Can school be considered a job?

[Androidpk]

I was having this debate with a buddy last night. I go to a college in boston full time, using my military benefits. I get paid a monthly living expense that is more than enough for what I use per month so I don't need to get a part time job.

I consider it a job for many reasons but my friend disagrees, he says it isn't.

[Parker]

It absolutely is. Are you intending to go back to the military? If so, it makes the debate easy.

[Androidpk]

It absolutely is. Are you intending to go back to the military? If so, it makes the debate easy.

Getting my commission is definitely on my list of career options.

[Parker]

Then, like many other companies (The military is very much a company/business), they're sending an 'employee' for further education, in order to improve the company from the inside.

It's not an uncommon practice, lots of large companies participate in tuition assistance, if not paid schooling.

And honestly? To do school right, to get the right grades, MOST people have to work more than 40 hours a week, and that constitutes a job in my mind.

[Asile]

School is totally a job, one I wish I could do full-time (sadly, I'm not in your position to get the cash I need from going to school to cover living expenses). And yes, since you're doing it to get a higher commission in the military, it's exactly like Parker said: job training.

Tell your friend to stop being jealous and stuff it. Best of luck to you!

[Guarrin]

It is a job. I always worked in college too simply because I liked having the cash.

I've considered taking some classes simply because my employer will cover up to $5k a year. Only requirement is that you need to get over a 3.0.

[Bobmuhthol]

It's not a job according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

[Mighty Nikkisaurus]

Even though it's hard work, in the strictest sense I would not consider it a job.

[Kuyuk]

I would not consider it a job.

[Androidpk]

I'd say in most situations it isn't a job. I may be getting paid but I have certain requirements that I have to meet and minimum GPA in order to get that money.

[Sylvan Dreams]

School can definitely be hard work, and sometimes even a lot of work, but I wouldn't consider it a job. It's a perk that some places offer, but not a job.

While some employers do pay for schooling, you still have to go to your job. They don't pay your salary if your homework is done on time. It's job training, not job replacement.

[Bobmuhthol]

I'd say in most situations it isn't a job. I may be getting paid but I have certain requirements that I have to meet and minimum GPA in order to get that money.

I don't understand your position now. I have requirements I have to meet to get something around $70,000 in scholarships, but I'm certainly not employed over it.

[Parker]

While some employers do pay for schooling, you still have to go to your job. They don't pay your salary if your homework is done on time. It's job training, not job replacement.

This is not true. Best Buy, I know, has a policy of sending certain candidates to school full-time and allowing them to work little, if at all, while there.

It constitutes a contract for work afterwards, but it's not unprecedented. I only cite Best Buy because I saw it first-hand there.

School can definitely be a job. Essentially, it's a job with the longest pay-period in history. You work at school, and get paid when it's over, with a higher wage.

[Androidpk]

School can definitely be a job. Essentially, it's a job with the longest pay-period in history. You work at school, and get paid when it's over, with a higher wage.

That was part of my argument. especially where as I have a 3 year old to think about.

[phantasm]

First we define "job" as a collection of specific tasks.
Your "job" is to complete these tasks and you will be compensated.

Then you can come up with a list of jobs and their corresponding task lists.

If your job includes "college" as one of the tasks you need to complete, then going to school is part of your job.

[Bobmuhthol]

Making up definitions for words doesn't mean that you're right. Being a student is not the same as being employed.

[Mighty Nikkisaurus]

School can definitely be a job. Essentially, it's a job with the longest pay-period in history. You work at school, and get paid when it's over, with a higher wage.

Hopefully.

[phantasm]

Being employed is a different argument.

[Bobmuhthol]

Sitting here typing this is my job.

[phantasm]

I have this argument with my wife all the time, maybe you guys can help me out.

Is "stay at home mom" considered a job?

[Mighty Nikkisaurus]

I have this argument with my wife all the time, maybe you guys can help me out.

Is "stay at home mom" considered a job?

No.

Edited to add: I don't think that somehow gives it less worth or anything, but to me a job is where you get paid in compensation for giving goods and/or service.

[Sylvan Dreams]

No.

