The sunshine is out and homework is nowhere in sight. Yes, as a college student, it’s tempting to spend the entire summer on vacation. After all the work you’ve done during the school year, you deserve a break. But the summer is also a good time to get a job that can offer you a number of benefits, including:

Huy (Suffolk University, 2012) at Sun Life Financial.

Money – Beyond being satisfying, getting a regular paycheck means you can save money to pay for tuition and books. While your life may be monopolized by classes and homework during the busy semester, summer break leaves plenty of time to earn some cash. Whether you take the part-time mail room job you work at school to full-time for the summer or find a seasonal job waiting tables, saving money is a smart idea.

Experience – Summer break also allows you to pursue internships and professional development opportunities in fields that interest you. Particularly if you know what job you want to pursue after college, finding an internship can allow you to test drive a particular job or develop skills that will increase your qualifications for your intended career path. For example, if you are interested in marketing, perhaps you will apply to be a Social Media Intern at a local museum. If you are interested in becoming a veterinarian, you could apply to be an assistant at a local animal hospital.

Responsibility – In addition to gaining some work experience, a summer job can give you a taste of real-world responsibility. Learning about the expectations of employers and the consequences of decisions and performance at a job is an important lesson to learn before graduating from college and one that you won’t learn in the classroom.

Freedom – On the flip-side of responsibility is independence. While you explore the expectations of the working world, you can also experience the freedom that comes with having your own money and managing your own schedule. Having decision-making power with your own time and finances is liberating and exciting, and will help you prepare for becoming a fully self-sufficient adult.

Connections – The saying is true: it’s all in who you know. If a manager comes to appreciate you as a hard worker and dependable employee, chances are that he/she will feel comfortable serving as a reference for you in the future. Networking is a key component to landing great jobs, but connecting with co-workers and managers also has a more immediate payoff: you can learn a lot from smart and supportive colleagues. While your professors at school teach you a lot through theory, formulas, and research, co-workers can teach you about on-the-job skills such as time management, professional demeanor, and negotiating work-life balance. Learning about these things early on will make you a more desirable job candidate.

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