My daughter is a freshman at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities and has a part-time job in a lab there (paid position). They have offered to let her work 40 hours a week during the summer, and she seems eager to do that. She is thinking of staying in on-campus housing, but she’ll have to move out of her freshman dorm into another building.
I’m just curious to hear from other parents what your experience has been with your college student having jobs far away from home in the summers (her dad and I both live in the South). Did your child eventually need a break and schedule some vacation time or time to visit parents during the summer? Did you travel to see them? Did they seem refreshed and ready for classes again in the fall after working all summer? Did they have roommates in the summer or any issues with housing or meeting people and finding things to do?
Any advice you have is welcome. My daughter is very shy and quiet, and has had trouble making connections so far at her university. I think her closest connections are at her job right now, so it might actually do her good to spend more time with these people over the summer, but she’s asking me when she would get to visit family and all, so I’m trying to help her figure out her summer schedule and logistics, and what might be best for her.
My older son worked from home the summer after freshman year. After that he was not only not in his college town (Pittburgh) but away on the other coast from us. He did fine. We did not see him though I think he spent a few days with us at the beginning and end of the summers.
My younger son spent part of the summer after freshman year in an Arabic program in Jordan, the following summer he worked for conference and event services at his college. He worked half the summer the first year, and full summers after that. The job started with working graduation, but there was some time at the end of the summer and one summer he arranged his schedule so that we could take an extra long weekend and take him and my nephew who live in the same town to a rock concert and a few days at the Cape. He lived in university dorms. He got himself moved from one dorm to another at the beginning of the summer, then at the end I think we had to take every thing home. The first summer because he didn’t work the summer, we did pick him up and he left a bunch of stuff home.
I think what she will be able to do very much depends on his boss, but generally these jobs don’t include vacation time unless you negotiate in advance. (My younger son was doing shift work the first two summers and you could juggle shifts to get longer breaks occasionally.)
My daughter has worked in NY every summer since beginning college. They normally have a break right after finals before beginning an assignment. She is home most of May then returns home in early August.
My kid (from MN ) stayed on her California college campus to research summer after freshman year and again soph year. It is a great opportunity for your D, good for her! Usually the positions have a couple of weeks off at the end of the summer (3 for my kid), and she comes home during that time. Ask your D to follow up with the lab or prof she is working with on this. It may depend on the work, though. If the lab needs babysitting all the time (like bio might), they may have different expectations.
My D took an internship with a nonprofit for summer after freshman year–in Mexico. She went straight there after finals and was home for about 10 days at the end of the summer. It was a fantastic experience for her, but hard, especially the first few weeks. She really loves home and family, it was a stressful change to a totally new environment right after the stress of finals. And we missed her. We took our first summer vacation without her. Since she left for college the longest she’s been home is a month at Christmas. I’m not sure any of us were expecting that when she left for college, so it was a mental adjustment that she really has left the nest to a large degree. We’ve told her if she ends up with an internship away from home this summer we’d come visit.
Your daughter needs to decide if she needs the break more than the experience, of vice versa. Ask some questions of the employer about a couple weeks off at the beginning or end of the summer or whatever she thinks she needs.
While my son is not far away, he has not “come home” for any extended length of time since he started college. He is now a junior.
"Did they seem refreshed and ready for classes again in the fall after working all summer? "
My son loves his co-op a whole lot better than studying. So yes working is a huge break for him.
“Did they have roommates in the summer or any issues with housing or meeting people and finding things to do?”
Yes he has had different roommates in the summers. We had to move him different on campus housing for the summers. College campus’s are slower during the summer but he found plenty of things to do in his off time.
I would look at the school breaks at her college in the summer. I would think that they would allow her to take time off around that time. For example I doubt they going to be working on the fourth of July. You could plan a visit then.
.Yes I did not answer the other questions. They were refreshed because they were doing something different from classes. (More so for younger one, but older one lives and breathes computers - so he was happy.) Neither had roommates during the summer. Comp sci internships pay well. The dorm rooms were doled out as singles even if they were the size of doubles.
My D stayed at her college campus for two summers doing research and it was a great experience. We are in driving distance of her school so in both summers she came home for about 10 days or so after the end of the spring semester and again for another 10 days or so before the start of the fall semester. She did make some new friends among the group that were there for the summer. As much as she enjoyed her summer research she was happy to be home for these breaks to see some HS friends and so silly things like go to the dentist etc.
My D worked away from home every summer while she was in college. Usually, she found a week or two at the end of the summer to come visit. One summer, we traveled to her town for her birthday. All in all, it was a good experience. She made enough money so that she didn’t have to work during the school year and she got valuable experience. She had evenings and weekends off so she had plenty of time for unwinding. Her only regret was not getting to see HS friends during the summers. But life is full of trade-offs.
The job will be great for her work resume, and for her finances. She might want to ask now for at least a week off at the end of summer to go home and recharge.
My older two moved out of the dorm after freshman year and into apartments and stayed in their college towns working and enjoying the area. They generally made it home once a year most often at Christmas but one year neither of them made it home for Christmas. It’s a transition but has been pleasurable for me to see them grow into the independence.
