By Mary Kate Cary, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
Today's Washington Post contains the story of Georgetown University sophomore Charley Cooper, who is advertising for a personal assistant to help him with his busy life:
Cooper, 19, logged on to the university's student employment Web site last week and posted an ad for someone to tackle "some of my everyday tasks," such as organizing his closet, dropping him off and picking him up from work, scheduling haircuts, putting gas in the car and taking it in for service, managing his electronic accounts and doing laundry (although the assistant will be paid only for the time spent loading, unloading and folding clothes, not the entire laundry cycle).
The successful applicant can expect to work three to seven hours a week and make $10 to $12 an hour, although "on occasion it will be possible to work additional hours and/or receive bonuses at my discretion." Preference will be given to Georgetown undergraduates, Cooper says in the listing, and the assistant can spread his or her tasks throughout the day.
On one hand, Cooper's school schedule and part-time job duties at a financial services firm were compounded when a family member received a cancer diagnosis and began arranging for treatment at Georgetown University Hospital.
On the other hand: "Cooper would answer questions only through messages sent to his Facebook account, which features a photo of a man in a striped polo shirt holding a champagne flute. He provided only brief details about himself, his family and his job: He grew up in Bethesda and graduated from the Landon School, a private boys school, in 2008."
Here's what I say: Nice work if you can get it! I put myself through college (without a personal assistant) and would have rather worked as somebody's personal assistant at roughly double the minimum wage than some of the jobs I had, many of which were either below minimum wage (waitress) or in exchange for tuition (college librarian) or sorority dues (washing dishes). And I bet I had more fun when I spent a summer as the complaint desk clerk on the night shift at K-mart than that guy's personal assistant ever will. But if he can afford to pay a fellow student to help him out, more power to him—and his employee.
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