The war rush last summer caused a tremendous influx of business in the Bureau. Since it does not generally hand high-paying factory and defense jobs (though it can fill them when they come in) a lot of students got this sort of work through their families and friends. Consequently Miss Baldwin, who deals out the moderate-salaried camp positions, had to turn down a good many employers. Things begin to get hectic around the middle of March, when parents are looking for sailing instructors, camps for swimming coaches, and when students start to register.
It is rare that an applicant fails to get placed, aided as he is by the long experience and contacts of Miss Baldwin and Mrs. Barnes. To them falls the added task of seeing that the students get to the interviews on time, bolstered with a bit of philosophical and psychological etiquette on how to greet and impress possible bosses. If they don't get the job, they try again.
Most Men Need Money
Lack of financial need doesn't necessarily keep a boy from getting work during the summer, although preference is given to scholarship men. Often the jobs call for work, such as sailing, in which generally only boys from well-to-do families will be experienced. Sometimes they get tired of loafing around summer resorts and want to try their hand at employment.
But by far the greatest number of students helped by the Bureau are very much in need of financial assistance. Duhig is convinced that at least ten percent of the undergraduates put themselves through, and over half have added to their income in some way or other. They get more money working around Harvard then they would in most other colleges, better opportunities, and better people to work for.
The office runs the Temporary Student Employment Plan, which handles clerical, library, and research jobs, and the National Youth Administration, established here last year theoretically on an $80,000 Federal grant.
However, as it worked out this year the allotment was only $61,500. How much money each institution is going to get is determined by Congress, and they don't decide until after Commencement. Work under N. Y. A. is approximately the same as under T. S. E. Wage rates are also the same. An undergraduate who, can study on the job gets 40 cents; if he can't study he receives ten cents more. Seniors and graduates are paid on a slightly higher scale, with paper-grading reaching a peak of 75 cents. The general purpose of both plans, beside helping students work their way through college, is to keep them from unhealthy night jobs in garages, and such; it gives them the advantage of working within the University and is better work experience.
Tutor-Companions Out
What is the best kind of experience and training for a future job Duhig explains it this way. When an employer comes to Harvard to look over the crop, he is looking for three things. He wants to know the grades of a prospect, first of all, and the average boss is only satisfied with group IV or better. Secondly, he is interested in the extra-curricular record of the student. Grinds may be all right for research work, but they are definitely not wanted in the outside world. The third and most important qualification is that his new employee have had some kind of previous work experience. "And they don't mean tutor-companion or camp counsellor."