My S worked at his on-campus job all summer after his freshman year. He wanted to stay in Denver, and since we all had to travel to CO for a family wedding in early August, we really couldn’t afford to fly him home to Hawaii for the summer, then fly him back with us, then home with us, then back a month later. Also wages here are really low. He managed to find a room to sublet, in a house off-campus with some grad students, and pretty much kept to himself (his normal and preferred state). There were some challenges - getting groceries home on a bike, biking to/from work in the rain, finding a place to stay and getting his stuff moved. But he managed all of them (with only our long-distance help) and I think overall it was a good experience for him.
He made enough to support himself over the summer and to get his fall books and incidentals for the fall term, despite losing his job in September (that’s another story…).
We did visit for a week when we flew out for the wedding. He seemed to really appreciate seeing us (and having our help with a grocery run!). By the end of the summer, he was a little tired of the solo, working life, and was looking forward to moving back into the dorm with his friends and starting classes again.
My son also worked at his research lab the summer after his freshman year. He was home for a couple of weeks in May and also in August. Your daughter should ask if this is a possibility for her. We did drive down to see him for his birthday which is in June. He stayed in on campus housing, although he did have an issue at first. He was put in a quad (two doubles connected by a kitchen/lounge area) with 3 older students who were all friends and had been there for about a week before my son moved in. The boy that my son ended up sharing a room with had planned to move his girlfriend into the extra space. So, for a few days my son ended up sharing the space with both of them! Needless to say, it was really awkward for him and he talked to the housing office. To their credit - they moved him into a single right away. He actually ended up with a huge room in the center of campus, so it all worked out.
He enjoyed staying on campus so much that he also stayed the summer after his sophomore year - this time working for two professors. And then he ended up extending his study abroad semester so that he could work at a research facility in Copenhagen the summer after his junior year. He sought out that opportunity himself.
I have to say, even though I have really missed having him home for the summers - these jobs have led to some amazing opportunities. He is graduating this year and will have his name on 3 different papers that are set to be published in academic journals. Sure beats spending the summer working at a fast-food restaurant, which is what he would have been doing otherwise.
I know on my son’s campus they did try to offer some activities during the summer for the students, especially during the time they were running summer classes. Maybe your daughter’s school offers something like that and she can get out and meet some people.
My D worked away from home 8-10 weeks during summer. Professionally grew a lot but I had a feeling socially not so satisfied. It surprised me since she always had a good time at summer camp. We didn’t visit her. Instead, we went on vacation after she finished summer work.
My D is a frosh and earned a very cool paid internship in public health for a month this summer. She was really excited as she’d be able to improve her Spanish and learn a lot in her field. However, just a week or so ago, it was canceled as the national org felt that country is too dangerous right now to do the program. So she’s scrambling a bit to find something else, looking mostly at research at her school or a different one. None of the places she’s looking are here, a couple are within 3-4 hours drive but some are much further away. All are 8-12 weeks, so longer than the other would have been.
She came home for over a month at Christmas and was quite ready to go back when it was done. Her high school job gave her some hours but not as many as she’d have liked, and it’s a restaurant - nothing to do with her interest (public health).
I am pulling for her to get a gig in an interesting place and maybe I’ll come visit
Timely question for us as well. My D has been invited to do a research project with the head of the chem dept at her school. It involves 10 weeks away from home during the summer. She was worried about the lack of summer earnings (it pays a stipend of $3000 and includes room and board but that’s half of her normal earnings), I’m worried about her socially. Like the OPs child, D is struggling with the social aspects of being away at college and seems to have better relations with her professors and adult co-workers than with her peers, although I have seen some difference since Thanksgiving. I didn’t consider that when she left for college that she may never come home for an extended period of time again…not sure I’m ready for that yet but I left the decision to her. I think she needs to decide by next week.
DD worked on her campus for two summers. She flew hom for ten days or so in August…when really the whole school was shut down. My bet is your daughter will have a break before the new term begins in the fall…and can come home then.
@NEPatsGirl, my D actually forged new friendships over the summers she spent on campus working with students she hadn’t previously met. Some of those friendships have carried over into the following school years, too.
One of D’s friends who wanted to earn more than the research stipend one summer got another PT job near campus to supplement her summer income. I think their weekends tended to be pretty free.
Thanks intparent We did talk about her getting a waitress job two nights a week if she stays at school so that she can come home and not work when she has time off. I guess I just hadn’t considered that she wouldn’t be home (at least the first two summers) and so it caught me off-guard. We’ll see what she decides. Is researching/becoming published really a big advantage when it comes to graduate school or employment possibilities? The one good thing I can see is that she gets to determine if she should major in biochem and if she is at all interested in research as a career, can’t hurt to start dwindling down the possibilities.
) stayed on her California college campus to research summer after freshman year and again soph year. It is a great opportunity for your D, good for her! Usually the positions have a couple of weeks off at the end of the summer (3 for my kid), and she comes home during that time. Ask your D to follow up with the lab or prof she is working with on this. It may depend on the work, though. If the lab needs babysitting all the time (like bio might), they may have different expectations.