Into the Mind of a Student Worker

Last Sunday, Oscar Salas senior, Business Administration major completed his third haircut of the day, capping off another productive week from his at-home barbershop studio Salas Cuts in Santa Ana, California.

Understanding the life of a student worker is far from simple. They balance work, coursework, social lives and extracurriculars. However, analyzing their lives and individual journeys can provide a true story behind a nameless face.

This past week, Oscar Salas gave his firsthand insight to the structure of the student worker experience. The Business Administration major runs his own barbershop business, an idea he formulated while in high school.

“I chose it because I realized it was something I truly wanted to do,” says Salas. “I had friends who wanted to look good and have clean haircuts and I thought to myself. I could do that.”

As a freshman in college, Salas got a job at the local OC fair and used the money he saved to buy barbering equipment and tools, and Salas Cuts was born. The barbershop operates from his home backyard and continues to expand thanks to its social media presence on Instagram @Salascuts and through word of mouth.

Despite barbering being among the least common jobs for college students, Salas finds joy in the unconventional. He cuts hair for the passion of it.

As Salas stated, “I just enjoy cutting hair. You see someone coming in and then you see them leaving as a different person. I like seeing the transformation.”

Salas’s passion was not only the driving force of why he cuts hair, it was also the catalyst that steered him to being a self-made barber.

“I learned to cut off YouTube, completely self-taught, Salas explains, “I had a barber who I went to for advice if I was stuck, but learning how to do fades and cut hair was something I taught myself.”

He would also use every opportunity he could to practice on his brother, who was willing to act as his guinea pig. Salas’s eagerness to learn helped him develop his skills quickly and laid the foundation for his successful business that has been running over the past three years.

His time as a student worker has exposed him to the highs and lows of the adventure. One of the benefits he finds as a student worker is the individuality he has been able to create.

“I feel like as a student worker, you still have a sense of liberty because you’re not fully involved with bills and other responsibilities.”

Salas believes the most restricting side of being a student worker is the inability to work long hours. He speaks to the difficulties of juggling all his various school related responsibilities, such as classes, athletics, and extracurriculars, “For my work schedule, I have to just go week by week. Because of sports and things being inconsistent/changing so often I can’t have a set weekly timetable.”

Countless student workers continue to struggle maintaining a harmonious balance between their jobs and school: their other job. Salas provides his input on what he’s learned from the student worker experience, and how he’s applied it to sustaining success.

For him the experience has taught him time management.

“That’s a big one. It’s also helped me get out of my comfort zone and get better at talking to people,” Salas continues to say, “I’ve learned that when it’s your own business. You’re in charge of your own money. I’ve had to learn to manage my finances and think long term with my money as well.”

Salas additionally claims that despite all of the knowledge he’s obtained, one of the keys to making it as a student worker is a strong support system. His stable and consistent support from friends and family has enabled him to branch out and be more confident in advocating for himself in the work landscape.

While Salas does not wish to open a large-scale barbershop in the future, he still plans to expand his barbering prowess. After receiving his college degree, he wants to go to barbering school and earn his license. He hopes to partner with large barbershop brands later in his career and awaits the opportunity to flourish on the barbering scene.

As Salas said, “It’s not always about where you’re starting off or how much skill you have, it’s about showing your progress.”