Builds character.
My DD does not need to work because we would cover all costs. I told her not to get a job until 2nd semester frosh yr. She promptly ignored me and got a job within the first few weeks of frosh yr. she was able to get a great job because so few kiddos were looking so early. She has a strong work ethic and likes to keep busy and has had many other jobs before she started college.
The skills and experience does help to build her resume. She spends most of her time sitting around doing HW for $13/hr and she says it’s great to get such a huge chunk of time to do HW. Or she would do internships for no pay.
But if you can cover all the cost of the extras, then it’s probably ok to say that their college HW is their “job”. Seems like kiddos like the independence and money that having a small job provides, though.
I wish I could work, but my lack of work-study has made it difficult to find a job so far.
Here’s another take - later in their four years it can be difficult to fit in a job with classes and internships, co-ops, capstones, etc. - so IMO, it’s a good idea to work a part time job the first year or two - until time won’t allow for it.
Too much free time for freshman can = not a good thing!
This is an interesting thread. I agree with those who say work is productive and builds character. However, as some have pointed out, work doesn’t have to be for pay.
Those of us like the OP have the luxury of choice…and realize it. My daughter probably spent much more than 10 hrs/week “working without pay” for her RSO. She spent many hours organizing philanthropic fundraisers and service projects. I believe one event raised over $10,000 for an excellent cause! 
So to the OP, I would say, talk with your son about how he can make his time meaningful on campus. It will make for a more enjoyable and yes, productive college experience.
I want my kids to work. I think it helps them manage their time more effectively. Not a 40-hour work-week but 10-15 is okay.
Both of my kids want to work, I didn’t make them. How do you make them?
My daughter manages her time better when she’s doing a lot of stuff (because the apple has not fallen far from the tree).
She qualifies for work-study, so she will be working.
I’ll add my perspective as a young alumnus (who was full pay and thus didn’t need to work to cover any expenses). Parents definitely didn’t force any work on me in college and I think a blanket requirement is counterproductive. I don’t think there’d be an issue with refusing to pay for “fun money” (i.e. money spent outside meal plan, housing, school supplies). I did actually end up getting a paid job at Kaplan as a tutor. I’ll say during the summers, your kid absolutely should be doing some sort of job/internship (i mean it’s essentially a requirement now for any career, right?) but for myself as a pre MD/PhD student, being able to work in labs for no pay was absolutely a benefit. As others have said, **I wouldn’t require paid positions because being able to volunteer (i.e. work for free) absolutely opens doors that one might not otherwise have/b
I personally don’t like this concept–if a kid really needs a part-time menial job to take his studies seriously, I think there are bigger problems.
I can see value in having a job, but I’m more interested in my kid getting maximum value out of college, and if that means ECs that don’t pay, or volunteer work, or arts stuff, or just spending a lot of time on academics, that’s more important to me than earning their own spending money. Obviously, it’s different if it’s a necessity for the kid to work.
Note that this effectively means that such doors are much more available for the kids of high SES families who can support their unpaid internships or volunteer work, compared to kids of low SES families who cannot.
I see the idea here that working takes time from studies, but in college I recall seeing quite a few students in the TV room for 3-4 hours a day and more.
“Note that this effectively means that such doors are much more available for the kids of high SES families who can support their unpaid internships or volunteer work, compared to kids of low SES families who cannot.”
Yes, this is obvious. In other news, kids of high SES families always have more opportunities than kids of low SES families.
I’m currently working 20+ hours a week in the admissions office at my University. I need the money for groceries and to help pay loans. Sure I’m probably learning some life skills (Which I probably learned through high school jobs as well) but if I didn’t have to work, I wouldn’t. I probably sleep 5-7 hours a night, and don’t have time for anything besides homework on weeknights.
I’ll require my kids to work. Not as much as I did but work nonetheless. It teaches good skills and gives you a starting point when it comes to applying for other jobs.
When I hire people, I screen out all the ones who have never had a job before. I have enough applicants that I can do that and I don’t really have the time nor patience to be someone’s first job. I had too many first time job people the first summer I ran the project and they all basically decided they could come and leave as they pleased.
My kids both worked in the summer and used the money for their discretionary spending at school. As it turned out, one summer my oldest kid got a job at her university that she loved (she did calling for the alumni fund–a job I’d hate) and she decided to keep the job when she when back to school in the fall. She also worked as a gymnastics coach at a local gym (mostly working with young kids) two days a week–a job that she kept after she graduated because it paid more than the alumni fund. She kept coaching until she found a job in her field.
Younger kid worked in the summer, but didn’t plan on working during the college year. After freshman year, D’s advisor offered her a baby sitting job. Two days a week, D picked up the advisor’s kids from school, drove them home, and made dinner for them. The advisor was extremely generous and gave D $250 per week–she worked about 8 hours a week.
We didn’t tell our kids that they had to work, it just turned out that they had the opportunity to do so and decided to take it.
^ That’s shocking. How are people ever going to learn if you don’t give them some opportunity and then bother to teach them something about how it’s done? Maybe they just weren’t lucky enough to learn those skills at home.