Advice About College Son Working

DEFINITELY get a job. He definitely has time. He will be busy but what is the saying, "...if you want something done, ask a busy person." Mainly, it will relieve him from "idle time," which is NOT good in college.

My son is also a college freshman and ended with a great GPA (3.5). I have also asked him to get a part time job either on campus or close by. Even if he just worked on the weekends. He needs the work experience before he gets out of school.

I didn't read any comments but I have and still am in school since 95 because i have worked and done the whole college experience. If you want him to keep his grades up he should get a part time job in the summer or work on campus where they let you study.

When I was in college, I lived in the dorms for my first two years. It wasn't bad, but I didn't have much luck in getting good roommates! haha I wanted to get my own apartment, so my parents and I made a deal that if I got a job, I could get an apartment. They paid my rent (I think it was about the same as them paying for the dorm anyways), while I paid for food, school books, and whatever else I wanted. I got a part-time job with the university near the end of my second year, and I kept that job until I got my first "real" job just after graduating.

The part-time job was 20 hours a week, and since it was with the university, they worked well with my class schedule. I think I always had 15-18 semester hours during fall & spring semesters, and I took 1-3 classes (not hours) during the summers.

If he wants to get a job, he should be able to have a part-time job and still do well with school. I wanted my job to get my apartment, so that was a great incentive for me. Perhaps just having "fun money" will be enough incentive for him.

Have him check with the university's career office. Getting a job on campus is probably the best way for a student to work while in school. He wouldn't have to travel far to get to work, and they would work around his class schedules.

No, I don't think it's unreasonable at all--I worked 12-15 hours/wk all through college, and finished with a 3.7. That being said, it's important that he find a job that won't interfere with his studies (i.e. won't conflict with class hours, or keep him up so late he'll sleep through morning classes). It's also important to find a job that understands that he's a student, and won't make unreasonable demands on him (e.g. trying to make him work overtime during finals week). You should have a discussion with him about money management, and the fact that the point of a job right now is to enable school, not pay for a lot of luxuries--that can wait until he's FINISHED school, with a hopefully well-paying full-time job. I'm a professor myself, and you'd be shocked by the number of students I have tell me that they have to miss class to work, or that they couldn't finish an assignment because they had to work, AND YET I just passed them in the parking lot driving a brand-new tricked-out pickup truck. I didn't have a car at all during much of my schooling, and when I did finally get one, it was Ford Taurus with over 100,000 miles on it. It's totally fine--and, in fact, teaches responsibility--to have a job to help pay for tuition, books, a small apartment, food, etc. I wouldn't let him, however, work 30 or 40 hours a week in order to drive a fancy car and go to Cancun for spring break--that's not where his priorities should be!

No. not unreasonable. Our daughter will be starting college in the Fall, and while she'll live at home and we'll pay her tuition, that's about all we can do. She'll need a job to have spending money and help offset some costs. My dad has promised to help with books, but there's still the cost of travel...etc.

T.

Wow, I can imagine that this will be a hot topic with many people. In my personal opinion and what my parents did for my sister and I is that we treated school as our job. As long as we kept our grades up (and you know, good non-trouble making kids) we didn't have to work. In the future, as long as it's ok financially for my kids not to work I will do the same thing. In college we were involved in our sororities and volunteer work etc. It worked out great for us and out family and yes, we do know that we were lucky not to HAVE to work and we do know the value in hard work. Congrats to you and your son for making it thru that first semester! :)

My son, 17, is starting college next week - 18 hours and he works part time as he has for almost a year. He pays his own expenses above and beyond tuition and books. He is currently living with me.

Where I went to collage, they had a work study program. You worked on campus usually for the department you were majoring in and the understanding was always your grades came first. I had several jobs that way but the one I loved best was in the Financial Aid Office. I got a chance to look up and apply for grants that I never knew existed and got some extra money that way, too.

My sophomore year of college was spent working 3 jobs for no other reason than we couldn't afford for me to go back. I saved $17K that year which allowed me to go back to school and not have to work.

However, I did choose to at times (for social reasons).

I was in a difficult degree program that required me to take a 14-17 hours/semester and was trying to get into Med School (which I ended-up not applying to).

My parents treated school like Jessica's until finances dictated otherwise. I saw a lot of kids in college rely on Mom and Dad for everything financially, and they didn't take college as seriously. When I did get back to school, our deal was that my parents paid tuition and I paid EVERYTHING else. It made me a much better student.

However, I didn't have to work during the semesters because I worked so hard during the summer to save money to pay my expenses when Iw as in school. I would say that has to depend on his classes and his abilities as a student. A 3.0 GPA is good, and you should be proud of him.

