Students working in Oakland restaurants struggle with making livable wages and finding a proper balance between school, work and social activities, according to some.
Nationwide, about 27% of foodservice employees are enrolled in school. Similarly, across the country, about 44.3% of college students balance employment on top of their classes schedules. Many students see pros and cons to balancing a full school schedule while working, including Pitt students in the local food industry.
Killian Moreau, a junior studying biology, chemistry and law, criminal justice and society, works at Piada Italian Street Food as a front of house team member. During a shift, he works as a cashier and prepares food. As a full-time student, Moreau struggles to find time for himself amid his busy schedule.
“[I work] three to four days a week,” Moreau said. “I don’t really have free time. I’ll get an hour or two at a time, or if I stay up until 2 o’clock in the morning — then I have time for myself. Aside from that, with all of my obligations including work and school, I’m usually insanely busy back to back to back.”
However, Moreau’s full schedule is also his biggest motivator.
“[Work] keeps me busy, and it prevents me from wanting to sleep the day away,” Moreau said. “If I know I’ve got five things to do today, it gives me more motivation to do something than having one thing to do. It just keeps me moving.”
Moreau is not the only student food service worker who sees the benefit of a busy work schedule. Theresa Vazapphilly, a junior studying information science, digital narrative and interactive design and business, works at Atarashi as a team member. Throughout her shift, she prepares food, washes dishes and runs the register.
“I work because I enjoy keeping my time busy,” Vazapphilly said. “I have a good school-to-work balance. I [still] see my friends, hang out and go to football games.”
Vazapphilly works two other campus jobs alongside Atarashi. Atarashi is her only food service job and, according to Vazaphilly, the one that requires the most multi-tasking and causes the most exhaustion.
“Out of all my jobs, Atarashi is the most physically tiring one because I’m standing for six hours, and it’s a lot of interaction,” Vazzapphilly said. “I wouldn’t say anything I do is very difficult — it’s very straightforward, very easy. It’s just very mentally and physically draining. There’s a lot to juggle all at once.”
Other students, like Justin Melhorn, a junior who works at Primanti Bros. and studies psychology and law, criminal justice and society, said one of the biggest upsides to working as a student is flexibility. Along with being a full-time student, Melhorn balances work at Primanti Bros. with internships and research, which makes flexibility important to his schedule.
“[My managers] are very accommodating — if you have to go to class, you have to go to class. That’s fine,” said Melhorn. “They try to accommodate student workers in particular, because a lot of our employees are students.”
A downside to food service, according to Melhorn, is the pay. Melhorn is a server, bartender and busser at Primanti’s, where they tip share. Tip sharing is the process in which a portion of earned tips is redistributed to the rest of staff. Melhorn heavily relies on tips for income, which affects his take-home pay.
“I get paid minimum wage for my check, and tips aren’t super high because of tip share,” Melhorn said. “I would not be making a livable wage off of Primanti’s alone.”
The current minimum wage in Pennsylvania is $7.25 per hour. According to the Keystone Research Center, increasing the minimum wage to $15 per hour would directly benefit 865,000 Pennsylvania workers.
After moving to Pennsylvania, students like Moreau — who is originally from Maryland — were shocked by the low wage of jobs in Pennsylvania.
“As someone from Maryland, the minimum wage jump is insane,” Moreau said. “[Maryland’s] minimum wage is $15, but most jobs don’t pay $15 – [they] pay over minimum wage. $18 is not even the lowest I’ve been paid.”
Since moving to Pennsylvania, Moreau feels the difference in financial stability.
“I would make a liveable wage if I was working full time and living in a really, really cheap apartment and not eating very much,” Moreau said. “But if I wanted to live comfortably, absolutely not.”
Maxwell Mayfield, a junior psychology major, works at Atarashi 25 hours per week as a team member. Mayfield prepares food, works the counter and cash register and attempts to pick up at least two additional shifts on top of what he’s already scheduled. Atarashi’s pay starts at $15 per hour, though while balancing school, Mayfield doesn’t think he makes enough money — even with the extra shifts he picks up throughout the week.
“I certainly do not think [I make a livable wage],” Mayfield said. “My co-workers — they’re full time. Not to speak on their behalf, but they definitely would agree with what I said. They would agree the pay is not enough.”
Possible wage improvements for Pennsylvania restaurant workers are in the works, with the Senate attempting to raise minimum wage to $15 by 2026. This July, the “No Tax on Tips” bill was passed, which allows employees to deduct up to $25,000 of qualified tips they received in a year, per tax return. The bill will apply to the 2025-2028 tax years.
Students in food service continue to work hard and manage their schedules, even though difficulties within the industry are often unnoticed.
“If you haven’t tried the food industry as a job, it’s definitely a good thing to try out because you’ll never look at the food industry the same,” Mayfield said. “When I walk into Chipotle and they’re in a rush, I understand what they’re going through. You have a lot more sympathy.”