Is having a job during the college school year essential for a resume?

[Mark]

I work during the summers but I'm thinking working during the semester would look good on my resume. Right now though, I don't get out of class until 6 every day (except Friday) and most of the campus jobs have 6-10pm shifts, which would mean no dinner and little time for work. Is a job during the school year really necessary for a resume? Also, would it have be related to my field if I want it to matter (cause most of the on campus jobs are not)? Thanks.

[Guest]

A job shows you are organized and responsible and helps you develop soft skills. Most people working over a meal brown bag or a friend will drop in with their meal and they will eat during a quiet time.

 

Related To your field is helpful, but they will all give you customer service skills of some sort.

[Miss Tick]

I think it depends on what you are studying. My years in the restaurant business surely harmed my gpa and did nothing for my engineering resume. Although working over meal times was not as big a deal since your shift included a meal at some point.

[Granny_Weatherwax]

I hope not because DS (and many other students) attend schools in small towns where a school year job would be impossible.

DS 's college is in a town of apprx. 8000 people in a rural area (largest city is over an hour away). The majority of the students at his college aren't going to be able to find jobs in their field unless they work directly for the college (and these would be mostly research positions) and then most of those jobs are work study. 

 

My town (with an LAC) and the next town over (with an LAC) do not have capability to offer college students a variety of jobs. We're too rural and the unemployment rates are still too high. Many of the degrees offered at these schools just aren't represented in our area and students would have to travel in order to find something related (even remotely) to their area of study.

Edited January 25, 2017 by Scoutermom

[G5052]

It's good, but something related to an interest or your major is even better.

 

When I graduated from college in a STEM field, I had only one summer of major-related paid work. And despite my high GPA, some companies didn't like that. I had worked a variety of jobs during the school year including some with significant responsibilities, but they wanted to see that I had worked in my field. I did get an offer from a plum company, but there was a downturn and they actually pulled it a few weeks before I graduated. I was shattered, but thankfully the university I had worked for in the summer doing research brought me on as a research assistant and then wrote a job for me. I worked for them for ten years, and they paid for my graduate work.

 

My oldest is sophomore and cleans and does maintenance at a local gym. It's been a really good job for him in terms of working as a team and dealing with various situations. The general manager is very involved with them and teaches them a lot about the business along the way, so it's been a good fit. My son is an accounting major.

 

That said, he already knows that he will need to do a co-op or two and/or summer work in his field very soon.

 

My daughter will be a liberal arts major, and for her, we're planning work at a local bakery that also teaches them the business. Then she'll do internships or other work as well.

[StephanieZ]

No, I don't think it's essential or even beneficial. If you can afford to focus on your studies during the school term and don't have to get a paying job, do it!! Getting work experience during the summers is definitely a good idea, as you do need *some* work experience. Personally, I'd look to get some work experience every summer if at all possible, perhaps missing one summer's work for some other great opportunity to travel/etc. 

 

If you can't line up a paid-work opportunity for a summer, look to create or find an unpaid internship opportunity. We live in a low-wage college town with an overabundance of kids looking for summer work, and our college girl has good merit scholarships for school, so we didn't require her to earn $$ during her first college summers (pre-freshman and post-freshman). We *did* require her to "do something productive" which meant finding unpaid but formal internships. The one she did after her freshman year was with her/our very favorite and awesome local charity (kids' outdoor education school), and she/her mentor just made it up to suit her and the school. It was a blessing to all involved, and that experience was vital on her resume when applying to co-op positions in computer science. Every interview asked about it, and when they figured out that she'd done ALL THAT for NO PAY, they were flummoxed and super impressed, and offered her the job she wanted. :) The fact that she went out and created that opportunity to serve reflected very well on her on many levels. This is something you could easily do during the school year if desired if you have time . . . Find a local charity that you are excited about, set up a meeting, and offer your services for X hours/wk, asking how you can help, finding things to do.