I am paying for all 3 of my kids’ necessary college expenses, including tuition, fees, books, room, and board. What I expect from them is to pay for all the extras: going out to eat with friends; movies; late night snacks; and weekend excursions. I want them to work a part time job to fund these extras, but I’m sensing that they will try to avoid working. They do have money from HS graduation, birthdays, and a summer job, and I think they are betting that the money will get them through, even though their older sibling warned them that the extras can get expensive.
I think they should work to earn the money for the extras. I feel it will give them skin in the game while also helping with the transition into young adulthood and showing some work history when it comes time to apply for internships.
How do you feel about students working during college?
Obviously, its a personal/family choice. I encouraged my kids to get involved in academic/research stuff by volunteering in a campus lab/community research opportunity. But then they had grad school goals.
Often, that is effectively mandatory because that is the only way that the student can afford to attend college. Most college need-based financial aid offers assume some student work earnings.
Where it is optional due to sufficient parental contribution, students may still find it desirable to have some work experience when later applying for summer jobs and post-graduation jobs. But some parents may not want their kids to work during the first semester to avoid extra load while the student is transitioning from high school to college.
We did the exact same thing with our kids and they worked it out. Both kids worked during the school year and in the summers in order to afford their extras, and we felt that was as it should be! Nor did they seem to resent it, we were paying a lot in private school tuition and they knew it, so I don’t think they expected us to also cover their personal spending.
We also expect our D to take care of all the extras and we include books in that. She had a job in HS and went into college with a decent amount in her bank account. She is super busy during the school year so she budgets to make her money last. She’s turned out to be extremely frugal. She also paid for a chunk of her study abroad costs and gave us an IOU for the remainder when she starts her co-op. She replenished her bank account with her summer internship.
There is nothing wrong with expecting kids to earn their own spending money, whether that means they have to work during the school year or they have to make the summer earnings stretch. If the parents can afford to subsidize the student, there is nothing wrong with an internship (whether paid or unpaid) or large/long-term-committment volunteer effort either.
Any one of these choices is helpful in building a resume and building character.
Our three all worked for their spending money and none regret it. They still had plenty of time to join and lead clubs, etc. By having jobs it worked well on their resumes later and it helped my one lad who wanted to do research to get one of his favored researching jobs - the lead on that wanted someone who had done, “real work” so they knew they could depend on them to be there when they were expected to be and not be afraid to get their hands dirty or expect only the “cushy” parts of the job.
The plus for many who work (or sports/music) is it helps them with time management. They know when they have to be at work, when they want to be at their clubs, etc, and know they need to be studying or working on papers at other times. Seems many who don’t have the “official” time commitments tend to procrastinate more IME, and then they might not leave enough time. It can be easy to laze around thinking you have forever to get something done.
H and I really see no downside and have no regrets. Our lads have never been resentful or anything either. I think it helped them feel more “adult” by working for their expenses and they never had to ask for money.
Both of our daughters had part-time jobs at their LACs, and both viewed it as a very positive experience. Besides generating some pocket money, it gave them much-needed scheduled study breaks as well as opportunities to socialize. D1 worked in a campus cafe and as a research assistant to a professor. The RA gig deepened her knowledge of her field and she developed a close relationship with the prof. She also developed close friendships with some of her co-workers at the cafe, and many of her other friends and some of her favorite professors would frequently stop by for a coffee drink or a snack—and to top it off, she got all the free coffee drinks she wanted. D2, an art history major, worked in her college’s extensive art and art history library where she developed valuable specialized library skills and an intimate familiarity with the library’s collection, enhancing what she was learning in the classroom. Yet she still managed to sandwich in unpaid internships at major art museums. I think a part-time job can be a great thing for a student who is highly motivated and can organize their time to get their academic work done efficiently.
We chose **not **to have our kids work while away at school. There were several reasons.
First, both of my kids have been very frugal. Every birthday/Christmas/graduation check went straight into their savings account at the bank. We always told them they could spend it, but they didn’t. Also, their summer jobs in high school provided enough “play” money, so they never touched it.
Second, both of our kids got a couple of (nice paying) summer internships in college. We told them to save most of it, because upon graduation they would appreciate the money for an apartment, entertainment, etc.
Third, my kids were both business majors. My husband and I both felt that they needed to take advantage of the many professional and personal growth opportunities available on campus. Getting leadership experience was very important. We were glad we could give them flexibility during the school year to optimize their college experience. Frankly, the hours they devoted to these growth endeavors probably exceeded 20 hrs/wk.
Yet I understand that a part-time job in college is sometimes necessary. We’re fortunate that wasn’t the case for us. I will say that if conditions were different…for instance, our kids were financially irresponsible…we would have made them get a job.
