<p>I’m going to definitely be a working student when I transfer to NYU this fall. I’m going to be working as a real estate personal assistant/junior agent and work with a real estate broker. $15/hour + $200 commission for each lease signed is not bad for a student job. Parents are paying for the apartment and utilities so I have to pay for food, transportation, internet + cable.</p>
<p>Vihzel. . .I envy you. lol</p>
<p>lol remember that it’s still Manhattan. Food itself is going to cost a lot. I’m on the low end of what typical real estate agents make. 
I decided to go the personal assistant route instead of going on my own since I’ve never lived in NYC before. 1 year working in Manhattan under a broker is a requirement for me and personal assistants are really the only ones that receive a salary. Salespersons and brokers just work on commission.</p>
<p>Well, not only do I envy you for having a job, I envy you for already having useful real-life market experience of some sort. . . lol</p>
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<p>You KNOW that’s very, very difficult to do when NO PLACE you applied to wants to hire you, right? I’ve been applying to every single place I could think of since I was 19, and I STILL have NOT gotten a call for a job interview. Being entry-level with no work experience, it shouldn’t be hard for me to get a simple job like dishwashing at a restaurant or bussing tables. But noooo.</p>
<p>^ This is exactly why people need to start working in high school. In many states, they like to hire 16 year olds because they are can work for below minimum wage. You need to get that experience early, that way you at least have a reference or two.</p>
<p>It isn’t that hard to find a job in california. I live in california I am not that smart and I have a damn good job with no ceiling in pay. You just have to interview well, get high grades, have work experience, and major in something marketable. Most people are just lazy and complain a lot. </p>
<p>I got a job offer from a company in Sac so I know it isn’t that bad there. Your lib studies degree is just a piece of toilet paper… nothing more!</p>
<p>I haven’t worked in college. I might get an on-campus job next semester but I’m not pressured to. I’m lucky enough to have a family that can afford paying for college and miscellaneous expenses (I don’t buy much stuff anyway). I did work senior year of high school and after high school, and I frankly would like to never work those kinds of jobs again if I can help it. The experience helps, sure, but ultimately when I’m applying for internships I think employers will be more concerned about whether or not I can assemble databases and learn quickly and smartly, not how well I scooped ice cream or handled customers at a grocery store.</p>
<p>My situation is very similar to RioBravo. I worked though my junior and senior years of high school but I haven’t worked since. I figure if I’m going to pay 9K/semester for college (or if my parents are) there’s not much point in taking away from that to work a minimum wage (or slightly above) job. </p>
<p>To answer the OP, what happened is college tuition went up. It used to be that you could actually pay for college with money you made working. Now you can’t even get close. It makes more sense to go to college or to work rather than to try to balance the two.</p>
<p>^ It’s really not that hard to balance the two. I promise.</p>
<p>I was actually at the other side of the table recently, as I worked with the HR person at a retail store to go through the online applications the store had received.</p>
<p>The HR person told me that since they receive so many applications, they can afford to be exceptionally picky about who they interview and then eventually hire. The general “rules” were to have completely open availability, including weekends and night shifts, no criminal record, and have retail experience that lasted more than a couple months, and didn’t result in being fired. Education didn’t count for much. </p>
<p>Also, applicants who listed unprofessional email addresses or made spelling errors were also rejected. It was remarkable how many people made these kinds of errors- from having a “usherluver” email address to just writing poorly about past work experience. It didn’t help to say you were a current student either, since it is assumed that you only want a temporary summer job, rather than long-term employment.</p>
<p>Getting a job interview in New York is living hell. There are too many non-students and too many disinterested companies. One can fill out a million applications and not even get one response.</p>
<p>Let me put it this way…</p>
<p>Every hour of class+office hours costs me ~$30. Working an hour I could make $8 or $9 maybe. Doesn’t really make sense.</p>
<p>@Ambiguity that always surprises me. So many people still have the same email address they had in like freshman year of high school, which means there’s a good chance that it’s something really stupid and unprofessional. Even my email address is a bit high-school, which is why I use my school email for all important stuff.</p>
<p>"It isn’t that hard to find a job in california. … You just have to interview well, get high grades, have work experience, and major in something marketable. "</p>
<p>Bookmarked.</p>
<p>Landing a summer job is tough, but I think having a work history ultimately makes grads more employable, esp. those w/o STEM degrees. I am fortunate to have a daughter who landed a paid internship the summer after her HS sophomore year. The program required submitting a long application, recommendation, cattle call, group interviews, drug test, etc. She got its MVP award, and was offered a job as the internship program assistant (go-fer + teaching a class to the interns) at half time but double the pay. The total pay is more because she had to start during finals week and ends during registration week when she has assist and give speeches to the freshman, etc. Also, when a job is part-time, one inevitably works more than the time paid if one wants to do a good job. This is an Inroads internship employer, and several managers have already expressed an interest in having her next summer, so it looks like she is probably set for the summers after she graduates HS and after her freshman year.</p>
