Summer job before grad school?

[neuropsych76]

So i'll be graduating in May and heading to grad school sometime in August. I know I should relax and do nothing as much as I can this summer but I'll probably have to get a good to be more financially stable heading into graduate school.

I'll most likely have to work fast food or some other depressing job for a few months. I've worked some pretty terrible jobs and I'm bummed out I have to work one more before grad school. I have a bachelors degree and a pretty solid resume but I'll probably be working a terrible low paying job just to make some cash. Throughout college I've worked jobs where I was treated like crap but I think it'll be a little worse now that I'm actually graduated.

I'm mostly venting but is anyone else going through the same situation?

[jynx]

My fiance and I are taking all the money we have saved up and using it to travel this summer - we'll be backpacking across India for a couple months before relocating for grad school. But in order to afford this trip, we're trying to find money wherever we can, which means trying to sell a lot of our stuff and, for me, taking a crappy job. So I picked up a canvassing job that I'll be starting next week, which might be something for you to look into. It's for a good cause, they hire practically everyone, coworkers are usually pleasant, and it's kind of fun work if you can handle being rejected over and over when you ask people for money

[eklavya]

My fiance and I are taking all the money we have saved up and using it to travel this summer - we'll be backpacking across India for a couple months before relocating for grad school

if you guys are going to be in india, may i suggest coming to Nepal (my country) as well? we are celebrating 2011 as tourism year, so i assure you will have fun. from the deepest gorge to the top of the world, one horned rhino to the almost extinct snow leopard, cities of temples to the uncharted lands beyond the himalays - and it just keeps getting better.

i am going home this summer (april-may).. so if you guys want to give Nepal a shot, and get a guide (which would be me, and for free, of course!!), feel free to shoot me an email. personally, i am planning to hike up to about 5000m (300m shy of everest base camp) and do some white water rafting.

sorry for sounding like a salesman here, you guys. and sorry neuro for obstructing the flow of the thread

[jynx]

if you guys are going to be in india, may i suggest coming to Nepal (my country) as well? we are celebrating 2011 as tourism year, so i assure you will have fun. from the deepest gorge to the top of the world, one horned rhino to the almost extinct snow leopard, cities of temples to the uncharted lands beyond the himalays - and it just keeps getting better.

i am going home this summer (april-may).. so if you guys want to give Nepal a shot, and get a guide (which would be me, and for free, of course!!), feel free to shoot me an email. personally, i am planning to hike up to about 5000m (300m shy of everest base camp) and do some white water rafting.

sorry for sounding like a salesman here, you guys. and sorry neuro for obstructing the flow of the thread

What a gracious offer! We spent 6 months in Delhi in 2009 and did a lot of traveling around North India then, so this trip is all about South India, and unfortunately, we won't have the time or money for a detour up to Nepal. Thanks so much though, I hope someday I'll get the chance to visit

Anyway, sorry to hijack the thread, back to the topic at hand!

[nessa]

it wasn't the summer before grad school for me (not there yet...) but I also had an awkward two months after I graduated from college to fill. Not only did I have to say goodbye to all my college friends, I was living at home and working as a temp processing mortgages, which was about the most boring thing ever. And yeah, everyone assumed I was an idiot because I was a temp. However, it paid about $12/hour, so that helped. If you have decent computer skills (which all college grads do), you could look into temp agencies. At least for those your monotonous work is sitting at a desk, which I prefer to flipping burgers, and they may pay better.

The only not-sucky suggestion I can think of is that if there is a university in your area, you could see if there are any summer RA positions- the fact you're heading to grad school will make you seem pretty qualified and not need much training.

If nothing like that works out, just remember, it's only until August, it's only until August...

[hello! :)]

You can also ask your new advisor if you can start in the lab early (with pay)!

[chrombio]

You should see if your school has some sort of e-recruiting website set up. I also am trying to find a job for the summer to feel more stable for the move, and there are a few (not many) postings for bio-related stuff ranging from nutrition to conservation where the employers would be happy to take in a biology major. The temp idea also sounds good, at least much, much better than working in the food services!! Best of luck!

[neuropsych76]

Thank you guys for the replies

I know its only for a few months but i just wanted to see some other people's thoughts on the matter.

I'd like to work at my lab early if possible, that would be awesome (if i had some early funding)

Edited March 28, 2011 by neuropsych76

[GutLogic]

When I was looking for a job after college, I signed up with some lab staffing agencies, which mostly filled short-term contract positions, like a temp agency for lab work. I ended up getting a permanent position so I didn't need to use it, but they were generally really helpful when I talked to them leading up to graduation. If you sign up with them early, they're probably more likely to find something for you that suits your schedule. Only thing is, I've heard that some of them can be shady so I'd ask your school's career services office for recommendations. Just an idea, it would probably be repetitive work rather than research but it at least requires some skills and you would probably get paid more than you would in customer service or traditional temp jobs.

