Many of my college-age friends are finishing their school year today and are heading home with plans to get a summer job. \u00a0 I have some advice for them: don’t work at Starbucks. \u00a0 Or at Wal-mart, or as a waiter or a babysitter.<\/p>\n
I know, I know, I’m going to make somebody mad. \u00a0 Too bad.<\/p>\n
Actually, there’s nothing inherently wrong with working at Starbucks. \u00a0 The problem is that you worked there last year. \u00a0 And you know the manager and you’ve got your job back. \u00a0 So it’s easy. \u00a0 Nothing wrong with easy. \u00a0 What’s wrong is that the job isn’t taking you where you want to go<\/em>. \u00a0 Now maybe I’m wrong. \u00a0 Perhaps you’re interested, like one of the IBEX alumni, in starting a coffee distribution business in Africa. \u00a0 So perhaps working at Starbucks would better prepare you for that. \u00a0 If so, do it. \u00a0 But if you don’t think it is preparing you for the future, then why are you wasting these precious months<\/em>?<\/p>\n Indeed, that is what is at stake. \u00a0 You have a few precious months this summer; how can you make the most of them? \u00a0 That’s the key question.<\/p>\n I think most people have one of two goals in working a summer job. \u00a0 1) Make money. \u00a0 2) Gain experience. \u00a0 I think those are good goals, given 1) the outrageously high tuition charged at private Christian colleges in Santa Clarita, and 2) you’re going to graduate in a very short time and be thrust out into the real world and you really don’t have a clue.<\/p>\n But here’s the key: accomplish at least one, if not both, of those goals. \u00a0 Which precludes working at Starbucks. \u00a0 I’ll say it a different way: if you’re not making bank, you better be learning something. \u00a0 And I don’t mean how to make a dark roasted mocha express blend. \u00a0 You can learn something as a waiter or babysitter, but there becomes a point after which you’re going to be learning very little for the time you’re spending. \u00a0 That’s the point that you need to move on.<\/p>\n I suggest this: instead of taking that easy-to-get, low-paying job that you did last summer, look a little harder. \u00a0 Yes, it takes patience. \u00a0 Yes, you may have to trust God to provide. \u00a0 Yes, you may have a few weeks out of work. \u00a0 But a better job may make you better able to do what God has for you in the future.<\/p>\n Maybe you should work construction this summer, just to learn some basics. \u00a0 That will almost certainly come in useful later in life. \u00a0 (Exhibit A: my dad, who also met my mom while working a side job in construction. \u00a0 He can build all kinds of things.) \u00a0 You’ll be a lowly grunt, but you probably will make as much as you would as a waiter, and you will profit from it later.<\/p>\n Maybe you could find a job in a business firm. \u00a0 This is a business world and you won’t understand it if you don’t live in it, at least for a little while. \u00a0 This goes for all you future moms and future pastors.<\/p>\n I know that it can be hard to find a job like this on short notice and for a short time. \u00a0 It really helps to know someone. \u00a0 Perhaps you can ask around at church, or put a notice in the newletter. \u00a0 Or just go knock on some doors and tell them that you’re a hard-working college student who wants to serve and learn. \u00a0 Don’t be afraid of rejection; you’ll get over it. \u00a0 And if someone offers you a job that’s not best for your goals, don’t be afraid to pass on it.<\/p>\n I have another suggestion from personal experience: work with a temp agency. \u00a0 I did that<\/a> in my seminary years. \u00a0 It was ideal because it was flexible (I called in when I was available), paid good money ($14\/hour usually, and that was back in 1995), and I learned a lot<\/em>. \u00a0 I worked in a lawyer’s office for a month. \u00a0 I worked in the Nestle tower in Glendale for a while, helping create business simulations. \u00a0 I worked on the U.S. Space Station team. \u00a0 (Ok, mostly all I did was make photocopies and teach myself MS Excel, but that’s ok.) \u00a0 I even worked for the Chabad headquarters for a while. \u00a0 Imagine that – a Christian seminary student who knew some modern Hebrew \u00a0spending 40 hours\/week \u00a0with the black-coated rabbis in Los Angeles!<\/p>\n I learned all kinds of things in those years. \u00a0 They were invaluable for helping me to understand people, increase in my knowledge of business, and know that I really<\/em> wanted to be a college teacher.<\/p>\n That doesn’t mean it was easy. \u00a0 I remember plenty of hard things about it. \u00a0 But those things I especially<\/em> wouldn’t trade because of the things I learned and the perspective I gained.<\/p>\n Probably later in life, you won’t have the chance to work around in a variety of places. \u00a0 You’ll have a career, you’ll have bills to pay, and you simply won’t be able to work a variety of jobs. \u00a0 Now’s the time. \u00a0 Don’t waste your summer. \u00a0 Don’t work at Starbucks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Many of my college-age friends are finishing their school year today and are heading home with plans to get a summer job. \u00a0 I have some advice for them: don’t work at Starbucks. \u00a0 Or at Wal-mart, or as a waiter or a babysitter. I know, I know, I’m going to make somebody mad. \u00a0\u2026 Read More »<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-503","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-advice"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/toddbolen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/503","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/toddbolen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/toddbolen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/toddbolen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/toddbolen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=503"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/toddbolen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/503\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/toddbolen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=503"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/toddbolen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=503"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/toddbolen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=503"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}