A professor at a small college collaborated with work study students on four individual research projects and also received their assistance in managing the annual conference of the Communication Association of Massachusetts. Based on these experiences, the professor has identified several exigencies and benefits of collaborating with work study students. The exigencies are that: (1) the students make only the minimum wage and may have another job off-campus to earn spending money; (2) hours worked need to be flexible; (3) not much work can be expected from the students before, during, or after examination periods; (4) some students may be unwilling to perform certain functions--for example, a student may be uncomfortable on the telephone; (5) students need to be trained and managed; (6) the more specific the deadline, the more the students need to be managed; (7) it is important to make sure that the faculty member has free access to supervise the students; and (8) faculty members should not expect specific skills from the students before the first meeting. Among the many benefits of using work study students as collaborators are: students can offer a perspective on the research that no faculty peer can; the work study student will probably be a willing co-creator of the research project; students are provided with an applied understanding of course work; having female work study students allows female faculty members to mentor a woman in their own field; and using work study students as research collaborators can make routine work fun. Work study student collaborator research offers both challenges and pitfalls. (RS)