<p>I’m not from Queens, but I do go there once every couple months during the school year to do my counseling thing. I am fascinated by the diversity. “Diversity” is such a buzz word, but in Queens it’s reality. Many of the students I advise struggle with the “Ethnicity” question on their college applications because their backgrounds are so varied … e.g. four grandparents from four different corners of the world.</p>
<p>Anyway, that’s off topic here, but it was interesting to me when I first started working there to encounter a number of summer lifeguards. Lots of water nearby, of course, but the Queens landscape is generally so urban that one doesn’t immediately think of surf while cruising the Grand Central Parkway. :)</p>
<p>i honestly believe that it doesn’t matter what you do over the summer just as long as you do something and you do it because you like it. i did organized travel in my hs summers. it was a lot of fun, and i also learned from it. i am going to be a sophomore in college next year, but i got into almost every school that i applied to. i also did the whole lifeguard thing. regardless of whether or not it’s a privileged job, it’s not easy, and boring as anything. i don’t think it matters if people come from a privileged background, they shouldn’t be punished for it just like people shouldn’t be punished for coming from a less than privileged background. it’s really just about what you gain from the experience.</p>
<p>I suppose it’s a nice thought that some adcoms out there care if we actually enjoy our lives, but this article made me roll my eyes a bit. </p>
<p>I remember hearing several times from admissions officers while visiting colleges that if you travelled over summer, you better explain how enriching it was because they don’t like people who do that just for fun. :/</p>
<p>If adcoms really cared about what kind of people we were, they would stop trying to judge us on our summers entirely. “Enriching” experiences come in different forms for each person, and it’s too much to ask for us to finesse summer activities that are “fun, but not videogames or education or some-but-not-all jobs.”</p>
<p>Several of my son’s friends lifeguard and it is not a fun job. Our summer heat is often in the 100’s and above and almost never below 95. It is hot and exhausting work.</p>
<p>To the question/OP, since I haven’t read anything else: last summer all I did was travel, play, eat, etc, but I found them as valuable experiences, equally worthwhile as prestigious camps or w/e. I consider that summer great despite not having read a single book or studied a single line. This summer, I’m relaxing again, this time I can’t really travel much due to financial reasons but I’m really staying home, playing a lot of games, hanging out with friends, etc…not doing anything or attending anywhere. I don’t regret anything. Of course, since I’m still rather in my early years, it might change later on.</p>
<p>But I’ve never regretted not studying hard or attending a really expensive camp for studying in the summer; I find summer to relax…that is the point of summer.</p>
<p>Monorail, where do you get the idea that lifeguarding is a fun job? A lifeguarding job is just that…guarding lives. If someone takes the responsibility seriously, that sucks a lot of fun right out of it. </p>
<p>Have you ever considered how difficult it would be to actually be a lifeguard at a public beach? There is a lot going on, you have to maintain your focus for extended periods. It’s not like there would actually be any time for flirting or making out behind the guard shack. People can die if you don’t do your job properly. Plus, it’s dangerous to go into the water to make a rescue…you can die.
