Working for Universities -- summer off?

How's it like working for universities? Please describe experiences..

Does one get summer off as well? What's the schedule like? Vacations?

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NinjaBoy

mguy wrote: »

How's it like working for universities? Please describe experiences..

Does one get summer off as well? What's the schedule like? Vacations?

In what context?

I used to work full time for a College of Further and Higher Education in IT and I worked all year round, I was able to take my holiday's whenever (not just in the college holiday time, eg summer, etc).

I currently work part time at a University as an Associate Lecturer, the classes that I currently teach run from Sept to May/June - however I also study there part time and the course that I'm doing runs from May to Oct (so there are Associate Lecturers working during the "summer" months. The IT department there work all year round.

FYI, I work full time in the education sector - supporting secondary & primary (elementary and high school) as well as being hired out to other organisations. So we work all year round.

However it also depends on your contract and working hours agreed. Some people only work term-time, part-time, etc...

the_Grinch

I work for a university and more then likely you will not have off during the summer. A large amount of maintenance gets done when faculty and students aren't on campus. Plus, still regular staff that will need support. My schedule is 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM, Mon to Thurs and 8:00 to 5:00 pm on Fridays. I do get all the university holidays off, which includes a week off for Christmas. I got two weeks of vacation and two weeks of sick time, pay tends to be lower though. Overall I like it, slower paced and I like being in the city.

Akaricloud

I worked Desktop Support for a university as a student. They were very understanding of my schedule and would give me as much time off for breaks as I wanted, although normally I'd do the opposite and pick up extra hours instead.

Schedule was normally 8-5 or 7-4 in summers. Overall it was a pretty flexible job.

erpadmin

I work 9-6 Monday through Thursday, (30 minutes for lunch) and Fridays off the whole summer! Vacation days are taken out at 1.25 (instead of one) because of the condensed schedule.

I repeat...I have Fridays off!

the_Grinch

School district I use to work in gave everyone every Friday off during the summer (paid). They had done a review of how much it cost to have all the schools open and found it saved them money to pay everyone not to come in.

nicklauscombs

about to join the world of higher education employment in a little over 2 weeks. looking forward to jumping in to the new position during the slower part of the year to get situated before the students come back.

the_Grinch

That's where I am lucky, don't have support the students

paul78

I worked for a university back in the early 90's. It continues to be one of the best experiences that I ever had. Working to support the growth of knowledge was especially rewarding.

The pay wasn't great but some other benefits included:
- 35 hour work week
- 4 weeks vacation
- Summer hours - work a 9 hour day four days a week
- Support some of the most interesting research projects.
- Less stress