How to Model the Perfect Summer Job for High School Students

1. 2020A Problem Statement

Problem: The Best Summer Job

Although it is November, students must plan for a 2021 summer job, considering various options, work locations, hours, pay, and activity level. The task is to develop a model that evaluates these choices, balancing earnings with recreation, suitable for high school students.

Questions:

Identify and describe factors (quantitative or qualitative, deterministic or probabilistic) that high school students should consider, including appropriate units.

Develop a model or algorithm using these factors to evaluate summer job options based on personal preferences.

Test the model with at least ten fictional persons, explaining the data and analyzing results.

Describe how to present the model (e.g., webpage, app, newspaper article) without actually building it.

The solution PDF (max 25 pages) should contain a one‑page summary, table of contents, full solution, and references.

2. Problem Presentation and Analysis

2.1 Problem Statement

The 2020A “Best Summer Job” problem asks high school students to choose a short‑term job that provides money or life experience, considering factors such as salary, workload, and personal interests.

Many Chinese students focus on academic activities rather than summer work, while U.S. students may have different perspectives.

Nevertheless, students can model the problem without personal experience.

2.2 Analysis

Key research topics include reasons for seeking a summer job, factors to consider, job types, and job‑search platforms.

Reasons for seeking a summer job

Factors to consider

Available job categories

Job‑search platforms

…

Recording ideas and updating them is important; collaborative tools like shared documents or mind‑maps can help.

Collecting news, blogs, or papers provides additional information, though academic literature on this topic is limited.

Typical factors identified include:

Interest in children or education – interest

Flexibility to meet changing needs – flexibility

Strong organization skills and attention to detail – organization

Work‑hour limits for minors – working hours

…

These factors can be quantified and organized to reduce repetitive work.

Quantitative methods are needed to provide a convincing evaluation.

The subsequent steps involve constructing the mathematical model and testing it with fictional data.

Materials (PDF of the problem and award‑winning paper) can be requested by sending “2020A” or “2020A10701” to the public account.

2020A

2020A10701