[thom1820]

Over the summer I will be busier than ever. I work part time now, and I applied for a full time summer internship at the place where I work. If I get it then I'll be doing that, otherwise I'll just keep the job I have now, working nights (manager of a fund-raising call center). If I get the internship and I'm feeling REALLY ambitious I'll try to do both! Then I'm getting married in July and, depending on all the work stuff, taking a honeymoon to Thailand.

[Just me]

I took a job back in January to help pay for grad school since I couldn't get a single loan and have to pay out of pocket. I got fired yesterday and there is no doubt in my mind this was due in part to my saying I needed to be off for almost a month for class and subsequent homework (huge project, short deadline). And that I'd have to do this three times a year until 2013. This is one of many reasons I hate being in grad school - no employer wants to keep someone around who's going to run off for weeks at a time several times a year.

But I hated that job anyway...scammy call center with a very controlling boss. Not good for my health, especially after showing signs of ulcers. Honestly, I would say to not expect anything too long-term as a grad student work-wise. Most employers of crappy jobs want people who are desperate for any work at all who aren't going to take time away from making them money to better themselves and eventually leave.

[chaospaladin]

You should work to make money to pay off all of your undergraduate student debt as well as study for your diagnostic exams.

[Eigen]

You should work to make money to pay off all of your undergraduate student debt as well as study for your diagnostic exams.

I see nothing in the OP about (a) undergraduate debt or ( upcoming diagnostic exams, so I have no idea where this advice comes from.

Neuropsych: I'd definitely reach out to the program and see if you could get, say, a month of early funding for some research- it might work, and this time of year is when PIs start budgeting for the summer. That would give you some time to travel, but then give you a bit of income before the start of school, and let you get acclimated to the area.

Unless you're in really dire financial straits, I'd try to avoid working a meaningless job before grad school- either dive in early, or take the time off. This is one of the last summers you'll have, spending it working a job you hate is something to avoid if you possibly can.

[frenzydude]

I could do a paid internship or something, or maybe try for something like the Google Summer of Code, but I think I will just enjoy my couple of months time at home before leaving for grad school in the US.

[Katzenmusik]

Here are a few summer jobs that might be preferable to fast food:

* temping (doing mundane office work)

* working as a tour guide or other summer program staff at a museum or historic site (I did this last summer before grad school -- great experience!)

* paid summer internship related to your field, if you can get something

* camp counselor

* check out http://www.thesca.org/ - they have some really interesting summer jobs in a variety of fields.

Just throwing some ideas out there! I have worked a many terrible jobs in my time, and by far the WORST have been in food service. So good luck finding something better!

[Behavioral]

At first, I was going to travel to Europe and South America over the summer, but my former professor from a summer REU invited me to manage/lead an internship site for 10 weeks, so I'm jumping on that opportunity!

I'm conducting more research, revisiting one of my favorite cities (Chapel Hill / RTP), and getting paid to eat eat eat yummy Carolina BBQ.

[neuropsych76]

At first, I was going to travel to Europe and South America over the summer, but my former professor from a summer REU invited me to manage/lead an internship site for 10 weeks, so I'm jumping on that opportunity!

I'm conducting more research, revisiting one of my favorite cities (Chapel Hill / RTP), and getting paid to eat eat eat yummy Carolina BBQ.

Thank you all for the replies. Hopefully, I'll be doing something decent this summer.

That sounds like a great opportunity! And yes, Carolina BBQ is awesome

[stopcallinmesqrlboy]

Here are a few summer jobs that might be preferable to fast food:

* temping (doing mundane office work)

* working as a tour guide or other summer program staff at a museum or historic site (I did this last summer before grad school -- great experience!)

* paid summer internship related to your field, if you can get something

* camp counselor

* check out http://www.thesca.org/ - they have some really interesting summer jobs in a variety of fields.

Just throwing some ideas out there! I have worked a many terrible jobs in my time, and by far the WORST have been in food service. So good luck finding something better!

I'm going to be a camp counselor (instructor) this summer! And it's for a camp that teaches programming and other multimedia / web design stuff to high school students. I figured this was a better alternative to summer work than the average office internship or some monotonous retail position. If you enjoy teaching, maybe there is a similar type of camp for cognitive science or related area, neuropsych.

[neuropsych76]

i'm bumping this up because i wanted to ask what you guys think is a reasonable pay for people with bachelors degrees applying to work at retail stores.

i'll probably end up working at some department store like target and i wasn't sure what i should put for my preferred wage. i know most places i'd be making minimum wage but i feel like since i have a bachelors i should make a little more.

is that reasonable? should i ask for like .75 more than minimum wage? i'd only be working here for the summer so i wasn't sure.

thanks for any feedback

[Katzenmusik]

Unfortunately they probably won't pay you any more than the other workers just because you have a BA. Since you don't need a degree to do the work, the extra education isn't really meaningful to them. In fact, since they know you probably won't be a lifer, they have less incentive to keep you happy.

Definitely try asking for a little more than minimum wage on your applications, though -- it never hurts to ask, so long as your suggested amount isn't completely unreasonable.

Chances are, for these big chains, you can even find the wages online somewhere. You can use that info to avoid low-balling yourself.