• arts & sciences,  jobs,  switching

    Switch-a-Roo

    September 27, 2011

    Hi askastudent!
    My name is Jack and I’m currently enrolled in BBA program in utsc but i’m not really happy in the program. i’m in 2nd year atm and i’m thinking about switching my major to political science but i heard alot of ppl saying if i do liberal arts degree i will never find a good job! is this true? should i just stick through it and do bba? please give me some advice and i have ask the academical advisor but all they do is tell me to take test! THEY ARE USELESS!!!! i just want your take on it and your knowledge of ppl in liberal arts and if they have found good jobs or not!
    Thank you!!!!

    ———————————————

    Hi Jack,

    What kind of a test is this, exactly? Is it an IQ test?? Because I’m pretty sure you just made up the word “academical.” That’s kind of cool, though, because it means that you’re creative and out-of-the-box of real words. I’m getting a soft, marshmallowy liberal arts degree, so I’ve often wondered which of Toronto’s fine bridges I will one day be living under. The Prince Edward Viaduct is a clear front-runner. Let’s consult a list of famous liberal arts graduates, shall we?

    Prince Charles of England has an anthropology degree; Martha Stewart has a history degree; and Hugh Hefner has apsychology degree.

    As you can see, Jack, graduates in the liberal arts grow up to lead successful lives in royalty, celebrity crime, and the adult entertainment industry. If any of these fields interest you, I would advise immediately switching into the arts.

    This list also tells us that, in the liberal arts, your degree isn’t tied to any one specific job. Instead, employers focus on what skills you have and on how well they fit into their job description. According to the Career Centre’s helpfully misleading?list of “careers by degree”, a political science degree can lead to work as a lawyer, police officer, or member of the clergy! You should totally drop out of business school and adorn the devout and divine robes of righteousness.

    Or, you can make this decision rationally. First of all, what is it that you dislike about your Bachelor of Business Administration? Is it the heavy workload or is it the course material itself? If the former, you might be clonked over the head with hard classes in other degree programs. Second, why is your alternative political science? Why not international development studies, french, or even the celestial studies of astronomy??

    You seem to care most about getting a job. If that’s the case, having a BBA degree will be a direct route into the business world. While a liberal arts degree certainly won’t get in your way of growing up to be the next Mick Jagger (anthropology), your path to career rockstardom will be less straightforward and more windy. Like the yellow brick road.

    Either way, you’ll always be a rocktar to me.

    Aska

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  • jobs,  library

    it’s my destiny

    September 27, 2011

    Dear sir/madam/supreme overlord,

    I am an ignorant freshman who wants to work for the campus libraries as a page {shelver}. I did go to the library jobs site at around the beginning of September and the only positions I found were IT jobs requiring all these kinds of computer languages my eyes just speedread through automatically without further encouragement from my brain. That jobs site was all I had to go about, so I hope {and pray} to hear advice about informal stuff those sites don’t provide, such as:

    1) When is the usual library hiring season? Have I missed my chance by now?

    2) I heard they prefer raw fresh men, so if I only apply next year when I’m a sop soph, have I missed my destiny in life/ have less chance at getting that job?

    3) The lib job site says only some libraries participate, for the rest, do I have to visit them one on one to inquire/drop a resume? (I tried looking at the sites of each non-part. library hoping for a “Student Jobs Press Here” button, but mention about the extent of my computer skills has been already made in the top paragraph.)

    Thank you so much and I am so sorry to bother you and I do hope when I get a job there I could buy you lunch and stuffs,
    s

    ———————————————

    Dear freshman underling,

    Are you a fan of purple prose and old book smell? Do you daydream about the ancient art of bookbinding? Well, Aska sure does! And if you do too, then I bet working at one of the University’s libraries sounds like a dreamboat job.

    Here’s the skinny: each and every faculty, departmental and collegiate library has its own internal hiring policy. Last time I checked, UofT has more than 30 libraries and that’s a whole lotta applying. So, I’ve put together a game plan for you:

    To simplify matters, start with the jobs listed on the Library Student Jobs website. These are the positions available at the biggest central libraries on campus, like Gerstein, EngSci, and Fort Book. If compiling data inside UofT’s peacock isn’t exactly your thing, try one of the friendlier college libraries. Many of these libraries, like E.J. Pratt and Graham, do their hiring in late April and early May. Sadly, those dreamboats have already sailed.

    But never fear – potentially false hope is here! Several of the libraries still have openings; for example, the Innis College library hires work-study students. So if you’re lucky enough to be drowning in debt, you may be able to hop aboard that dreamboat afterall. Make a few friendly phone calls and see what’s out there, Aska believes in you!

    Your supreme overload,

    Aska

    p.s. lunch sounds lovely, I like pie.

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  • askastudent love/hate,  jobs

    everyone wants to be an askastudent

    April 14, 2011

    Dear aska,

    I am approaching the end of my first year as a student enrolled at UofT St. George campus and I have been following your site ever since
    the the latter parts of my high school life. I absolutely love your site and it has helped to appease much of my anxieties about university life. I was wondering if you are in need of any helpers to run your excellent webpage . I would love to give back to the group that helped me so much throughout my young academic life. Thanks!

    Lucy

    Hey Aska,

    I just wanted to know how one applies to be the next Aska, or if there is more than one. I’m not trying to steal your job, I swear! Just thought I’d
    like to help out.

