Work hours for college students

[Pegasus]

When I attended university a few decades ago, it seemed like working 20-hours a week was typical for students who were attending school full-time.  Now, I keep seeing (in articles and on college confidential) that 10-12 hours is recommended.  Are we underestimating what students can handle?

 

Personally, I worked 20 hours a week (except for one year when I worked 30, adding 10 hours a week of research work for one of my professors) while carrying a full-time load of engineering courses.  DH also worked at least 20 hours a week and he had a time intensive major (architecture).

 

 

When I attended university a few decades ago, it seemed like working 20-hours a week was typical for students who were attending school full-time.  Now, I keep seeing (in articles and on college confidential) that 10-12 hours is recommended.  Are we underestimating what students can handle?

 

I think there are a couple of things going on.  A few decades ago, if you were frugal, and had a good job, you could pay for college by working part time during the school year and full time during the summers.  Maybe that job caused you to take a semester or year longer, but as long as you weren't going into debt, not a big deal.

 

Today, however, it is almost impossible to work your way through college in four years.  (Yes, there are exceptions, like high-paying engineering internships, but they remain exceptions).  Given that earnings from a job are going to put such a small dent in your expenses, I think it makes more financial sense to put 100% of your effort into classwork, and trying to finish in four years with good grades.  Obviously, jobs which might further a career or learning, like internships would be a different case.

 

Also, I think these recommendations are for incoming freshmen, who don't yet have a good idea of how much time their studies will actually need.  A lot of freshman don't internalize how much time out of class each in-class hour requires to thrive at college.  Starting out by recommending working hours on the low end of a spectrum seems prudent.

[Gwen in VA]

I think how many hours a college students works depends on --

 

1) The student's other commitments. A sport team? A Greek organization? Heavy involvement with theater productions? Those will all seriously limit the number of hours a student should work. (And sometimes those "extracurricular" activities can be more meaningful or more career-related than the actual classwork! Extracurriculars aren't necessarily just fun and games.)

 

2) The types of classes. Lab? Heavy writing requirements? Heavy reading load?  One semester ds1 spent 12 hours a week in class and dd1 spent 23 hours a week in class. They were at the same college and he was triple-majoring. But the classes were VERY different -- she had a lot of labs.

 

3) Student preparedness and subject-specific academic ability. For example, since dd2 is transferring, she needs to take two classes this semester that she has already covered the material for. These classes should be super-easy for her. But last year she found a writing-intensive philosophy freshman seminar ate up every hour of her available time and then some, even though she got a great score in an English AP exam and definitely was "academically prepared" for it. She is not a humanities person, and she found that class beyond challenging. Two of that type of class in the same semester would have totally sunk her.

 

4) Student reaction to stress. Some kids thrive on stress, and some just shut down. If juggling a time-intensive job would cause a kid to shut down, obviously he/she shouldn't do it.

 

5) Oh -- and the individual professor. Dd2 had a math class that she ended up dropping last semester due to time issues. It was a class that she should have done well in given her background and personality, but the fellow teaching it expected students to be able to regurgitate EVERYTHING. She could do the work well given enough time -- she had the highest grade in the class on homework -- but the tests required complete memorization, and she didn't have the time for it. (He was a prof with lousy reviews and lots of complaints, but it was the only math class that fit her schedule and had room. She was really not happy that the help sessions were mostly done in Chinese!) Two of her older siblings also had taken this subject at a different college, and they both thought dd2's prof was beyond the pale. Thankfully her dropping the class wasn't a problem for dd2, but it is an great example of how one class can throw time expectations to the winds.

 

The colleges my kids have dealt with all recommend ~6-10 hours of work per week MAXIMUM for freshmen and 10-15 hours per week MAXIMUM for upperclassmen. I would take the college recommendations very seriously until a student proves that he/she can easily handle that load..(And just because John Doe down the street can do it doesn't mean your kid can!)

[Wheres Toto]

DD worked about 20 hours a week with a heavy academic course load in high school but we still didn't require her to work during her freshman year. We wanted her to have that year to get acclimated to college.  Starting her sophomore year she's been working between 10 and 30 hours a week depending on the hours she was given (she worked at Target).  Along with being in a sorority, performing in dance productions, and being on the dance team she had a couple times were she felt slightly overwhelmed.  She did end up dropping classes once or twice that weren't required and looked like they were going to take more time than she could put in.  She tried to take an online class one semester and found it was more intensive than she thought.

 

She worked at a camp for the summer, and will be applying for a job I found through someone I work with that I hope she gets.  It will be 20 hours a week but a lot of that will be downtime where she just has to man a desk and it will allow her a lot of time for studying.  The ideal job for a college student.

[AK_Mom4]

DD21 worked "20 hours" a week.  That's in quotes because it was a job in the music department and they paid her for 20 hours regardless, but the actual time commitment varied significantly.  In slow times, she might put in as little as 5 hours just arranging the music library.  In crazy weeks like when her college hosts the high school marching band clinics, she might put in 40 hours or more.

 

[G5052]

It really depends.

 

Most of the entry-level on-campus jobs when I went to school were ten hours only. I did grading for a math professor who had a very heavy research load in addition to his classes, and he had to go to the department head a number of times to get approval for more hours for me because he really needed more help that way but they limited him to one grading assistant.

