tutor

teaching assistant

graduate researcher

graduate assistant

postdoctoral researcher

University of California - Santa Cruz

This work required a very early start each morning. I would start work around 6 AM setting up arrangements such as chairs for UCSC's incoming students and family members. The rest of the day would include a lot of interaction with students, and students' family members. I would help them with a variety of things, ranging from their first time signing for classes, financial advices, and social and academic advices. 

I learned that it takes lots of patience to assist customers for a long period of time. The way in which I interacted with them, whether verbal or not, influenced the way in which they responded to me. I learned to be very careful in choosing my verbal and nonverbal language when interacting with customers when I had a bad day.

I had to manage my time very well, because I had to assist 20 or so customers at a time. I also had to managed my coworkers, because I was working there longer than most workers. 

My co-workers were very friendly and we got along nicely.

The hardest part of the job was the long hours. I would work for at least 12 hours a day. Sometime, I would work for more than 13 hours a day. 

The most enjoyable part of the job is helping UCSC's incoming students, and seeing the relief on their faces after I helped them.

Senior Management is great, but upper management consists mostly of over-promoted people with the cronies they promoted. This layer of management is unneeded. The exceptions are the openly-recruited AVCs/Directors from a diverse hiring committee. Unfortunately, most hiring committees are filled with like-minded people looking to promote their friends.
The people hired in this manner often lack the skills needed to perform their jobs well and as a result make arbitrary rules, often hamper lines of communication, micro-manage where there is no need, and cannot properly assess the needs of the department.
This is not true of all departments, but not all former RAs make good business managers and people with degrees in Residence Life maybe lack the experience and perspective of those who have worked in corporate America regarding goals and deliverables.
There are also many cliques on campus within the professional staff that are not healthy.
UCSC could be a great place to work if they required all management not hired through an open recruitment to go through a fair hiring process with an independent hiring committee.

Working as a Propagation Coordinator in a student
run community based organization was very enriching. I regularly taught both students and nonstudents hands on community based knowledge about sustainable gardening while in the garden as well as in seminars. I daily attended to the campus Greenhouse, by watering the plants, propagating seeds for the garden, maintenence of the greenshouse and documenting the progress of the plant growth. The most enjoyable aspect of the job was inspiring and motivating others about the significance if gardening through the education of plant growth and development. I have gained experience in project and event coordination, horticulture production, executed computer program tasks that include Microsoft Office and Excel, and strengthened my grant writing, leadership and communications skills. Working with coworkers was never a challenge, everyone was incrediably supportive and constructive. We organized and attended weekly meetings to discuss updates, to coordinate events, to write grants and ensure the overall leadership team was running smoothly and constructively. The hardest part of the job was that it was a full time 7 day a week position.

A typical day at work, was to have a tea metting and stablish a goal of surveys and the questions we wanted to ask teh student body, that would benifit our overall data of the programs that are working in the university.
I learned how to enter data in different styles, with microsoft, as well as webpages, like surveymonkey. I also learned how to interact on a persnal basis with different type of people.
The managment was geat, they were really upbit and flexible with school hours, they were very demanding of their employees which made the job a lot easier since we knew what was expected of us.
My co-workers were a hand-picked selection of students just like myslef, that would represent the dfferent demographics of the school. they all had very different personalities, but at the en we all had the ssame goals, and worked well together.
The hardest part of teh job for me, was that we did not have a consistent schedule, we actually mae our own, therefore it was hard for me to be consistent with my hours with out that structure.
The most enjoyable part was interacting with so many people daily, and been able to make a difference.

Working at UC Santa Cruz has been a truly enriching and rewarding experience. From the moment I joined this remarkable institution, I felt welcomed by a diverse and supportive community. The campus's breathtaking natural beauty, nestled among the redwoods and overlooking the Pacific Ocean, provides a serene backdrop that makes each workday special.

UC Santa Cruz encourages creativity and innovation, fostering an environment where I've been able to thrive professionally. The institution is committed to cutting-edge research, and I have had the privilege to collaborate with brilliant colleagues who share my passion for academic excellence. The opportunities for personal and career growth are abundant, with numerous workshops, seminars, and networking events.

