevant work experience can be very difficult to find off-campus.

Another compelling reason why university employment stands apart from external employment is their very different sets of motivations.

Many jobs that take students off-campus are motivated by maximizing financial profit. While these jobs can certainly be rewarding, I have personally found that these jobs sometimes discourage employee opinions, ideas and recommendations for the workplace.

On the other hand, since many university jobs are driven by a desire to offer services to students, research and/or educate, rather than to accumulate money, I have found that student input is more highly valued.

In my experience, student employees’ recommendations are appreciated, their suggestions for priorities and projects are given importance and their opinions are trusted. University employers seem to understand the potential of young people and are willing to place students in roles where they can demonstrate leadership. All of these factors support a working environment where student employees can take pride in their role as crucial members of a team.

Of course, there is also a host of small, intangible benefits to working on campus. Your work is not only very close to where you study — and for many, where you live — but it’s located in a beautiful part of the city. Being employed on campus means that you’re in close proximity to a good variety of restaurants and coffee shops for meal breaks or before and after work.

Another intangible but valuable feature of working at the university means that you’re more likely to work with people your age who share your interests. Working on campus has introduced me to other students who share my passion for my field, which has contributed to a positive working environment amongst myself and my co-workers. When everyone cares about the work that you’re doing, work is a lot more fun.

I should add a disclaimer that this article only attests to my personal experience. There are many fantastic off-campus student jobs and there are probably some university jobs that are not as pleasant as the ones I’ve described here.

That said, I feel very fortunate that I’ve had the opportunity to work at the U of S. I have found that my campus employers value students’ perspectives, trust students with leadership roles and support students in pursuing their fields of study.

I find the campus to be a lovely place to work and I have enjoyed working with others who share similar interests to mine. In short, you don’t have to look too far from your classroom to find a great place to work.