 

My oldest is starting college this fall and will begin working after Labor Day, and I told him to start with ten hours with a local employer, and that's what she recommends for freshmen anyway.

 

By the time I hit my senior year though, I was working full-time and carrying a full load of STEM classes, so I know that it can be done. I didn't do much else other than work and study though.

[katilac]

I worked 20+ hours from not-quite-16 through college, more in summer and holidays. 

 

However, my school schedule was nowhere near as rigorous or time-consuming as my dds.

 

I do think I would have benefitted from less work, more school. It wasn't an option for me, but it is for my kids - we did think they'd be working by about 16 or certainly 17, but it's just made more sense to have the heavier school schedule.

 

And, in all honesty, we've liked the luxury of having more time to do stuff as a family before they leave for college. 

 

GGardner makes an excellent point about the economic rewards of it having changed quite a bit for most people. If you have a student who is chasing merit aid, even more so.  

[Lolly]

When I attended, I knew very few students who worked (other than during the summer). Those who did worked very limited hours. Pretty much what is still recommended. I think what is important to remember when considering work is that a 15 hour load in college requires more than 15 hours of time. It is the equivalent of a normal full time position. Can some people work more than that? Yes. Can some people handle working a 60-70 hour work week? Of course. Is it ideal? I doubt many of us would think so. Is it selling students short to think they shouldn't have to/be expected to do that sort of load? I don't  believe it is. I also don't believe it is due to underpreparedness of incoming students. Students who do nothing but go to class and do little preparation/work outside of class will have no trouble working 20 hours or more a week. Students who are consciencous and put effort into preparing for class and doing their assignments will have less time for work. That in no way means that they are unprepared. In fact, some of the students I know who are working 20+ hours a week are skipping classes to go to work whenever they are called in. That is far from ideal.

 

This year, dd20a will continue working in addition to college. It is in a position where she can take time off and alter her schedule as school demands (if she will!!!). She works about 10-15 hours a week. Dd22 will be starting working again durng her final year. She worked in the tutoring center the first two. There, she was able to study when there were no students needing assistance (which was very frequently). This year she will be in the adaptive technology center of the school. She anticipates that she will be able to study a lot during that time also. Many of the on campus positions are like that. She also is taking a minimal hour load at this point. They have her scheduled for 20 hours a week. She can adjust that as she needs.

[elegantlion]

Most on campus jobs at my school top out at 10-12 hours per week during school. A few go up to 20. 

 

Ds will not be working this year, at least this semester. He needs a certain GPA to maintain a scholarship. I imagine if he maintains that, he'll try to work next semester or next year. I'll encourage him to find something on campus because they are obviously more flexible with study schedules and, as Lolly pointed out, some of those job are low key and allow for studying while working. 

[Annie G]

My kids' campus jobs were always around 10-12 hours a week. More during midterms and finals because they were tutors or library workers. 

 

So many kids today double major or have a couple of minors, do internships, study abroad...it can be time consuming.  

 

Our kids wouldn't have been able to pay that much more of their schooling if they had worked 20 hours a week instead of ten.  They probably would have eaten up some of that extra pay by buying meals because there would be less time to cook.   Some kids handle that many hours well...my kids probably wouldn't have...but they're big time introverts. 

[Kareni]

My daughter had a work study obligation as part of her financial aid offer.  She worked in the cafeteria her first year (the only option for freshmen at her college) as well as during her second year.  She also worked full time one summer in the cafeteria.  In her junior and senior years, she worked in the college post office.  All of those school year jobs were about ten hours per week.  In addition, her senior year she did some Latin tutoring at the behest of her department.  She also tutored a local highschooler.   Tutoring added at most a few hours a week to her schedule but not consistently.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Laura Corin]

Calvin's university discourages any work during term time.  Term time is only a total of twenty-four weeks per year, so there's lots of time in the breaks to work.

[bettyandbob]

My senior of high school I took 27 hours of dual enrollment, so I was essentially a full time college student at the local university. I also worked about 15-20 hours a week without having trouble with grades. Then, I went to a very competitive public ivy. I worked as a TA about 5 hours a week. I don't think I could have done more than 10 at that school.

 

I think the amount a student works depends on:

--student's own study skills

--major

--school

[J-rap]

I think it varies, and depends on a lot of things. 

 

For several of my kids, they worked very little their first year (maybe 5-10 hours/week, if any).  But as they got more in the groove of college life and more efficient, they took on more work hours.  At the end, my daughter who has recently graduated had worked her way up to 20 hours/week or so.  I think that's probably quite typical.  During the first year or two, they are getting used to being in college, and involve themselves in a lot of activities there.  By the third year, they are starting to look ahead a little more, and focus more on just getting their coursework done and the next step.  Also, my daughter got a car during her third year, so she needed to be more practical.

[Pegasus]

A few decades ago, if you were frugal, and had a good job, you could pay for college by working part time during the school year and full time during the summers.  Maybe that job caused you to take a semester or year longer, but as long as you weren't going into debt, not a big deal.

 

Given that earnings from a job are going to put such a small dent in your expenses, I think it makes more financial sense to put 100% of your effort into classwork, and trying to finish in four years with good grades.  

 

I'm enjoying all the responses.  I especially think the above from GGardner rings true.  I had not considered it from that angle.