Honestly every single person is different. I found it very difficult to already put my focus on studies that working was not an option for me. However, work study programs are available.
Ask your son how he feels about a job. He is obviously being responsible and realizes his goals. Ask how he feels about working and whether or not he can take it on.
If it was me, the first year id let him get used to his studies and then Id ask for him to begin a part time job.
Good Luck

Congrats to your son!

I had to pay for my college education and I did it with 3 jobs and maintained an academic scholarship. It can be done.

DIFFERENT story as far as our daughter though........

Our daughter (15) views school as her "job". The same will be true in college and we do not expect her pay for college expenses, etc. We feel it is our obligation to get her through college with no debt. We want her to love her college experience by enjoying travel, volunteering, and the social groups.

That said, I do think it is ok for a student to work if they want to, have the hours available to work and keep studies up. I admit that my daughter has had everything she always wanted/needed and has not worked (other than a babysitting job here and there) BUT, we have told her that we'd like for her to get a small job (maybe 4 hours a week) just to get used to working, being responsible for "punching the clock and working for someone else" and making some extra spending money. Whatever monies she makes on her job is her spending money. She plans to get some small job over the summer. Her Honors/AP classes, cheer and orchestra are too time consuming for her to be working outside the home right now.

She is involved with our family business and an officer of the company but we also feel it is important for her to work for someone else to get a good gist of actually working and earning money for herself.

Good luck with whatever you choose to do. You just have to do what is right for your family.

My son took 15 hours. Worked two part time job to offset expenses.

He catered on the weekends and worked two days a week at the local Barnes and Noble...

It's not only reasonable...but should be required.

Smiles to you.

I haven't read everyone else's comments but my parents thought my job was college so I only worked during the summer. I focused on school and ended up graduating a year early. That decision saved them about $12,000 in tuition room and board and I doubt I would have made that much at a part-time job. Just a different perspective on it.

absolutely NOT! My son is a freshman in college. He carries a full class load AND works 30-36 hours per week. We have also given him some financial responsibilities. He pays for his own gas, buys his own clothes, and pays the overage that his auto insurance cost us ($27), and his own entertainment. We provide room and board, medical insurance, and pay for his classes, labs, and books.

He is a young adult and needs to be gradually introduced into the REAL world. By giving him small responsibilities you will spare him the shock when he is completely on his own.

I dont think it is unreasonable at all actually.I have a husband who worked full time, went to school full time (with a 4.0 gpa) and helped raise 4 children..I know how much can be done! That said, there is a lot to be said for having the college experience, and being able to hang out with friends etc..so I would at least encourage a part time job to cover his fun money. Like all of his going out etc. There is no reason that should be too much to ask! HTH! ~A.~

:) No, it's not unreasonable. I'm surprised he doesn't already have one, but I know things are different from when I was in college 12 years ago. :) I worked 30-40 hr work weeks my entire college career waiting tables, and was still able to maintain good grades and amazingly enough, the usual active social college scene. It's a skill he'll need to learn sooner or later - juggling more than one thing at a time! :)

Instead of a paying job why not have him do some volunteering. That would be a much better experience on so many levels. Plus, after he graduates, he will not have as much time to volunteer. As for the paying job - no it is not unreasonable IF, he is only getting it for spending money - not for bills. I had to work to pay bills therefore I only took 12 hours a semester. Many folks have said he should get a job and pay part of his way. That is not what college is for - it is to get a degree. I agree he needs to work, just not to have to worry about making a bill. The job will become more important than school at that point - it did for me. When it came to paying rent or the electric bill, guess what, I skipped class and worked to make sure I could pay the bill. BUT - I think if you made him find something he could do volunteering - that would be much better!!!!

When asking your son to take on a side job consider what kind of classes he is taking. If he is taking elective courses then a side job would be easy. But if he's taking something like chemistry, chem lab, or computer programming then those classes require alot of extra hours besides the regular study hours he'll need to pass his course. For example chem lab would only give him like 1 of 2 hours credit but will require 5 hours or more weekly to complete lab experiments. Good Luck!!

It's wonderful when a kid can work and go to school and maintain a good GPA. Many can because they are young and have the energy to do it all. However, not all kids can. Your decision needs to be based on your particular situation and YOUR son's abilities, capabilities, priorities, etc. This is a discussion you need to have with him. Is it a financial issue for you? Have a talk with your son and lay out your expectations and reasons for same and learn about his goals, motivation, and priotities he has set for himself then figure it out together.

I think it would depend on the kid. My son is an RD over the dorms at his college- he works 40 hours a week and carries 19 hours. I do not approve of the amount of hours he carries, because of the many hours he has to also study. He is dyslexic and has to study a long time, but he is determined not to be in school forever - he carries a 3.5 GPA and just started his Jr. year.
On the other hand, we had an older son who carried a 4.0 GPA with no job and got off track. I believe that to fill some of his time with working would be good for any college kid, but not to the extreme of my second son...

