Husband and I are debating the point of it all. We can afford to pay for all of his needs. I did the work study thing in college and hated every minute of it. Thoughts?
I have mixed feelings about this. My oldest had a full-tuition scholarship so we didn’t “make” him work. He wasn’t a very social person so I think he would have had time to do a small part-time job and make friends this way. My second also has a full-tuition scholarship so again we are not “making” him work. He is taking a very full schedule, usually 19-22 credit hours per semester, so I don’t know if he would have time and have a little social life. The third is also on a full-tuition scholarship and is just finishing up his freshman year. As we didn’t “make” the other two work, we cannot make him, however, his schedule is usually 16 credit hours and I think he has time and it would be good for him. I did make my kids work during the summer though (their sophomore-senior years it was at a internships, but that summer between freshman and sophomore year my two oldest had physical jobs they hated. Made them look harder the next year for a suitable internship.)
It is totally up to you. Why don’t you let it go the first semester as there is such a large adjustment for incoming freshmen. You can always ask your student to find a job later on (especially if your student seems to have too much free time and maybe using it unwisely.)
Not sure what you mean by counter-productive. Most of the research on college success shows that limited work is actually good for students, i.e. students with jobs perform better in school. However, this is CC, lots of very wealthy folks here and lots of students with full rides. If you want support for kids not working, this is the place to find it. And plenty of these kids will do quite well.
Bottom line, do what you think is right.
DS has worked sporatically the past year. He has worked seasonally at Xmas, but this year he fractured his foot and didn’t work at all.
Summer jobs are hard to come by around here and lots of teen jobs are under the table. Not something I am comfortable with.
That being said, he qualifies for work study and he is going to have to take it. I have told him this. If it’s only 10-12 hours a week, I don’t think it will be all that bad. He will be studying ECE.
If it’s too much, he could always quit.
I suppose if money wasn’t an issue, or probably wouldn’t during the school year, but definitely during the summer.
Money has been an issue for us so D is trying to work next year. Hopefully she can find something on campus for several hours a week for pocket change.
D has not worked in HS despite my prodding. It’s basically because of her shyness. She wants to go to an in state school where she only gets half-tuition, which means turning down 3 full tuition offers from other public colleges.
I told her if that’s where she thinks she will succeed, ok, but it means she has to work at a paying job to help (starting asap). She gulped and said, yes, I’ll do it.
So in her case I think being forced to work will be a net positive since she’ll be forced to overcome her shyness and time management skills.
My kids didn’t have to work, but I made them get a minimum 10 hrs/week job while in school. The way I made them work was, if they didn’t work then I wouldn’t continue to give them their allowance. My reasons for insisting on them working was to start building their resumes and also continue their time management skill. They both danced 20 hrs/week while in high school, so I didn’t want them to waste their time when they stopped their ballet training in college.
I also knew my kids would hate manual labor jobs, so they would most likely get an office job if they could.
D1 got a job working in a department office. She started off as their girl Friday, did a lot of miscellaneous work around the office. Eventually she became their event planner for many of their departmental events (visiting professors, guest speakers, parties). In her last two years there she was responsible for their budget planning (hiring and salary increase). She gained a lot of experience working in an office and it looked very good on resume.
D2 got a job working in an outreach volunteer office at her school. They give out grants to professors/students to start community services at various regions. D2 got to work with a lot of administrators and professors through her job. She even landed a paid summer internship through her office. This year she was competing for a prestigious summer internship and needed quite a few LORs. Her office wrote her an excellent recommendation, which I believe is the reason she got the internship.
I think college is more than just for academic, it is a time to prepare our kids for the future - transitioning them to live by themselves and helping them with the next stage of their lives. They are not going to magically know how to work in an office after 4 years. I think most employers are reluctant to hire anyone who has never worked before. Both D1 & D2 learned about office politic by working while in college. One other thing to remember is most campus jobs tend to be more accommodating to student’s study schedule. My kids never had any problem to reschedule when they have major tests/papers due.
My grades went up when I started working in college. It’s counter-intuitive, but most college students waste a lot of time having a regular job helps keep them organized. It’s also good as a resume builder. When you are out in the real world they are looking for experience on the resume.
I agree students should do something besides classes and socializing. A 10-15 hr per week job or an unpaid lab or research assistant would fulfill that in my opinion. Important skills are learned in those positions, even if they are not totally career related.
I think working in college is a good idea. My kids didn’t work more than ten hrs a week, but IMO, it helped them to see another side of campus, meet more students, helped to organize their time, money for books & personal things, gave them a sense of accomplishment more regularly than waiting for grades each term.
