Working retail while in college reddit. Khan (@Dr_TheHistories). Associate’s at local community college & a bachelor’s at local state university. I was full-time in the summers and part-time during school (both employers kept me on while I had classes, way better than having a retail job). Currently own my own small cafe. Then I thought I'd pursue a career in international relations, but by the time I graduated I was so burned As someone who's worked retail his entire life because I don't have any other skills or education worth a damn I can imagine that fast food is much much worse. But I highly agree from my insight and experience, working at the school would have so many kind benefits. College grad working retail with a degree. Don't go to college for the sake of college, especially if you hate it. I feel you about working retail affecting my mental health in college. I got a degree but everywhere I go, I either need a masters or some sort of license to do certain jobs (that pay close to minimum wage). Don't feel defeated. Don't look at restaurant jobs and customer service negatively. You’ll work contract temp-to-hire positions and it’s a good way to get into something. I'm curious for those who work during the summer, where do y'all work? I'm trying to make as much money as possible over the… A few quick comments: Align the dates to the right hand side of the page for easier scanning For current positions, typically present tense is used I would consider adding your associates or current university/college to the resume. . It worked out for me, because they offered me a full-time position. Working part-time while in pharmacy school. I started working data entry jobs in grad school and it was nice to not have to deal with customer service-type work all day, maybe that’s an option? I’m also gonna second trying to find a job on campus, those are usually pretty low pressure! We would like to show you a description here but the site won’t allow us. I've also learned, while doing retail, is that customer service really isn't for me. Should I start applying for part-time retail jobs while also continuing to look for something related to my field? I’m not sure if having that on my resume would make it better or worse for potential employers in my field. I am an assistant manager in clothing retail. All of the programs in the community college will offer a perfect balance of theoretical and practical work. Any other ideas would be helpful. In addition, slow winters are a great time to work on homework if everything is done in the store, as long as your manager is okay with it (all 3 of mine have been). Clothing stores look for young workers and deal with the college/school thing all the time. A photo Barack Obama with his grandparents that was taken when he was an undergrad in college sometime in the 1980s. I can do it well, but having a lot of interactions with several people a day (a lot of which can be incredibly rude) drains me more than standing on my feet and doing light physical work for 8+ hours. I actually didn't mind working retail, and sort of enjoyed it at times, but the management at a retail store can make or break an experience. If you work in retail, but also volunteer eg. Question is is it stupid to work trail jobs such as Macys, bath and body works, old navy/gap, staples We would like to show you a description here but the site won’t allow us. Learn as much as you can. You learn some valuable rudimentary skills while in college. I (23) female graduated college in may 2022 and while finishing up my marketing degree, I was also working a retail job. I left college with multiple years of experience. One evening a former close friend of mine (I say former since we naturally drifted apart during high school) stopped by my place of work to shop and she happened to stop by my register. My friend attended a community college near my home town and started working at an Amazon warehouse earning 33/hr doing electronic systems repair, programming plcs, troubleshooting as control systems tech. You should look for Robert Half, they handle professionals. As someone who's worked retail his entire life because I don't have any other skills or education worth a damn I can imagine that fast food is much much worse. Those jobs was both case management (didn’t like it much as it stressed me out) and the others were retail temp at Macys and warehouse at Whole Foods. Personally, having one word I don't know anything about working at Walmart, but you have already advanced from cashiering to customer service in a short amount of time, have you considered getting into a shift lead or management role? If you got into management for a while, I would think that management experience would be transferable into a wide variety of industries. Some people do not have the privilege of not having to worry about money during grad school, but the rest of us do. I'm currently 70/180 credits into my bachelor's of business administration degree at Purdue global with a concentration on human resources. this has got to STOP 臘 ♂️ conversation about showing citizenship id and deportation 5 days ago · Dr. I guess it was a mix of complacency and feeling lost that got me to this point. If you’re worried, there should be temporary positions for summer jobs in your area, just specify that in your search. Keep working your job but spend the time figuring out what you actually want to do, then figure out what you need for it. I have since been working retail, while throwing applications out whenever any Music Industry-related jobs came to my attention. Motion Recruitment's