<p>This is a spin off on the loan thread below. </p>
<p>What are your expectations for your student working during college? What do you see as the pluses and minuses? What do you think is reasonable, and what point does working become a problem? How much do you think it's reasonable to expect a college student to earn, what would you expect them to do with that money?</p>
<p>S works one evening a week. He uses the income for his spending money, gas, eating out, personal stuff and so on. He also has a savings account in which he puts whatever he can. We have no problem with his working as long as he keeps his grades up and still manages to have some social life. </p>
<p>As to what is reasonable, a lot of it depends on the major and the individual student. When the job begins to interfere with getting homework done, studying for exams, writing papers and the like, then it’s a problem.</p>
<p>Answering my own thread:</p>
<p>Based on my own experience, I’m a big advocate of working during college, even for a student who can afford to do otherwise. I wasn’t eligible for work study so I looked for work off campus where I worked as a camp counselor, shadow for a child with a disability, babysitter, tutor, bowling coach for kids with intellectual disabilities, life skills instructor and recreation leader for adults with disabilities, and Sunday morning childcare provider for a church. I also did some administrative jobs at a children’s clinic and a museum. By senior year I was often putting in 40 hours a week in these off campus positions. Working was really important to me, it let me interact with the “real world”, particularly with working adults, and to explore things that weren’t taught in college. It wasn’t until I went to study abroad and didn’t have a work permit that I realized what an important role work played in my routine and my self image. I came back from abroad committed to building a career around children and adults with disabilities, every job I’ve had as an adult sprung from those early experiences, not from my poli sci degree.</p>
<p>My brother had a similar experience. He did qualify for workstudy so he got jobs helping on the tech theater crew at his college, and a DJ at the college radio. He helped wire the new sound system in the theater which lead to a non workstudy job wiring the telephone system in the college dorms. Unlike me he figured out what he loved in time to actually major in something related (tech theater), and has gone on to work in the tech system, designing, installing, and teaching others how to use high tech networking hardware. </p>
<p>When I think of my friends from college, I see the same story repeating itself. Kids working off campus and discovering what they wanted and building a life around it. In contrast, I look at some of my friends who didn’t work or had meaningless workstudy job (e.g. a friend of mine sat at a desk in the library and watched to make sure no one brought food in). Many of these friends graduated and headed off to jobs or grad school, only to discover that they had made the wrong choice, and have gone back to school in something that suited them better. </p>
<p>So, even if my son wins a full ride somewhere, I’ll encourage him to work, to try different things, to learn what he’s good at. I’ll also encourage him to look for work that’s interesting and meaningful, even if it means going off campus. Ideally, I’d like to expect him to work to pay his day to day expenses, and things above and beyond tuition, room, board, and airfare home (I paid for study abroad with my $), and to develop a small nest egg, but given our finances he may need to use that money for tuition as well. I would certainly rather see him work than take out a loan, even a Stafford.</p>
<p>Son will be heading off to college in the fall. We’ll cover tuition, room, board, and fees, some of it out of money put aside for him as part of an inheritance. He’ll be responsible for the remaining costs (transportation, books, entertainment, clothes, etc…) If he can’t come up with enough money to maintain a car he’ll have to sell the one he bought with his own money.</p>
<p>We expect him to bank some cash from a summer job but I’d like to see him settle in to school before taking on a campus/off campus job. The academics will be challenging enough as it is and I’d hate for him to miss out on the social piece of college. Some of my best memories of college are of sitting with a group of fellow students in a dorm room arguing politics, discussing literature or listening to friends play music. I found some of these experiences to be as valuable as what i learned in the classroom. </p>
<p>Eventually I’d like to see son take on about 10 hrs. a week of paid work, but the number of hours will depend on what else he becomes involved with on campus and whether he’s willing to be a bit frugal in order to participate.</p>
<p>We can afford to pay for these extra costs but I think this is a good way for him to practice budgeting skills and to learn to prioritize expenses.</p>
<p>I think most students should work 8-12 hours a week to earn their own spending money. Employers like to see work history. </p>
<p>It depends heavily on the student though. As long as the student is neurotypical, I don’t buy the “I don’t have time” argument. You can find ~8 hours/week even in the toughest majors.</p>
<p>My kid works summers and during breaks. That is good enough for me.</p>
<p>Older d worked at campus art museum as gallery guide and ended as Head of Visitor Services. She also sometimes worked in art slide library once or twice a semester. Younger d babysit for her voice teacher’s children and one semester did clerical work one night a week for Hillel. She once applied to be a dog-sitter for famous opera singer who was performing at Eastman but their was fierce competition for that job. At younger d’s school there wasn’t really much opportunity for paid employment as reserved for work-study students. You needed a car to work off-campus although many did as waitresses, valet parkers, etc.</p>
<p>S works 9 to 11 hours per week on campus through work study. He is an engineering major with 18 units per semester. Belongs to a couple of clubs, exercises, and cooks many of his meals. Yes he is busy, but it keeps him on schedule and allows him some spending money.</p>
<p>I ‘worked’ 40-50 hours/week in college, however only about 20 of those I was actually 'working" the rest I was studying but getting paid to be there. It was a great job and for someone funding 100% of their own schooling, it paid for a lot of Ramen Noodles.</p>
