<p>Hi all! I was wondering if you guys think that colleges really look at where a person works, like if they think certain work-places are better than others. For instance, I work at Starbucks. Is it true that some jobs are more prestigious to colleges than others? Just wondering (looking for any point of interest colleges might have in me, as my school record is above 3.0, over 1800 SAT, lotsa EC's--who knows). Anyways, anybody know how colleges look at jobs?</p>
<p>you can position yourself to learn a great deal from a job at Starbucks or Burger barn or you can not get anything out of a job at Amgen.
If admission officers have any sense, they will put more weight into what a student puts into and gets out of their job, rather than the "label" on their paycheck.</p>
<p>In general, the less prestigious jobs - when held over time - tend to have more weight, because they signal that the applicant needs to earn money as opposed to being a spoiled rich kid. So Starbucks or Burger King are fine. That kind of job can provide an apparent explanation for weaknesses in ECs - the ad com assumes that with the work schedule the kid may not have time for extra activities; and if the ECs and courseload are strong, then the job is even more impressive: it shows a kid who must be very smart & capable to handle the workload.</p>
<p>With a kid who has a job title that sounds more "important", the ad com might assume he has some sort of phony job acquired through parental connections. Of course, it would be different if the job was truly impressive or unusual, and clearly something obtained on the kid's own merits. Also, any real job that coincides with the demonstrated interests of the kid would help -- it shows consistency. </p>
<p>But I think there's a real risk if a student tried to puff up a job description in an effort to make it sound more prestigious. That comes across as fake or overblown -- while a more simple description also is a lot more believable. </p>
<p>So whatever you do, be honest in the way you describe the job.</p>
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<blockquote> <p>In general, the less prestigious jobs - when held over time - tend to have more weight, because they signal that the applicant needs to earn money as opposed to being a spoiled rich kid.<<</p> </blockquote>
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<p>What about ski instructor? My d is teaching at a local (small) ski area, where she teaches 3-5 and 6-9 year olds. She is the actual teacher, not an assistant. (She also assists in several dance classes, but that's a volunteer position.)</p>
<p>Chedva, I think that what I was trying to say is that REAL jobs need to be described in REALISTIC terms. It is fairly common for kids with athletic ability or who have talents in the performing arts to start teaching or coaching younger kids during their teens. </p>
<p>I just think its a problem when a kid tries to inflate the importance of the job with a fancy title, hoping to impress the ad coms - that's when I think it will backfire. If the job includes frying hamburgers on a grill, the kid shoudn't claim to be a master chef; "fry-cook" will do. If the job entails answering phones and filing papers in an office, "file clerk" or "receptionist" are o.k. titles; "executive assistant" is the sort of pretention that tends to backfire.</p>
<p>If your daughter is afraid that "ski instructor" sounds too pretentious, then she could choose to make her role clear by calling herself "children's ski instructor".</p>
<p>I don't think most colleges are "judging" your job. They are looking to see IF you work which is sometimes an indication of how well students can budget their time. Schools also have an expectation that students WILL be making a financial contribution to their college expenses. Without a job that is pretty hard to do.</p>
<p>I don't believe that prestige of a high school student's job is a factor AT ALL in college admissions. There are different reasons for a hs student to hold a job, and I believe adcoms look at these situations differently. </p>
<p>If a job complements an academic or extracurricular interest, the adcom sees that as adding to the strength of that part of the applicant's "case." </p>
<p>If a job has been important as a way to earn needed income to help family/support one's own pocket money needs/save for college, the adcom sees the job as an indication of the student's sense of responsibility. They also see that a student holding a 10-20 hr/week job is not going to have the same # of EC's.</p>
<p>An adcom from a prestigious LAC once told me that the most memorable essay she had read in her career was by a girl who wrote about what she had learned people-watching during her Dunkin' Donuts job.</p>
<p>Just present your job in its true light. If it is fodder for a good essay, that's fine too (but not necessary).</p>
<p>My son works at McDonalds for minimum wage. This week, one of the kids who was working there since he was 14 left for Cornell. Apparently, McDs was good enough for Cornell!</p>
<p>My son works in a grocery store. He just went on a college interview. They were impressed that he is working and the interviewer said that he thinks he is probably learning more than he realizes. They asked questions about particulars such as if he was trained should there be a robbery, and what his responsibilities are, and if he helps close etc.. This school genuinely thought that working in the grocery store was very good use of his time. They seemed to expect that you have had some type of employment.</p>
<p>As others had said, why students work and what they learn from the experience (even in a menial job) is what's important. </p>
<p>As a senior in high school, I worked as a house cleaner and as a clerk in a store similar to K Mart. I did this because my father, although a dentist, was irresponsible with $ so I knew that I needed to earn money for my college education. I</p>
<p>lived in a reasonably well off suburb where few students worked. I am sure that my working, which I included on my college application, helped me get into Harvard, Brown, Wellesley, and Cornell, and also helped Harvard decide to give me need-based scholarship aid because my work history helped underline the fact that despite my dad's profession, I needed money for college.</p>
<p>so what if you have changed jobs twice? will that look bad?</p>