hyper-specialized, on-demand global recruiting, robust market intelligence, and immersive account leadership result in exceptional partnerships with tech employers and tech talent, while Motion Consulting Group's proven IT experts provide transformative success for complex, Enterprise-level consulting projects. Sure, you shouldn't slack off, and you need to be fast at the registers still, but in fast food, you're constantly under pressure, whereas retail is less intense. I commute but drive to class every day downtown (30 mins away) in the city, & work a high-end retail job 2-3 x a week on the other side of town, and I’m a full-time honors student currently with all A’s. I don't have any form of volunteer experience either. Same boat. Anyway, I've been stuck in my part-time retail job for the past year. The longer I have worked retail, the less I've liked it. I want to work in an office. College students of reddit who work, what is your job? Hi All, Im a little bit interested into the kind of jobs that other college students work. Just finished freshman year, didn't have a job, but now I've got one working at Gap (retail) and another working at another college enrolling summer applicants. I get good grades and have made the chancellors list several times but it's extremely time consuming and I have a hard time balancing both working full-time and being in college full-time. From my experience, I didn’t start working during school till the summer before my 3rd year in CC ( I took longer than 2yrs since I switched from business to CS). There are absolutely remote jobs for this career path. Bad management is the absolute worst. The longer you work in retail the less relevant your skills and degree become, and the less experience on your resume in unrelated fields is going to result in less good paying job offers. Its good training, pretty damn good commission (I made 40k working 3 days a week) It teaches you how to get good at selling to people who really dont want to be sold to (people cant stand going into cell phone stores). 9). In my opinion, retail is somewhat similar with much much less pay. Oct 16, 2025 · Working retail isn’t the most rewarding job while being a student, especially when it comes to money. I worked for Target while I was in your position - not a student yet but thinking about what I wanted to do. Now, I'm working full time and taking evening courses in a master's degree program, which is much easier to swing. UCs are one of the best gigs for an MA looking to go to college and still work. Retail can be fun when you've got the right team of people to work with. Managed to keep food on the table and pay my tuition but didn't save much during that time. It helped me save money for things since my parents were rally helpful to me financially while I was attending college. The subreddit for discussion related to college and collegiate life. All the while Just keep looking and I'm sure you'll eventually find something more in line with your degree. As a high school student with no work experience, creating a resume can be tricky, but definitely not impossible. But if you enjoy retail I have graduated college 2-3 years ago and had worked odd jobs last 2-3 years. Reply reply johnnylocke815 • Reply reply We would like to show you a description here but the site won’t allow us. We would like to show you a description here but the site won’t allow us. I enjoy working with co-workers, just not the public. New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast. I plan to leave my job and search for something different. If being in college is harmless while applying to retail jobs, would it also be better to include that all of my classes are online? I will have a more flexible scheduling time with online classes. Absolutely nothing wrong with working. Since I’m technically self employed, I choose my own hours, so I only work during peak busy hours (4 or 5 pm til 8 or 9 pm) and average about $30-40 an hour. Then when finals week comes around ask for less hours and work more when break starts. Started as a barista in 2006. No interviews, maybe a couple of responses out of dozens and dozens of applications. You would get breaks, potential benefits, and a steady pay. In addition, you are constantly doing things (putting orders into POS system), expositioning, walking with orders to Why are so many college graduates working in retail or food service? Archived post. BTW, the only retail experience I have is working at a store for one day in high school. While I do enjoy some of the creative aspects of the job, the pay just isn't A retail job should be easier to balance with college (if the person who schedules you is sane) because if you are part time you don't always work 8 hours. Business Administration with a concentration in executive management. What are your opinions? Share it in the comments, I am curious! This topic has come up a lot when I am speaking with my family and friends, and I hear a lot of people in my classes talking about their jobs. If retail does that for you, then great. It is to be expected. I joined a staffing agency. It was worth every single minute! I agree with this; currently a CCMA working at an urgent care and planning to go to school for nursing here in a few months. You could work weekends. M. I would recommend looking into UI/UX certification classes (all online) and start from there. Feb 11, 2025 · Very isolated at my parents' house and it's been difficult to find work due to my location. I graduated (not with a masters but still college) and ended up working at Sams Club for $12/hr. If I leave my degree and college stuff