Author Topic: Best Jobs for Students  (Read 4841 times)

cwide

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 16
Best Jobs for Students
« on: July 17, 2016, 05:11:05 PM »
Hello fellow mustachians,

I will be a non-traditional, full-time student this fall and will be quitting my full-time job to pursue a degree. 

What kind of jobs did you guys have during college and what would you recommend? Especially looking for opinions of those who went to college later in life.

Thanks.

Choices

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 516
    • ChooseBetterLife
Re: Best Jobs for Students
« Reply #1 on: July 17, 2016, 10:34:32 PM »
In college, I worked as a bank teller, in a campus lab, and as a teacher for The Princeton Review. They were all great!

What's your major? What do you like to do? What will further your career goals or be a sneak peak to see if you really like it?

Do you know any skills that are in high demand for lessons (like playing an instrument)? or tutoring?

How much do you need to earn to survive without loans?

marty998

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 7372
  • Location: Sydney, Oz
Re: Best Jobs for Students
« Reply #2 on: July 18, 2016, 02:04:40 AM »
Uni tutorials... my brother used to wave $80 an hour in my face.

God bless him he's a lovely fellow, but geez I hated him for a second :D

MoonLiteNite

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 411
Re: Best Jobs for Students
« Reply #3 on: July 18, 2016, 03:45:25 AM »
I was a delivery driver for a deli and pizza company.
Paid 5.15$/hr (this was 10 years ago)
But i made closer to 25$/hr after tips and gas

I would just buy a trash car for 500$ and drove it until i couldn't repair it anymore.
Only missed out on work a few times

Playing with Fire UK

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 3449
Re: Best Jobs for Students
« Reply #4 on: July 18, 2016, 06:40:19 AM »
I did late night babysitting and could study if the child(ren) slept. Security might be a similar thing.

NextTime

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 856
Re: Best Jobs for Students
« Reply #5 on: July 18, 2016, 10:08:00 AM »
Waited tables at a chain restaurant 20 years ago. Made well over $10/hr most of the time.

Slow&Steady

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 698
  • Location: Midwest
Re: Best Jobs for Students
« Reply #6 on: July 18, 2016, 10:15:51 AM »
The best job I had in college was at Home Depot BECAUSE they allowed part-time employees to signup and contribute to a 401k and they had tuition reimbursement if your major lined up with the business.  This was all several years ago so I am not sure if they still offer either of those perks.  I don't remember the pay being horrible either benefits won me over.

Other jobs I had that (none of which I remember being horrible) include:
Ice Cream Shop on the bottom floor of the dorms
1-hour photo lab
Professor assistant
Temp at the state agency that lined up with my major
Yellowstone National Park (during the summers)

SimpleSpartan

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 101
  • Location: Washington
Re: Best Jobs for Students
« Reply #7 on: July 18, 2016, 02:22:52 PM »
I'm a freshman earning $13 an hour as a cashier at Target. The pay is in large part due to a very high COL area, but I make it work by living with my parents... They also offer a 401k 5% match with Vanguard :) so like an extra $500-1,000 a year.
« Last Edit: July 18, 2016, 02:31:16 PM by SimpleSpartan »

mjones1234

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 60
Re: Best Jobs for Students
« Reply #8 on: July 18, 2016, 02:43:19 PM »
Here are some of the jobs/businesses that worked for me in college:

General cleanup after a new house was framed. Just gathered up the scraps around the inside and outside, threw them in a central pile in the front yard.

Worked in a cattle sale barn. Sales are only one day a week and they paid me $10/hr cash (back in the 80's) and worked 10 hours. I did almost die from a kick to the kidney, but...

Scraped windows for builder after exterior had been spray painted. The over spray needed to be scraped off and windows cleaned. Made about $150 a day.

Mowed lawns with the homeowners mower. A lot of times the owners would even pick me up and drop me off. No gas or maintenance needed. I just used their equipment and fuel.

Parked cars for private parties. That was pretty fun and easy.

Detailed airplanes at a local small airport. Did this with a buddy and we had a blast.

I just talked to a college kid who makes $27/hour in the summer helping out on a yacht. He said its the easiest job he's ever had.   




galliver

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1863
Re: Best Jobs for Students
« Reply #9 on: July 18, 2016, 03:18:30 PM »
Not edited for nontraditional/later-in-life student:
-I tutored at an on-campus tutoring center. Pay was fine (better than non-specialized on-campus work, maybe worse than off-campus would have paid but that wasn't an option for me). More importantly, I was constantly reviewing material from classes I'd already taken by tutoring them; so it helped me get more out of college. Also impressed recruiters, I think? They did only take the best students, so keep your grades up.
-Research: excellent experience in my field and preparation for grad school. Paid about same as tutoring.
-Internship: in Engineering, DEFINITELY better summer job than retail, etc. I'd stay away from the unpaid ones, though, unless that's truly a gatekeeper experience for your field, perhaps.
-Summer camp counselor: I was a bad candidate for internships between college and grad school (given the whole probably-will-never-come-work-for-you-full-time thing) and kind of burned out on staring at screens anyway. I slept under the stars 80% of the summer and went hiking, kayaking, and river rafting. Didn't pay great, but I banked it all since I had basically $0 expenses (splurged on a few more decent meals toward the end...). I did have to put up with teenagers, but most of them were a decent sort. This might be someone's version of hell but I thought it was pretty close to a vacation paying me money.

