“It has been very difficult for me to find a part-time job,” Rebecca Cheng, a freshman at Stony Brook University, said. “Being a student, it’s hard to find a job that is accommodating to your school schedule. You have to be able to have time to dedicate to studying and doing homework.” For months it’s been reported that the United States is in a full-blown recession. Stock prices keep falling, the automotive and banking industries require bailouts from the government and the unemployment rate keeps on climbing. Retail stores such as KB Toys, Circuit City, Fortunoff, and The Sharper Image, which are places where college students can typically find part-time work, have filed for bankruptcy and closed their doors within the past year, leaving college students with fewer options for part time work or even losing their jobs.

Shamell Forbes, a junior, found his part-time job at Express because a friend on campus told him they were hiring over the holiday season. His concern now is working hard so he still gets hours at his job.

“People get laid off all the time. They just tell you that you aren’t needed anymore, so you have to work extra hard for hours,” said Forbes. “The store is constantly losing money so we have to cut back on shifts and we won’t be getting our annual raises.”

Karen Clemente, a student employment coordinator at the Career Center, is very optimistic about students finding part-time positions within the community — they just need to use the resources available to them on-campus. According to Clemente, 190 students acquired jobs through ZebraNet, the Career Center’s job listing site, since August 2008, and that number only reflects the number of students that gave feedback to the Career Center. Overall, the Career Center has earned students a combined $1,740,323 since August 2008.

“The best advice for our students is to really get your resume worked on,” Clemente said. “Build your resume whether you don’t want to leave campus and get a job on-campus. Even in a club or organization, take a position, it shows leadership.” The Career Center has resume workshops from 1 to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday.

For Clemente, she strives to see students get part-time positions that relate to their major. “I really like to see students go towards the field they want to go into. It gives them an opportunity to say, ‘Is this really for me?'” she said.

Balancing the hectic schedule of college classes, studying, and working appears to be a roadblock for a lot of students.

Nicole Alimario, a senior, just wanted a seasonal position at the university bookstore in order to save money and have time for her studies. “It’s easy because the bookstore needs many people to work the floor during rush week,” says Alimario, “It’s a nice environment with friendly people. I made a lot of friends that week.” As for now, Alimario is just focusing on finding a full-time position after graduation.

While part-time jobs maybe be harder to come by, especially within the retail business, Stony Brook students at the very least can get the guidance from the Career Center on how to find a job to help them get through college.

“I would love to see students come here more,” Clemente said. “I’ll have students come in here saying, “Just find me a job.” They need to focus more, but even if they are unfocused, still come in, I’ll see any student if they need direction.”