    Thanks!
    Linda

    ???????????????

    Thanks for your interest. Obviously you know that to be an askastudent, you have to born and bred into awesomeness. A knowledge of subject PoST codes and ROSI programming is a bonus of course, but basically pure unadulterated coolness and fighting superpowers and sensational wit and good bone structure all factor into the Aska package.

    In all seriousness, the Askastudent position (which will be vacated starting in October 2011) is a workstudy position. To apply you need to be eligible for OSAP and be taking a minimum of three courses. Keep your eye on the Innis workstudy website or inquire within at the registrar’s office (probably early September is best). You’ll probably need to submit a cover letter, resume, and answer some typical Askastudent questions. Keep your tone within the Askastudent voice and you’ll be fine. (Which means you need to cut the beauty queen talk Lucy!)

    Good luck and godspeed wannabee askas. May the summer transform you.

    xoxo, Askastudent

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  • jobs,  st. mike's

    what happens if i want a job with my degree?

    September 3, 2010

    Hey,

    I’ve been wanting to take up an internship for a local independent magazine for a while now. Incidentally, they take priority over those who are looking to get school credit. I was wondering if UofT gives such credit, or if they will acknowledge it, at least? I’m going into second year and just recently declared my Post as MAJ English/MAJ Book & Media Studies. I’m thinking of applying for this interning slot next summer. I just don’t know who else to ask about this school credit thing. Registrar’s? The English Department? Book & Media Studies Department? Help!

    ———————————————

    Hi there!

    As a fellow mag-lover who has been in the same position as you are, it’s almost impossible to get U of T to accept an internship as a credit in the English or Book & Media Studies programs. Many journalism students have internships built into their programs, but for people studying literature, it’s often not a requirement.

    Your registrar won’t really be able to facilitate this. The best thing to do would be to talk to the program representative at the English and/or Book & Media Studies Department and explain in detail why you should be able to get either a credit or a half credit for your internship. You will have to let them make an exception for you, and often that is hard to do.

    The best people to contact would be as follows:

    ENGLISH

    Undergraduate Counsellor – Ms Vala Holmes
    416-978-5026
    Jackman Humanities Building, 170 St. George Street, Room 609
    english.undergraduate@utoronto.ca

    Associate Chair – Professor Nick Mount
    416-978-5921
    Jackman Humanities Building, 170 St. George Street, Room 608
    416-946-3144
    Jackman Humanities Building, 170 St. George Street, Room 704
    nick.mount@utoronto.ca

    BOOK AND MEDIA STUDIES

    Book & Media Studies
    Coordinator
    John Noyes
    Professor
    St. Michael’s College Fellow
    (416) 926 1300 ext. TBA
    john.noyes@utoronto.ca

    Hope that helps and that you get to do what you want to do!

    xoxo, Askastudent

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  • arts & sciences,  choosing,  jobs

    you are making me stressed out just from reading this

    July 5, 2010

    Hey Aska,

    Sorry if I missed the answer to this, but I was wondering – do you think it
    makes a difference if you double major or take a major and two minors? In
    any way at all? The only thing I could think of is having a double major may
    offer a bit of a leg up in job searching because you’ll have a major in two
    topics. I’m not sure how much employers really care about that though.

    ———————————————

    Are you interested in pursuing academia, or just the general job market? Because in academia, depending on the field, your marks and the program you’re applying to, two majors could make you a more viable candidate than two minors. If it’s just a general job search, just having a degree might be good enough. What are you looking to do, man? As always, you should contact the head of your department if you are looking to pursue further graduate study in that field.

    xoxo, Askastudent

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  • jobs,  money

    …must be funny, in the rich man’s world.

    August 6, 2008

    hey askak,

    i m a first-year entering innis this fall, and i REALLY REALLY REALLY need money!!! (and experience and research skills and all the other crap that’ll eventually get me into med school…). So i m just wondering: exactly how to find those reaearch-type jobs on campus and would a prof actually consider hiring a lowly first-year????
    ps. love ur site, more helpful than the ut sites…lol

    ?

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  • jobs

    Cathartic Like the Office Space Computer Smash

    June 9, 2008

    Hey Aska!
    I was wondering if you could answer a question for me that isn’t so much related to academics, but still relevant to students: is there a law in Ontario that states that employees have to give a two weeks notice to employers (not under any contracts)? I’ve been trying to research this and I haven’t found anything. I work in a restaurant and I would like to leave my job at the end of this month, and I was thinking that I’d quit right when I wanted to leave without any notice. I’m afraid that my boss will fire me on the spot if I try to give any notice because that’s what he tends to do and I want to work until the very end of the month. Any information would be great! I’m having trouble deciding what to do.

    Thanks!
    _____________

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  • jobs

    workin it for the power

    February 2, 2007

    hey aska, how do you go about applying for an on-campus job like a campus cafe cashier or one of those people sitting at robarts in front of a computer near the escalators chatting on msn all the time?

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  • campus,  jobs

    knowing your relatives

    October 18, 2006

    hello! i love ur comments and ur advice is awesome 🙂 i am just wondering what r the odds of getting a job on campus if i will be in first year in the fall? i am pretty flexible, i’ll work anywhere (cafe, library etc). is it worth it to volunteer while in university? can it enhance an application to law school or into a graduate program??? what r ur thoughts oh wise askastudent guru? thanks a million

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