<p>So maybe this is how Inroads works for some kids, for at least those who are not in Finance. . . (I read the CC threads on Inroads.)</p>
<p>This kid will never be a STEM major and will not be majoring in anything <em>practical</em> like accounting or even economics. I predict a liberal arts major like psychology. She interviews well, has great interpersonal skills with peers and old fogies, and has a decent work ethic. Not academic enough to tutor and might be too clumsy to waitress. . .But sometimes it is enough to just get one’s foot in the door, and then future summer may be taken care of. I sure hope Inroads pans out, because she is planning to attend school out of state, so I know finding a job in a high unemployment area would be even tougher if you are far away.</p>
<p>Horrible summer jobs with good references show a future employer:
- That you are willing to do boring, thankless work – and every job has some of that
- You can show up for work on time or at least call if you will be late or sick<br>
- Get along with co-workers but stay on task
- Get along with your boss
- Not alienate customers
- Stay on task and not go on FaceBook
- Dress appropriately</p>
<p>The foregoing may seem trivial and/or obvious, but over the years, I have worked with others who had problems in one or more of these areas. It is never too soon to accumulate references.</p>
<p>No disrespect to your daughter, in fact congratulations! but god it annoys me that a HIGH SCHOOLER is more able to get an internship than many college students. Again, no disrespect meant to her personally, it’s just… damn. Makes one wonder *** the point is when high schoolers and college drop-out drug addicts (I know one) are doing better financially than you are.</p>
<p>I’ve worked many jobs and have had internships as well while being in school, and I agree, I don’t understand it when students go through college without getting any real-world experience. There’s just such a culture-shock waiting for them after graduation. I worked my butt off the first two years of school, during summer vacations, and over winter breaks. I never went to the beach over spring break- I was trying to get in as many extra hours as I could. </p>
<p>But this past year and probably for my senior year as well I haven’t been working. It’s not because I decided to be lazy. Working while taking classes <em>is</em> very difficult. I managed to get by during general education classes, but I didn’t want to risk it once I had to start learning everything I would need for a career. I decided that I would rather spend that extra time studying harder, doing more outside research, and really getting to focus on the projects I was doing and material I was learning. At times I did feel really lazy for not having a job, but I know it helped more than once to have that free time for extra studying. When I worked and went to school I usually worked at retail stores where my weekends would be spent working, from Friday after school through Sunday night. Usually this meant if I had a test or paper due Monday I was out of luck and had to prepare way in advance, which wasn’t always convenient with other classes or work schedules. </p>
<p>It wasn’t always fun, and it usually drove me insane, but working while going to school definitely taught me responsibility. If you think time management with your 5 or 6 classes is hard, try adding a 25 or 30 hour work week to that. Work experience has also helped me learn how to manage my own money. It seems surreal to me that there are students whose parents just give them money to spend each semester. </p>
<p>That said, it’s not a lifestyle for everyone. I pay my way through school so I didn’t really have a choice. I worked until I could afford not to. For some students just keeping up with schoolwork is the equivalent of a full-time job. However, I would definitely say get some work experience during summer and winter breaks, though. There’s not much excuse to not do that. Even if you are getting by with your parents paying for everything you still need to know how to act in a work place and what it’s like to follow a strict work schedule, obey a manager, work with co-workers, have goals and deadlines to meet, etc. This responsibility you’re learning at work is a lot different than in school because what you’re doing effects everyone you work with.</p>
<p>You have to have <em>some</em> kind of real-world experience before you graduate. Otherwise you’re just a person with a degree, and there are thousands of others out there just like you.</p>
<p>Employers are not interested in what you did at your college job bravo. They are interested in you being responsible and showing up when they want and leaving when they want. I know a ****load of college kids that are brilliant but unless they change their behaviors will not ever succeed in real life.</p>
<p>It doesn’t matter if you graduated from Harvard if you show up late too many times you ass will get fired. Clients will leave and not come back if you stand them up. Also attitude matters. Scooping ice cream builds character and humbles you. </p>
<p>Attitude is everything and you are not too good to do grunt work. Even if you go to an ivy league.</p>
<p>Well I’m most certainly going to get an internship or at least a job next summer. An internship would be preferable since not only does it demonstrate responsibility and capability but it also gives you experience in your field.</p>