Before the 20th century, when a majority of Americans relied on agricultural as their primary economic resource, having a 3 month period where a family’s children could work in the fields during the summer then get an education for the remaining 9 months of the year made quite a great deal of sense.Now, though, in the 21st century with a vastly different economy and set of standard occupations, the reasons to have summer vacation are few. While they do allow families to spend more time together, many young people end up spending most of time in summer on fruitless leisure. This is most likely because the opportunity cost of leisure is so low; in my mind, there is little expectation that this time be used productively, thus, this lack of expectation means both a limited supply and demand of productive activities. I know that I’ve thrown away countless hours in summer and gotten very little utility out of them. Now though, I’ve reached the age where the opportunity cost of leisure is high enough and the utility gained from leisure is so low that finding a job becomes almost necessary.

This then raises demand for activity that has a higher utility and lower opportunity cost. For me, these activities have included volunteer work, a summer program at Carleton, and accounting work for my father’s small business. The last probably had the highest utility, as I was earning a wage and making money of my own, which gave me a lot of utility in the form of self-sufficiency and materials. As I think towards this coming summer, I am finding the supply in the job market not up to demand. The 3 month vacation lowers the supply of jobs, as businesses are hesitant to make short-term investments in employees, thus making it inefficient for both students and businesses. While there is a certain amount elasticity, as I have a few options that I am considering, their utility varies. My goal was to get hired by the Vista Fleet in my hometown of Duluth as a tour guide entertainer. Not only does it offer a decent fixed wage but also the possibility of earning tips, along with the opportunity to practice my public speaking and theater skills. While I already have experience in accounting, the value gained from starting a new job with a higher utility makes the change very worth it. I have yet to hear from them, which likely means that supply for that position is low, while the job supply at my father’s small business, despite being higher than my demand, is available.

These two represent the job options in Duluth, which are fairly inelastic. However, elasticity is higher outside of my hometown, as I have the option to work here at Carleton, at a vineyard in Washington, or in a hotel along the North Shore. These options, though, carry a very high opportunity cost involved with travel, room, board, and living away from family. They do offer a variety of new experiences, but whether the subsequent utility gained is worth the price is up for debate. Breakdown of the top three highest utility options:

Tour Entertainer: Living in Duluth (+utility, +room&board), wage ($10/hr + x tips), experience

Accounting : Living in Duluth (+ utility, +room&board), wage ( $10/hr)

Hotel: Outside of Duluth (-utility, -room&board), far from family (+travel cost), wage

As I’ve been attempting to think more economically in my decision-making, I’ve started to analyze the opportunity costs and prospective utility for each of my options. Whereas beforehand, I might have taken the options of highest availability and least resistance, now the effort in seeking new time investments is of higher value to me.