Working at STS

With the school year starting (too) soon, many students think about looking for part-time employment during the school year. Working as a student not only provides some money for school (and fun), but also valuable experience beyond the scope of your education.

One of the things we're really proud of at STS is that the work we do is done almost totally by students. Every year, especially in the Fall, we hire new students to come work with us. Generally, we don't require any specific skill set, just that you be flexible and willing to learn. One of the great things about working at STS is that you get paid to learn new skills (and then use them and teach them to others). We hire people to fill a wide variety of positions: graphic designers, writers, web application developers, web designers, 3D modelers, etc. You can find a full listing of our positions on our website. We'll also be at the job fair in a couple weeks.

To give you a taste of what it's like working at STS, I'll share a little bit about my experience. I went to the job fair as a Freshman, looking for a job that would help me make a little money to help me pay for school. I signed up to interview with STS as a writer/editor. I came in for an interview and was offered the position. My managers decided, though, that they needed me to do more layout and graphic design than writing. So, I spent my first semester or so learning Adobe Indesign and Photoshop. During my first couple years working at STS the project I spent the most time on was the Jumpstart guide (back then it was a pdf, not a website). Even though I had never been interested in design before, I learned quite a bit.

The summer after my Junior year (which included studying abroad for a semester) I decided to stay in Baltimore for the summer and work at STS full-time. By that time, the Virtual JHU project was in full-swing and so I started to learn how to use Google Sketchup so I could help out with the 3D modeling. I spent that summer learning more than I ever wanted to about some of the buildings on campus, but I had also learned a new skill.

I kept modeling and helping with other projects through my Senior year. After I graduated (class of 2009) I decided to keep working at STS at least through the summer (we regularly retain students for up to six months after graduation). That led to the offer of a full-time position, which I decided to accept. Not only did I do more modeling, but I started managing our modeling and design teams, giving me even more valuable experience.

It's hard to believe that putting my name on a piece of paper almost five years ago would open up so many doors for me. As it is, I'm going to be leaving STS to pursue further studies in China. I'm very grateful, though, for all the experience I've gained working here, and I'd definitely encourage you to apply for a position.

As if you needed any more reason to work at STS, check out this video our students made a few years ago: