With my last “real” summer behind me, that also means that the summer jobs that come with the season are over, too.
Now, this column isn’t going to be some deep-thinking piece about how summer jobs are secretly the best thing ever or how you’ll make so many memories at them. In reality, some of them are awful and incredibly forgettable.
I won’t miss the summer jobs of my past. Namely, my summer stints at Walmart and Planet Fitness proved tedious on a good day and downright awful on the worst. Employees face multiple trials and tribulations daily. Some of these include corporate sleazebags, nightmarish customers or godawful bosses.
These are certainly things that everyday employees face on all levels of employment, no matter what the season. However, for me and you, it’s the summer job where we’ve most recently seen it.
So why, dear reader, do we subject ourselves to such annoying times over what’s supposed to be our summer break? It’s all about the money, duh. Summer, to me, has been the season of “replenishing the bank account.” There’s nothing healthier for your money reserves than living at home and working all the time. That’s what the past three summers have entailed for me. Obviously, I don’t think I’m alone here. The National Recreation and Park Association found that “89.2 percent of students indicated they worked, with 40.5 percent working one job totaling 32 to 40 hours per week, 35.8 percent working a part-time job, and 12.9 percent working two or more part-time jobs.”
The funds acquired in our three month absence from Ferris are often the lifeblood of the school year. Be it tuition, rent, groceries or anything else needed, that’s what the money’s there for.
But is that it? Is there anything else to take from our summer servitude? There has to be more than just the money, right?
I’d argue that there is. In fact, I’m willing to contest that even while we’re away from school, we’re still picking up and learning some solid lessons. This revelation came during the inevitable complaining that arose from the aforementioned trials and tribulations. My parents’ response usually followed the lines of “you’ll experience [insert issue] anywhere you go.”
Upon the initial conversation, I’d brush that off. That won’t happen when I find a job. I’ll like what I do and like the people I’m around. Much to my chagrin, they’re more than likely going to be right.
That’s the learning experience. Facing the issues that will inevitably plague our future careers allows us to know and learn what to expect and how to handle it. It’s a baby step into what comes next.
I suppose the training wheels of young employment and summer jobs hold its perks. Sharing the burden of an awful shift with some of my closest friends got me through them. Those days where it felt like the world was falling apart could be glued together by the listening ear of a caring regular.
So, to Ethan and Randy, I’ll miss working those seemingly never-ending shifts with you. To Wendy, Alex and Grace, thanks for keeping a college student dreaming of his two-week notice sane. And to all the college students fresh out of their summer jobs, here’s to you. Maybe there’s more to it than the money after all.