A Guide to Student Jobs

If you’re not one of those students content with surviving on five-cent packets of instant ramen noodles for the duration of your university life, then you might be thinking about applying for part-time student jobs.

Many of us will experience that point in university life when we realize that student loan doesn’t quite cover our outgoings and – deciding that our parents shouldn’t be the ones to bail us out any longer – we begin to scope out the student jobs section of the student union billboard.

You may be surprised at the range of part-time job opportunities available to current students, both on campus and beyond. Depending on your interests, skills and experience, student jobs are available in many service roles and some more specialized areas that may even help you gain experience relevant to your future career.

If you are an international student, bear in mind that there are often laws restricting how many hours you are able to work during your studies. Check your student visa to find out.

General student jobs

Waiting staff/ bartending

If you don’t mind being on your feet for long shifts, working late into the night and keeping a smile on your face when dealing with not-always-polite customers, then perhaps you should try your hand at bartending or waiting staff work. Service roles such as these make great university jobs due to the flexible working hours, sociable environment and the chance of getting good tips from customers.

You may also find part-time jobs through a catering agency, which operate in many major cities and hire staff out to serve at various events. Working for an agency can offer opportunities to meet lots of likeminded people, and often the shifts can be as flexible as you like.

Flyer and promotion work

These types of university jobs will often require you to stand on busy streets asking strangers for a minute of their time, but can vary significantly depending on whom you’re working for and what you’re trying to promote.

If your role is to hand out flyers advertising a student night at one of the local clubs, then you’re probably looking at fairly easy money. But if you’re trying to encourage the public to give up their hard-earned wages to donate to charity or to buy a product, then you might be in for a slightly harder time. Make sure you know whether your wages are based on commission and if you’re not an experienced salesperson, focus on finding a student job that offers a flat rate of pay. This will ensure you don’t end up working for nothing.

Retail

Some retail jobs are more glamorous than others, with tasks ranging from stocking up supermarket freezers with frozen turkeys to complimenting insanely rich Italian ladies on their choice of designer shoes. Whether it’s a bookshop, a makeup store or a petrol garage (gas station), retail jobs are everywhere and tend to offer good working standards, flexible hours and (sometimes) decent employee discounts.

The downsides include having to work weekends, repetitive tasks with few breaks, having to cope with demanding and sometimes rude customers, and having to be careful about spending all of your wages on discounted stock.

Mystery shopping

Mystery shopping basically means you get paid to shop. Or at least, you get paid to visit shops and evaluate how they treat their customers and the general service received. These are often fairly ad-hoc roles led by an agency which hands out jobs as they come. You may receive instructions to ask for help or a particular service, and after the visit you’ll be asked to fill in a form about your experiences. In return for this, you’ll receive a base rate of pay, and you may be able to get your hands on some free products from the shops you’re asked to evaluate.

House-/pet-/baby- sitting

If you’re a responsible, mature type of student, then various sitting roles are available to you. Your role could be to look after a house while its owners sun it up somewhere in the Caribbean, walk and feed a family pet, or even look after a child (if you can convince the parents that you’re 100% reliable and good with children). Often, sitting is a good way to make money without having to do too much – but it’s not all easy living: be prepared for tantrums, bedtime stress and escapee pets.

One of the best ways to find sitting jobs is through word-of-mouth recommendations, so you could start by asking friends and university tutors if they know anyone who needs this kind of service. You can also advertise your services by creating small flyers to post on community noticeboards, and visit listings websites or see if there are any local agencies to sign up with.

Work on campus

Your university is likely to have many roles available for students to work on campus. Whether this is work in the student union, the campus café or the library, the work is usually sociable, a chance to get to know more of your fellow students, and of course very conveniently located for you to work your shifts around your studies.

For those studying at postgraduate level in particular, it’s also often possible to find work on campus either as a teaching assistant or research assistant. Ask your tutors or department coordinators whether any roles are available, and let them know of your interest.

More specialized student jobs

If you’re looking for more skilled part-time jobs at university then you can consider roles related to your studies which require some experience and expertise. These roles are likely to be more demanding than the more general roles explored above, but often offer higher rates of pay. Undertaking skilled jobs at university which relate to your future career ambitions can also be a good way to show potential employers that you have useful professional experience in addition to your academic qualifications.

Internships are another way of gaining valuable work experience within your sector. Often internships are carried out during vacation periods because they are full-time positions for short periods of time. Some internships pay, others don’t, but they will always give your CV an added boost when it comes to applying for positions after graduation.

Tutoring

If you’ve got an aptitude for teaching others, then you may want to consider tutoring. Depending on your personal skills – for example if you’re fluent in a foreign language or an expert pianist – tutoring can be a good way to earn some extra money while building teaching skills.

The perks of tutoring are a decent wage (which, if freelancing, is set by you), the rewarding feeling of having taught someone something new, and the bonus of developing valuable work experience in a teaching environment. If you’re planning on giving private lessons, do some online research to find out what the ‘going rate’ is for this type of service in your area.

Freelancing jobs

Freelancing means being self-employed, and offering your services to individuals or organizations for an hourly rate or for a fixed payment based on a set amount of work. Roles in which you may be able to find freelancing jobs include: journalism and writing, translation, photography, web development, web design and music and entertainment.

Many websites are dedicated to skilled freelancers in various industries, but to get your foot in the door as a student you’ll need to show off a good portfolio and sell yourself with a knowledgeable profile. A personal website or blog may also be useful.

For freelancing jobs and other roles where you’re self-employed, you’ll need to complete your own tax return; check the government website in the country where you’re based for guidelines on how to do this.

How many hours should you work at university?

It’s easy for university jobs to take over much of the time you should be spending on your studies. For this reason you should set an upper limit on your work hours during term time. The amount of time you can work will fluctuate from week to week depending on assignments, exams and deadlines, meaning that a flexible student job or work on campus will be helpful.

The hours and times you can work may also be dependent on your degree subject. Those studying arts and humanities subjects will tend to have more spare time outside of lectures for individual reading and assignments, whereas engineering and science students are likely to spend more hours per week on campus, in lectures and laboratories. This means that a work/study balance is never the same for any one student, but a limit of no more than 20 hours a week is a good guideline.

You should also ensure that in between your student job and your studies you also have time for rest, relaxation and socializing!

Where to look for student jobs

The first port of call for many students is the university careers center. Here, you can find careers experts ready to help support anyone looking for a part-time student job or graduate job.

The careers center can give you advice on writing a strong résumé and cover letter, and will also point you in the right direction for internships, positions related to your degree, or non-skilled student jobs, depending on your needs. Often they have connections with local employers, and offer a list of suitable job vacancies for which local organizations are recruiting.

If you’re looking for paid work on campus or other ad-hoc university jobs, you’ll be able to find advertisements posted around your university, on bulletin boards, online or in local and student newspapers.

If you’re looking to become a tutor or freelancer, ad sites such as Gumtree.com or Craigslist.org can be helpful for finding a client or listing your own advert and allowing clients to come to you. Pinning up flyers advertising your services around your area may also result in some responses.

How much will you earn from jobs at university?

If you opt for a service job where no prior experience or specialist knowledge is required, then expect to receive minimum wage or just above. Wages vary vastly from country to country, and will also depend on the town or city in which you live. For information on the national minimum wage in your region, check government guidelines online.

Once you are offered a student job (well done you!), make sure your employer puts you on the correct tax code. As a student, you will often pay much lower rates of tax or in some cases no tax at all, so it’s important to sort this out before your first pay check.

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