<p>
You don’t strike me as such a black/white thinker, romani. I lean a lot more towards the idea that it really, really depends on the individual.</p>
<p>^ ??? Black/white thinking? Before that I said “most students” and “It depends heavily on the student though.” </p>
<p>I thought that would make it clear that I said it depends on the individual. </p>
<p>I still don’t buy the “I don’t have time” argument.</p>
<p>I think most kids can fit in around ten hours a week. I think working 40 hours a week, even if it’s mostly just sitting and studying is crazy and has to impact your academics. My older son didn’t work because he earned so much during the summers he didn’t need to. My younger son really was having a hard time keeping his head above water with Arabic so we did not make him work - though we did talk about it. He really watches his pennies so I can’t complain. He worked last summer. He is not working in Jordan - I don’t think it would be possible even if he wanted to.</p>
<p>I was dead set against oldest working while she was in school. Of course, this never gets me anywhere with her, anyway, and I kept it to myself. She fell into a job that kind of branched off of her first summer internship. She’s been working ever since, full time student, mostly As, even in stem stuff. She is also very involved in an EC and has a serious relationship and a group of time consuming friends.</p>
<p>I have no idea how she does it all. But, she is happy and her after graduation job comes directly from this work. So, I’d say, pick your first internship wisely. ;)</p>
<p>ETA: since this is a hot topic, these days, I will also say that her internship began unpaid and progressed to paid work in about a month and a half because they wanted to keep her around. fwiw</p>
<p>“I still don’t buy the “I don’t have time” argument.”</p>
<p>Well, I would not have had the time, or my grades would have suffered. Graduating with an engineering major, on time, was tough. But generally speaking, most people would have plenty of time IMO, time better spent working than wasted.</p>
<p>With any student I think you have to ask how they will spend the money. If it’s just for nicer clothes, more junk, liquor, etc. then maybe the job isn’t so important. SIL just told niece that she’ll have to earn the money for car insurance once she gets her license. My own priority would be to forgo the driving for a while and encourage academics, ECs and other pursuits that students can do and working people are less able to.</p>
<p>D has a work study job and the money goes towards books, incidentals and entertainment. She works 10-12 hrs per week I think, but has lots of time for reading.</p>
<p>I think my daughter spends her entire income, as well as her allowance from us, on clothes. But she sure looks great. :p</p>
<p>I work 19.5 hrs/week as a tutor on campus, but the job is flexible in the sense that I can work late and come into work for maybe an hour or two instead of the four/five hour shifts other jobs demand. For me (and a lot of tutors), the job fits around the schedule. I am on W/S for the job, though I started off non-W/S, and use the money primarily for gas, groceries every week, and books.</p>
<p>I’m another one who doesn’t buy the “don’t have time” argument from kids in college or high school (although high schoolers can have real transportation barriers). Doesn’t have to be a lot of hours, and how much depends on the kid, the major, and the ability of the kid to handle his or her major. </p>
<p>My own college kid works summers as a pool manager. During the school year, she picks up hours tutoring for campus tutoring services, working at a campus office, and working off campus at a studio. She adjusts her hours as needed, except at the studio. Once you sign on to teach classes, you need to be committed. I honestly don’t know how many hours a week she works.</p>
<p>S worked during the school year from JR year, as well as every summer since SR year in HS. D worked the summer after her freshman year and when she arrived on campus as a transfer student until her position was terminated because she was non W/S. S’s job was research in his field. D’s jobs were in the field she is now majoring in (she was undecided when she transferred). Our kids have had some chronic health issues and I have no issues with them pacing themselves, which I have trusted them to do since middle school. They have also had some interesting ECs in college (not much in HS because of the overriding health issues).</p>
<p>I wish my kids had had the energy to have more different jobs over the summers and years, but it has worked out so far. I worked at babysitting and tutoring from middle school on. I also had summer jobs every year since I was 14 years old. None were in fields I ended up working in, but I did learn about people and my strengths and weaknesses in these jobs.</p>
<p>I worked 20+ hours a week when I was in college, and it was because I had to or I wouldn’t have any spending money. My kids are not eligible for work study, but I insisted on them working because wanted them to have some work experience before they start looking for professional internship. To encourage them, I gave them a monthly allowance if they worked, otherwise they were on their own.</p>
<p>D1 worked 10-12 a week, between her on campus job and off campus ballet instructor job. She was also very involved on campus with her sorority, student government and dance. Her grades didn’t suffer because of her job. She worked in the same office for 4 years, toward the end she was a lot more than just an administrative assistant, she was helping with their annual budget. Overall, it was a great experience for her and it looked good on her resume.</p>
<p>D2 is a freshman. She lucked out with a great campus job. The office funds various outreach community service projects. She gets to interact with professors, students and school administrators. She is only given 5 hours/week because she is the youngest student in the office. Through her job she got involved with a high profile student club and was just elected to be a co-chair for the club. D2 got all As last semester and she told me that she felt she had a lot of time on her hand, so another word she could have worked more if necessary. </p>
<p>My kids spend all of their money on food and personal grooming stuff (shampoo, hair cut, makeup). D1 is off our payroll, but we pay for D2 clothes/shoes/bags.</p>