Yea, yea, yea. You know. Your parents have been bugging you to get off your lazy butt, stop watching TV and get a job since you turned 16. But there are added incentives now that you are headed to college.

First, the obvious. Summer is flat-out expensive. The pool, the movies, the late night Taco Bell runs, it all costs money. Don’t dip into your savings just to have a few great months before you head to college as if this is the last summer you’ll ever have. Work a few days a week and give yourself a spending cushion.

The not-so-blatant reason to get a job is so, well, you can get a job. Finding employment on campus is often more competitive than you think. The majority of jobs are in the service industry ­— specifically dining and retail — and they want the most qualified individuals working for them. If a bookstore is trying to choose between Tommy and Susie, and Susie has experience working in retail because she spent the summer folding clothes at Kohl’s, guess who’s getting that job? 

Of course, the ideal situation would be to find employment related to your major. Maybe it’s just being a gopher at a law office (go for this, go for that) or filing documents for a doctor, but your ultimate goal should be to boost your chances of finding a job after college. If that’s not possible, do something that will help you find a job during college.