For most college students, summer is not the time to sleep in and relax.
With an increasingly competitive job market, college students are faced with the daunting task of getting real world work experience that can help them get a job after college.
According to Fox Business, “employers are looking for students who have done meaningful work,” said Lynn O’Shaughnessy, author of The College Solution.
“They’re not just interested in students who may have devoted a lot of time studying and getting straight As. They want students who have shown initiative and are motivated and have pursued interests outside the classroom.”
There are many ways to make summer vacation a productive one.
Students can intern, volunteer and take additional college classes.
If you involve yourself in your field of interest over the summer, the chances of you finding a job after college should increase.
This post-college job market puts a lot of pressure on students to search for the perfect internship or job that will make their resume look impressive to future employers.
“I feel like I have to get a summer job or internship because if I don’t, I won’t have enough stuff on my resume,” a Puget Sound freshman said.
Balancing school and the future can be very stressful and has the potential to really overwhelm students.
“I feel like if I don’t have an internship lined up or some sort of job I will be behind, and some people will judge me for not having my life together. There’s a lot of pressure to get jobs or internships even if you don’t want one,” freshman Mary Ferreira-Wallace said.
“Well it’s [getting a job/internship] what you got to do,” freshman Kelsee Levey said.
We all feel this pressure to keep up with everyone else.
Students often feel as though they have to have something going on over the summer or else they will not get a job after they graduate.
While having a summer job or internship does not lead directly to getting a job after you graduate, the experience can definitely help your chances.
Many schools will put pressure on students to find summer work because professors and students know how valuable having a summer job and internship can be for a student’s future.
Some question whether or not Puget Sound or liberal arts colleges in general let students know how important having a summer job or internship can be for their future.
“Puget Sound professors and the student body in general put no pressure on its students compared to east coast colleges. At Puget Sound, it is fine to mess around all summer even if you are going into your senior year of college. That’s unthinkable for students who attend east coast schools,” senior Emma Collins said.
Taking Collins’ remark into consideration, does this put us at a disadvantage compared to other college students?
Since it often seems like our professors and student body put little to no pressure on us to intern or work over summer, how will we compete with other graduates?
For the most part, finding work comes down to individual motivation.
If you choose to reach out for help, there are many resources that can be of service to you.
Students at Puget Sound may not feel pressure within the campus community to get a job or internship, but most feel it when thinking about their future.
Therefore, students should motivate themselves to find work and take advantage of the fact that the university can offer advice and resources to help those who are unsure of how to gain experience in their field of interest.
