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.
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.
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