Moreover, UC Santa Cruz values work-life balance and promotes inclusivity, making it an ideal place for personal and professional development. The dedication to sustainability and social responsibility is inspiring, and I am proud to be part of a team that contributes positively to both the academic and global community. UC Santa Cruz is more than just a workplace; it's a place where dreams and aspirations become a reality.

Working as a Accounting Assistant and Business Analyst Assistant to support CFO and Business Analyst. 
I have learned a lot of things at UC Santa Cruz Extension while working under our CFO. I review invoices and maintain the monthly expense report. Also, I am responsible for updating and running the reports upon request from our Business Analyst. I have gained a lot of Accounting experiences in auditing, processing monitoring the invoices and PO. The management style is very productive and positive which make me to be come more self-motivating to do my job. My co-workers are nice and friendly who understand the importance of teamwork. They willing to help me whenever they can. I have enjoyed the most when working for Finance department because I don't ever feel any pressure since everyone is very productive and positive. The most challenging part that I have is starting to work with the monthly expense report but it also helps me overcome the obstacles. I can get more experiences of dealing with the pressure, able to work independently and become a more reliable employee.

I was under a fantastic supervisor who taught me everything I know. She was patient, understanding and always there for my many questions. She allowed me to keep growing in my job until I could not go any further. I learned policy and procedures for UC requirements with financial transactions. I fine-tuned my skills training department managers, assistants, and faculty for the whole Division of Social Sciences regarding reimbursements, policies and procedures for UC funds, budget analysis and new employees, especially new faculty. My co-workers were a dream. Not only was I working with highly talented people but I had fun with them as well. Especially our Halloween Party. Costumes were so creative each year. Hardest part of my job was not having more to do. I reached my peak and it was hard for my supervisor to delegate additional tasks outside my job duties. Most enjoyable part of the job and I hate to sound corny, was going to work. I looked forward to my job every day.

I worked in tracking down and digitizing blueprints for valuable construction documents. The school was/is going under massive asbestos abatement and re-construction of some of the oldest campus buildings, which require high quality digitized copies to interpret. 

The most difficult part of the job was responding to rush requests. Contractors would come into my office requesting a digitized enhanced old blueprint. If this was on the cloud, it was my job to search the multiple campus storerooms to find the best copy, scan it multiple time, and then edit out or photoshop enhance blurry text.

Workplace culture was great, my manager was caring and my colleges were my age. As a union job (automatic with university jobs), I made good friends with the blue collar workers and overall learned a solid hard days work.

On a typical day, I would come in and check with one of my supervisors as to what the day's priorities. Much of the work was self-directed and I would either continue a long term project or get assigned newer work with a higher priority. I would then use the university's databases to enter alumni and event information and also, research the accuracy of said information. While the work may have been a bit repetitive, the work environment was very positive and I enjoyed the research aspect of the job. My supervisors and co-workers were quite accommodating and understanding of the ever changing schedule of a college student, which allowed me to focus on my education while working extensively during the summers. I learned a great deal about working with databases, programs like Microsoft Office, researching, and working in an office environment.

Wow, what a great University I went to. Boy, it sure opened up all of the doors to success for me. Normally when I would hand in a resume my employers would furrow their brow and ask what sort of education I had as if I were some uninteresting jerk. But now that I pulled myself up by my bootstraps, put myself thousands of dollars in debt, grabbed a lousy piece of paper and said "Cheese" for the camera in front of hundreds of strangers (except for my family who so graciously attended my graduation service), I can now proudly put a group of less than 10 words on my resume saying that yes, I went and joined a fabulous overcrowded institution with an impacted major program that treats its workers like feces to the point where they (the workers) have gone on strike thus not enabling students to enter campus on the first day of their academic term at this time. So, like I say, a very great university. Glad I got to experience that.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Tutor 7 salaries reported	$24.43 per hour
Teaching assistant 3 salaries reported	$3,433 per month
Graduate researcher 4 salaries reported	$35,100 per year
Graduate assistant 6 salaries reported	$3,189 per month
Postdoctoral researcher 3 salaries reported	$72,667 per year

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