Like many university students, I’m looking for a summer job. There is much to decide when searching for a job, even when it’s just a four-month summer position. The exhaustion that is navigating a sea of future temporary jobs aside, we need to consider factors like wages and the relevance of a position to our degrees, and how these can impact our lifestyles. 

When it comes to finding work as a student, it can feel like shopping for clothes without knowing your size. There are the jobs we aren’t qualified for or are too qualified for. Jobs that are specific to our programs, or often, none that are specific to our programs, though all of them just might be relevant. 

Let’s not forget that student jobs can be severely underpaid. 

Often, it feels like job listings ask applicants to be in the process of completing a post-secondary degree, possess a standard First Aid & CPR certificate and multitask among the fifteen roles specified in the job title. What’s more, the successful applicant will only earn $15 per hour. 

But remember, students shouldn’t be picky when searching for jobs. A job’s a job — Whatever pays the bills, right? 

On top of wages and relevancy, I can’t help but consider how each job could affect my lifestyle. Some jobs are easy to forget about after the workday ends, while others loom in my mind long after the workday is over. 

In my long history of summer work experience, it seems that fulfilling jobs can also bring a lot of stress. Comparatively, jobs that we may not feel as fulfilled at but can detach from more easily provide a healthier work-life balance. But which is better? 

For better or worse, I haven’t been very picky with summer jobs. My work experience includes being a line cook, gymnastics coach, care aid, delivery driver, server, sanitation worker, squash farmer, tutor, labourer, diving coach and more.

With these positions, my work-life balance has been inconsistent, to say the least. As a coach, I’ve had the privilege of building lasting relationships, learning in an ever-changing environment, growing as a person and helping youth grow and gain confidence in themselves. 

However, coaching had also evolved into a large stressor as it quickly became my number-one priority in life. Because youth and their parents trusted me to help them reach their goals, I always felt like I could be doing more. Jobs like coaching are never over and never escape my mind. 

On the flip side, working as a sanitation worker for a provincial park is what many would deem the worst job I’ve ever had. I spent forty hours each week cleaning campground bathroom facilities, including outhouses, and yes, I did scrub the inside of the no-flush toilets. Yet, I found a lot to love about the lifestyle this job provided me with.

Working as a park sanitation worker, I got my exercise, soaked up the sun, and when I was done, I could go home carefree without a second thought about my workday. To be fair, I don’t think anyone would re-invite the sights I had to see back into their mind. But I also had no emotional attachment to the job whatsoever. Though the job was gross, I was stress-free and the healthiest I’d ever been.

So, which is better — fulfillment through work or peace outside of it? 

Although each of my positions had its pros and cons, each held valuable work and life experience in its own way. As a third-year English student, it’s important to me to find work relevant to my degree before I graduate. Although writing work is ideal, sometimes the types of jobs I want just aren’t available. So, I remember that I also thrive outdoors doing routine labour. 

Regardless, I recommend that fellow students apply for anything that holds their interest.

There’s always something to find in each job. Experience is experience, and whether it’s relevant to what we want to do post-graduation is based on our willingness to gain transferable skills.

So, I guess that finding summer work is really about finding that mythical balance we’re supposed to discover in our lives. But like I said at the start, these are future temporary jobs — emphasis on the temporary. We shouldn’t overthink it.

Even if we don’t find an ideal job pertinent to our degrees, we can try finding one that can provide us with an ideal summer lifestyle where work never comes home.

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This op-ed was written by a University of Saskatchewan undergraduate student and reflects the views and opinions of the writer. If you would like to write a reply, please email opinions@thesheaf.com. Kaitlyn Clark is an undergraduate student studying English and French. Kaitlyn is a sister, student and nature-enthusiast-wino trying to emerge as a writer. With strong attention to detail and a weak sense of routine, Kaitlyn is mostly just trying to go with the flow.

Graphic: Kanika Gupta