<p>I still would have a problem with my kid taking a job for pin money out of the hands of someone who really needed that money to stay in school. Especially in this economy where jobs are hard to find. But I seem to be the only person who feels that way.</p>
<p>Pizzagirl–did that person that “needs” the money apply for the job?</p>
<p>In my scenario, yes.</p>
<p>Then there was something that the employer didn’t like about that candidate then. I get what you are saying but there are not guarantees that the person that “needs” the money would get the job anyway.</p>
<p>At the school my son will be attending most of the on-campus jobs are work-study. Students without financial need aren’t eligible for them. Work-study students get first pick of the best paying jobs, so it’s unlikely a kid like mine will be taking a job from a kid who needs it more.</p>
<p>I get where you’re coming from Pizzagirl, but I also don’t like the idea of my kid sitting back while his friends on FA are heading off to clear other people’s food at the cafeteria. Hard work is good for the soul. My feeling is that everyone should have a crappy first job, a crappy first car, and a crappy first apartment. It makes one appreciate the later earned comforts a whole lot more.</p>
<p>One nice thing about where my kid is that the school is huge and it is in the middle of no where, so they do have a lot more needs for part time work. I think anyone who wants work, work study or not, could find a job pretty easily. I am also of a mind set that when it comes to jobs it is a fair game for everyone. If my kid didn’t work in school she would be disadvantaged when it comes to future job hunting.</p>
<p>My D is a freshman and is not working this year. I’m OK with her taking a year to get used to school, being on her own, etc. She has a full tuition plus scholarship and we can easily afford the remaining expenses. However, I think it’s important for her to work in future years to gain experience, better time management skills and the like.</p>
<p>I personally did not work during the school year until grad school, and even then I only tutored for the athletic department. I worked during summers, but my dad and I both felt that working during the school year would get to be overwhelming between a double major, heavy sorority involvement, and season basketball tickets ;)</p>
<p>My kids worked during college and summers, 2 at multiple jobs. The one with the significant merit scholarship had only one on-campus job and did unpaid internships during the summers, because that fit within our budget for her education. All certainly felt as if they needed the money, even if a lot went for clothing or fun. 
They earned around $4-5K annually.</p>
<p>They covered their own spending money, clothing other than gifts from us, spring break trips with friends, Greek life expenses, and most of their books. Two were able to find campus jobs that did provide study time; their GPAs were a bit higher than the d who had an off-campus job. (But that off-campus job carried a lot of responsibility, and was helpful in finding her first professional job.) The on-campus jobs were not specifically work-study jobs, because my kids didn’t qualify for work-study. But they had NO trouble finding them, at schools where there certainly were kids on work-study. I know many people have a different experience, so I don’t know why my kids’ schools (W&M, Vanderbilt) had campus jobs for them. </p>
<p>It seems there’s nothing negative to be said about employment during the school year, unless the student really can’t handle the time management aspect. We read on CC all the time about kids with executive function disorder or other disorders that might make holding a job really tough. I wouldn’t expect my kid to work during the school year unless he/she could make good academic progress at the same time - they could sacrifice the spending money and extras instead.</p>
<p>I never worked a day in college, and I’ve got a hearty work ethic.</p>
<p>Participation in team sports can make it tough to hold down a job. With 2-3 hours of daily practice and games on the weekend it’s pretty much impossible to hold down an off-campus job. During my sport’s season the only reason I was able to hold on to my 10 hr/wk. job was that the hours were flexible and I’d built up good will during the off season.</p>
<p>Athletes already have a “job” on campus, being in their sport. Most are “paid” for that via scholarships though and at DIII schools, coaches tend to be more forgiving for missing practice, etc. It’s hard either way though. DD won’t need to work. We will see how her schedule works out though. If she has time to work even 5-10 hours/week I think she will do that for the spending money (sorry Pizzagirl :D).</p>
<p>There are no athletic scholarships at Ivies or NESCAC schools so I’m not sure you could call it the student’s “job” at those schools.</p>
<p>Coaches at DIII schools tend to be slightly more flexible, but miss practice on anything approaching a regular basis and you’ll still be off the team.</p>
<p>But Sue22, you did hold down a job. It was flexible, it wasn’t a lot of hours, but you did work. A lot of us are saying that college kids should work, even if it’s not a lot, or even if you take the sports season “off.” This isn’t as much about skin in the game or even our kids supporting themselves as it is about whether or not we feel there’s value to paid employment while our kids are in school. </p>
<p>Personally, I think 10 hours a week for an in-season athlete is pretty impressive.</p>
<p>ordinarylives-
We’re in agreement about the value of work. I was in a DIII program so the athletics hours were less than at a DI and there were no scholarships hanging on my performance. My league also banned out of season practices. I read recently that in some DI sports athletes are reporting spending 40+ hours per week on their sport. Now that’s a job!</p>
<p>Sue22–no scholarships but admission based on playing that sport works out to be the same thing really. Why the need to nitpick? I’m agreeing with you???:rolleyes:</p>
<p>My kid sails (club) and it’s both a fall and spring sport. Practice is every afternoon and it takes time to get to the lake where they practice. Regattas are every weekend and they have to drive all over the NE. Often they are gone from Friday after classes until late Sunday evening. He is also in two clubs and on student gov’t, not to mention a work load with an enormous amount of reading. </p>
<p>He still would like a job , but that is his choice. I was actually relieved that non work study jobs on his campus are few and far between. He earns enough (about $3000) over the summers and on breaks to cover pretty much all his expenses. </p>
<p>One of his clubs (DJ club) actually paid off for him as he was able to get a few jobs DJing at clubs over the summer paying $40 an hour. :)</p>
<p>SteveMA,
Not exactly disagreeing with you, just looking at it from a different perspective. A student who is receiving scholarship money based on their sport may need to see sports as a job. If they get kicked off the team they’re likely to lose their scholarship. At the schools I referred to, Ivies and NESCAC schools like Williams or Bowdoin, there are no athletic scholarships, so while sports may provide a tip in admissions students make no commitment to play, any more than a kids whose application was helped by their intensive community service is required to do good in college.</p>
<p>I agree that, for most students, there are only benefits to having a job. Having set times when you can’t get homework done makes it less likely that you’ll procrastinate when you have to study, I’ve found. And having work experience and spending money are also obviously both good things.</p>
<p>At Smith, at least, students on work-study have first pick of on-campus jobs, and many of the best jobs (e.g. working in the libraries, where you can have time to do homework if it’s not too busy) are reserved for students on work-study.</p>
<p>I’ve worked 6-8 hours a week since my sophomore year, both as a research assistant for a professor and as a tutor. I do think that a lot of jobs, including tutoring, working the front desk, etc, end up giving students time to do reading inbetween work, which can lessen the time management burden for students who struggle with that.</p>
<p>Sue22–but if they get kicked off the team, they have time for a real job :D</p>