FAQs

You can begin your job search by reviewing the jobs listed in our database by clicking on the “Find a Job” Check out this guide for help navigating the database.

Looking for a work-study job? Learn more now.

Access to job listings and employment is limited to Boston University students who meet certain eligibility criteria. Make sure that you meet this eligibility criteria to view job listings, especially if you are a new or international student.

• Expand your search. Look at what jobs are still available and apply to as many jobs as possible. Opportunities that you may not have considered ideal or in line with your preferences may turn out for the best. You may build relationships or develop  sets that could benefit you in the long run.
• Visit the Center for Career Development. You can utilize their online resources or schedule an appointment for help revising your resume or improving your interview skills.
• Don’t restrict yourself to on campus jobs. If you are eligible to work off campus, go for it. Student Employment is continuously doing outreach to encourage local businesses to post on our job board and help our students academically and financially.

• Hourly student-employees should complete a timesheet every week they work. Learn more about timesheets.
• Students working in weekly salaried position are paid a fixed amount for the duration of their employment. Timesheet submission is not necessary.

The Policy on Student Work Hours for Employment at Boston University applies to all student employees regardless of program, wage funding source, citizenship status or method of payment, who are employed by Boston University.  The policy limits on-campus employment to 20 hours per week, but it does not apply to employment outside of Boston University.  International students must also adhere to all limitations and requirements relating to on-campus student employment required by their immigration status and obtain ISSO work authorization if required.

You may work up to 40 hours per week on-campus during official University break periods (detailed below). Work hours are based on department need and availability—and you and your supervisor should agree on an appropriate work schedule .

Review Student Earned Sick Time Eligibility for more information.

Review Unemployment Eligibility for more information.

If you’re working at Boston University for the first time, you’ll be prompted to complete section 1 of the I-9 from your JobX Student Job Board dashboard. You will also receive an email notification after your hiring manager has started the hiring process. Read this guide to learn what to expect.

 All students are required to complete the Form I-9. Learn more now. 

No. Unless otherwise instructed, only students hired into hourly position are required to complete a timesheet to log hours worked.

No. However, Boston University students are limited to the number of hours they can work at certain points in the year.

You may work on campus in positions paid by Boston University or off-campus sites that are authorized in advance by ISSO. On-campus employment is limited to 20 hours per week but may be full-time during break periods (Winter Intersession, Spring Break, Summer Break if you’ll return in fall). Certain positions, including Resident Assistant positions and Teaching or Research Fellowships, are considered a 20-hour per-week equivalent and students may not take another on-campus job.

 Engaging in employment without the appropriate ISSO or USCIS permission is a serious violation of immigration status which can have steep penalties. You are advised to speak to the ISSO well in advance of accepting any employment in the U.S., as your work permission is tied to maintaining lawful status.

Access to job listings and employment is limited to Boston University students who meet certain eligibility criteria. Make sure that you meet this eligibility criteria to view job listings. New International Students must also complete Initial ISSO check-in BEFORE gaining access to the job board.

All international student employees are required to obtain an SSN for tax purposes after they receive a job offer. Once you receive your SSN and card, provide it to Student Employment either in-person or electronically. (Any government identification should not be shared through regular email or phone.)

• In-person: Go to the FirstPoint counter at 881 Commonwealth Ave, 2nd floor with your SSN card and BU ID.
• Electronically: Send a secure email by visiting https://securecontact.me/seo@bu.edu. Please use your BU email address and the subject line: “SSN Submission”. The email message must include your full SSN and UID.

The Form 1042-S, Foreign Person’s U.S. Source Income Subject to Withholding, is issued to non-resident aliens who receive reportable compensation from BU. For more information, please visit Understanding your 1042-S.

The 1042-S forms will be mailed no later than March 15 (or the next weekday if March 15 falls on a weekend), as required by the Internal Revenue Service.

Email nrapay@bu.edu to request a duplicate. Please include your BUID number and your current mailing address.

Federal Work-Study is a federal financial aid program administered by Boston University. It is designed to promote access to employment to help students meet educational expenses.

Federal Work-Study funding is limited and is not included in all student awards. Priority is given to students with higher calculated financial eligibility who indicate on the FAFSA that they are interested in student employment.

If you are eligible for Work-Study funding, you will find information about your Work-Study award on the “Employee information” page of your “Dashboard” on the JobX Job Board.

Access the Job Directory by navigating to your MyBU Student Portal, selecting the “My Job and Career” tab and then clicking on the “Job Listing” tile.

Supervisors/Departments seeking Work-Study eligible students will add a Work-Study preferred indicator to the position. An easy way to look for these jobs is to select the “Work-Study Preferred Jobs” quick search function on the “Find a Job” page.