Edited to add: I don't think that somehow gives it less worth or anything, but to me a job is where you get paid in compensation for giving goods and/or service.

Hm.

What if you have a husband that is paying for all the bills? Your rent and other living expenses are covered, and you in turn are providing child care.

(I still don't think school is a job.)

[Parker]

You don't think she's giving a service?

She is assisting someone who is returning the assistance in the form of monetary, and life-quality payment.

Essentially, she's (This sounds bad, I can't think of a way to word it better) a personal assistant that's getting a wage of a house, a roof, a (Hopefully) happy marriage, protection for her children, etc. etc. etc.

That seems awful, but I can't think of a better way to word it.

[Mighty Nikkisaurus]

If someone is unemployed and stays home and cleans and cooks while their partner covers bills, I wouldn't consider that a 'job' either, so even though there is some loose exchange there of service and money, I personally don't really count it.

Again, I'm not knocking it or saying it's not important, doesn't have merit, doesn't require work, or anything negative. Something requiring work does not make a 'job' to me. Perhaps other people are different.

[phantasm]

You guys are making this way to complicated.

Of course college and stay at home mom are a job.

Being employed by a company, or getting monetary compensation are not part of the definition of a job.

A job is simply a collection of tasks.

If the compensation is laid out in dollars then the reward is easy to see.

[Mighty Nikkisaurus]

My point is that when someone asks you about your job, they are generally inquiring about your employment.

Being stay-at-home anything is not a form of employment in my opinion.

[Parker]

And when you're a hooker, you're getting compensated, but do not tell people you are a hooker on a regular basis.

prostitution--The oldest Profession.

[Mighty Nikkisaurus]

And when you're a hooker, you're getting compensated, but do not tell people you are a hooker on a regular basis.

prostitution--The oldest Profession.

I'm really not seeing the point you're trying to make.

[Parker]

It seems I read a lot more in your two-line paragraph than is actually there.

Woops!

Something along the lines of, "When someone asks what you do for work, you don't say 'I'm a stay at home [insert thing]'." I'm getting tired.

[Bobmuhthol]

The semantics are getting a little out of hand. Literally anything can be a job when you expand the use to include "a collection of tasks," however, "job" commonly is not used to describe shopping for groceries, etc.

[Deathravin]

Sitting here typing this is my job.

If school and stay-at-home wives are 'jobs' then so is me paying my bills, eating a doughnut and taking an occasional dump...

Well, look up 'job' on Webster's dictionary, and a classic 'employment' situation isn't mentioned.

So I think the point is we use the word 'job' improperly. "I have a job", "You need a job" etc etc. Just need to replace that word with 'employment'... problem solved.


School is a job.
School is not employment.

Taking a dump is a job.
Taking a dump is hopefully not employment.

Being a handyman is a job.
Being a handyman is employment.

[Bobmuhthol]

Well, look up 'job' on Webster's dictionary, and a classic 'employment' situation isn't mentioned.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=define%3A+job

http://www.webster-dictionary.net/definition/job

What?

[Deathravin]

Webster-dictionary.net is not Webster's dictionary. Neither is Google.

I can probably find somewhere on the internet that defines a cat as a soda can, but I wouldn't use it to back up an argument.

merriam-webster.com

I didn't look it up in the OED since I don't feel like paying for it.

[Mighty Nikkisaurus]

Neither of you cited the only dictionary that matters!

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=job

[Bobmuhthol]

Webster-dictionary.net is Webster's Dictionary. Merriam-Webster is not Webster's Dictionary (notice that the name Merriam is included). But if you want to tell me that the only definitions of "job" are Job and The Book of Job (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/job), that's cool.


Before it becomes a heated internet issue, I'm fucking with you on the Job thing, but that site absolutely mentions "a classic 'employment' situation." Unless "a regular remunerative position" isn't employment anymore.

[Deathravin]

ROFL.

1) learn to use interwebs, click on one of the other definitions.
2) Webster's dictionary IS Merriam Webster (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merriam-Webster)... Have you even ever owned a real hardcopy dictionary before?

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/32/Merriam-Webster_logo.svg

[Bobmuhthol]

Merriam-Webster is a publishing company. Webster's Dictionary is a dictionary. You can find it online at webster-dictionary.net!

