What are my options? Part Time Jobs for College Students
College students are on of the largest demographics searching for part time employment. This is due to the high price of attending most major universities combined with most full time college students’ inability to work a forty hour work week while attending school. College students are, however, an attractive lot to most employers. Effective college students tend to be hard working, responsible, and skilled individuals often willing to work in lower skill, lower wage positions. All of this contributes to making part time jobs for college students on of the more dynamic realms of employment.
The classic part time jobs for college students, of course, are bar tending and waiting tables. The reasons for this are obvious, frequent night time hours allows time so you can attend classes during the day, and very often good money for the time put in. The downside not often mention about these jobs is that they require you to work hard and constantly be busy while “on the clock.” This leaves many working students little time or energy for studying and projects.
One of the great unappreciated resources for college student jobs are jobs which involve mostly sitting and waiting. My college roommate, for example, was a cashier at a frozen yogurt shop. This job certainly didn’t pay well, but it allowed my roommate to read books or type on a laptop while behind the counter. This was a great situation for my friend because he was able to earn money while at the same time being a productive student. He was also willing to pick up more shifts at the job because he wasn’t concerned about needing to save time to study outside of work. In this way part time jobs for college students can be productive on two levels, when you can study while you’re “on the clock.”
If at all possible, the best solution for you would be to get a paid internship or research position. Many of these positions would involve working on research under a professor, or working a position at a local firm. The best way to get these opportunities is to approach profs that you like and ask them if they take on students. When trying to get a full time job after graduating, the experience and references that you have gained through internships or research will often prove to be more valuable then the course work itself. Paid student internships don’t often pay well but if you can afford the time and reduced income this is by far the best option for part time jobs for college students.
What are good ways to find part time jobs for college students? Many jobs are available through the college or university that you attend. These jobs are often created with students’ schedules in mind so they will not likely cause you a big time crunch. Another good resource, if your school has one, is a student run newspaper. Often local businesses that have employment for college students will run classified ads in these papers when they have openings.