Yes. Work-Study funding is available for two program periods. The first program covers the academic year, including Fall and Spring semesters. The second program period covers Summer only. Students with remaining award balances from one period cannot carry over to another program period.

Students who do not earn the full amount of their award are not penalized and are not expected to pay back the difference.

As you earn your Work-Study award, you’ll have the opportunity to appeal for additional funding when their balance is low. Go to Appealing for Work-Study Funding for more information.

If you deplete your Work-Study award, you can appeal for additional funding.

• If you receive approval, your award will increase and you can continue working.
• If you are not eligible for an increase, you will need to communicate with your supervisor to determine if you can continue employment.

Yes. When you have less than $500 in Work-Study funds, you will receive an email notification. We encourage you to notify your supervisor and discuss what would happen if your funds were to be depleted and you were not eligible for additional funding.

There are opportunities to utilize a Work-Study award off campus. For more information, visit Off-Campus Work-Study Program.

You may have more than one on-campus Work-Study job, but only one off-campus Work-Study job.

If you have more than one Work-Study job, you should:

• Notify your supervisors that you have another Work-Study job.
• Agree upon what portion of your award (dollar amount) will be earned in each job. If the positions have different hourly rates, this will affect the hours you work for one job over another.
• Agree upon the number of hours that you will work each week.
  • You cannot exceed a total of 20 hours per week while classes are in session but can work more than 20 hours per week during official University breaks.
• Carefully monitor your award balance using the Fiori Application, to ensure that you do not work beyond your award amount.

Friday is pay day. After you’ve been hired, you should receive your first payment on the Friday of your second week of work.

Go to Stop Payment and Reissued Check Requests for instructions. Be sure to set up direct deposit to avoid delayed or lost checks.

You can view your salary statements through the Employee Self Service. Please see the Employee Self Service instructions for more information.

Watch this video for a full breakdown of your salary statement.

Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Form W-4, Employee’s Withholding Certificate, is generally completed at the start of any new job. This form tells your employer how much federal income tax withholding to keep from each paycheck.

Massachusetts Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certificate Form M-4 is generally completed at the start of any new job. This form tells your employer how much to withhold for state income taxes from each paycheck.

Go to Employee Self-Service (ESS), select “Pay”, “W-4 Tax Withholding” and choose “Edit” to make changes to your Federal or State Withholding, allowances, marital status or to request additional withholdings.

A W-2 tax form shows important information about the income you’ve earned from your employer, the amount of taxes withheld from your paycheck and more.

W-2 forms for the prior calendar year will be available before the end of January of the new calendar year. Go to Taxes Information and Procedures for more information.

Go to Taxes Information and Procedures for more information on how to access the W-2 form.

An incorrect address does not invalidate your W-2; you do not need a corrected W-2 for this in order to file your tax return. However, it is important to maintain a valid address in BU’s student employee database for important communications that may be sent to you.  If you are an active BU student employee, verify and update your home and mailing addresses via Employee Self-Service. If you are no longer an active BU student employee, please contact the payroll office by email at bupay@bu.edu.

If you believe your W-2 is incorrect, please contact Payroll immediately at bupay@bu.edu.

Any income that’s received in compensation for services rendered is taxable, which includes Work-Study earnings.

• Service stipends are considered earned income for tax purposes and the University will withhold and report the earnings per IRS guidelines via a Form W-2.
• Non-service stipends are funds used to support students in their course of study. The IRS considers these amounts to be taxable income, and you are responsible for reporting them on your tax return, regardless of your citizenship. The University does not withhold taxes for U.S. citizens and permanent residents, and you wS, unless they can claim tax treaty exemption. International students with questions about tax withholdings should contact nrapay@bu.edu.

A bulk payment is multiple weeks of payments combined into one check. There are many reasons why students could receive a bulk payment. Feel free to contact Student Employment to learn more about your specific situation.

Each time you are paid, in accordance with tax regulations, your earnings are projected across a 52-week period to estimate what they would be for a year. That total is then used to determine where your income would fall into the overall tax table to determine the rate at which you should be taxed. Since your earnings in the week’s pay was greater than the amount you received previously, your earnings are projected into a higher tax bracket which means a higher percentage of tax was withheld.

When you file your taxes the next calendar year, it is possible to receive a portion of these earnings back.

Where can I get help completing tax forms or filing taxes?

Student Employment is not qualified to give students tax advice. Consult your parents or guardians for advice or seek out tax guidance from a professional.  For free tax help, contact the Internal Revenue Service or Massachusetts Department of Revenue.

Free Tax Help

Other States