February 2024 - Parks and Recreation - 10

WE ARE PARKS AND RECREATION
A Study of College Students' Summer
Employment Priorities
By Megan Owens, Ph.D., and Michael. A. Mulvaney, Ph.D.
P
ublic park and recreation agencies rely heavily on seasonal staff to
support their operations. Estimates suggest the number of seasonal
staff hired by these agencies is in the millions, with a large percentage
of these seasonal positions being filled by young adults
ages 18 to 25. The competition for this finite labor force has increased in
recent years, with many recreation agencies investing significant time and
resources into recruiting and retaining workers in this age bracket. Colleges
and universities represent a prime marketplace for the recruitment and selection
of these seasonal staff. Research investigating the summer employment
priorities of these students appears to have merit as agencies strive to
provide those " coming of age " experiences for this group.
In response to this need, a study of
college student summer employment
priorities was conducted. A sample
of 576 college students from two
midwestern universities completed
an online survey during the late summer/early
fall season of 2022. Fulltime,
part-time, graduate and undergraduate
students across a variety of
academic majors participated in the
study. Students were asked to reflect
on their 2022 summer experience
when answering the questions presented
in the online survey. In particular,
the study sought to address the
following questions:
* What was the frequency of summer
employment for college students?
* What type of employment, if any,
were college students participating
in during the summer season?
* Where did students learn about
their summer employment and
when did they typically secure
their employment experience?
* What were the most important
Figure 1. College Students Summer Employment
Sectors (n=458)
Food Service
Business or Office Work
Retail
Health Care
Childcare
Summer Camps
Outdoor Recreation
Warehouse
Community Recreation
Athletics, Coaching, Instruction, Officiating
Construction
Building and Grounds
Tourism and/or Hospitality
Security
0%
4.6%
3.9%
3.7%
3.5%
2.6%
1.5%
0.9%
0.2%
10%
20%
30%
9.8%
8.5%
7.9%
15.9%
14.6%
22.3%
priorities students looked for when
securing summer employment?
Are College Students
Working in the Summer?
Nearly 90 percent of college students
reported working in some capacity
during the summer season. More
specifically, 89.2 percent of students
indicated they worked, with 40.5
percent working one job totaling 32
to 40 hours per week, 35.8 percent
working a part-time job, and 12.9
percent working two or more parttime
jobs. Interestingly, almost 40
percent of students also indicated
volunteering at least a few hours
during the summer months as well.
Types of Employment
Students Seek
Clearly, college students are securing
employment during the summer
months, but where are they working?
According to the survey results, 36.9
percent of students worked in retail
(14.6 percent) or food service (22.3
percent) sectors. Slightly more than
20 percent of students secured employment
in recreation industries, including
summer camps (7.9 percent),
outdoor recreation (4.6 percent),
community recreation (3.7 percent),
athletics/coaching/officiating (3.5
percent) or tourism/hospitality (0.9
percent). A small percentage indicated
they were employed in operations
and labor-type employment with
2.6 percent employed in construction
and 1.5 percent in building and
grounds positions.
10 Parks & Recreation | FEBR U AR Y 2 0 2 4 | PARK S ANDRECRE AT ION . OR G
February 2024 - Parks and Recreation

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