This is a guest post from the blogger behind Studenomics a personal finance blog that offers common sense advice for college students and recent graduates. Studenomics is the ultimate resource for young people looking for advice on how to survive this current recession, grow their careers, manage their
finances, and still be able to enjoy the weekends.
Summer of George Introduction
Four hours of sleep, five exams worth 40% of your final grade, three cups of coffee a day. Sound familiar? Well that’s all over now- well for at least the next four months. The first day and usually the first week after the end of the semester is always odd because you all of a sudden have massive amounts of free time. You always assume in your mind that when you finish the semester you will be so productive and be able to get so much more done. Well that’s the complete opposite of what actually happens. You sleep in until 2pm and stay up all night catching up on your favorite tv shows and checking Facebook to see the status of your friends. The purpose of this project is to act as a guide for college students that want to have a highly productive summer.
The Summer of George is an idea derived from the popular Seinfeld episode where George Costanza claims that he will have the summer of George. Unfortunately Costanza ends up having the least productive summer ever and sadly the same usually goes for most college students. All of those big plans to have a productive summer will end up forgotten by July. The summer of 2009 will be different and by reading through this series of quality articles you will be able to have the most productive summer in every aspect of your life.
Do not worry the articles are not “boring” or filled with “industry information.” There is something for everyone in this series so please give all of the articles a quick look. Every article is easy to read and the information is easy to apply. Please enjoy and spread the word about Studenomics.
Learn a New Language
For whatever reason you have not really bothered looking for a summer job but you still want to have a productive summer. No problem you could spend your summer learning a new language. It doesn’t matter where you live it is always beneficial to be bilingual. There are two popular methods of learning a new language.
1. Language courses. I used to hate it as a child but now when I look back I’m glad that my parents FORCED me to take second language classes. I didn’t mind learning the language but there was one major problem, the classes ran every Saturday from 9 in the morning until noon. As long as you don’t have to wake up early on a Saturday morning for your second (or third or fourth) language courses then you should have no troubles.
2. Books on CD. Before a trip to the Dominican Republic a buddy of mine listened to Spanish tutorials every morning while taking the bus to his college campus. After a few months of this he knew enough of the language to get his point across. Unfortunately the second language in Canada is French not Spanish.
If you are not completely sold on the idea of learning a new language this summer then here are some of the main benefits:
1. More work opportunities. Remember the episode where George Costanza was out of work and considering his options? After a few minutes he realized he didn’t have too many skills to offer the workforce. Well by learning another language you can work as a translator or hold a decent government position (granted you possess the other qualifications). I have met many individuals that earn a decent living with their bilingual skills and you could be one of those people.
2. Ability to communicate with relatives. If you’re like me then you have many relatives that don’t speak English. Thankfully I speak their language so we are able to communicate. If you have a communication barrier with your relatives because of your inability to speak their language then this summer is the time that barrier comes down.
We all want to have a productive summer but we just don’t know where to start. Here’s a little secret: you can start by reading The Summer of George- The Most Productive Summer a College Student Will Ever Have:
Summer of George Introduction @ Studenomics.com
Take Up a Sport and Become Good At It @ FreeFromBroke.com
Help Your Local Church @ GatherLittleByLittle.com
Take Some College Courses This Summer @ PoorerThanYou.com
Summer Jobs With Little Startup Funding Required- Part 1 @ MoneyNing.com
Summer Jobs With Little Startup Funding Required- Part 2 @ PTMoney.com
Take Control Of Your Financial Situation @ Bargaineering.com
College Works Study Abroad@ CashMoneyLife.com
Cheap Summer Activities@MoneySmartLife.com
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I am looking to complete my college with a semester abroad. Can you receomend any University ?
@Michael: Sorry, nope. Not my area of expertise.
@Michael Martino – Tons of schools send people to London and Australia for studying abroad, go to your student services department at school for more information im sure?
Learning a new language? You should try out learning Chinese.
I just finished an article on learning a second language helps boost children’s brain power, making children stronger, quicker and smarter. The effect is more obvious the earlier that a second language was learned.
So I totally agree with you. That is why we as parents should encourage our children to learn a second language when they are young.
with world getting increasingly globalized and with rise of India & China learning a new language like, chinese is going to be very important to improve once job prospects.
Great.