[Deathravin]

Incorrect.

Meriam-Webster is an American publishing company that has been making dictionaries since 1828 and is a subsidary of Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. They made a website to put their word definations to the world, and they put it at merriam-webster.com. Hence the freakin logo.

Webster-dictionary.net is a website by Interapple, Inc that decided to cash in on the Webster name by making a dictionary website. And has been in operation for all of 9 years.

I know it's hard to know which to trust... But I'll go with the company dictating the American English language for almost 200 years.

[Bobmuhthol]

WHOIS doesn't tell you that the site contains the 1913 version of Webster's Dictionary.

[Deathravin]

Ya, the About page does.

[Bobmuhthol]

... so you're admitting that the site has Webster's Dictionary but denying that the site has Webster's Dictionary? Awesome detective work.

1) learn to use interwebs

[Deathravin]

I'm admitting they're using an out-of-copyright 97 year old version of a dictionary for financial gains.

And you use it rather than getting up-to-date information straight from the horses mouth. Congrats.

[Latrinsorm]

School can be considered a job in the specific situation that android lays out: he performs services, he receives a monthly stipend, and the two are inextricably linked.

Homemaking is less likely to be a job in the same way that being a father is less likely to be a job. There are certain human endeavors that predate the very concept of employment, it stands to reason that they are therefore different.

[Stanley Burrell]

I'd say it's a job if the university is physically giving you money.

4.00 GPA with full tuition and housing paid != job.

2.00 GPA squatter... Who works at the campus bookstore and is given a check to deposit into their bank account and play GemStone with = job.

Benefits in and of themselves are not a job.

[Androidpk]

The university pays for half of my tuition, the VA pays everything else.

[Emislity]

I have this argument with my wife all the time, maybe you guys can help me out.

Is "stay at home mom" considered a job?

You want to know why a "stay at home "parent" is considered a job? It's considered a 24 hour a job, because it's your job to take care of those children. While you don't get paid for it, you are still able to place it on your resume and in most cases, daycare centers even look at that.

Secondly, children need your undivided attention, so not only is it a full time job, but it's very distracting against anything else. If being a "stay at home mom" wasn't job, why would you need to take them to a daycare center or facility? If caring for children wasn't considered a job at all, why would anyone get paid to care for those children?

Sometimes, it's cheaper for one parent to stay home with the children, rather than work full time to pay for daycare.

[Stanley Burrell]

It's paying for your tuition, not your groceries or video games. If I went to Orgo and the TA was like, "SHIT, NICE PICTURE OF A BENZENE RING LOLOLOLOL, HERE'S LIQUID MONEY FOR YOUR AWESOME ARTWORK" and then I had money, not a discount, it would be a job.

Your job was/is the military?

[Emislity]

No.

Edited to add: I don't think that somehow gives it less worth or anything, but to me a job is where you get paid in compensation for giving goods and/or service.

Maybe to some people, the benefits of getting paid aren't necessarily through money. It's very rewarding when you watch your children grow up before your eyes and realize that all your hard work paid off...The best reward you can give any child, is your time. Not once have my children ever said to me, "Thank you mom for the time you never spent with us because you worked so hard." My eldest son is 15 and has watched me struggle as a single mother so yes, I worked a full time employment, I am a full time mother, and I attend college full time. My children are very proud to say, "my mother has 3 full time jobs and us children as her first priority."

[phantasm]

There are certain human endeavors that predate the very concept of employment, it stands to reason that they are therefore different.

I was going to make an argument here involving killing saber-tooth tigers with clubs but just gave up.

I'm not even certain what your saying.

Are you saying that "stay at home mom" is diminished as a job simply because it predates employment?

[Emislity]

I was having this debate with a buddy last night. I go to a college in boston full time, using my military benefits. I get paid a monthly living expense that is more than enough for what I use per month so I don't need to get a part time job.

I consider it a job for many reasons but my friend disagrees, he says it isn't.

Bottom line, if you're devoting your time to this "academic career" then yes it's considered your job. No matter what anyone else says, you're doing this and you have the ability still pay your bills while you're attending school, then by all means use that wisely and allow that to be your full time job.

