<p>We will give our son an “allowance” for spending money while he is away at college (or at least until he lands a paid internship.) Although he only held a job for one summer while in high school we always felt his real “job” was to study hard and get good grades. His “job” ended up paying off in a full ride scholarship. I don’t feel that you necessarily need to have a paying job in order to understand the value of hard work. Studying hard to earn good grades takes the same amount of hard work and responsibility (or more) than working at the moving theater or the burger joint. </p>
<p>PS - I did work full time while in college to pay for my schooling and living expenses so I certainly understand that it is a privilege for my son not to have to do the same.</p>
<p>I agree that it varies from family to family. DH & I grew up in blue collar families & worked since the first day we were able. We were both also commuter students & I can see now how the combination of commuting & working 30+ hours a week had the effect of us not taking full advantage of our campuses (we didn’t miss that much though; our major required 80-120 hours/semester outside of class participation & I was an Executive Board member for a major campus club.) </p>
<p>We required our D to get a p/t job in HS (it runs less than 10 hours/week) and she’s been babysitting since she was 12. I feel very strongly that my kids need to work for at least one year in a service type industry where they have to interact with the public. Some experience in retail or restaurants makes you more likely to be compassionate when you’re on the other side of the transaction And makes them realize that they probably won’t want that kind of job long term.</p>
<p>When D goes off to college in the fall, we will provide an allowance for the first semester. We’d like her to get settled both in her studies & her living situation. She’s gotten a VERY nice scholarship so DH & I feel that that is fair. We have told her that she’s on the hook for a job starting second semester.</p>
<p>Try to convince employers that. Some kids get good grades AND also work part time while in school. A hiring manager would prefer to see someone who could juggle both.</p>
<p>For our privileged new generation today. It is a very humbling experience to have to take orders from someone, especially someone who may not be as smart or well educated.</p>
<p>Oldfort - I completely understand where you are coming from; however the expectation that a high school student leave the house at 6:45 am for jazz band before school, attend school from 8-3, go work on the drama technical crew until 5:30, do homework for 5 AP classes, do volunteer work (including mentoring a young boy through Big Brothers Big Sisters), try to get some sort of physical exercise and also holding a “paid” job is unrealistic (and unhealthy in my opinion). </p>
<p>The one summer my son did have a paid job happened to be an extra long summer at his school due to a construction project (and he made the employer aware that he would only be available for the 4 months in the summer before they hired him). It is rather unfair to an employer to expect them to hire and train a high school student that will be available from the end of May until mid-August. Especially when they will be gone part of that time for camps, seminars, mission trips, etc. My son will be getting a summer job while in college, but at this point I don’t expect that he will get one during the school year (especially since he spends very little money and has saved a significant amount from allowances and gifts over the first 18 years of his life).</p>
<p>I do believe that there is much to be learned from hard work, but still contend that hard work comes in many different forms.</p>
<p>I have to agree with oldfort. My son has had no trouble lining up paid summer internships, and while I am not privy to what is going on in the hiring manager’s’ minds, son knows that his supervisors have been contacted, so I’m guessing that having an employment history is helpful.</p>
That’s what summer jobs are for. There’s nothing wrong with making your studies your “work” while classes are in session.</p>
<p>My parents gave me a bit of spending money, but it wasn’t really enough, so I had to supplement it by typing people’s papers for them. My typing skills got very very good in a hurry.</p>
<p>You got creative and found a niche job, nightchef. Good for you! If anyone had to rely on my typing skills, they’d be in BIG trouble!! </p>
<p>These are jobs that enterprising students can find or develop for themselves that don’t compete with hotehrs in the workforce. I agree with oldfort. Everyone has an equal right to work, regardless of “need”.</p>
<p>As an adult, I work at a place that is short staffed and the company is willing to pay overtime to anyone who wants to work extra shifts on the weekend. I sign up for everyone I can, as I experienced in college how $7.55 an hour doesn’t go very far. (I’m doing much better than that now.) The hard lesson that I learned at 18 and 19 gives me the drive to work long weeks to save up now even though I don’t “need” the money.</p>
<p>Some of my coworkers say they really don’t like to work overtime and feel it’s just not worth it to spend time on a Saturday or Sunday working. Most likely, these were the kids whose parents bailed them out all through college and didn’t learn the value of the hard earned dollar. Some coworkers like to take leaves of absense for six months at a time so they can have a nice break from working.</p>
<p>I don’t believe that students looking for part time work are “taking jobs away from needy students”. First of all, I we are not talking just about on-campus jobs or about work-study jobs. In fact, many of those are not available to “full pay” students.</p>
