<p>vicarious, even at the college-student-summer-job level and even in this economy, networking works. Last summer my D pounded the pavement for a month looking for a job, with no results. Then she got a call from the mother of one of her HS friends; the woman was looking for volunteers to work at a month-long summer reading program. When that ended, she was so impressed with D’s work ethic and people skills that she told her about an opening at the photography studio where she works. In turn, they liked D so much that they said the job was hers again next summer if she wants it. So if she wants to work, your D could put out the word to everyone she knows that she’s looking, and in the meantime find herself a volunteer position that will get her “out there.”</p>
<p>Great advice, LasMa!</p>
<p>There are a ton of places who could use volunteers (especially non-profits & government agencies). Another side benefit of volunteering is that it can help your young person learn what s/he does and doesn’t like about a position and/or field. This can help down the road and also helps with major selection.</p>
<p>I agree with that to a point. My niece had 2 internships with a financial company in Wash.DC and then worked there at graduation. She loved the internship, hated the job…very different she said which surprised me and the hours were much longer (that didn’t) She did get a feel of what it was like though in that field.</p>
<p>I love volunteering and like that my children have also, but it doesn’t always help with work. I found that some employers still wont give it as much importance as a check paying position even when it had more interesting work. I found that this was because they knew the person didn’t have to come in, so if possible, get references that say you showed up and did the work a paying employee would do, without getting paid. I saw this advice also on job-seeking sites.</p>
<p>My son took two classes last summer at a local community college to fulfill his gen ed requirements. He also worked at a local burger place (did not want to, but it was a job) and interned for our congressional member’s area office. He also taught SAT prep, particularly math, to some of our HS students.</p>
<p>S got an unpaid internship with a political campaign in DC. There were a number of issues with his housing and job that made this a less than ideal situation. No car fires or pregnant girlfriend, but some real-life situations he was not well-prepared to handle. He tolerated it as long as he could, then came back home early and relaxed.</p>
<p>Now D is looking, and I posted a thread on this forum about a week ago asking for advice on internships for the younger college student. Most internships want the student to be a junior or senior, or require coursework in the major. Others are unpaid or are only offered for college credit. D needs to earn money.</p>
<p>I think that one’s educational and career objectives should be a factor in summer activities, depending on the major. For example, I’ve suggested to kids who need Organic Chemistry on their transcript to take that class in the summer. It makes the regular term course load easier to navigate, particularly if Organic Chem is a “weed out” class at their college. They can work or complete an internship during the rising junior and senior summers.</p>
<p>D is doing a 4 week study abroad program this summer. In addition, her high school job has said that they’ll have her back (she worked a little over winter break too.) They tend to be sporadic with their hours but it’ll be hard to find something else for 7 weeks.</p>
<p>My D’s plans are far from finalized, but one of the options she is considering is to take one or two classes at our local university. This would allow her to complete her pre-req’s a little earlier and to give her more options down the road, either to take more electives at her LAC or to do a study abroad.</p>
<p>My D is a high school senior who will be starting college this fall. She plans to major in computer science. As a senior this year, she has had the opportunity to intern at a nationally top ranked university research facility. Her mentor just invited her to work for him as a college summer intern. Although most of the interns are rising college junior and seniors, her mentor must feel that she is capable of performing the work. She is very excited about this outstanding opportunity. Plus, how many high school seniors will be making $25/hour!</p>
<p>I was worried that she would have too much time on her hands this summer before this internship was offered to her, but problem solved!</p>
<p>I would strongly recommend that all college students try to find a meaningful summer internship. With such a tight job market, every little bit of experience helps.</p>
<p>umdclassof80:
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<p>Not even majority of college students will be making this much.
$25/hour comes to $1000/week or $52000/annum </p>
<p>Majority of college students will be working for much less on an annual basis.</p>
<p>Kuddos to your DD.</p>
<p>The area we live in has a very high demand for computer science grads. The average salary for a computer software engineer is around $110,000.</p>
<p>My D realizes how fortunate she is. Very few girls choose to pursue a career in computer science, but the opportunities are practically endless.</p>
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<p>I’m in CA bay area and the starting salaries of computer software engineers (BS) average around $65000. </p>
<p>I think you need to give credit to your DD. Getting $25/hr for a full time internship after high school is way at the top. Once again kuddos to your DD.</p>
<p>The national average starting salary for someone with a BS in computer science is $60,000. I’m surprised it isn’t higher in the Bay area due to the high cost of living. I had read that some new grads in that area are earning $80,000-90,000. The highest starting salaries are consistently found in Boston, NYC, Dallas, San Francisco/San Jose, and DC. In our area, like yours, the average starting salary for a new grad is $64,000.</p>
<p>What is so fantastic about this summer internship is that my D wasn’t even planning to apply because they usually hire college juniors and seniors. They only accept about 5% of the students who apply. This came as a wonderful surprise and will be a much needed boost to her self-confidence.</p>
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<p>It’s almost 10% higher which seems appropriate. This is the range that you will get from consensus in CA bay area for starting salaries.
BS - $40,000 - $90,000 (Avg. $65000)
MS - $50,000 - $100,000 (Avg. $75000)
Phd - $80,000 - $130,000 (Avg. $105,000)</p>
<p>So you can come across students with BS who had offers between $80,000 and $90,000 but that is not the norm.</p>
<p>S1 got a programming gig with a professor in Boston after freshman year. Paid fairly decently, and he was able to pay his rent, personal expenses and put money in the bank for the next year. Worked for one of the major CS gigs last summer and was paid very handsomely. </p>
<p>S2 is hoping to land an unpaid internship in his field (it’s hard enough to get one as a freshman, much less a paying one) and then work either at the catering company he’s worked the past two years or something equivalent for evenings/weekends to make $$.</p>
<p>UMD’s CS dept. told us three years ago that their graduates were averaging $70K with a BS. That is consistent with numbers S1 has seen in his interviews.</p>
<p>vicarious: you asked if kids take classes over the summer. My nephew did just that. He had switched his major, so he still had to complete a few pre-requisites. Taking a few summer classes at a community college allowed him to keep on track to graduate in 4 years.</p>
<p>My older son (comp sci) was making $25/hour in high school. The company said he was doing the same work they paid college graduate freelancers so they paid him the same as he got as much accomplished as they did. I know he made more than that last summer as an intern, though I can’t remember the exact number any more.</p>
<p>My D spends about $40/hr when she goes shopping :)</p>
<p>My S (HS Senior) is working at the camp he has attended for years this summer. Last year he was a CIT and this will be his first year as a counselor (getting paid rather than us paying, yay!) Because they get “free room and board” the pay is a pittance. But I suspect that my S will want to go back for another summer between Freshman and Sophomore years at college. It’s looking like he may well chose a co-op school, which would mean that will be his only summer “off” and his last chance to work at camp, so unless something else really fabulous comes along, I suspect that’s what he’ll do. He’s attended camp there every summer since he was 7yo!</p>