Do it! will keep him focused and force him to organize time better!

We have had two go through college so far and had them get a part-time job from their second semester there on. We were worried, like you, that this might be too much for them to keep their grades up etc. However, to our surprise, BOTH of them started getting even BETTER grades and seemed to grow up and be much more responsible. They had to manage their time and they were so busy they didn't have time to "get into any trouble." They also were much more conscientious about their spending since they were spending their own money for their "fun" and "extra" things they wanted. That has been our experience and we would do it again in a heartbeat.

Not at all! I took between 16 and 18 hours each semester of school and worked every afternoon for 4 hours. I also had friedns who worked full time throughout school. Just so you know, I had some friends who never worked at all and had no work experience to put on their resume when we graduated.

Absolutely! It teaches responsibility, money management, time management, etc. I will also tell you I work for a large well known/well respected technology firm and we won't even consider a college applicant if they did not hold some type of job while going to school.

I am 30 and just started my 2nd semester of college ever. I have three children ages 10, 11 & 12, work a full time job and take three classes a week. I ended last semester with a 4.0 GPA, so I'm sure he could get at least a part time job and handle it! Congrats!

It's hard to find a job on campus and with this economy it's even harder. Some of ours worked freshman year and some didn't but it was because they wanted more spending money or had car payments to pay for. It did take away valuable studying time though. We gave ours an allowance of $20 a week for pizza money and paid for all other college expenses, so anything else they wanted they had to work for. They would save up all summer and that would be their fun money, if they didn't then all they got from us was the $20. Hope this helps and good luck!

14 hours is a heavy course load...add a job and I would expect that he would have no social life AND he will have to pick-and-choose which courses will get the most effort instead of being able to put 100% into all his classes. If he only took 6 or 9 hours, he would be more able to take on employment.
I went to Dallas Baptist and worked full time - 6 hours was the most I felt I could handle. When I attended Tarleton, I was also working full time and could not have taken on any more than 6 hours - it would have caused me to compromise the quality of my work. As it was, I was up till all hours of the night researching, reading and writing. I also missed many social and family gatherings - too busy studying.
Ask your son how he feels about things. My kid was going to school full time, had an active social life and no job. I paid all the bills and provided an allowance. Into his second year he up and enlisted in the army stating that he felt like he was wasting his time in college. I had not demanded that his grades stay at a certain level for him to continue fully financially supported. I think that was my mistake. Take away from it what you will.
God bless you in your search for answers. I pray that you will make the right decision for your son's life.

Updated

14 hours is a heavy course load...add a job and I would expect that he would have no social life AND he will have to pick-and-choose which courses will get the most effort instead of being able to put 100% into all his classes. If he only took 6 or 9 hours, he would be more able to take on employment.
I went to Dallas Baptist and worked full time - 6 hours was the most I felt I could handle. When I attended Tarleton, I was also working full time and could not have taken on any more than 6 hours - it would have caused me to compromise the quality of my work. As it was, I was up till all hours of the night researching, reading and writing. I also missed many social and family gatherings - too busy studying.
Ask your son how he feels about things. My kid was going to school full time, had an active social life and no job. I paid all the bills and provided an allowance. Into his second year he up and enlisted in the army stating that he felt like he was wasting his time in college. I had not demanded that his grades stay at a certain level for him to continue fully financially supported. I think that was my mistake. Take away from it what you will.
God bless you in your search for answers. I pray that you will make the right decision for your son's life.

Updated

14 hours is a heavy course load...add a job and I would expect that he would have no social life AND he will have to pick-and-choose which courses will get the most effort instead of being able to put 100% into all his classes. If he only took 6 or 9 hours, he would be more able to take on employment.
I went to Dallas Baptist and worked full time - 6 hours was the most I felt I could handle. When I attended Tarleton, I was also working full time and could not have taken on any more than 6 hours - it would have caused me to compromise the quality of my work. As it was, I was up till all hours of the night researching, reading and writing. I also missed many social and family gatherings - too busy studying.
Ask your son how he feels about things. My kid was going to school full time, had an active social life and no job. I paid all the bills and provided an allowance. Into his second year he up and enlisted in the army stating that he felt like he was wasting his time in college. I had not demanded that his grades stay at a certain level for him to continue fully financially supported. I think that was my mistake. Take away from it what you will.
God bless you in your search for answers. I pray that you will make the right decision for your son's life.

