Work or Allowance?

<p>With 5 courses entering a Science program for the first term should I be pushing my son toward working while attending or give him some weekly expense budget with a limit like $50.00
I want his focus to be on learning and passing but don't want to be too easy a mark for cash either.
Thoughts?</p>

<p>itstrikesme…did your son work this summer? Why can’t he use THAT money for spending money? We didn’t really want either of our kids to work during their freshman years…but both did. They worked about 10 hours a week and it was not a problem for them. Both said it actually HELPED them budget their time better.</p>

<p>Personally, I would suggest that your son use his summer earnings for fall spending money and then get a job the second term.</p>

<p>it strikes me - IMHO That seems like a huge courseload (5 in a science program) as is. Can you give him some time - like a whole semester - to get his feet wet??
I concur with thumper</p>

<p>I like thumper’s idea of no job the first semester/quarter but then trying for an on-campus job the second semester/quarter. That’d allow him to get the lay of the land, settle in, and see what opportunities there might be. </p>

<p>Campus jobs are usually very flexible on scheduling, pay more than min wage, and one can work a lower number of hours - perhaps 10-15 per week. That’s enough for spending money yet still leaving room for studies.</p>

<p>I have class from 11-6 every day and I am going to have two or three papers due every week, as well as a science lab. Being that it is my first semester at a university I opted not to work unless I pick up a little tutoring job or something, and am deeply hoping my parents will give me a small allowance. Though I can’t imagine getting $50 a week, that’s pretty lavish for someone operating on someone else’s money. It’s always been $20 a week in my family, $25 when someone is feeling generous.</p>

<p>Most kids in HS had 10-20 hourse of ECs, my D1 did. She was dancing 15-20 hours a week, and with a very tough course load. When she went to college, she decided not to pursue dance, so she had a lot of time on her hand. She started to work 12 hrs a week right away because we wanted her to. But we still gave her 200/mon for spending money. I think by working, she managed her time better, less time to get in trouble. </p>

<p>It is a good idea not to work right away. With budget cut at many campus, it may not be that easy to get a campus job.</p>

<p>My boyfriend has been having a REALLY hard time finding a job on his campus. If you don’t have work-study your options can often be seriously limited, it depends on the school. His school doesn’t accept applications for work-study jobs by non work-study students, so even if it means not filling the position you CANT get the job if you don’t have work-study-- and the vast majority of jobs are work-study. I am hoping my school won’t be like that but I guess we’ll see.</p>

<p>we gave our kids some spending money. We felt that if we were paying 50k for their education, it will be wiser to have them spend their time studying. Both eventually got jobs as TAs/writing tutors/etc., but those were jobs that added to their educational experience.</p>

<p>Is your S living in a dorm/eating in a dining hall? Then he shouldn’t need more than a few dollars a month for laundry/toiletries.</p>

<p>As someone who hires interns sometimes, I am reluctant to hire anyone without some sort of work experience, whether it’s in their field of study or not. Our D1 didn’t work while she was in high school because of her EC. We thought it was important to demonstrate to potential employer that she is capable of holding down a job. As it turned out, her responsibility at her campus office job grew over time. She was nominated to be student employee of the year. Aside from money, it is helpful to have work experience.</p>

<p>Some schools’ financial aid office do not have a work requirement for the entire first year. Brown, for instance, explicitly tells students and parents that the philosophy there is that no student should have to work in their first year, while they get adjusted to college life.</p>

<p>I agree with that, although our son actually did pick up a departmental job and , like the daughter of OldFort, he did benefit from those hours of work, academically and perhaps looking for a "real " job later.</p>

<p>As a parent, I tell them not to work in the first year, as long as we can afford it, but I think it is great if they end up doing something that they are really interested in, if it happens along, so then I totally support a small job.</p>

<p>Is it difficult to find an on-campus job second semester if one didn’t have it first semester? I’m just wondering if the good work-study jobs “dry up” and get taken during first semester. I have seen the same thing as posted above, that at some schools it is very difficult to get a job if a student doesn’t have work-study as part of his financial aid package.</p>

<p>My S did get a job first semester freshman year. He has worked 10-15 hours a week there the last two years, and full-time during the summers. His grades aren’t stellar, but I’m not sure they’d be any better without the job. That department has treated him exceedingly well and provided many educational opportunities beyond the classroom.</p>

<p>Try to get in on departmental email distribution lists where departmental and other jobs are often posted.</p>

<p>Neither of our S’s worked during the academic yr. as freshman.</p>

<p>Our S didn’t work his first year, but decided to go for a job second year. I think he wanted his own money and realized some work experience was a plus. His school guarantees employment to any student who wants it.</p>