Federal Work Study Program

The federal government pays you!

The Federal Work-Study Program provides jobs for students who exhibit a financial need to earn money to help pay for education expenses. This applies to undergraduate and graduate students with financial need. The Federal Work-Study Program is an employment program developed for some financial aid recipients, but not for all. Through this program, the federal government pays 50% to 100% of a qualified student's wages, which makes it more attractive for an employer to hire a student.

The term "Work-Study" can be confusing to many students – you are not eligible for benefits just because you are working while attending school. The Federal Work-Study Program refers specifically to a federally funded financial aid program designed to generate jobs to help students meet their educational expenses. The program is intended to support community service work and work related to your course of study.

The full amount of Federal Work Study you are awarded depends on when you apply, the funding level of the school, and the level of need. Though you are not permitted to earn money over the amount of the award under the program, you may earn money elsewhere. Undergraduates earn money on an hourly basis, and graduate students might be paid either hourly or be salaried. The income you earn will be at least minimum wage, and may be higher depending on the kind of the work that you do. Your school is required to pay you directly unless you request that they make payments to your bank account, or use the money to pay for your institutional charges such as tuition, fees, room and board.

Federal Work-Study jobs are both on campus and off campus. If you work on campus you will most likely work for your school. Off-campus work will usually be with a private non-profit organization or public agency where you can find work in the public sector. Some schools do have arrangements with private for profit organizations where you perform work directly related to your programs of study. Regulations also allow students to work in career related jobs within the private sector. Employers pay 50% of the wages of these students plus 5-10% extra.

Universities strongly support the public service aspect of the Federal Work Study Program and do not usually actively promote private sector employment. Some schools however do have agreements with private for-profit employers for Federal Work-Study jobs, which must be evaluated to be specifically relevant to your path of learning.

These types of government programs can be an excellent way to get the money needed to fund your education. The Federal Work Study Program funded over $900 million dollars for students in 2005.

By Online Degrees Today.com Staff

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