When University of Pittsburgh senior Estelle Tran began searching for part-time employment at the start of her freshman year, she wanted the prototypical campus job: flexible, unchallenging and leisurely.

When her friend said that working in a computer lab was "the easiest job on campus," she thought she'd found the perfect position.

But when Ms. Tran began her job as a computer lab assistant, she found that her position was not as conducive to finishing homework as she had imagined. She was constantly fixing scanners, organizing print-outs and assisting users with passwords -- tasks that were time-consuming.

College students and administrators agree: Undergrads looking to find employment in the fall should steer clear of the seemingly easy, mindless jobs and shoot for meatier positions in the field in which they eventually hope to work. Ms. Tran now works as an assistant news editor at The Pitt News.

A challenging, career-oriented job on campus looks much better on a post-graduation resume than a stint swiping dining hall cards or reshelving library books, said Harlan Cohen, syndicated advice columnist and best-selling author of "The Naked Roommate: And 107 Other Issues You Might Run into in College."

There are jobs on campus that can relate to any major, Mr. Cohen said. If you're an aspiring chemist, find a position as a lab technician, or if you're a history major, work as a research assistant for a professor in the history department.

"Before looking off-campus, I would look at finding a job on-campus that can help fuel your passion," Mr. Cohen said. "The value of being immersed in a department far exceeds what the paycheck is."

Not only can they result in impressive experience and faculty references, he said, these jobs often pay better than a minimum-wage gig at the campus mini-mart.

Duquesne University senior Shawn Klocek agrees that the best campus jobs are the ones that prepare you for life after graduation. Mr. Klocek is double-majoring in print journalism and English, with a concentration in creative writing. Since January, he has worked as the news editor of the Duquesne Duke, the student newspaper. This fall, he became a writing consultant at the campus writing center.

In addition to his two campus jobs, Mr. Klocek also works about 10 to 15 hours per weekend at Pittsburgh Public Theater. His three jobs add up to about 40 hours of non-academic work per week.

Mr. Klocek said juggling academics with a hectic employment schedule is often challenging -- he must make sure to finish his schoolwork and reading assignments in the limited blocks of time between his jobs.

Often, his employers have allowed him to rearrange his work schedule during finals week in order to accommodate his studying.

Being employed has improved his time-management skills, Mr. Klocek said.

"It puts a lot of pressure on me to get things done," he said. "But it helps with my work ethic. I'm not really idle at any point during the school semester."

Still, Mr. Klocek said, stretching himself between schoolwork and employment can sometimes be "bittersweet." He said he often feels he cannot fully participate in Duquesne's campus life.

On the other hand, on-campus employment also can help students feel more involved in the social fabric of their college, said Pati Kravetz, director of student employment at Carnegie Mellon University. Especially for new students, having a job on campus can serve as a way to meet other students and learn about the ins and outs of the university.

Additionally, Ms. Kravetz asserted that students with moderate on-campus employment -- those who work 10 hours or fewer each week -- actually earn better grades on average than students who do not have jobs.

"Time management and learning to prioritize what's important -- skills that come from having a job -- can only help a young person be a better student," Ms. Kravetz said.

Still, Ms. Kravetz admitted, employment and academics can add up to be too much to handle, especially for new students. She suggested that first-semester freshmen start the school year taking on no more than six hours of work per week, until they become acclimated to the academic and social pace of campus.

Ms. Tran said she has a method for preventing herself from becoming overwhelmed by her on-campus employment at Pitt: She reserves one day every week to have dinner with her friends, see a movie with her boyfriend and unwind for a few hours.

Ms. Tran recommended that students looking for an on-campus job start the search early. In her case, she was hired to work at the campus computer lab almost a whole semester after she first applied.

Mr. Cohen said some jobs have extra perks. A position as a restaurant waiter or a server for a catering company can be quite lucrative because employees usually go home with tips, as well as leftover food.

And then, Mr. Cohen said, you can always sell yourself to science. Signing up to serve as a lab rat for campus psychology studies can provide students with pocket change on the fly -- just make sure that the study is administered by a reputable academic organization, not "a random dude on Craig's List," Mr. Cohen said.

And beware of participating in any medical experiments that could be hazardous to your health. Selling an essential organ or two may not be the best idea.

"If you can't tell your parents about it, if it's illegal, or if it could possibly kill you, it's probably not a good thing to do," Mr. Cohen said. "Those are some pretty good parameters to work within."

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