<p>@bigtrees, in my school the first job you could get on workstudy, unless you wanted to be driven somewhere to tutor (very time consuming) was washing dishes. Non-workstudy students could apply to work study jobs, even ones washing dishes, but not until October 1 of Fall Semester and after the first week of spring semester. Even then, work study students had priority. </p>
<p>BUT with all that I would say that non work study students tended to get cushier jobs (except we could never get library jobs) because we had the luxury of being able to picka nd choose. If the only things available were dishwashing, hey, we didn’t HAVE to work, we could wait until the easier or more interesting jobs got listed. Or we had the luxury of beng able to take a job in town, where the pay was a lot better. </p>
<p>Frankly, sure it was a little annoying I had to wait to apply for workstudy jobs and couldn’t apply to all of them because I was non work study, but I didn’t resent it. I was fortunate to be able to afford full pay and to not have to work, and to have parents who would help me out while I waited to find a good job. So why shouldn’t I make way for people not as lucky as me.</p>
<p>We give our 2 college Ds a small monthly allowance for necessities, and they both found campus jobs freshman year, which was no small accomplishment since most of the jobs are reserved for FA students. </p>
<p>Every college student should get a job; there is plenty of time in the week to work a few hours. Classes only take up 2-3 hours per day, often only 4 days per week. College is the time when kids should be transitioning to financial independence and jobs provide them with not just money but valuable life experience and new friends and connections. Students who graduate without work experience will be at a tremendous disadvantage come graduation.</p>
<p>Really? Like which majors? Are you saying there are some students who cannot devote 4 hours in 100+ waking hours of a week to get a part time job?</p>
yes it is. If you need to you can do it. There are 112 non-sleeping hours in a week. </p>
<p>I have never given my kids an allowance. Even when they got to high school they worked for their pocket money. In college, there really is no reason for kids to expect their parents to give them pocket money. It is possible to live quite nicely on the cheap.</p>
<p>To the original question, I think it’s fine for parents to continue to give their kids an allowance while in college if they want to. My D works in the summer and uses that money for her spending during the year. She has an unpaid internship during the school year. </p>
<p>midwesterner, I had the same thoughts about the comments regarding kids who didn’t need jobs taking them from those who do - I have been a SAHM for 20 years, so I practice what she preaches! I can just say I’m not working because someone else really needs my job.</p>
<p>My kids started earning their own pocket money in high school. I saw no reason that a 16 year old couldn’t earn enough in a week for spending money. IMHO if it’s provided by parents, there is no incentive to find jobs and it doesn’t teach them to limit their spending.</p>
<p>By the way…for those who say students can’t work and study at the same time, all three of mine did on occasion. My youngest graduated from a top 25 school in engineering in four years and still worked part time. If you let them think they are capable of something, they probably will be.</p>
<p>I don’t think there’s any “one-size-fits-all” rule here. I don’t begrudge kids who don’t need to/aren’t expected to work. Norms and expectations differ from family to family. I have no problem with that.</p>
<p>But I’m glad my own D has worked, and she is, too. It’s given her skills, confidence, discipline, a sense of responsibility; not to mention a little extra cash. She’s amply demonstrated that she can take on the responsibility of a job and deliver; and she’s had very responsible jobs, like lifeguard, swim instructor, babysitter, substitute nanny, math tutor, Latin tutor, in which the health, safety, and well-being of others depends on her doing her job well and responsibly. I do think that will give her a leg up in the job market when she’s out of school. That said, I’ve always given her an allowance–part for spending money, part going right back into her own personal college savings account, the same way her own paychecks are divided. We’ve decided to continue to give her a small allowance in college, over and above tuition, room & board, books, travel, etc. But we also expect her to continue to work part-time, in part to generate spending money, in part to contribute to her own education. Within the family, the rule is “from each according to ability, to each according to need.” Her financial needs are great while she’s in college and we’ll shoulder most of that burden, but she’s capable of contributing, too, and she will. Willingly, and gratefully. Great kid, and her work ethic is a big part of it.</p>
<p>Working during the school year is not doable for all majors. Engineering and architecture are two majors that can be very difficult to work during.</p>
<p>As an engineer, I had one quarter that I spent all waking hours studying or going to class or eating dinner, except between Friday at 5 and Sunday morning at 8. I needed those hours to sleep and to relax from the hard week. It was the most difficult quarter of my life. Some quarters were easier and I was able to work those quarters, but many were very difficult (especially freshman year).</p>
<p>Architecture majors also have it very difficult as they have to spend tons of time making scale models of their architecture projects. It isn’t hard work but incredibly time consuming. I don’t think it’s practical for them to work during the school year and do architecture.</p>
<p>But studying is a pretty cheap activity, so if it’s a busy quarter then the amount of spending money needed will be lower accordingly as well.</p>
<p>At my school, probably 50% or 70% of the jobs were reserved for workstudy. If you didn’t have financial need, you didn’t qualify. The excepts were desk clerk at the residence halls, university food service, snow shoveling, and a handful of other positions.</p>