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Is it advised to get a job freshman year?

I am just transitioning to college and despite the workload, I am also worried if I should get a job the first year. Is it advised to just get a job on campus or is off campus a good idea? \

#jobs #first-job #college-jobs

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From: You
To: Friend
Subject: Career question for you

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Ken’s Answer

Getting a job during the freshman year could be a good opportunity for balancing your life and getting an inside view of your career area. You can follow the networking guidelines below, which will help you to locate a career related position.


The first step is to get to know yourself better to find how you personality traits relate to people in various careers and then talk with them to see what they do, how they got there, and what advice and suggestions that they might have. Also, your can get their suggestions on how you could obtain a career related part time job while in college.


Getting to know yourself and how your personality traits relate to people involved in various career opportunities is very important in your decision making process. During my many years in Human Resources and College Recruiting, I ran across too many students who had skipped this very important step and ended up in a job situation which for which they were not well suited. Selecting a career area is like buying a pair of shoes. First you have to be properly fitted for the correct size, and then you need to try on and walk in the various shoe options to determine which is fits the best and is most comfortable for you to wear. Following are some important steps which I developed during my career which have been helpful to many .

Ken recommends the following next steps:

The first step is to take an interest and aptitude test and have it interpreted by your school counselor to see if you share the personality traits necessary to enter the field. You might want to do this again upon entry into college, as the interpretation might differ slightly due to the course offering of the school. However, do not wait until entering college, as the information from the test will help to determine the courses that you take in high school. Too many students, due to poor planning, end up paying for courses in college which they could have taken for free in high school.
Next, when you have the results of the testing, talk to the person at your high school and college who tracks and works with graduates to arrange to talk to, visit, and possibly shadow people doing what you think that you might want to do, so that you can get know what they are doing and how they got there. Here are some tips: ## http://www.wikihow.com/Network ## ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/nonawkward-ways-to-start-and-end-networking-conversations ## ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/4-questions-to-ask-your-network-besides-can-you-get-me-a-job?ref=carousel-slide-1 ##
Locate and attend meetings of professional associations to which people who are doing what you think that you want to do belong, so that you can get their advice. These associations may offer or know of intern, coop, shadowing, and scholarship opportunities. These associations are the means whereby the professionals keep abreast of their career area following college and advance in their career. You can locate them by asking your school academic advisor, favorite teachers, and the reference librarian at your local library. Here are some tips: ## https://www.careeronestop.org/BusinessCenter/Toolkit/find-professional-associations.aspx?&frd=true ## ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/9-tips-for-navigating-your-first-networking-event ##
Locate and attend meetings of professional associations to which people who are doing what you think that you want to do belong, so that you can get their advice. These associations may offer or know of intern, coop, shadowing, and scholarship opportunities. These associations are the means whereby the professionals keep abreast of their career area following college and advance in their career. You can locate them by asking your school academic advisor, favorite teachers, and the reference librarian at your local library. Here are some tips: ## https://www.careeronestop.org/BusinessCenter/Toolkit/find-professional-associations.aspx?&frd=true ## ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/9-tips-for-navigating-your-first-networking-event ##
Here are some tips on balancing your life, which will be helpful during your education/career journey and after: ## https://www.unigo.com/in-college/college-experience/creating-a-workschool-balance-a-college-student-perspective ## ## http://www.mycollegesuccessstory.com/academic-success-tools/college-life-balance.html ## ## http://www.collegeconfidential.com/dean/000241/ ##
Thank you comment icon Also, talk to your academic adviser about getting an on campus part time job in an office or function in an area related to your major. That would give you a convenient on campus opportunity and give you inside information about the education process related to that area along with connections through that office that would be very beneficial in creating helpful networking opportunities for moving forward in your educaition/career journey. Ken Simmons
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Tamara’s Answer

Hi Kelli,

I would say a couple of factors determine if you should have a job. The first is financial- is your current financial situation stressful? Do you need some additional income? The second thing to look at is your time. Do you have the time to dedicate to a part time job and not interfere with your studies and grades?

I personally found a part-time job was beneficial in college. I worked off campus as there was no on campus jobs available (these tend to go fast). If you move away for college it may be another way for you to make friends in a different area.

Do what works for you!
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