Updated

14 hours is a heavy course load...add a job and I would expect that he would have no social life AND he will have to pick-and-choose which courses will get the most effort instead of being able to put 100% into all his classes. If he only took 6 or 9 hours, he would be more able to take on employment.
I went to Dallas Baptist and worked full time - 6 hours was the most I felt I could handle. When I attended Tarleton, I was also working full time and could not have taken on any more than 6 hours - it would have caused me to compromise the quality of my work. As it was, I was up till all hours of the night researching, reading and writing. I also missed many social and family gatherings - too busy studying.
Ask your son how he feels about things. My kid was going to school full time, had an active social life and no job. I paid all the bills and provided an allowance. Into his second year he up and enlisted in the army stating that he felt like he was wasting his time in college. I had not demanded that his grades stay at a certain level for him to continue fully financially supported. I think that was my mistake. Take away from it what you will.
God bless you in your search for answers. I pray that you will make the right decision for your son's life.

A lot depends upon his major. If he's a music major, I doubt it will work timewise. However, if he is just taking his basics and can find a parttime job, I'd insist on it. One of my daughters worked as a switchboard operator for Clemson U. and could study between phone calls. Our other daughter worked at Six Flags Over Mid-America on weekends 10 months of the year. She was in Guest Relations and worked on season passes, scheduling, etc. She would work 20 hours on a weekend, drive back to Mizzou and pulled a 4.0 It can be done, but it depends upon the amount of determination of the student.

I definitely think he should get a job. I was a double major (music and theology) and took a minimum of 18 credits each semester and I had 2 part time jobs (20 hours a week total). There are many campus jobs that allow the student to do homework some of the time they are working (receptionist desks for dorms, computer lab, tutoring center, etc.) You can suggest that he look for one of these "cushy" jobs first. If he can find one he could probably work a few more hours. If not, it's not unreasonable to work at least 10 hours somewhere that doesn't allow him to do homework. Learning how to fit in classes & labs, homework, and a job, in addition to extra-curricular activities is a great way to learn time management.

Perhaps I have a slightly different perspective. As proud as you are of your son's 3.0, its still a B average- not what employers or graduate schools are looking for when hiring in this competitive market. If he had a 4.0 that he could afford to let slip to a 3.5, I would highly encourage him to take an on campus job, say 15 hours per week- but truly, in our economy he needs A's, and campus/student leadership involvement.

My son didn't actually go out and get a part time job. He just didn't have the time what with all the outside projects he had. He had up to 20 hrs of outside work. He is very interested in videoing so made arrangements with a band that he knew to video their performance, crop it/cut it etc and make it so they could show it on their video wall the next concert. They would pay him $200 to do this and he got to go listen to the band. He even got to film a modeling event one time, they paid $500. So even though he didn't have time for a regular part time job, there are things out there than can be done to pick up a little money but take up little time leaving him to do so well in school. If he is in Texas, have him check with some merchandising companies. I work for Drivelineretail.com and merchandise for the Dollar General stores. I usually only have one store assigned to me but I do pick up projects too so I made about $4000 for them last year and only usually workd a couple of days a week. And that wasn't full days. Hope this helps

It's been a while since I've been in college, but my parents wanted me to focus on my degree first and foremost. I was very fortunate that they could afford to pay for my education and housing. That being said, I did work a few jobs while in college, but ones that would not interfere with school work. I worked as a babysitter and pet/housesitter, and I worked in the school library. The library job was one where I sat at the circulation desk and could study unless someone had books to check out. It was perfect because I got paid while I was studying and it was quiet in the library.

I suppose it would depend on the workload (my professors expected us to put 3-4 hours of studying per class hour and I had several classes that were five days per week). Maybe he could look into job opportunities that would help him with his future career path too - something that might help him with his school work (e.g. studying marketing - look for a part-time marketing position).

I would say yeah... what's more important to you/him? Good grades or getting a job that wouldn't pay much? Unless he only gets a part time job.

L.,
Personally, I do not think it is unreasonable to have him get a job. I graduated high school, moved out and immediately started college. I paid my own bills (with a little help from my mom...when necessary) as well as getting my own student loans to pay for college. I have never been without a job since I was 16. I was tired, but even working full time and going to college full time to get a bachelors, I know I appreciated it more and worked harder because I was paying for it. There is nothing wrong with teaching your son that the world is not always smooth sailing..but that will depend on how you think he will handle it. I was fine with the work load and school load, no matter how tired I was, but consider his personailty. Don't set him up to fail if you honestly think it will overwhelm him.

Hope this helps,
M.

I think a job will do him well. When they work, they seem to have better time management skill. My daughter works 25 hours a week and took 18 hours last semester. She had a 3.85 GPA.
Good luck

I don't think it is unreasonable. I paid for college through student loans and a 30+ hour job a week. I graduated with a 3.6 in undergrad and 3.8 in graduate school taking anywhere from 15-18 hours a semester. However, each kid is different. I work better under pressure. Some kids need to focus their energy just on school or they don't do well.

I think it is definitely a conversation worth having.