University student == gerenal labour job?

My friend in Civil Engineering is installing advertisement signs on the roof this summer; Another friend in Commerce is setting up tables in Chinatown; And I am applying a job in a warehouse now.

Is it so hard for university student to find a decent technical job that's related to what they are studying? Not that I don't like labour jobs, simply because they do no contribution to your future career. So I started some research of what can university student do to get a major related job, and in hope to bust the myth that university students are only good for flipping burgers.

Take example of myself, a student major in Electrical Engineering with good amount of computer knowledge. What's keeping me from getting a IT related job?

1. Knowing what you want to do. A lot of students like me simply search for "summer job+computer" on google, and end up getting a long list of ads/spams. There are many different areas of IT related jobs, ranging from Customer Support Technician, Website Developer, Network/Database Admin. and so on. Each of these requires a wide array of different skills. Of course you are unlikely to get a job if you don't even understand what you are looking for.

Suggestion: Go on some job searching website, or yellow pages, and look under the category of your "dream job". Look at what kind of skills/qualifications people are looking for out there in the industry, and ask yourself: "Do I know it? How long it take for me to learn it?" This not only helps for summer job, it's also a great asset for your future career.

2. Lack of certificate and/or experience. Certificates help you to get the job, and experience helps you to get the job done. Take the example of applying a Tech Support job, a high school kid who's interested in computer can do it. What's so special about the guy who get the job? He has certificate! Before your "will-be" boss knows what you can actually do, the best thing to look at is your certificate and experience.

Suggestion: Lots of times a simple certificate will help more than you think. Something like CCNA(Cisco Certified Network Associate) is very easy to get compare to most university courses and it will distinguish you and a high school kid. Also show people your experience. Take example of website design, a guy with an average portfolio is definitely more promising than someone with non? A good start usually means doing work for free. I am currently emailing around trying to offer free design for my high school, co-op placement and other places.

3. Plan Ahead!!!! This might be the most important part. Even if you read everything above and start doing it right away, you will still realize it's too late if you are already in 2nd year. Ideally everything should start at high school, where course load is not too much compare to university. But it's never too late. If you are planning to flip burgers or do yard works this summer, don't do it. General labour works not only don't help your career, but might also be potentially dangerous. Go learn something that's helpful to your career, even a lifeguard certificate will get you a $13/hr job in Toronto by just sitting there and watch bikini girls.

Here's my 2 cents for our younger generations :)