And while it’s certainly less likely that someone will suffer a cramp or otherwise be unable to make it to the edge of a swimming pool, it’s more likely that someone might have a heart attack during water aerobics or while lap swiming and require resuscitation. </p>
<p>I thought it was a great article in the Phila Inquirer. My D has waitressed the past two summers. She too had to learn diplomacy in dealing with difficult customers as well as difficult employees. She also worked with people where the waitress position was their “real” job and not just summer employment - and just seeing how they struggle to make ends meet, etc. was eye opening. She also showed up on time and never called in sick - I quoted to her many times last summer “showing up is 98% of the job”. I think she learned a lot - she also learned in terms of working she’d much rather have a job where she is physically active and meeting people rather than a desk job in a office where she may not have a lot of interaction with people other than fellow employees. She also is a very good tipper now!</p>
<p>I view summer as a time when I’m more able than any other time in the year to do things I haven’t had the time for, such as hanging out with friends, sleeping late, and generally not being absolutely beaten up by school. Plus, I’ve taken each summer to pursue writing so far, and this summer I’m writing a novel. Does a person need to intern 10 hrs a week to learn something about a possible career? Not for many cases, I’d say.</p>
<p>I’m baffled by the characterization of summer camp as “for privileged people only.” There are lots of camps for working class/middle class people, especially through the Y and other community organizations, because the working parents need child care.</p>
<p>And both lifeguarding and being a camp counselor are very, very hard jobs.</p>
<p>Though I think this is definitely true at the high school level, ALL of my college friends are dong SOMETHING this summer. Keeping busy in college years, however and perhaps unfortunately, isn’t just trendy. It’s a necessary part of preparation for our future careers, even if it means our internship shows us a particular career path isn’t for us. Such experiences are vital in the process of placing into the most desirable jobs possible out of college / grad school. </p>
<p>Resumes aren’t built by sitting at home and visiting Grandma. However, emotional skills, which some experts say are sometimes more important than technical skills, are not developed by staring at a computer screen all day. High school students should work to achieve a balance between relaxing and staying productive.</p>
<p>Prepackaged summer programs disgust me because all participants seem to be wealthy and there for one reason: fluffing their resume. [Yeah, yeah, yeah… the font size is a bit vulgar.] However, programs that truly interest students and involve students of high talent, I very much support.</p>
<p>The prepackaged programs are the ones offered by the Ivies and other private institutions. If a student wants to take a summer class, state schools offer nearly identical courses at much lower costs. Remember that courses at the Ivies, especially designed for high schoolers, have little selectivity beyond one’s ability to pay and have no/little income for the summer. </p>
<p>The other programs, usually are more selective and have more specific purposes. These programs include (but not limited to), RSI, TASP, Tanglewood, etc. </p>
<p>Of course, there is no simple way to organize GOOD and BAD programs; it’s usually up to personal judgement. However, if a high school student is interested in taking summer classes, state schools are definitely the way to go because adcoms really don’t care that you spent $4000+ to take a class at Harvard when you could have spent $1000+ at your state school. But if there’s a program that takes participants hiking in a sort of ecological program, or are very much hands on and aren’t confined to a college campus, if you have the money, go for it. </p>
<p>If the program looks sterile, it’s probably no good. That’s my take; I’m no expert though.</p>
<p>“Lifeguarding and camp counseling are, in a very discreet respect, occupations of privileged children.”</p>
<p>Huh? I know about 6 or 7 girls who lifeguard and they range from lower-middle class to upper-middle class. That statement makes no sense.</p>
<p>I think what is being said by these Ivy officials between the lines is that they don’t really care that much if you go to a paid academic camp/summer program. If you spend your summer doing research with a professor at a local university, they would probably look a lot more highly upon that.</p>
<p>When I was looking into a summer program a few years ago, it was actually not that easy to take summer courses at the state schools. My d tried to take a course at the local CC - the class was cancelled, with not enough time to choose another one. And she lost the reg’n fee (they held it - b/c it is good for 3 yrs-which does us no good) Most state schoosl are very caught up w/pre-reqs - it’s hard to get permission to take a random course. The HS courses did not fulfill the pre-reqs at the college level. And the classes are still fairly expensive.</p>
<p>The pre-packaged summer programs or CTY serve a useful purpose for a lot of people. </p>
