1. PRO: Helps you gain work experience

One positive effect from having a summer job is that it helps you gain some experience for a job in the future. If you are planning to become a teacher after college, for example, having a job tutoring can help give you experience with helping to teach students. Any job can help you get used to working before you graduate from college, and it may look good on your resume.

2. CON: Finding a job can be stressful.

Searching for a summer job is very stressful, not to mention difficult. I had recently been looking for a summer job to be able to have my own money to spend over the summer. I thought finding a part-time job would be easy and was shocked to find out that it was very difficult.

Many restaurants, retail stores and companies are looking for a specific candidate. They are also fully aware that students are looking for a part-time job and will sometimes believe that some students are only thinking of working during the summer rather than longer. There are also lots of people who are look for a job over the summer, so there is a lot of competition.

3. PRO: Helps pay off student loans

If you need to pay off any student loans, having a summer job can help. If you're smart with your money, you can save up enough money so that you won't have to worry about student loans. However, if you already have a scholarship or financial aid that pays for your tuition, then having a summer job may not be necessary.

4. CON: Less time for going on vacations or relaxing

Having a summer job can interfere with vacations and enjoying the summer. When you have a job during the summer, you are required to devote a lot of time for working shifts. If you're planning on going on vacation, you may not be able to go on too many vacations due to your job. In addition, if you're planning on spending the summer relaxing after a long stressful semester, it can be harder to find time to relax with having a job.

​

5. PRO: Don’t need to ask your parents for money

One great thing about having a summer job is that you have your own money. You can buy your own things without your parent's permission. It can be hard asking your parents for money when your parents may not have the money. When you have a summer job, you no longer need to worry about asking them to pay for things that you want and you can buy them yourself. The best advice I can give for this is that you should save your money. Don't be like me when I first got a job and went on a huge shopping spree before I tried saving my money.

6. CON: May affect your grades later on in the semester

When you get a job during the summer, you need to consider how it will affect your grades when you keep the job during the school year. There are both good and bad side effects of having a job during the semester.

According to CNBC, the Bureau of Labor Statistics found that students who worked less than 20 hours per week were found to have an average GPA of 3.14 while students who didn't have a job had an average GPA of 3.04. However, the Bureau of Labor Statistics also found that working too much had negative effects on students' GPA where students who worked more than 20 hours a week had an average GPA of 2.95.

If you're required to take a lot of classes the next semester, having a job can interfere with the time needed for studying or completing homework. However, if you work a moderate number of work and credit hours, then you won't need to worry about how having a job may affect your GPA.

7. PRO: Combats summer boredom

If you find that you are getting bored easily over the summer, having a summer job can help combat any boredom that you have. Having a job gives you something to do over the summer and keeps you busy. So if you're not planning anything over the summer, then having a summer job may be a good idea for you.

8. CON: Can’t sleep in during the summer

When you have a summer job, you often cannot sleep in. This isn't always true since there are certain jobs that allow you to work an afternoon shift instead of a morning shift. But for most jobs, you may be required to get up early in the morning. This means that you won't be able to sleep in that much during the summer and you will have to set your alarm every morning. If you were looking forward to sleeping in during the summer, then having a summer job may not sound appealing to you.

9. PRO: You learn how to handle spending and saving your money.

When you get a summer job, one good thing is that you learn how to save and spend your money more wisely. Saving your money can be a challenge and spending can be a huge temptation. However, the longer you work and earn money, the more experience you get with learning to save your money rather than spending it, which can help you in the future when you start your career.

10. CON: Less time to spend family or friends

Unless you have friends or family members that have the same job, one bad side about having a job is that you can't spend as much time with your family or friends. I have family members who are working a part-time job over the summer, and they often miss out on a lot of family grill outs or parties due to their jobs. When you have a job, you don't have as much time to hang out with your friends either and can miss out on socializing. Therefore, before you get a job, you should consider whether you are willing to miss out on a few social events or not.