I was always strapped for cash when I was a student. It wasn’t a case of my loan not being enough to live on, it was simply that I liked the freedom of being able to go for dinner, to the pub or out to a club and spending the money I did have.
The solution to this for me was finding part-time work that I could fit around the student schedule, and so I worked more than enough jobs to know what sort of work to be picking up in the evenings during the semester and in the holidays when I got back home. Here’s 8 great part-time jobs for students.
An absolute classic of part-time jobs for students, there are probably very few people who have studied and not waited tables. Usually part-time staff in restaurants are needed for work during the evening, making jobs like these fit easily around your schedule, and the added bonus of tip money means there’s a decent economic incentive.
Similarly to waiting tables, bartending is also often evening work and so will not clash with your other obligations. A perk of bartending is often free drinks. A downside is your school work will suffer as you’ll finish late and those free drinks won’t feel so good in the morning.
Whilst coffee shops are open during the day and thus a little less ideal as a part-time job for students, timetables often work out with you having at least one morning and one afternoon off a week. In those hours, working as a barista is a great way to make a bit of extra money, as the work isn’t too demanding and can actually be quite fun; learning to draw things in the foam of a cappuccino is a fun skill. Being coffee trained also means you’ll be able to get a similar job when you go home for the holidays, or if you’re stuck without work when you finish studying.
Working in fast food is ideal as a part-time job for students. Food delivery was my personal holy grail when I was studying, made especially easy as I had a car. My evenings became a process of whipping around town and listening to music whilst delivering pizzas to fat people and cookies with ice cream to stoners. The pay is good and, if you do have a car, you get extra bonus money on top. If you don’t have a car, working instore can be a decent job too, although be warned – don’t work somewhere that you would eat from, as you’ll never want to eat there again.
Why not fall comfortably into the cliché of all students and work part-time in a book store? The benefits of this one are pretty obvious; the work is never that strenuous, even if the shop is busy, and you get to keep up-to-date with the latest releases on the shelves. Obviously if you don’t care about books very much then I would steer clear.
Getting an admin job at your institution is a sure-fire way of making a handy bit of money without too much effort having to be put in. In fact, it is one of my biggest regrets in not taking the job at my university, preferring instead to deliver pizzas. Admin roles within uni are great because they know the limitations on your time so they will never ask for too much, and it puts some good work experience on your CV that shows your commitment to your studies. They may only pay just above minimum wage, but it’s definitely one of the easier tasks around.
Merch selling is one of the best part-time jobs for students around. I was lucky enough to have an ‘in’ at a company that does the merchandise for gigs all around the UK and so, whenever it was the summer holidays and even a couple of during-semester jobs, I was selling T-shirts and programmes at music festivals, gigs and even a few football matches. It was an enjoyable experience for sure, helped massively by the really good wages of around £10 p/h. The only downside (or perhaps upside, depending on your position) is that the hours, especially at the festivals and gigs, can run into the low teenies; 12, 13, 14 hours shifts all become the norm. But, at £10 per each of those long hours, what is there to complain about really?
I’ve saved the best until last. As far as part-time jobs for students go this is the ultimate one, owing to the flexibility and absurd amount of money you can make. I never tutored whilst I was a student but I have done so mercilessly since, and it’s an ideal way to make money quickly. Tutoring sessions nearly always happen in the evenings as they have to be after school for the kids you’ll be tutoring, so it fits comfortably around your own timetable. It also allows you to work on your own skills in your area of expertise, making sure you remain sharp at what you do. And, crucially, as you’re using skills you’ve spent years building up, you’re entitled to charge high prices; the minimum for most tutoring sessions is usually around £25 for the hour. I honestly can’t think of a better way for students to make money than that.
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