Forming An Opportunity Belief

1. My belief is that there should be more numerous and meaningful part time jobs for students and young adults. These jobs much like internships should be a part of a program that will lead to more successful careers.

2. I believe that this has been an issue for a while but as a senior now in college I have started to realize it even more. There are a lot of opportunities to get part time jobs but they tend to pay close to minimum wage and don’t always give meaningful experience for the future. This causes young adults to try and find full time jobs that they may not be ready to handle since they are still in school. I noticed this opportunity when getting my resume together for upcoming internships and to send to some of the connections I have made in the sports world. I realized that most of my experience has no real world application to my future. Having the opportunity for better paying, part time, meaningful, jobs will allow flourishment of young adults. I feel 100% confident that this is an opportunity in the world.

3.  The prototypical customer would be high school and college students as well as some young adults who may not attend college after high school or even someone who has just finished college and has no job lined up.

4. Questions

Do you currently have a job while in school? Why or Why not?

Yes:

Is it full time or part time?

What led you one way or the other?

Do you feel that your amount of hours and pay supports your needs without cutting into your school?

Do you feel as though this job will help you in your future career? How?

If you could, would you prefer a more meaningful (career wise) job?

Would you be satisfied with a program or company that allows you to do meaningful work while bettering your education?

Additional thoughts on this idea?

Customer 1: Jordan Douglas

Jordan is a full time student at the University of South Florida with a part time job. He says that although a full time would be ideal when it comes to paying the bills and benefits, he says that school is most important and he wouldn’t be getting the most out of school with a full time job. With that said he enjoys his part time job working at an after school program because he plans to be a physical education teacher and working at a sports based after school program allows him to hone in his skills. Jordan agrees with this idea but it does not completely apply to him. He would love more money to pay bills just like most people but is comfortable in his situation.

Customer 2: Vince Bowers

Vince Bowers has a full time job and has been a part time student for close to seven years. After high school he decided to get a full time job and forgo college. When he realized it was very hard to find promotions and was barely getting by with bills he decided to go back to school. He couldn’t afford to take a full schedule or give up his full time job so he decided to be a part time student. He says that although he is making progress toward his goal as both an employee and a student he feel that they are a hindrance to each other. Although both are positives they still slow the other goal down. Vince said that he is content with where he is at now in his life but feels that a meaningful, well paid part time job could have pushed him along and sped up the process he finds himself in now.

Customer 3:  Wyatt Reid

Wyatt Reid is a baseball player at Edward Waters College and he is in a more unique situation than some of our other “customers”. Wyatt received a scholarship to play baseball at EWC put it does not cover all expenses, much like many baseball scholarships. As a rough average most players get less than a 45% scholarship. Wyatt is a student athlete that lives in an apartment with his girlfriend in which he cannot use scholarship money to help pay for. The countless hours to him, “feel like a full time job, and then some”, on top of focusing on his studies. Wyatt says he is in between a rock and a hard place because without his scholarship he could not afford the college he is at but without time for a job he cannot help with living expenses. He said that he loves the sport of baseball, in fact wants to get a job in baseball, but would be willing to give up the sport as a player if a meaningful job program was available.

7. This idea all came about when I was making my resume to send to the Tampa Bay Rays and Los Angeles Dodgers for my upcoming internship for school. As a student who has to pay bills I am finding myself needing to save as much money as possible as more likely than not my internship opportunity will be unpaid. I also found studies that have been done that say our work weeks should be shorter than forty hours because to many hours can lead to fatigue and low production. Many students, especially those with jobs spend much more than forty hours between work and school. Thus most likely causing a lack in production. Combing these thoughts into an opportunity seems like a great idea. More meaningful and better paying part time job programs that even have the possibility to count toward school.

I believe my original idea is still all there but has been even more enhanced and accurate with my customer interviews. Although my idea seemed to go over well with my three customers I also know that this is a small sample size. Not all interviews may go as planned and it is important to adapt with the customer needs while sticking to the backbone of your idea.

Below I have posted a link that has a short video about a shortened work week:

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5l7tX4SohY