How Kean students make money during a pandemic

By Emily Robles | Published by December 15, 2020

As the anniversary of COVID-19 is coming close to a year, some areas of work are slowly having their workers make their way back into the working environment. College students still need ways to make money, especially during a pandemic, and some of those ways involve actually going in person. 

Many Kean students work in retail jobs, and this pandemic hasn’t stopped them from showing up to work. Although working retail, or any job that involves showing up in person, does have its risks.

“I work as a front end cashier at Wegmans, and every time I step into the store I’m putting myself at risk,” information management major Michael Rado said.

Rado said that at the beginning of every shift his job does temperature checks and symptoms testing, but they do not have to provide COVID tests in order to work. Due to the number of people he has to tend to every shift, Rado says that this is what makes him worried and what makes the job risky. 

“I come in contact with hundreds of people within a full day’s work time,” Rado said.

Despite all the foot traffic in his store, Rado says he enjoys his job at Wegmans.

“I love my job,” Rado said. “I feel very safe there.” 

Regardless of the safety precautions that in person jobs have placed in order to keep a sanitary work environment, some students have decided to stay home and get creative. People have started making their own small businesses by creating stuff and selling them online. This includes homemade face masks, paintings, phone cases and more. 

Brianna Ruiz, a Communications of Hearing Sciences and Disorders major, has become one of many new active sellers on the marketplace site Etsy. Ruiz started making home-made creations as a hobby, but then started selling her items on Etsy in September.

“I make custom phone cases, airpod cases and popsockets,” Ruiz said. “Once the pandemic started I was looking at phone cases, but found a video on youtube of how to make your own and I decided that I wanted to try it myself.”

According to an article on retaildetail.eu, the online marketplace site Etsy has seen an increase in active sellers by 42% since last year. Due to COVID- 19, those percentages continue to go up. 

The same article stated that, “The marketplace, where anyone can sell homemade items, has been growing rapidly for several years now, but was given an extra boost by the corona crisis,.”

Besides selling her creations online, Ruiz  also works a part time job at a Bath and Body Works in her local mall. She says making her own creations is a lot of fun and she enjoys that people like her stuff and buy it. 

In addition to posting her items on Etsy, she features her products on Instagram account as well. You can find any of Ruiz’s creations under the username @brishoppe.

Ruiz has said that since the holidays are drawing near she has been getting a lot of orders for her phone cases and is very excited about it. 

“I love having my own small business and making cases,” said Ruiz. “I’ve made friends with other creators and I feel super accomplished and grateful every single time I get a sale.”

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