As a (still fairly new) senior, I’m currently juggling a lot more things than I expected to be, and I don’t think I can handle the 20±hour work week past this month. It doesn’t help that the work environment is, uh, questionable. However, I’m worried that (aside from the money made) my efforts in managing the job thus far will have been in vain if I quit now, and working fewer hours isn’t an option unless I decide to change jobs (which isn’t happening).
I have been working at my current job for a couple months, in large part due to financial need, but also in the hopes that it would be work experience I could cite in college applications & in resumes while searching for jobs in college. But I’ve worked for so short a time that I feel I’d only end up seeming really flaky.
tl;dr: What’s the minimum number of months one should work in high school for the work experience to prove beneficial in the pursuit of opportunities in/regarding college(s)?
Sorry I’m rambling; it’s late and I’m just really tired. Thanks in advance!
It sounds as though you need to cut back on something.
“A few months” at a part time job sounds exactly as it is: an attempt to pad your resume. If you needed money in May and July, you probably still need it in October and December. (In fact, as a Senior, you probably need it more-- there are a lot of big ticket events coming up as a Senior.)
That doesn’t mean you need to keep working, it means you need to forget the idea of what will look good on an application, and decide what’s important and good for YOU. One part time job you’ve had since summer isn’t going to make any significant impact either way.
I wholeheartedly disagree. A part time job is extremely valuable… not as resume padding but as legitimate life experience. What the OP is experiencing is (possibly) a first taste at the tradeoffs required as an adult - a job is needed but causes undue stress, so what does one do?
Your “resume” when applying to colleges is not so important in the sense that anyone can list anything as something they participated in. Your situation does, however, have the making of a tremendous essay and/or personal statement: how better to show your true colors than to write about what you did when presented with the choice of financial comfort or academic success. No need to dress it up or to overstate things, of course… just discuss what situation you found yourself in and how you handled it. The action doesn’t matter as much as the motivation behind it.
As for a part time job having an impact on life, it absolutely can. You can learn quite a lot, especially if you had only had a couple jobs before, in just a few weeks. Before my senior year of high school, I found myself in a situation where my boss had no understanding of academic commitments over the summer and no respect for child labor laws; even though it was just a summer job, standing up to this man and quitting the job (to my own financial detriment) taught me invaluable lessons about the respect an employee deserves, regardless of age.
Oh, you don’t have to sell me on the importance of a part time job for a teen. Both my kids, ages 15 and 17, have jobs and I think they’ve been remarkably good experiences. I honestly think that the one I had in high school and college had a lot to do in helping me grow up.
But I was reacting mostly to these lines: “I’m currently juggling a lot more things than I expected to be, and I don’t think I can handle the 20±hour work week past this month. It doesn’t help that the work environment is, uh, questionable…I have been working at my current job for a couple months, in large part due to financial need, but also in the hopes that it would be work experience I could cite in college applications & in resumes…”
It just seems to me that, for the OP, the job is getting in the way of school work, the environment is “questionable” and the hopes that it would help a college application weren’t reasonable.
All the other benefits of a part time job-- absolutely important.
In my opinion, school work should come first. If 20 hours is a lot for you (sounds like a lot to me…especially if you have a rigorous schedule), then you should cut down regardless of what it may or may not look like to colleges in your applications.
That said, I’ll tell you this. My S never had a paying job (except some tutoring of fellow students) my D only worked the summer between junior and senior year (she did NOT work during the school year). Both are at excellent schools and were accepted to other fine schools as well. Apparently,minimal/no work experience did not hurt their application process. They did, however, have a very rigorous schedule with excellent grades and lots of ECs.
As for whether it will hurt you in getting future jobs I don’t know. Of course, having work experience and references would be a big plus, but there are lots of jobs on campus that probably don’t require much in that regard. Both of my kids were able to find jobs right away.