https://www.reed.edu/student-work

Reed College Student Work

Chem 101 Grader

August - December 2023 • Portland, OR

What I liked

I worked for Kelly Chacón. They were a great boss, dependable and understanding. The work was satisfying and not as time consuming as I first thought. The work is mostly self directed, and I had the privilege of essentially doing everything at my own pace. The only restriction I had was the deadline, but even then, it was very generous.

What I wish was different

In terms of the actual work, nothing much. The work was always reasonable, the time I put in wasn't too difficult to schedule, and Kelly was always available for any questions I had. My only critique is that I think that the grader meeting could have had a little more guidance from Kelly as to what specifically they wanted us to hit on during grading.

Advice

Go through the key first, make any personal comments about where you see potential common mistakes. When you grade a section, grade one question at a time. Review your comments and see if your standards have held up- make sure that your critique didn't get softer or harsher as you progressed so it's fair to all students. Repeat this process for the whole paper. Also, don't be afraid to reach out to your fellow graders or to Kelly for clarification.
1 One person found this helpful

Senior Help Desk Specialist

September 2019 • Portland, OR

What I liked

The people at CUS are welcoming, inclusive, and happy to help you learn valuable skills while on the job

What I wish was different

The rapid turnover in full-time staff occasionally made it challenging to form working bonds with new community members

Advice

You can get a lot out of this job if you want to. You will naturally pick up some technical skills, but you can really hone your IT skills if you have the motivation by learning new software of your choice on the clock (ex. Photoshop, LaTeX, etc.)
Be the first to mark this as helpful

Intercession access

June - August 2023 • Portland, OR

What I liked

My coworkers were lovely and kind and our boss was a wonderful person to be around. Reed college library is a phenomenal workplace environment

What I wish was different

Advice

Be the first to mark this as helpful

Chemistry Research Intern

June - August 2022 • Portland, OR

What I liked

How much independence I had. Productive work environment. Excellent mentor.

What I wish was different

I wish it had been a little longer.

Advice

Take notes during the demos
Be the first to mark this as helpful

Summer Research Intern

May - August 2021 • Portland, OR

What I liked

The level of self-direction the staff allowed me was incredible.

What I wish was different

Advice

Be the first to mark this as helpful

Maintenance Student Crew

June 2021 • Portland, OR

What I liked

getting paid

What I wish was different

I wish I was paid more

Advice

yee
15 ${count} people found this helpful

Pre-Orientation Programs Coordinator

June - September 2020 • Portland, OR

What I liked

My work was self-directed and I received a lot of support from my supervisors at OID and SEEDS with respect to navigating the challenges of transitioning to remote work. The student staff I supervised was fantastic, and we were a closely-knit community.

What I wish was different

The transition to remote work was difficult for the institution as a whole, and that resulted in some discrepancies around communication of expectations and information. This affected my ability to do my job well, and I had to remain flexible as we adapted to these new challenges.

Advice

Share your feedback about what you need to feel supported w.r.t supervision as early as you can!
1 One person found this helpful

lab assistant

May - August 2019 • Portland, OR

What I liked

The ability to learn more about organic chemistry while working. Making friends.

What I wish was different

The level of stress in the work environment.

Advice

hang tight, it's worth it in the end :).
2 ${count} people found this helpful

Assistant to the Bookbuyer

May 2019 • Portland, OR

What I liked

I really liked the work environment. My boss, Patrick, is very flexible and kind and kept me sane while folding boxes for days on end. The bookstore is a really fun and friendly place to be a student worker. I especially liked working with the TinHouse summer workshop as a bookseller, and got to meet tons of authors during that time.

What I wish was different

The work can be pretty monotonous as times, but theres nothing that the job can do to change that. I am an assistant so I sometimes have to do some grunt work, but that's to be expected.

Advice

Listen to podcasts while you work! It really helped me stay active while doing some of the more laborious tasks and awake while doing desk work.
Be the first to mark this as helpful

Economic Research Assistant

May - August 2019 • Portland, OR

What I liked

The hours were completely flexible and the team was very supportive and helpful. I was able to work when and where I wanted with as little or as much help from my advisor as needed. It was a great priming experience for thesis research!

What I wish was different

Advice

Be the first to mark this as helpful

Sales Associate

June - August 2019 • Portland, OR

What I liked

The fact that I had a lot of free time after work.

What I wish was different

I wish I'd gone for a more active job.

Advice

Look for summer work early into spring semester.
Be the first to mark this as helpful

Groundskeeping Worker

September 2016 • Portland, OR

What I liked

Being able to be outside all summer. Learning about different landscaping techniques and conservation of natural spaces.

What I wish was different

Advice

Be the first to mark this as helpful

Summer Admission Intern

May 2019 • Portland, OR

What I liked

I loved my coworkers and was able to get close with both students and counselors! I learned a lot of soft skills that have been very useful because we had a wide variety of duties: public speaking, crowd management, and independent problem solving as a tour guide; one-on-one interpersonal skills as an interviewer; and the basic skills of working in an office and professional accountability, which I really struggled with at the beginning of the internship (I was late, missed trainings). This internship was definitely my first introduction to learning how to be professional in a workplace, and it was a great learning experience. My supervisors always worked with me on my weak spots and helped me build my natural strengths, and I never dreaded going into work the way I did at my last summer job scooping ice cream.

What I wish was different

I had a really good experience, I don’t think I’d change anything!

Advice

The other student workers are the best support system, and it’s okay to vent or lean on each other after a weird tour or interview. Everyone wants to look for each other. Also, I feel like I was actually listened to as a student worker— our experiences are important for the admission counselors to understand what Reed actually is, so don’t be afraid to go and say hi to the counselors in the back offices!
Be the first to mark this as helpful

Research Assistant

July - August 2019 • Portland, OR

What I liked

Self-directed schedule! As long as your project gets done, the rest of the time is yours.

What I wish was different

It can feel a little lonely if your friends aren't in town when you're doing research.

Advice

Frontload the project, and plan out beforehand what needs to be done at each turn.
Be the first to mark this as helpful

Undergraduate Research Assistant

July - August 2019 • Portland, OR

What I liked

Research?

What I wish was different

Nothing

Advice

Prepare yourself enough in background knowledge
Be the first to mark this as helpful

Psychologist Research Assistant

May 2019 • Portland, OR

What I liked

I enjoyed getting to work with my professor’s research, as well as the projects other members of the lab were working on, especially those following their senior theses. It greatly helped me to get a better picture in my mind of what working in social psychology looks like, and I learned about a lot of different methods of data analysis and research questioning.

What I wish was different

Advice

Be the first to mark this as helpful