Student Employment

Work programs provide students with the opportunity to earn money to help with college expenses while gaining valuable job experience. Student employment opportunities are generally available to all Caltech students, even those who have not applied for financial aid or qualified for need-based aid. On campus employers are encouraged to post opportunities through Career Advising and Experiential Learning’s platform.

Please note that students may work no more than 16 hours per week (no more than 12 hours per week as undergraduate teaching assistants). Undergraduate TAs must be in good academic standing (eligible, and not on probation), and good disciplinary standing (not on disciplinary probation) for the term in which they are serving as a TA, and must be approved by the undergraduate deans. First-year students may not work during fall term. Students can expect to earn at least the City of Pasadena minimum wage of $16.11 per hour. Compensation rates will vary based on the position, a student’s skills, and previous work experience.

Additional policies and procedures for teaching assistants, including undergraduates with teaching responsibilities are included in the Information for Graduate Students section, Teaching Assistantships.

Awarded to domestic students who have demonstrated financial need through their submission of the FAFSA, this federally funded program provides part-time employment to eligible students.

Most Caltech students are awarded $2,500 in Federal Work-Study (FWS). Some students may be awarded less. Since entering students are not permitted to work on-campus in the fall term and can only work in the winter and spring terms, student employment awards for entering students are limited to $1,350 in their first year. Employment awards will increase to the standard student employment amount offered to continuing students after the first year. The maximum amount of FWS wages that a student may earn is determined by their financial need. Students have the option to move all or a portion of their loan or student employment from one program to the other at any time during the academic year. The final day to request to convert your loan into work or work into loan is one day after the beginning of the registration period for the term following your last term of enrollment for the year. Please use the following table to determine which deadline applies to you.

Please go to the work-study page on the Caltech Financial Aid Office website (finaid.caltech.edu/TypesofAid/workstudy) for additional information about student employment at Caltech.

The Caltech Work-Study Program is funded by the Institute and is designed to provide part-time employment for international students who have demonstrated financial need, and other students who do not qualify for the Federal Work-Study Program. The Caltech Work-Study Program is limited to on-campus employment or student employment positions at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The program’s regulations parallel the Federal Work-Study Program’s regulations.