Unless you have a bottomless bank account, a job is usually a must-have for college students. There’s the ho-hum campus-associated job, the sucky, low paying restaurant job and the retail job, where your paychecks are drained in order to dress in sync with the clothing store. Most students just give up on applying for jobs they like and just settle for the typical employers that are easy to score. The lucky ones, however, land the jobs you never dreamed you could get – and get paid for it, too.

She makes students laugh

Amanda Peters finds herself onstage each Tuesday night, completely unaware of what might happen. One thing she knows, though, is that she will hear the sound of laughter.

“”You throw yourself practically naked onto a stage with upwards of 200 people watching,”” the molecular and cellular biology senior said of her involvement with the Charles Darwin Experience, the UA’s first all-improvisational comedy troupe.

“”I count myself as fortunate to have a number of meaningful and lasting friendships evolve from my involvement in various groups on (the) U of A’s campus,”” Peters said. “”However, I strongly believe that some of the most important relationships I’ve built here are results of my membership in the Darwin family.””

The comedy troupe was formed about 10 years ago, and has grown in popularity with each new school year. Peters said the Associated Students for the University of Arizona named the group “”Most Beneficial to the University Community at Large.””

“”We perform weekly in the Cellar of the Student Union, throughout the campus, and Tucson community,”” she said.

As one of two directors, Peters took part in leading the group last weekend on a trip to the Chicago’s First Annual Collegiate Improv Competition.

Peters said this year she and the other troupe members worked hard to attend the national competition.

“”As with most things, if everyone’s not committed to the same ideals, the organization stands little chance of living up to its potential,”” Peters said.

“”Improv is practiced by teams of people for a reason; you need each other to offer up front and honest criticism in order to improve,”” she said.

The Charles Darwin Experience performs each Tuesday at 10:10 p.m. at Wilbur’s Underground in the Cellar restaurant in the Student Union Memorial Center.

Keeping the stars in focus at Steward

When it comes to cool jobs, Tricia Wroblewski definitely qualifies. Every Wednesday night, she runs the telescope at the Steward Observatory located on campus.

Wroblewski, a junior majoring in astronomy and physics, has been working at the observatory since the spring.

“”I love teaching,”” she said. “”I thought it would be a great opportunity.””

Wroblewski’s job consists of running the telescope and informing onlookers about the objects they are looking at.

“”You have to know how to teach,”” she said. “”They sometimes put you on the spot; you aren’t just sitting in the corner running the telescope.””

The people who come to observe are generally students, Wroblewski said. Many professors require their students to observe at least once during the semester.

“”(We) generally have to show brighter objects,”” she said. “”We show things depending on the season, including planets like Jupiter, Uranus and Saturn. We show some galaxies, though they show up as blobs most of the time.””

Although the observatory serves students most of the time, anyone from the community is welcome to come and see, she said.

“”It’s a very cool, historical building,”” she said. “”A lot of people don’t know it’s here.””

The observatory was established in 1916 and has hosted public lectures since 1922, according to the Steward Web site.

Currently, Steward Observatory hosts public evening lectures every other Monday for anyone who is interested.

“”Last semester I used to work on Monday nights,”” Wroblewski said. “”Working with the public is a lot more fun.””

Wroblewski said her favorite part of working with the public was working with the little kids.

“”I enjoyed showing them things,”” she said.

She gets free CDs and merch for loving music

Once in a while you hear about a rockin’ job and can’t believe people actually get paid to do it.

Communication junior Nicole Paulus has that job.

Paulus, 20, is the UA campus representative for Warner Elektra Atlantic Corporation, the first major music distribution company in the United States.

She discovered the position more than a year ago when searching for a job on Craigslist. Being a music lover, the listing instantly caught Paulus’ eye.

When describing her job, Paulus makes it sound more like play than work.

“”My company sends promotional CDs, posters and stickers, and my job is to distribute those and spread the word about the artists,”” she said.

Typically WEA sends Paulus a list of about 10 to 30 priority artists every two weeks and she

focuses on them by distributing their merchandise to retail shops and music venues around town.

Paulus has also had the opportunity to set up events to promote the artists.

Her most recent event was an Avenge Sevenfold listening party at Dress Code, 2743 N. Campbell Ave., a store that sells band merchandise.

Although it can be interesting to set up the events, they often pose a challenge, Paulus said.

“”It is really hard at my level because people don’t always take me seriously,”” she said. “”But since I have been at this for a year; people are realizing that I can have an impact on their sales.””

Despite the challenges, Paulus is getting what she wants from her job.

“”I really wanted to gain experience and get my foot in the door, and I wanted to start building contacts,”” Paulus said.

On top of the experience, Paulus is also cashing in on a ton of free CDs and concert tickets, which she says is the biggest perk of the job.

For now though, she’s focusing on completing her education. Her ultimate goal is to open up a concert and dance venue after she graduates, and she will use her experience with WEA to achieve that.

“”I have learned so much with this job,”” Paulus said. “”Usually, I am not the person to go up to people and be pushy, but in this job you have to or you’re not going to get anywhere.””