There are many jobs on campus, unless you do not have a prior work history, you don’t need to settle for a job you hate.
I think it really depends on the kind of jobs available. My son won’t need pocket money, so to take a minimum wage job in which he has no interest just to make some money, doesn’t make sense to me. I’d rather see him spend his time volunteering at non-paying jobs and leaving the money to those who need it. I also don’t think he’ll have much free time since he is likely to be involved in athletics and performing arts on top of classes. However, if he found an opportunity in a department that interests him, I’d be all for it, even if it started with very ordinary tasks like filing and answering the phone.
I worked during school to pay my way. I do not want my kids to have to do that. I think internships and co-ops are the way to go. His co-op pays a lot better and is going to make up for any minimum wage job he might have held during the school year. He does do unpaid research which I think is the reason he got the co-op. I doubt that he would have gotten the co-op if he hadn’t done unpaid research and had instead had a minimum wage job. However if someone needs the money or is in a major where there aren’t research/co-op/internships available then working during school would be a good idea.
What we did was start our DDs off with their childhood savings accounts. That was their seed money for spending money. I didn’t encourage them to work during college. I did encourage them to work over the summer to replenish their accounts to have for savings.
Even my double major - musical theatre and history - kid found time to work sporadically during the school year and full-time during the summers. Waited tables, worked as a tour guide, babysat. Her easiest job was as a note-taker for the academic support department - got paid $10 per class for doing something that she would do anyway. I think working in college gives kids good time management skills and other soft skills for working later on. Honestly, they have a lot of free time in college (at least both of my kids did).
My youngest mostly works during the summers, but picks up occasional gig work (he’s a musician) during the school year. However, he is planning to move out of the dorms next year and will have to get a part-time job to cover expenses. I don’t expect his grades to suffer. Lots of kids do it - to me, it’s no big deal.
I think it depends on the kid as well. We decided that what we cared about was work ethic, and that if our kids were demonstrating this in academics and other activities, it wasn’t as important to us if they were working for pay.
I had work-study jobs during college, and they did not interfere. I think a big reason why is because they are almost never more than 15 hours a week. Any more than that, and I’d say it’s a bad idea, unless your financial situation makes it absolutely necessary.
I worked full-time jobs in the summer and tried to find seasonal work when I could. Saved most of it, so I was set for spending money during the year.
In general, I think finding time for a job can be stressful, unless you get work-study. I now my kid won’t. I do want her to work in the summer, though, just to get work experience.
D worked in HS in retail and in her first two years of undergrad in food service. Later in undergrad I encouraged her to move away from retail and restaurant work and find flexible part time work in a position that would reflect well on her resume. She got work in an civil engineering firm, first as a file clerk/ receptionist . By the end of her term there she was writing proposals. In grad school she only took jobs that were directly related to her work as a musician. Because of this, since grad school, she has had no problem landing work within her metier. Working in school was an important part of her education.
BTW, I never ever had to “make her work”. She liked it and, like many others, discovered that her grades improved whenever she had a job.
Our case is similar to yours…we cover all their needs. However, we like them to cover some of their “wants” (a movie with friends, a dinner out, etc). We also like them to help ease the financial burden by contributing something (as little as it may be) towards their education. However, our philosophy is that their number one job is their studies — so if that is suffering because of a job then the job goes. That said, I agree with others that a job helps to structure their day and stay organized and focused (how easy is it to waste time if you feel you have time?) and more importantly it gives you connections, references and experience necessary when you want to get a job after graduation. Of course, a job could also be non-paying…lots of opportunities for volunteer work or unpaid internships that can meet these needs as well.
As S started on premed path, we thought it would be better for S not to work during first year in order to give him time to acclimate to situation. GPA wise, his first year was his worst. Once he started working he grades went up a lot. He worked 10 hours a week during school year, 20 in summers. On campus jobs were plentiful.
When we were on campus for a final visit last month, I was pleased to see my D taking note of “Help Wanted” signs both on and off campus. She does have a scholarship to maintain so I’ve suggested that she work no more than 10-12 hrs/wk at school; but she enjoys working (both the financial and social aspects). D has worked 10-16 hours/wk (all weekend hours) during senior year and will work as many hours as they can give her (probably 25-30/week) this summer until she leaves for school in August. She will more than enough saved for the expenses that we expect her to cover, but she loves the independence that comes with having her own money (and I have enjoyed seeing her become more responsible and confident).