Between student loans and today’s high cost-of-living, it’s important for students to find some way to earn money without sacrificing valuable study time and without cutting into their social life or extracurricular activities.
Luckily, there are plenty of part-time job opportunities for students to take advantage of, both in-campus and off-campus.
Jobs in Campus
Academic Tutor
Is there a subject you’re amazing at that everyone else struggles with? Become an academic home tuition and make serious bucks with your smarts. The best part about becoming a tutor is that you rarely exert yourself teaching it, considering that you’re an expert in the subject matter. Just make sure you know what you’re teaching inside and out!
Advertise yourself in community postings, negotiate an hourly rate with your clients, set realistic and measurable goals with your student, and then schedule your tutoring classes. If you’re uncomfortable with tutoring students your age, you can go a grade lower and help out high school kids with their SAT reviews.
Teaching Assistant
Students who are upperclassmen can usually land jobs as teaching assistants for large underclassmen seminar classes. Check in with professors you’ve had in the past to inquire about any opportunities they might have.
If you’re an upperclassman, there’s a chance you can get a teaching assistant job in large seminar classes. Contact professors that you’ve had a good relationship with and ask them if they have any teaching assistant positions that you can fill.
This is also a good way to learn more about the class that you’ll be assisting in. Remember: never pass up an opportunity to learn!
Grader
If your professor has no teaching assistant positions open, inquire about other opportunities, like as a grader. Most professors, particularly those teaching large seminars, will have dozens of students in their class, which means that a lot of papers will need to be graded.
Be warned, however, that this might become tedious, especially if you’re helping grade papers in a class you’ve already taken. Most of the time, however, the professor will spread out the work load so that you’ll have time to manage your own classes and other extracurriculars. If professors in your school don’t need a grader, look to online schools, as they sometimes require the help.
Office Assistant
If you can’t find a teaching assistance job, don’t lose hope: most departments in colleges are in desperate need of people to do clerical work. Office assistants handle some of the back-end office jobs in a department, like maintaining files or answering phones. While it might not be the most exciting opportunity available, it still teaches you valuable organizational skills and will be a great learning experience for you. Remember: an organized student grows up to be an organized employee!
Campus Tour Guide
If you’re friendly, love to help, and know your college campus like the back of your hand, then this job is right for you! Perfect for the natural extrovert, campus tour guides are usually the first people freshmen will encounter in college. Don’t limit yourself to just showing the freshmen around campus, give them insider tips like where the best place for lunch is or what the best time is to go to the library.
Residence Advisors
Sure, there might be some random late night wake-ups involving pulled fire alarms and trips to the ER, but working as an RA also comes with plenty of perks. For one thing, most RA positions come with your college room, board and classes paid for, and for another, this job demands the highly coveted leadership skills that will look excellent on your resume.
Being an RA means fulfilling a leadership role in your dorm. It can be demanding at times, but the skills you learn in this job will look great on your resume and will be something that future employers will heavily consider. It also comes with a lot of perks: depending on the college, most RA’s will get room, board, and some classes paid for by the school. Just make sure you’re ready for some late night fire drills or taking dorm mates to the ER!
Work-Study Jobs
Students who are receiving financial aid can almost always apply for a work-study job under the Federal Work Study Program. The Federal Work Study program is a government program that provides undergraduate and graduate students with part-time jobs to supplement their financial needs.
The best thing about the work-study program is that you can usually find jobs that are related to your field of study. Not only do you learn more about your field, you also gain real-life experience in that industry and gives you a sneak peek on what it would be like to work in that field in a professional capacity.
Off-Campus Jobs
Babysitter
One of the most underrated jobs out there, babysitters are still highly sought-after by working families. Because of the high demand, most babysitters can bring in some serious cash: in 2017, babysitters on average earned up to $16 an hour, or $240 a week. Not only does this teach you a lot of valuable skills, it also gives you time to study once you put the kids to bed.
For upperclassmen with plenty of off-days from school, schedule your babysitting gigs on those days. Or, alternatively, find a family with elementary-school-aged children so that you can babysit in the afternoons, giving you free time at night for your extracurricular activities or an active social life.
Kid’s Party Host
If you love working with kids, then working as a professional kid’s party host is the perfect side job. This usually earns just as much as babysitting, with the added perk of dressing up for whatever theme of the party you’re hosting. You can also increase your hourly rate by playing specific characters like superheroes or princesses or pirates.
Sales Representative
If you’ve got top notch persuasive skills, and you always did well with those school fundraisers, you should consider becoming a sales rep for companies such as Amway, Thirty-One, Mary Kay, etc. These companies allow you to work from the comfort of your own home (or dorm room), and with a little time and effort, you can bring in some serious cash flow!
Do you have a naturally persuasive personality? Consider being a sales representative! There are plenty of companies out there, such as Mary Kay or Amway, that require sales representatives to help them market their products. The best part? Most sales representatives are provided a work-from-home option, reducing your need to leave the house and giving you ample time to study. With the right amount of effort and some good old-fashioned salesmanship, you can rake in big bucks without leaving your couch!
Freelance Artist
Thanks to the flexibility of being able to work from home or at school, freelance writing is a great job for college students who have an interest in journalism or just a knack for writing. Check the site Upwork or the Pro Blogger job board to find plenty of opportunities and freelance job listings.
Freelance artists have the luxury of flexibility, being able to work anywhere whether it’s at home or a coffee shop. If you have some kind of artistic skill like writing or drawing, monetize it by offering your services to clients. Set an hourly or per-project rate, then go online and post an ad for yourself. Or, go to freelance job boards and find job offers there. You’ll be surprised at how much a hardworking freelance artist can make!
Part-time jobs aren’t just for earning money; they’re also a great way to learn some real-world skills that your future employers will highly appreciate. Do you have ideas for part-time jobs for undergraduate students? Hit us up in the comments below!