I am just about to leave for my new college this weekend. I move in Monday, and I am a transfer student there. I am excited/sad/nervous about going to school, and partly I don’t know what to do about my hometown job. I’ve worked there in general for 3 years, but last year for college, I quit before I left in the fall and then I worked for a month over winter break and then worked there this entire summer as well. It is a small store and I have worked with mostly the same coworkers the whole time I’ve been there. As of now, my last day of work is tomorrow, and I move into school on Monday. As excited as I am to go to school, I am very sad about my last day tomorrow even though I know I’ll be back in December. I asked my manager recently about working during the school year, and he said that as long as I work 2 weekends per month, I would not have to quit and reapply over winter break. I previously said no to this, because my college is too far to be able to travel back and forth on the days that I’d be working (Saturday and Sunday) so I’d have to send the weekends I worked at home and go back after my shift on Sunday, and I was afraid that 2 weekends per month would be too often to come home during my first semester at a new college, and I’m not sure what my workload will be like. However, I am rethinking it and have realized that maybe it is not such a bad idea. 2 weekends per month is not that often to come home and I’d still be able to enjoy school, and I would have a source of income during the semester and be able to pick up some hours over Thanksgiving break instead of sitting home. I am officially off the schedule now anyway, but I am killing myself over whether or not I made the right decision here. My school schedule on Mondays is so light, I only have one class, so it wouldn’t be too bad. I definitely want to do it second semester, but do you think that I made the right decision by quitting this semester? I really don’t know honestly, and I can always tell my manager if I change my mind.
All of these decisions ultimately boil down to what works best for you so there is no one right answer for everyone.
My gut feeling is that you did the right thing (at least for now). Transferring to a college can be difficult. I transferred and while it turned out to be a great move for me, it wasn’t easy at first. Socially many friend groups form freshman year and you will have to work a bit to find your group of friends – if you are away from campus two weekends a month it will make that all the more difficult. So socially I’d recommend that you spend your weekends on campus engaging with others and getting involved in campus activities you interest you (a good way to meet people and do things you like). Also consider that the academics may be a bit more difficult than your previous college (depending on the schools but that was the case for me) and if that is the case you may need more work/study time in the library during the weekends than you might expect. So my bottom line is that I’d give your new college life your all this fall – spend weekends there, get involved, find friends, work hard academically. You may even be able to find a part-time job near campus if you want to continue working.
If down the road you find you’d be happier coming home twice a month and working, then you can adjust – it sounds like your boss likes you and that you would be welcomed back.
Based on some of your other threads, I’d say that this thread is your nerves talking-- don’t be afraid to break away a bit from home in order to make the most of your college expreince.
Anyway, that is my two cents. But as I said upfront it is a personal decision. Good luck.
Thank you. I still want more opinions, but the hard part is how much my boss likes me and how they always say they wish I was around more during school, and I guess I feel somewhat guilty for not being there during semesters. But yeah, I definitely think I want to do that because reapplying and losing some of my benefits each time I leave can be a PITA, and I think that for the second semester, I’d be fine with it. I didn’t even bring this up to my parents because I was afraid they’d say no.
Don’t feel guilty. This sounds like a nice part time job working with nice people – but that is all it is. Most likely this won’t be your full time career after college so you will have to move on at some point.
I would try to find a job on, or near, campus. Your main job while you’re at college is studying. Traveling home to work is too much. If you’re an upperclassman, you may also want to start looking for a job or internship related to your major.
I wouldn’t recommend having a built in commitment to travel home specific weekends on a regular basis. At this point ou I don’t know when there will be fun activities you’ll miss out on nor do you know when big projects, papers etc will be do that will be harder if you miss a weekend. If it is a money issue perhaps you can find a local or on campus job for a few hours a week. Chances are if they rehired you before they will rehire you again. I kept the same at home job for winter break and summers all four years though I never had to reapply. In my case (before emails and cell phones were a big thing) my manager just called my parents to find out the first day I would be available to work. I worked in a nursing home kitchen so if I let them know I was available over Thanksgiving I easily was given hours but I only did that my freshman year.
It doesn’t sound like you had trouble getting the job back last year for Christmas break or this summer. I don’t think it is worth it to commit that much time for a job out of town.
My daughter goes to school about 2.5 hours away. Her summer employer wants her to come back and work Labor Day weekend, and she was going to be she’d be eligible for a summer bonus, but now found out that to get the bonus she’d also have to come back to a party in a few weeks. That’s too much. Some of the kids go to school only 45 minutes away and they’ll come back. She’ll just get another job at school. There is no question she can have the job back next summer if she wants it (it’s a seasonal job, so nothing at Christmas).
I think you might easily get stuck in a rut with this comfortable job and wind up missing out on opportunities that would be beneficial for your future career.
The other thing I can easily see happening is you boss asking you to fill in on your open weekends, putting you in an uncomfortable spot refusing.
I agree that you are making the right decision. I know how hard it is, though – I’ve also worked for a small company for several years with the same people. I went back during breaks/during college even because I lived close, but it was best for me to have my space and time for school when I first started.
I’d say to give this semester a try and see how your adjustment goes. If you seem to have extra time, maybe you can institute the 2 weekends/month schedule next semester or the year after. But right now your priority is definitely adjusting to your new school and doing well.