off, I'm don't know how I'm supposed to explain what I've been doing for 5 to almost 10 years. Mar 8, 2024 · A new study found that 52% of college graduates end up "underemployed" within a year of graduation. I finally realized I need to advance. Good luck! We would like to show you a description here but the site won’t allow us. I had a job in retail after my master's degree because my area still hadn't recovered from the recession. I work driving as an independent contractor for a local delivery company similar to UberEats/DoorDash/etc. I get a good discount on clothes in my retail job, which is great for a college student. Good luck! Reddit is a network of communities where people can dive into their interests, hobbies and passions. When it is the job that pays the bills it is downright criminal what you have to endure. I’m 40 years old and need professional help. One is a work study job, about 9 hours a week, the other is a retail job (10-20 hours a week). You listed everything from medical to business to computer science. Doable or no? Just got accepted into pharmacy school and I was wondering if it’s doable to work part-time while going to pharmacy school? A pharmacy had opened up a position for a “pharmacy student” and I was planning to apply. The point is you should show that you're interested in psychology/therapy besides just taking classes. F. Use the opportunity to learn a different angle of human interaction, and to see how hobbled much of the public is - even older people - by shyness and lack of self confidence. You could work a closing 4 hour shift and have most of the day to study. No one in the family has ever met him, talked to him or seen him. The only job experience I have is working for my parents’ local business, with some accounting related tasks. 91 likes 4 replies. The fact is that anyone willing to work their way up can be successful in a retail job, some people in the company started out as baggers or cashiers and now are top store leaders with minimal to no college experience. Laughing and having a good time will make the job so much better. Aug 10, 2023 · Working a part-time job while in college can help students pay for personal expenses, supplement financial aid and gain valuable work experience. Before that I worked seasonal retail jobs but, if I tried working more than that I wouldn’t have been able to maintain my gpa (3. Obviously I know that a degree in Political Science it not specific enough to make a career out of it, but I have been pulled a few ways as to what to do for a career. Entry-level jobs these days ask for 3-5 years of experience and it’s like ???? when was I supposed to get that? If you don’t like retail my friends are doing things like Americorps and teaching abroad, and some of those positions don’t require much experience if you’re into I (23) female graduated college in may 2022 and while finishing up my marketing degree, I was also working a retail job. Another big problem is fitting a job into a busy academic schedule. Retail/food/etc industries aren’t made to give students cushion while in school. But at $9/hr for nine hours, you would make 54 dollars. Yep, I interned during college. During the interview it was casually mentioned that as a part time product specialist I would be expected to work a minimum of 20 hours a week as a part time employee. Mar 15, 2026 · AITA for cancelling a family vacation that I paid for after my niece stabbed me in the back? My (f) niece (f18) has been like a sister to me. Mar 9, 2026 · Find statistics, consumer survey results and industry studies from over 22,500 sources on over 60,000 topics on the internet's leading statistics database From my experience, I didn’t start working during school till the summer before my 3rd year in CC ( I took longer than 2yrs since I switched from business to CS). At some other times I went to school full time and pursued shutdown/turnaround type work during breaks and summers. Though the exact date is unclear, it likely falls within the period when Obama was studying first at Occidental College (1979–1981) before transferring to Columbia University, where he graduated in 1983 with a degree in You should work wherever you’re happy. I graduated in 2013 with a Bachelor's in political science. People I went to college with would come in and run in to me every once in a while. When I started college, I thought I wanted to go to law school, but I took a few law classes and decided that law school wasn't for me. They spent three days together and then he left. So while I worked at my retail job part time, I was able to do the internship and build my portfolio that way. May 23, 2024 · Most people do not stay because they want to, but rather they have to. My question is why did you pursue college? If you enjoyed retail why did you decide to get a 4 year degree in English? Did you want to pursue a career in publishing? Reporting? Editing? If you actually want to pursue a career in something English related, there’s nothing stopping you. I'm a woman who is still living with her parents and working at Sears. Also it’s completely normal to work retail after graduation. for a crisis help line, help a professor with a research project, etc. First, focus on highlighting your education and any extracurricular activities you've participated in. Do keep your eye open for any psychology-related jobs or internships though. 1. Absolutely nothing wrong with working. 