As us college kids approach the midway point of a long summer break before we get back to our respective schools, most of us find that summers are no longer what they used to be. No longer are summers defined by our day-long trips to the pool, our imaginative adventures through the green pastures of our backyards, nor the endless popsicles we consumed in the hot, steamy weather of summer.

Instead, we likely find ourselves in one of two situations: Barely surviving a resume-boosting internship or dying a slow, painful death in the confines of the long hours of a seasonal summer job. If the later of the two is your situation, you probably know the pain of a customer service job at a restaurant or at a retail store. Because after all, us college students are only old enough to work one of these two types of jobs. Or is that really all there is?

Indeed there is another type of job we are old enough and qualified to work! And this category of work is manual labor. The jobs that involve an extra bit of elbow grease, physical energy, and a staff containing at least one cigarette-smoking hick. But while these jobs may sound miserable, they are actually quite the opposite compared to customer service jobs.

And so, for the following reasons, it might be wise to stop flippin' greasy burgers or folding endless clothes to make way for a manual labor job.

1. The Work Feels More Rewarding

Work in a manual labor job is much different than work in a restaurant or in a retail store. Instead of feeling like you are accomplishing nothing other than faking a smile to get paid at or slightly above minimum wage, you are out working without an eye on the clock. Whereas, with a manual labor job, there are more ways to see your progress with the various tasks such as weeding, cutting grass, or painting.

2. Time Goes By More Quickly on the Job

As you walk around in frustration on the floor attempting to help irritable customers or you have just been yelled at by the 8th person of the day on one your fast-food restaurant's terrible service, you can't help but constantly look at the clock. Time drags on as you are a minnow getting eaten up by the sharks of the pond that is American consumerism. But in a manual labor job you are checking the time less often because you entertain yourself with the tasks at hand.

3. You don't have to deal with people as often

Dealing with people is not bad in itself. But doing it for eight hours with only one thirty-minute meal in between is a true form of hell. Instead of dealing with people, you deal with machines, high grass, the hot sun, and prickly weeds. All of which are much better than loud, demanding consumers.

4. The Atmosphere is much more relaxed

Make no mistake, you will be working hard in a manual labor job. But you will be working hard with a hilarious, salt-of-the-earth counterparts instead of with stressed, drained individuals who want nothing to do with each other. That's not to say you won't find a friendly staff at a customer service job. It just means the work often takes more mental energy out of the workers and therefore, will often make the workers less eager to make friends on the job.