Do college students need to work? (degrees, school, graduates, pay)

[ogplife]

Honestly I am not trying to pat myself on the back, but I am 24 and I have almost 6 years of full time work experience. The three years of experience in college was as a security officer which is not going to blow employers away (although it would probably rank above retail and fast food), but it certainly helps to fill my resume, gives me a work related reference and shows that I can maintain a job for an extended period of time (a concern for many employers with younger employees). I was hired to do the job I wanted within a year and a half of graduation, albeit I had to move from NYC. After completing a year in this position I am now in position to compete in a major city for this position. I see so many college students leaving college with a blank resume (internship here and there at the most) and they have so much trouble finding work. I feel really bad for some of my friends in particular. Especially those that obtained loans. MY QUESTION IS ....... SHOULD WORKING IN COLLEGE (AT LEAST PART TIME) BECOME THE NORM? NOT JUST FOR FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS, BUT TO POSITION YOURSELF BETTER FOR THE JOB MARKET? DEGREES SEEM TO BE PRODUCED AS MUCH AS CHILDREN THESE DAYS AND i'M WONDERING IF THERE IS ANY OTHER WAY TO COMPETE UPON GRADUATION. HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THIS?

[Mike in TN]

Maybe the people applying for positions and not getting them need to apply for a more entry-level position?

[mommabear2]

Good question. I am of the opinion that a student shouldn't work if they don't have to - their "job" is to focus on their formal education and graduate. Graduating in itself is difficult for many students without the added burden of working for money. Now, internships are a different story. It really depends on the field of work one is going into and the degree that is being sought. After graduating, most of us have to pay our dues anyway with entry level jobs experience or not (I only know of a few graduates that had employers falling over themselves offering really great jobs - they had no prior experience just a really sought after degree).

[ParkerP]

I know at my university, an internship is required to graduate. In certain fields, experience will outweigh the degree. If you know you are in that kind of field it absolutely makes sense to get a part-time job doing that. When I graduated with my degree I had 3.5 yrs experience under my belt so my job search wasn't as stressful as I know it could have been.

[charolastra00]

Internships- yes. Meaningless college job- not necessarily.

I do either an internship or study abroad (with fieldwork) every summer. During the year, I have classes at LEAST 18 hours a week and generally about 28 hours a week doing schoolwork (I generally have to read about 300 pages a night on a "light" day). Beyond that, I have several leadership roles on campus that take up about 7-10 hours a week of meetings, planning, and action. Due to my medical condition, I have to sleep at LEAST 10 hours a night.

So, by the end of the week, I have less than 15 "free" hours to eat, work, extra homework, talk to my family, etc. Now, granted, often I can multitask, but still. Last semester I worked on top of that and really, the $10 I was making an hour wasn't worth it. Even working 4 hours a week (the most they could give me) killed me and it wasn't any kind of meaningful work.

My leadership roles, study abroad, and internships fill out my resume. For me, college is very much a full time job where I'm on the go and have every moment of the day scheduled out between 9AM and midnight. Even my time online (like right now) is scheduled (or if I finish a scheduled task early, I treat myself). Some people can pull off having part time jobs, but the people I know who have them generally can not take as many classes and cannot be as involved in campus organizations and the student union... or they sleep 5 hours a night. It's a trade off.

[FarNorthDallas]

I never found attending college to be a full time job even while taking a full load. I was also in a sorority and an officer of same and I worked part-time first in retail than as a waitress, did several internships at the same time and still had plenty of opportunity to be totally drunk.

To me, just attending undergrad school and doing nothing else - working or raising kids - seems extraordinarily indulgent.

[ogplife]

Originally Posted by FarNorthDallas

I never found attending college to be a full time job even while taking a full load. I was also in a sorority and an officer of same and I worked part-time first in retail than as a waitress, did several internships at the same time and still had plenty of opportunity to be totally drunk.

To me, just attending undergrad school and doing nothing else - working or raising kids - seems extraordinarily indulgent.

I agree with you FND. I graduated in exactly 4 years (meaning I had a full load throughout) and I can't imagine looking at school as a full time job. I guess some would argue that they went to some top notch school or school is more difficult for each person depending on what you study (which is fair to say), but in my opinion a 20 year old should be able to do more than just attend school.

[charolastra00]

Well... I could graduate in 3 years if I wasn't studying abroad a full year. And I'm a triple major, double minor at a top university and finished my first major and minor in a year and a half. So suffice to say I'm taking a bit more than a normal "full" courseload.

And I DON'T have time to "be totally drunk".

[Mike in TN]

The way I see it, I have the rest of my life to do the 9-5 thing. I only have so many years I can milk without all of those responsibilities. That's why I haven't worked while attending college. I worked before and I went to school and I'll work after. In the meantime, I'll enjoy the free time that I have.

[ogplife]

Originally Posted by charolastra00

Well... I could graduate in 3 years if I wasn't studying abroad a full year. And I'm a triple major, double minor at a top university and finished my first major and minor in a year and a half. So suffice to say I'm taking a bit more than a normal "full" courseload.

And I DON'T have time to "be totally drunk".

You are the exception. What you are doing will speak for itself to employers. That is incredible!!