Paid community service
SFS offers paid community service jobs under the Federal Work-Study (FWS) program to students with work-study in their financial aid package. Under this program, the federal government, through MIT, provides 75% of an eligible student's wage. The employer is then responsible for the remaining 25%. MIT pays students their full wage each week, and the agency reimburses MIT on a monthly basis. The wages for these positions are comparable to those for on-campus positions and they have the added benefit of allowing students to work for the community, often in areas relevant to their course of study.
If you’re interested in volunteer (unpaid) community service work, visit the MIT Public Service Center.
How much can I get paid?
Federal Work-Study student earnings are constrained by an MIT minimum and a federal maximum. MIT’s minimum is the same as that of an on-campus position: $9.00 per hour. The maximum is determined by the amount of Federal Work-Study earnings you were allotted in your financial aid package, which is known as the earnings ceiling. Once you’ve reached this amount, the employer is responsible for 100% of your wage.
What kinds of positions are available?
FWS community service positions are usually in the Cambridge/Boston area and accessible by foot or public transportation. Some students find a nonprofit organization themselves and creat their own community service jobs. Most students work 5 to 15 hours per week during the semester, but cannot exceed 20 hours. Many have also found full-time summer positions. Past positions have included:
- tutoring with after-school groups
- AIDS or cancer research with an area hospital
- teaching and helping the disabled
- raising citizen awareness of environmental issues
- working with day camps for underprivileged youths
These are some of our most popular community service programs:
- ReachOut: Help Teach a Child to Read – MIT's literacy program, co-sponsored by SFS Student Employment and the MIT Public Service Center, is part of the national America Reads program. You’ll be trained to help elementary school children in reading. Contact the Public Service Center for more information and training dates. ReachOut brochures are also available in SFS Student Employment in Room 11-320 and at the Public Service Center in Room 4-104.
- MATCH – Under the national America Counts program, you can mentor and tutor 9th- and 10th-graders at the Media and Technology Charter High School in Boston (MATCH), provide enrichment to top students while helping others reach their full potential. Tenth-grade tutors also prepare their students to pass the MCAS exam, which is required in Massachusetts to graduate from high school.
- City on a Hill – The City on a Hill Charter Public School in Boston hires many MIT students as tutors to help students study for the math and English MCAS exam, and to help them prepare over the summer to retake exams they didn’t pass during the school year. Training and curriculum guidance are provided.
For more information on these and other positions that have been approved for FWS community service funding, contact SFS Student Employment.
How do I find a community service job?
Step 1 – Check your eligibility
Make sure you’re eligible for Federal Work-Study by viewing your financial aid award on WebSIS. If it says you have a "Federal Work Study Award," then you are indeed eligible. Another way to find out is to call or visit SFS Student Employment.
Step 2 – Identify a job you want
You can either look at the community service job listings or find your own nonprofit organization to work with. Students have created their own community service jobs at organizations such as Massachusetts General Hospital, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Brandeis University, the Brattle Film Foundation and the Norfolk County District Attorney's Office. There are certain requirements that the employer must meet for eligibility under the Federal Work-Study Program. If you're not sure if an organization qualifies, check with SFS Student Employment.
Step 3 – Do some paperwork
Pick up a community service packet in SFS Student Employment, Room 11-320. Even though you'll be working off-campus, you'll be paid by MIT. If you've already had an on-campus job, you've already completed some of this paperwork.
- I-9 form – only required if you've never worked at MIT before.
- Community service job description form – required by the federal government, so we know specifically what you'll be doing.
- Contract – the nonprofit employer is required to fill this out.
- Time sheets – you will fill these out with your supervisor weekly and then fax them to SFS Student Employment so you can get paid.
- Tax forms – only required if you have not already filled out MIT's online federal and state tax withholding forms.
- Direct deposit authorization form
You cannot begin working until all completed paperwork has been received and approved by SFS Student Employment. For more information on getting paid by MIT, click here.
Step 4 – Start working and get paid
Once your paperwork has been approved by SFS Student Employment, you may begin working and turning in time sheets. Time sheets must be faxed to our office every Friday by 3 p.m. If you work on weekends, time sheets can be faxed by Monday at 10 a.m. at the absolute latest. Otherwise you will not be paid. There is no stretching these deadlines, because the electronic payroll system literally shuts down every Monday. You will be paid weekly as with any other MIT job, and your wages will be deposited into your bank account every Friday by 9 a.m.
For students:
• Paid community service
• All job listings
• UROP
• Internships and careers
• Volunteering
For employers:
• Job posting page
• Electronic Student Personnel Action Form
(employers at MIT only)
Anyone who wants to work at MIT must complete an I-9 form and submit it (in person) in Room 11-320. When you have the right documentation with you, it takes very little time. And it needs to be done only once, as long as you don't take a semester off.