33 votes, 28 comments. I graduated college about a year ago and got my degree in Business Economics. She's dating this guy who lives in another country. Can retailers capitalize more on the seemingly greater amount of college grads open to retail work? This isn't necessarily true. Some of the worst jobs in my experience are athletics related (could vary from school to school but at mine the athlete teams kind of treat things like shit , that later people working these jobs have to clean up/maintain) or kitchen/food related work (can get incredibly busy and you might get to experience the wonders of the service industry). I have a bachelor's working in retail and I work with several people who have degrees. It was nice graduating without the worry of finding a job. Maybe not fast food but try serving. There's a community for whatever you're interested in on Reddit. Coffee is fun, find a place where the staff seems to have fun while at work. It's pretty much all based in whether there is anything available, the time of year (demand) and who else is applying. So the program essentially is an "entry level" theme park job available only to college students, you live in shared dorms and also have the opportunity to take classes or attend seminars lead by various Disney leaders. Pick the one you’ll most like. If you are good at retail, Target pays the best and has a culture of hiring students before/during college. Nine hours at some waitressing jobs could net you anywhere from 150-300 bucks on certain nights. What degree or associate will help me with that? I am willing to go back to school. I work early morning shifts receiving shipment and doing visual displays for the store. We exchanged pleasantries and caught up a bit about what we were doing with our lives and such. I worked retail for the longest time because I didn't want to further my career in psychology after I realized it's too hard for me. 8M subscribers in the college community. I don’t have a college degree and I currently work in retail. I don't think there's any shame in being gainfully employed regardless what industry you're in. Aug 10, 2023 · The Pros and Cons of Working While in College Working a part-time job in college can jump-start students' careers, but they should find a balance with schoolwork. I have since taken a retail job and not only has it helped pay my bills, but also given me skills that I can highlight to hiring managers. I have started applying for other jobs outside of fast food but will always have a job to fall back on if it doesn’t work out because of my experience in fast food/retail. A server in most places is also a salesperson because you are trained persuasive communication skills and up selling. I think that would be just fine. All in all most people burn out from retail phone sales, as did I, but I gained valuable experience. It wasn't too bad because they were super flexible and wanted my academics to come first. It's a total different kind of retail. The catch is, they always could have you just work I'll be 26 this month. Where do I go from here? Hello! I graduated from college June 2019 with a BA in Political Science. Some people I been working retail customer service for 20 years. What I mean is, why do college students work in retail, fast food and restaurant jobs as opposed to working in internships and jobs related to what they study (i. I'm finally starting part time somewhere but it's very frustrating. Filled every position in the industry in between - barista, store management, warehouse and distribution, roasting, operations, multi-unit management. However, in my experience, they really do expect a lot from you in terms of speed and customer service. Could be good for showing commitment, work ethic, etc Keep volunteer experience in there Cashier bullets could use a bit more work. I just graduated and am still working my fast food job. I started as part time sales while in college, moved up thru mgmt, and ultimately moved to a director role in a sports stadium. I will say check out if your school has a career page or career services. I did loved my retail job but I realize for the stuff associates get put up especially having a degree already, was really terrible to my mental health. Sadly though, the job market is terrible, so getting out is near impossible unless you have good connections to get into a better position elsewhere. e if they study engineering, then engineering internship, physics, then a physics internship, etc)? Archived post. In retail, a lot of work is more individual and less dependent on doing everything quickly. I couldn’t find a job after college and my internship program was shut down due to them not being able to transition to remote for interns. 108 votes, 114 comments. DO NOT DO ANY DESIGN WORK FOR FREE. Transferring stores is an easy process and makes it so much easier to have job security while in college. I work as a bartender and have been the past 2 years -- although I recently found that it isnt really for me. And currently 30k debt from bachelors in speech pathology. However, there are drawbacks students I did a work-study at my university for 10 hours a week. This made me a bit concerned as a full time college student with a full course load of 8 classes I have no idea how I would manage this. Retail can be fun if you like to fuck off and make a little monwy on the side. She met him while he was working at her college. You work 40 hours a week and get paid, plus free them park entry and other discounts tha cast get as perks. I'd been helping with a bunch of What are cool part-time jobs for college students that are much better than your typical retail, fast-food, restaurant jobs? I did work while in college but not till my junior year. myaabc oxwqs ssgc nmpur imrx xfdfhui motuy bnga nfikgv bwn