HAVING A COLLEGE JOB BETTER OR WORSE? BY CHRIS FULTS

BACKGROUND Does having a job during college help or hurt your skill set for your career? What I really wanted to know was do college students who have part time jobs during college have better careers after? Currently most people agree that having some form of job whether a part-time or an internship during college gives them valuable skills for the work force. I got survey information from the gss.norc that will help shine new light on how we perceive our college job experience

THE QUESTION Does having a job during college help or hurt you in the long run? Meaning does having a part time job during college help teach you skills necessary for working your career or, does it only detract from your study time and have little meaning for your over all career.

OVERVIEW My hypothesis on this subject is that having a job of any kind in college helps you get a career when you graduate. What I did was gather information from all the surveys done by the Global Social survey from 1972 through 2006

WHEN DO MOST PEOPLE TAKE THERE FIRST PART TIME JOB? 22.4% from 1972 to 2006 of people state that there first job was unskilled work force taken after high school before starting college or, moving into a career. In the same years 64.3% people said that higher education was the most important part for getting a better job.

WHAT DO CAREER EMPLOYERS LOOK FOR? 75.1% of people said that on the job training is more important than formal education.

THE BEFITS OF THE PART TIME JOB TO COLLEGE STUDENTS % of people between 1972 and 2006 said that skill training that only occurs in the work place was the important.

UNEMPLOYMENT LEVELS IN MEN AND WOMEN

RESULTS The results seem clear those students who worked during college have a better understanding of what it is like to be in the work force and that gives them valuable experience. Even if its just a part time job they learn skills that the class room just cant teach.

CONCLUSION I wanted to know if having a job during college increased your chances for future job success. We found that having even a part time job gave people valuable skills that are not taught in the class room. This will help me and I hope others make the decision to get a job while in college to give them the best chance to make there future what they want.

ENDING THOUGHTS A new question arose while working on this research about the unemployment rate for college graduates. One part of my research I would like to refine would be that I should more had access to more sources to get the greatest amount of information.