My kids didn’t have to work because I gave them an allowance to cover most of their extras since high school, but I insisted on them getting a job while in college so they could build up their resumes. The deal was I would continue to give them an allowance as long as they worked 8-12 hours a week.
They got campus jobs as an office assistant, TA, research assistant, etc.
No. Our kids didn’t work and we didn’t want them to. For one of my daughters paid internships and ANY resume building on campus jobs were ( appropriately we believed) reserved for students on financial aid. Indeed almost all on campus jobs were reserved for FA students. My other daughter had very limited time because of her clinical schedule ( as a nursing student) but did work as a tour guide. She had not realized this was a paid position and neither did we ( at the schools we had attended this was a volunteer thing). We had her donate all of the money she earned to a “ book fund” for students who needed help paying for theirs.
Our kids both worked…and had great jobs. One had a job that provided him with a great perk related to his major. The other kid worked in Undergrad admissions for 3 1/2 years and actually developed an accepted student program. Both were able to include these on their resumes after college…and both were also able to get excellent references from their bosses.
And yes, they earned their discretionary spending money.
I do not have the link to share…but there is research that supports students working 10-15 hours per week…stating it helps them better budget their time…and their grades were better.
You know…there are opportunities to gain leadership in part time jobs too (as my DD did).
I don’t want my D working during the school year unless it’s an internship. I don’t get the whole skin in the game thing. My kid’s scholarship renewal requirement and ambition are enough. Working during the school year would just reduce the already limited time she has to pursue her ECs, volunteer, spend time with friends, and have some down time.
School was their work during their undergraduate school years. The types of jobs that many students can work during the term are low paying while college is very expensive. Why not do your best while in college such that you can have the best opportunity to get a good job when you graduate?
Of course, I expected them to work over the summer when they could earn their spending money for the next school year. The summer employment shows that they are capable of holding a job and would be what future employers would be looking at.
Yes, we expect(ed) our kids to earn spending money. DD works in the campus art gallery. It’s been a great experience. She has learned how to set up art shows and also met artists from all over the country. Most of the time, she just sits at the front desk and does homework.
During the summers, she’s worked as a waitress and at retail stores. I like it that she’s learning how to work hard.
My kids need to work but not necessarily all year round. Each have made enough money summer before freshmen and sophomore year to pay for their books, incidentals and entertainment. After that, they pretty much need to work because summers get filled with internships that don’t always pay or don’t pay enough to save enough for the school year. My eldest enjoyed her campus jobs (campus art museum and clerical for her department.) I know middle is planning to get a small job this (his sophomore year.)
I’m a huge proponent of jobs in both high school and college.
As a high school teacher, it’s my job to pull the very best out of my students. But as an employee, it’s my children’s job to arrive with their very best. What they do at work helps ensure that their boss is able to pay his mortgage. It teaches responsibility in a way that no class can.
I worked started work-- aside from babysitting-- at age 16 and have never stopped. I worked 4 nights a week in a restaurant even while student teaching, and it never occurred to me to take a leave of absence.
My 3 kids have all had jobs by age 15. (My son needed a little push away from the Xbox, so he had a job the summer of age 14.) They enjoy them. My older daughter returns to school in about 3 weeks, and heard back from her Work Study boss in the Res Life office, wanting to know her class hours.
As a hiring manager (from interns to senior people), my biggest issue or concern when I look at someone’s resume without much of work experience is I wonder if the candidate would be a employee who could hold down a job (and I don’t want to be the first one to find out). Getting an internship is not as easy as it seems, it is often competitive. When I do not see work experience or a lot of ECs on a student’s resume, I would literally ask him/her what does he/she do all day, and the student better have stellar grades. Many sought after internships/jobs require people who are good at managing multiple tasks. By focusing on study 100% is not a good demonstration of it.
It’s a personal decision on part of the family, particularly the student for this lucky enough that they even have this choice. If your parents are struggling to meet what is needed to pay for the college, and there isn’t enough aid even in form of loans, it’s either work, or go part time, commute, another school, no school. Schools usually have a built in expectation in financial aid awards that the kids will work, often even during the school year. Studies have shown that having a small work schedule actually is a category of college Kids who tend to do better.
But there are exceptions to this, and some kids don’t do well juggling both. Some parents do not want their kids doing both. Some kids simply don’t want to do both. Sometimes there are limited jobs available. So you make the decision based on your situation at hand
All of mine worked, but by choice —their choice. I don’t think they did the first semester. But they all had some part time work eventually. Some required—athletes at some schools are required to help out any other sport events, for example. Same with some theater kids. With shows. Other programs might have a work component in them too.