<p>I agree. My point was that some seem to think that’s the case, which is why they don’t want their kids getting part-time jobs. I don’t think it’s the case. My point (which may not have been clear) was that if you’re going to worry that your child’s job may be needed by another student who needs the money for tuition, then that needy student would need to worry that he might be taking the job from another who needs the money for even more serious reasons - like feeding a child. We can’t operate like that…unless it’s really obvious. I’ve known people to take voluntary layoffs because they didn’t need the job, while others at the company did.</p>
<p>As for “doing good in school” developing a work ethic…I agree to a point, but I also disagree. My kids have always worked hard for their grades and it has paid off, but I don’t think it is the same as developing a work ethic for a job. When one studies, etc, they do it on their own schedule…when they feel like it and when they don’t have something else that they would rather be doing. However, with a job, you’re following a schedule. I know that may sound odd, since classes are on a schedule. But, I just don’t think that doing well in school develops the same work ethic as a job. And, earning money does instill lessons. JMO.</p>
<p>For our privileged new generation today. It is a very humbling experience to have to take orders from someone, especially someone who may not be as smart or well educated.</p>
Or maybe they were the kids who learned that other things besides the ‘hard earned dollar’ also have value, and are trying to balance all the things they value in life? Just a thought.</p>
<p>Which is to say I’m a fully paid kid (and will be through law school) and so will my kids in the event I have them (but I’ll have them take out loans and put the money in trust for them, redeemable when they graduate-helps build credit, ya know).</p>
<p>I got better grades in college once I started working 10 hours a week. And that job (shelving library books) actually helped me get a part time job in a severe recession while I went looking for work in my field. </p>
<p>We have told our children that we will pay for college and books and phone (though not the data plan for older son’s new Nexus) and they are responsible for the fun money. Older son makes enough during the summer that he doesn’t need to work during the year. We’ll see how it works out for younger son, who has never had a real job. He’s earned money, selling earrings and helping me out in the office, but he really needs to work for someone else - even if it’s just being a cashier at the local grocery store.</p>
<p>I don’t desperately need the money (my parents can and are willing to fund everything, including my social activities as long as I’m reasonable about it), but I’m planning on getting a part-time job in college. The way I see it, this can only help me get skills and learn to interact with people in a different way. As long as I’m smart about time-management, which I tend to be, having a job can only help me.</p>
<p>I worked through high school and college, term-time and summers; didn’t hurt my academics or ECs. My D has worked through HS, term-time and summers; it hasn’t hurt her academics or ECs. She expects to work part-time jobs once she starts college, and full-time in the summer if she can, and we expect her to do so. Frankly, it’s given her a much keener appreciation for how privileged she is to go to be going to a first-rate school with 90+% of the cost paid by her parents, seeing how hard she’s had to work to pay a much smaller share. And the skills, the self-discipline, the responsibility that go with holding down a job and balancing one’s time across competing demands—these are invaluable life lessons.</p>
<p>My son’s experience mirrors mathmom’s. While we did not require our kids to work, they had a limited amount of spending money for college. Both boys found on-campus jobs when they felt they needed extra cash, and could handle working. It helped them get organized and build on their previous skill sets. I’m sure it looked good on an internship application, which in turn, looked good on a job application.</p>
<p>As far as the idea that jobs should be reserved for those who need them - which reminds me of that ridiculous 1950’s standard of hiring men over women because “men have a family to support” - there is a system that helps kids with financial need get jobs on campus. It’s called work-study, and often the kids with FA considerations get first crack at the jobs. I think this gives the help where it is needed. To impose a standard outside of the university is discriminatory. I thought we had progressed beyond that.</p>
<p>I provide spending money. I don’t judge kids who work and I don’t expect mine to be judged because she doesn’t. That being said, she will likely be doing work/study next year.</p>
<p>I did judge people who did work study. Why? Because work study jobs were cool. Swiping cards at the fitness center. Working at the library. Doing “easy” work. I didn’t qualify for work study, so I worked at the cafeteria, washing dishes. Doing pots and pans. Sweeping and mopping.</p>
<p>Why did work study kids get to sit there and swipe cards while I had to sweep and mop? Well, because their parents made less money than mine did. Not fair!</p>
<p>bigtrees - the kids whose parents made less money were perhaps envious of you because your parents made more money so it may have evened itself out.</p>
<p>Why would they be envious of me? They didn’t know how much my parents made. (I actually don’t know either, I never filled out the FAFSA form. They simply assured me that it wouldn’t be worth my time.) I worked in the cafeteria sweeping and mopping for crying out loud! </p>
<p>My parents provided $5000 per year to me for college. The rest was on my own. (This was 1998-2003.)</p>
<p>I didn’t mind working in the cafeteria, but when I was looking for a job, I did notice that every job that sounded “cool” was for workstudy only.</p>
<p>Well, not all non-work-study jobs are appalling. My son helped a professor with research and was paid for it. My daughter is an undergraduate TA. There are no income requirements for those kinds of on-campus work.</p>
And makes them realize that they probably won’t want that kind of job long term.</p>