Yes, it’s March. Yes, it’s still technically winter. Yes, we have many weeks until summer. However, I maintain that it is never too early to think about summer, and not just in the using-summer-as-motivation-to-push-through-the-school-year kind of way.
We’re in college and have to make plans, whether they are applying for crappy summer jobs to earn some extra cash or interviewing for internships to better our employment prospects. You can be excited for this, dreading it, or somewhere in between, but it doesn’t change the fact that it needs to be done (like doing your taxes for the first time, which I have to get back to). If, like me, you’re in the phase of trying to decide what you want to do this summer, here are five ideas to get you going:
1. Minimum wage job
Sigh, the job that you need but that you really don’t want. If you’re lucky, you’ve never had one and are excited to see what it’s like. If you aren’t, you’ve had a few of these and know the drill.
Retail = rude customers
Foodservice = sticky tables
Pick your poison and just remember the money you’re making, hopefully in a state whose minimum wage matches your college city’s cost of living, or else the money you make will look dismal.
2. Unpaid internship
A little better, though you’ll probably have to mix and match with a minimum wage job to get the money you need for the year. Unpaid internships can provide ample experience in the field you want to go into, which will beef up your resume (you know, so you don’t have to raise the font anymore to make the page seem full). Also, it’s good to spend time in a field you aren’t completely set on, for how else will you realize what you want to do for a living? Find out what works this summer so that your college years can go from wander-y to having a path.
3. Summer program
Another example of something you can mix and match, summer programs are fun and in full supply during the summer. Take a photography class in the Northwest of the United States! Join a culinary program where you spend your days learning how to cook in Italy. Love to travel? Try People to People. Learn about sustainable living while working on a farm. Anything you have even a remote interest in probably has a summer program for you to sign up for.
4. Class
Free during summer but stressed during the school year? Take a summer class! Talk to your counselors about how to transfer credits so that you can take a class near your home. If you want to stay on campus, look into what classes are open during the summer to get a head start on graduating—who knows, you may be able to save some money by graduating a semester early!
5. Paid internship
The holy grail. If you land a paid internship, don’t you dare turn it down (unless you really don’t want to do it or get a better offer somewhere else). Even if all you’re doing is grunt work, you’ll get to observe and (eventually) work in the field in which you’re interested in through special projects assigned to you. Also, it’s PAID. PAID. PAID. You’re golden!
There are, of course, many other options for how you can spend your summer. Maybe you just want to relax, get in shape, learn a language at home, etc? Whatever you decide on, start looking for how you can make the most of your summer now, because everyone else is about to start planning and you don’t want to lose an amazing opportunity because you were lazy. *shrug*
