<p>Just got a breathless call from D that she was hired for a campus job paying $9/hour (more than her minimum wage summer job). She's happy but was a bit put out when she asked how much S is earning from his EE job (I honestly told her I think about double her wage but wasn't & still am not sure). She thinks working for Public Broadcasting System this summer helped her clinch this job (the second one she's had in her life).</p>
<p>I was surprised because I had no idea she was even looking for a job and it's even in her field somewhat (cinema & business school--she wants cinema) and it's on campus. I reminded her that school comes 1st an we want her to be sure to budget her time well so she doesn't over-extend herself while she's balancing school & work. She says the "bad" thing about this job is that she won't be having "down time" because she really needs to pay attention at work but is looking forward to it.</p>
<p>Good for her! I think having a campus job is beneficial in lots of ways including connecting on a different level with campus employees, gaining more job experience, and earning money of course. But another benefit can often be to actually help the student manage their time better because they need to structure their time more. The other positive side is that campus jobs typically are flexible on hours so the students can still handle mid-terms, finals, etc.</p>
<p>Good for your D! Having a job is a great thing for the reasons UCSD dad mentions. Ten to fifteen hours are quite doable. More than that and it is a struggle to excel academically and also have some social life and down time.</p>
<p>Yea, I pointed out all the things you all mentioned. It’s supposed to be for 10-15 hours/week and they SHOULD be understanding of the kids’ schedules, etc. I did remind her that most folks have found having a busier schedule just means they have to be more efficient & NOT procastinate (she really needs to get better at time management).</p>
<p>I’m happy and excited for her and think it will help her learn more about cinema and business, as well as a different angle of campus than she’s experienced thus far as a student.</p>
<p>Just be careful the job doesn’t challenge her time management skills beyond some threshold. D1 got on campus jobs in two different semesters, and each time her grades dropped that term. Some kids don’t know their limits until too late.</p>
<p>Yea, I did warn her that school comes first and she needs to manage her time carefully. We shall trust her & wait & see. Am hoping she will figure things out.</p>
<p>As is often the case, I agree with Coureur: beware the time management threshhold and the frumious bandersnatch. As is seldom the case, I quote Clint Eastwood: “Man has got to know his limitations.”</p>
<p>Still, with that in mind, it is indeed a cause for rejoicing. The arc of my own D’s time management skills is a joy to behold, at least in retrospect, and has paid off handsomely in the present tense, and juggling job responsibilities as an undergrad was part of it. I was very glad when she sucked it up to tell a prof she liked that she was overcommitted and needed to drop out from being TA in his class…fortunately, a replacement could step right in and even had the same [somewhat unusual] first name, thus sparing the students more than minimal discomfit at the transition.</p>
<p>Thanks for the thoughts. We figure the job she snagged is desirable so that if she REALLY can’t do it all, she will do as your D did and fess up to keep her sanity. We NEVER told her to get a job, it was something she decided to do on her own initiative (maybe because she started working for the 1st time this summer & found it was a new venue for meeting folks and getting some spending $$). Will see how she juggles.</p>
<p>Back iin the day, I did hold a work-study job & also had a full courseload and other responsibilities, including lots of ECs & a boyfriend, but I was always great at time management. In grad school, my part-time job became VERY part-time but had fun ECs including a long term BF.</p>
<p>Great for HIgirl! S’s 7.50/hr, 10 hr/wk on campus job led to his first full time job upon graduation. He worked as a clerical assistant in the college’s Finance Dept. and as a result had daily contact with the Director of Finance. During S’s final semester the Director asked his future plans, and S replied that he was still looking for a job. He asked to see S’s resume, helped him tweak it and then hand delivered it along with a glowing rec to one of his friends at the state’s House of Representatives. S was interviewed the next day and hired to work in the finance office of the State HoR as a budget analyst. Some of those little campus jobs really pay off!</p>
<p>D. cannot get any summer job at our place, simply not very possible with all older people filling positions on more permanent basis. However, she has had Campus job which will continue. Although it is paying only $7.70 / hour, it is definately the best on campus. She is Chem prof’s supplemental instructor, got to sit thru Chem. class (and being paid for that) and tutor kids in Chem. We hope if will help her preparing for MCAT exam for Med. School. Sometime nobody comes during her office hours, so she can do her homework. But before test, she might get 20 kids in one session. She was offerred this job by prof. without applying to position.</p>
<p>My son wants to get a job at school, but all the jobs are work study. So we applied for financial aid to see if he can be eligible for a work study job and they awarded us a small Stafford Loan but no work study job. Thanks, but no thanks.</p>
<p>$7.50 for all this work? At Harvard there is a base rate, then it’s based on the number of students in a section. It comes out to $16.00 or so an hour.
For this kind of work, there is no work-study requirement.</p>
<p>HIMom, I realized that I was grossly incomplete in my relating about D dropping a job. She dropped one job as a TA but kept another in addition to being president of a small organization and playing in the orchestra. It was the second job that was a bridge too far for her and I’m thankful she realized it and pleased that she was able to suck it up and risk disappointing a well-liked prof instead of doing a lousy job or running herself into the ground. As it is, during her last semester I’m not sure just how many times she was working past 3am and that information has been Classified and I’m not on the Need to Know list.</p>
<p>Yea, my D is really NOT interested in dropping things once she starts them anyway, but since it’s a campus job, they should be more understanding than if it were one in the community. I’m sure TheD only dropped what was clearly “over the top,” as sometimes it’s tough to know our limits until we exceed them!</p>
<p>MiamiDAP, they sure are getting a bargain in your D! </p>
<p>This all reminds us that we should send D some cash to add to her funds for the semester. We did give S some funds to buy food & the like, equal to the cheapest meal plan. We should do that for D as well.</p>
<p>D. does not care much about pay, job is a job, she feels she is getting really proficient in Chem. also, sitting thru classes for 3rd time. She feels very lucky as most kids on campus are working in food service. She might be asking for letter of rec. to Med. School from the same Chem. prof. that she is working for. He hand picked her to offer a job.</p>
<p>Yes, it is good having a job that uses your skills and where you can help others. I remember back in the day when I was an unpaid undergrad TA and enjoyed it. It was in my major & it was eye-opening to see how poorly many of my peers wrote; I really enjoyed helping others understand the subject matter better. I was handpicked too & just a sophomore. I also had various work-study jobs with varying levels of responsibility. In one, I was able to re-start dormant campus honor societies, a project I decided on & then got my boss to buy into.</p>
<p>I did enjoy my one food-service related job: checking students into the dorm cafe for meals. It helped me associate names & faces and was a good way to get to know many of the hundreds of folks living in the dorms.</p>
<p>It’s nice not to obsess about pay–D is just irked that brother’s job pays so much better than hers (EE does tend to start with a higher payscale than many other fields).</p>
<p>Sounds like a great job, with all of the advantages already mentioned. At my U dorm food service was a la carte payment (discounts for dorm residents) so I worked my way up from scrape line to cashier- today’s student worker is tomorrow’s doctor, lawyer… I still remember those early '70’s wages- $1.65, then up to $1.85 with the extra nickel/hour for after midnight hours at the snack bar. There was a waiting list for jobs, too.</p>