One big advantage of being a student is a long, wonderful summer break. This time is a time of personal projects, hot and sunny days at the lake, cocktails and tanning.
One big advantage of being a student is a long, wonderful summer break. This time is a time of personal projects, hot and sunny days at the lake, cocktails and tanning. Indeed, it is the most enjoyable time of the year – at least until the inevitable summer job begins.
With ridiculously high tuition fees, virtually every student has to work during the summer. In my case, this job is at a local bank, where I was an apprentice a few years before a handful of investment bankers gambled too high, shook the world’s leading economies to their very core and made banking a socially dishonoured craft.
As a matter of fact, before this incident, banking was a quite enjoyable labour for living. I would go to work about 9 a.m., firstly get me a cup of coffee, read the online newspaper, check my mails and go to the social room in order to get breakfast. Afterwards I would ignore a few customers – there are always some who try it again – before leaving the building for a two hours lunch break.
The afternoon would be filled with filling in a holiday form and maybe having a customer who opens a saving account before having a pint with the colleagues after work. Well, as I told you – that was long before profit-greed ruined the world and my wonderfully structured working day. Did I mention free internet access?
Shortly before IT happened I left the bank in order to precede my academic career. You might imagine how shocked I was when I returned for my summer job this summer. Apparently the CEOs of the banking community, nowadays also known as gang of devils/gangsters/warlocks, lost track about who caused the worldwide financial crisis. At least the consequences were shifted to the retail banking department, which was responsible for earning back the billions, which were actually lost from the investment banking department.
Accordingly, reading my professor’s book – really interesting – for next semester’s module was not possible. — Yes indeed, that was my plan to avoid getting bored. Hard-working student, aren’t I?
Although I was just a summer-jobber, I recognized how much the pressure had increased since I left. Social rooms were empty, nobody had time for breakfast during working hours, the lunch-break had been cut to one and a half hour and nobody had ever a pint on Tuesdays and Thursdays anymore since they had started doing extra hours. As a matter of fact, virtually all the entertaining parts of working in a bank had gotten lost.
At least open internet access still was available. For I worked with a local bank in the country, internet was my personal lifeline to the world out there and to London. Facebook and email supplied me with news from my friends in London, whereas Twitter briefed me about the latest trends in the advertising industry (my studies) and the BBC and the guardian just were entertaining.
PS: Next time you are ignored by a bank clerk – please remember, it is probably just a hard working student on a summer-job, who is still shocked how much has changed….Sorry my boss is coming-gotta get back to ‘work’!
