The summer can be a great time for you to learn life skills that seem to fall by the wayside in the midst of classes, hectic exam schedules, and student jobs. Now is the perfect opportunity for you to ask your parents for advice on all the tasks you might not already know how to do: change a tire, change your oil, wash the laundry (without bleaching, shrinking, or otherwise ruining anything), and how to make a meal (without a microwave or the word “instant” involved). Tackling these skills while you’re on break can help to fill your summer with meaningful learning, without opening a book or taking an exam. When you get back to college, you will be able to impress all your friends with your new knowledge!

Time these requests right! Ask your parents if you can tag along on errands such as grocery shopping so you can learn how to stretch your budget to feed multiple people. Ask to be taught how to do something that is already being done so as to make the most of the lesson! For instance, don’t ask to be taught how to make lasagna for dinner and expect to learn at 10 AM. Such a lesson would be much better timed closer to dinner. Your parents will appreciate your thoughtfulness, and you will still get to learn what you want.

The summer is also a great time to learn random skills that may or may not be at all useful. You can learn essentially anything you can dream of on YouTube. One summer I learned how to make paracord bracelets just because. Do you have an interest in some random skill? Try looking it up and see what you can learn with just the internet and your copious amounts of free time.

It’s almost here-Summer break! The long awaited break from all those books, papers, and classes is just around the corner. As tempting as it may be to kick back and relax all summer long, you’ll probably find that after a week or two doing nothing gets really boring. This is why summer can actually be one of the most important times in a college student’s life! This is where you get to explore who you are outside of school, and sometimes even away from home!

Deciding what you want to do all summer can be a hard task. Maybe you have a job waiting for you back home, and you plan to make a little extra cash to get you through next year. Maybe your family wants to take a vacation to the middle of nowhere for a few weeks. Or maybe you’re one of those stellar freshmen who have already managed to line up an internship! Whatever you plan to spend the summer doing, there are a couple things to keep in mind for making the most of your summer!

First, vacations will mess up the timeline for just about anything else. It can be really hard to get a job or internship when you already know that you’ll be missing a set amount of time, but you don’t know when. For this reason, convince your parents to set dates for vacation well in advance. You can still take the time to spend time with your family, but you’ll also have a much easier time finding employment when you already know when you won’t be able to work. To make it extra easy, try to schedule vacations for the very beginning or very end of summer. You’ll be able to schedule your job around the vacation, instead of trying to get time off.

Second, internships are only as helpful as you make them. Everyone says internships will make or break your future career, and in some ways that’s accurate. However, it really depends on what field you’re going into, what internship you get, and how much time you spend there. For instance, if you’re an accounting major and you get an internship at a movie studio doing set work, that’s not going to be very helpful when you apply to major accounting firms. If you go home and work the books for a small local store, that’s going to be a lot more specialized experience, even though it isn’t an internship or with a really big, famous company.

Whatever you do this summer, keep in mind that you still have a few more summers to make the most of your college experience. If you plan things right, by the time you get out of college you’ll have a wealth of work experience and educational opportunities (like study abroad) to show exactly how much effort you put into getting ahead. By graduation, you’ll be a summer break pro!

Summer is officially in full swing.  It is now time to soak up some sun and save up some funds.  Summer is a great time to work as much as you can and also save as much as you can for the upcoming semester.  There apart are two challenges of the summer job; finding the job and passing up social opportunities. 

May is the best time to search for a summer job as, it provides more than enough time for the interview, drug screening, and your transition back home. Don’t fret, because it is June!  There are still plenty of opportunities out there. You are going to have to look a little harder, be more creative and be more aggressive.  A job will not just fall into your lap.  Approach every avenue you can and look for possible opportunities.  The best positions during the summer are those that are related to your major and career path and seasonal positions designed especially for the summer. In addition, consider strategies for coping with unfair job termination fallout, as resilience and adaptability are crucial in navigating unexpected challenges.

Choosing a position within your major or career path will allow you the opportunity to get hands on experience and learn the day-to-day operations of the position.  Having an opportunity like this will require you to reach out to a number of offices and sell yourself.  Positions like this may not be posted, may be found through word of mouth, or they may need to be created.  You may also have to volunteer.  Ideally you want to get paid for the work that you complete; however sometimes gaining the experience is far more valuable than earning a check.  Also look at your credit requirements, as you may be able to use the experience towards class or internship credit. 

Seasonal summer positions are always great for students, because they are designed just for the summer and students need work just for the summer. Look at local YMCAs for day camp programs, explore the local ice cream parlor, and even look at local kid hangouts.  Working at a camp is a great options as there are a variety of camps; including religious, sports, academic, and special interest.  Research and see what is offered in your area, local parks and recreation centers, and colleges.

Once you start working, you should approach each pay check as an opportunity to save for the upcoming year.  Each semester you will need money for books, food, and other responsibilities.  Learning to save now and live on a strict budget will teach you discipline and will help you later in life.  If the item or venture is not a necessity and you can live without it, you should consider forgoing it.  Starting the semester with as much money as possible should be your goal each semester.  You want to ensure you have all of your needs met throughout the semester and not have to scramble each month to pay your cell phone bill.  Some students are able to work during the summer and winter break so they do not have to work during the semester. Others have to pay their way through school or contribute to the rising costs of tuition.  Working during the summer with an end goal in mind will help you stay on track.  Write out a list of goals, so you know what you are aiming for and what you will need to do to achieve the financial goal.  If you don’t already have one, be sure you open a savings account to help you stay focused and not spend. 

Summer is a great time to relax and enjoy not having classes, papers, and assignments. It is also a good time to work and prepare for the year ahead.  Taking a few days to yourself at the end of the semester is suggested.  It allows you an opportunity to regroup and have some down time.  After a few days, you should implement your plan and start preparing for what is in-store next. If you work hard now you will have the opportunity to play hard later.