[4a6c1]

School is not a job. I do both. Actually I do both times two but since I dont consider Blart Academy the equivalent of my super awesome mad scientist training - technically we are speaking 1 fulltime plus 1 part time job job. And 1 full time plus 1 part time school. Not including the animal shelter or the coastal data for A&M. And various other bi-annual volunteerisms that look good on an unpublished resume.

Which is why I come here. Because I totally dig the nonserious nonsense these days. Goddamn you for posting a thread to remind me about all the shit I have to do before school starts tomorrow.

[Mighty Nikkisaurus]

Maybe to some people, the benefits of getting paid aren't necessarily through money. It's very rewarding when you watch your children grow up before your eyes and realize that all your hard work paid off...The best reward you can give any child, is your time. Not once have my children ever said to me, "Thank you mom for the time you never spent with us because you worked so hard." My eldest son is 15 and has watched me struggle as a single mother so yes, I worked a full time employment, I am a full time mother, and I attend college full time. My children are very proud to say, "my mother has 3 full time jobs and us children as her first priority."

It's not employment, period. I didn't say it's not fulfilling or somehow of less value because it's not employment.

As far as the best reward- I disagree with that on a fundamental level. Maybe if your child views quality time as an expression of your love, sure, but adults AND children are all different with what translates into love for them.

But honestly, I take issue with calling a SAHM a 'job' (in the sense of employment, let's spare the semantic dictionary arguments) for the following 2 main reasons-

Does that mean a working mother is doing 2 jobs? Or, is she a 'part time mother'?

And second, if a woman is a SAHM her husband deserves a hell of a lot of credit for financially supporting his whole family all on his own, and frankly you rarely hear the appreciation for that- it's "Oh well I'm a stay at home mom and I do 7 bazillion different things and my job is 24-7 and harder than everyone elses and so much more important." Maybe to them it is but it still makes me feel shanky.

Reading your responses reminds me of those people (women esp) who have kids and totally lose their identity in their child. Maybe that makes me even more biased but that's where I see a lot of the defensiveness about, 'NUH UH IT TOTALLY IS A JOB!!" coming from.

[Kithus]

I have this argument with my wife all the time, maybe you guys can help me out.

Is "stay at home mom" considered a job?

After three pages of this no one actually helped him out. It doesn't matter whether or not you or anyone else here thinks stay at home mom is a job. When your wife asks you if it is you say yes. So long as she's taking care of the housework along with the kids just be happy you can afford that situation.

Now on the other hand if you come home and she's all "I'm tired, you should cook supper tonight." Then it's time to tell her that one of you works for a living and the other one should have a home cooked meal prepared for the exact moment you walk through the door. Enjoy the couch!

[Latrinsorm]

I'm not even certain what your saying.

Are you saying that "stay at home mom" is diminished as a job simply because it predates employment?Quite the other way around, I'm saying that trying to evaluate certain endeavors in terms of their "job"-ness diminishes them, even demeans them. Humans being human isn't a job, even (and especially) when they do it well. Being a good father is cheapened if the person's doing it for a paycheck, being a good mother is cheapened if the person's doing it for healthcare benefits.

[Androidpk]

It's paying for your tuition, not your groceries or video games. If I went to Orgo and the TA was like, "SHIT, NICE PICTURE OF A BENZENE RING LOLOLOLOL, HERE'S LIQUID MONEY FOR YOUR AWESOME ARTWORK" and then I had money, not a discount, it would be a job.

Your job was/is the military?

It isn't just tuition. All of that gets covered automatically, i'm not really involved with that at this point.

As long as I take 12 credits per semester I am covered and will receive a check for a set amount of money for "living expenses".

And my job was military, videographer in the Air Force, 2002 - 2006.

[Deathravin]

It isn't just tuition. All of that gets covered automatically, i'm not really involved with that at this point.

As long as I take 12 credits per semester I am covered and will receive a check for a set amount of money for "living expenses".

And my job was military, videographer in the Air Force, 2002 - 2006.

Well in that case, school isn't your job... School is your compensation for employment with the military.