<p>BTW, my 2 d’s work at grocery stores, camp, wherever. I am amazed at how many people do not want their kids to work, b/c of the whole transportation issue. The driving age in NJ is 17 - and there is no public transportation in my area. Sometimes it is the privleged kids working, b/c there is somebody available to drive them to work !!!</p>
<p>Last summer I did the PA Governor’s School for Teaching- it’s paid for by the PA Department of Education so it’s all free. All sorts of kids there- from people that are getting full need based scholarships at top schools to kids that are paying for these same schools out of their family’s pocket.</p>
<p>This summer I am camp counseling, and although it may be more ‘fun’ than working in a warehouse, it’s NOT easy. I’m constantly worrying if I’m being assertive enough or being too strict, etc. And I can’t even tell you how difficult it is to be responsible for 30 little kids- at least with a factory job, you’re the only one that you have to worry about.</p>
<p>And I didn’t do it because I’m ‘privledged.’ I did it so I could get some experience with teaching. I didn’t take the high paying factory job because I have to get my wisdom teeth removed this summer and they wouldn’t let me have the time off to do it- plus it’s 35 minutes away. My counseling job is 10 minutes away from my house and I don’t have a car, so it’s a lot more convenient for my mom to drive me there.</p>
<p>I just started reading this thread after working for 9 hours as a lifeguard today, and I can’t help but be upset by some of the comments. Sure, lifeguarding might seem like a more glamorous and cushy job than flipping burgers or working the cashier register, but it is by no means an easy job. I work at a theme park where there is only one lifeguard chair and about 40 guards on duty each day. If you’re not the one person watching the beach in the chair, you’re walking. Every night I have to come home, take 3 advil, and ice my blistered feet. Today I got into my car when I was done guarding only to notice that my thighs were covered in blood because I was chaffing so badly. Stuff like that makes me want to slap people who make sarcastic comments like “Tough job, huh?” like one guest did to me the other day, and by saying that lifeguarding is for privileged kids who want a fun way to make money. I don’t desperately need the money, but I am a middle class girl and because of the current economy, my parents can’t afford to pay for some luxuries that they previously paid for, like horse shows ($500 bucks a pop) or new clothes. And in case you think we’re not doing anything when we’re watching the water, we are keeping vigilant at all times and protecting your life. I rescued a woman whose raft flipped over and forced her under the current coming out of a waterslide yesterday and it was one of the most fulfilling experiences of my life. I’m sorry, but I had to go on that slightly scattered rant because lifeguards by no means have it easy.</p>
<p>Counselor stories…my D related the story of a mishap that left a little girl swinging from a rope by her ankle, fifteen feet in the air, from a ropes course… and my D, about to need a change of pants at 18, was the one who needed to deal with it…ok, I am pretty proud of her…</p>
<p>Have to say ditto to some of the posters did not agree that lifeguarding is for the privileged and is easy. It can be very tough; sitting in the stand is not so bad, but the other parts of the job can be nasty. Cleaning the pool, the grounds, emptying trash, moving the chairs, tables, umbrellas…and you have to love pool bathrooms. Our lifeguards also do snack bar duty. Some are qualified to give swim lessons.</p>
<p>The job required a fairly long series of lifesaving classes.</p>
<p>I particularly enjoyed being demoralized periodically by club members. Country clubs were especially bad.</p>
<p>And, with the rise in cases of skin cancer, it is actually not a job I would want my child to take now, and in light of our family history.</p>
<p>Another poster mentions driving…very difficult when you have a child who is the youngest in their class. Mine is a risking senior and is still working on her required 60 hours of supervised driving. Some jobs also won’t be worth the commute cost.</p>
<p>And lastly…some businesses are really rotten, unsafe places for kids to work. In our town, they are dealing drugs out of the back of the pit beef place. Not somewhere I want my child.</p>
<p>So, D is keeping busy by babysitting a sibling, and others in the neighborhood, volunteering, attending camps, and occasionally chilling with friends.</p>
<p>Having a job is a great experience…she is anxious to work, and I’m excited to have her get her first job.</p>
<p>The age thing is a great point. Most places won’t hire until you’re 16, period. Combine that with too much homework to get a job during the school year, and you end up in a real pickle if you’re one of the kids who skipped a grade or is young for the class.</p>
<p>I didn’t get my driver’s license until this spring, and now I’m 17, have a month and a half until I move away to college, and still don’t have a job because no one wants to hire someone who hasn’t reached the age of 18 and has no job experience besides teaching English - especially for the mere duration of a summer. </p>
<p>It’s frustrating - I’ve wanted a job ever since I entered high school but my age and the amount of time I spent on schoolwork has really made it difficult. It’s not like I don’t have one because I’m a lazy rich person or something. :/</p>
now!</p>