Finding a summer job: just like course selection?

Unlike creating a class schedule, you can’t try to aim for a summer job that you don’t have to show up for. Getting out of bed and showing up are typically mandatory.

When selecting a course, there’s plenty of intel to gather. By the time you show up for the first class, you should already have some preliminary impressions of the prof’s marking scheme, lecture style, and preferences for midterm questions.

But there’s no such thing as ‘ratemysummerjob.com.’ And even if there was, there aren’t exactly dozens of summer jobs with hundreds of available spots. When you’re creating a class schedule, even if you don’t get your first choices, there are always more than enough classes to go around. But summer jobs? You know you’re lucky if you land one. No matter what it is.

The basic rules for skipping classes, like "the second day is actually my first day" and "nothing ever happens the day after the midterm," can’t be applied to a summer job, either. You’re no longer a single student in a sea of hundreds: chances are, someone might notice if you don’t show up.

-photo courtesy of DC Central Kitchen