patchyfacialhair

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1259
  • Age: 34
Re: Best Jobs for Students
« Reply #10 on: July 18, 2016, 03:34:12 PM »
You can be a leasing person at an apartment community on the weekends. Office hours are typically shortened on the weekends and the job is stupid easy. "Oh you're looking for an apartment? Here's one that meets your needs, let's take a look...sign here." Most companies pay hourly plus commission. Downside: people are rude and sometimes you are forced to play mediator between children grown ups that can't take care of their own business.

I was a math tutor for a time too, as I was really good with algebra, but didn't take anything past the first calculus classes. I focused mostly on college algebra and calculus for business majors. Pay was pretty low, but it's easy if you have patience.

Do your best to find paid internships in your desired field. That way when you graduate, you already have a foot in the door with at least 1 place. I'd probably prioritize that over making tons of money while in school. That was my mistake.

amyj05

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 208
  • Age: 36
  • Location: Southside Virginia
Re: Best Jobs for Students
« Reply #11 on: July 19, 2016, 10:11:06 AM »
I waited tables and catered on nights and weekends while I was in nursing school. You can make good money for relatively easy work if you have good customer service skills.

Cwadda

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 2178
  • Age: 29
Re: Best Jobs for Students
« Reply #12 on: July 19, 2016, 10:22:29 AM »
I was a church organist in college. Wasn't a music major. If you play any instruments it can be a good side hustle. I made about $90/hour.

mskyle

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 691
Re: Best Jobs for Students
« Reply #13 on: July 19, 2016, 11:22:07 AM »
I supervised student workers in library public service positions and working in the library during non-busy hours can be a great student job. Pay is pretty terrible, but you can often get a lot of studying done and it's low-stress. In my library, the evening/weekend hours were less busy but the during-the-day hours were often extremely stressful/busy. Some students wanted the day shifts anyway because they could squeeze them in in between classes, and some students only wanted weekend/evening work.

Your ideal student job has as many of the following qualities as possible:
* low stress level
* schedule that fits around your classes (including study groups and labs and things)
* high pay per hour
* flexible schedule
* low hours

You probably can't get everything on the list, but definitely think about all of those.

I did the "work full-time, go to school part-time" thing and worked six days a week while I did, but one of the jobs was fun and the other was that night-time library work - very quiet, lots of time to study (and since I was in school to become a librarian, I got paid a lot more than the student workers).

Blonde Lawyer

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 762
    • My Student Loan Refi Story
Re: Best Jobs for Students
« Reply #14 on: July 19, 2016, 12:39:32 PM »
I became a corrections officer after college but if you could work your schedule out right you could work full time and go to school full time.  On third shift everyone's asleep and you are just doing door checks every 15 mins or so.  You could do your homework at work and go to school first shift and sleep second shift.  Or sleep first shift and school second shift, whatever you can work out with your classes.

Inaya

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1644
  • Age: 39
  • Location: Land of Entrapment
Re: Best Jobs for Students
« Reply #15 on: July 19, 2016, 02:13:16 PM »
  • Writing tutor at the university's writing center
  • Edited student papers (rarely and very much separate from tutoring)
  • Worked in the university's mail room
  • Worked for the university's student newspaper
  • Was a "note taker" for the disability services office (basically made $80 a semester for copying and turning in all my class notes)
  • Worked for the university's accounting department to get their policies and procedures into better shape (and got independent study credit for it!)
  • Paid internship
Never went without a job, but they were very limited hours and never more than $10/hr.

Crusader

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 60
Re: Best Jobs for Students
« Reply #16 on: July 19, 2016, 03:17:14 PM »
I would recommend getting something in a department IT service desk. The only bad thing about it is that it is 9 to 5 so you have to work around your classes for it. Pay starts at $10/hour

I also worked UMPD Police Auxiliary as a student. It is basically extremely low risk surveillance that you do for the police. Base pay is $8.50/hour with $1 extra for late shifts which was every standard shift. There is also training bonuses that boost your hourly rate if you accomplish them. Police Aux had all of its shifts after 9 to 5, so it helps you work around classes. Some shifts just have you sitting down and walking for 15 minutes every hour. So it is good for getting schoolwork done. Only disadvantage is kind of low pay and late hours.

thedayisbrave

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 700
  • Location: Raleigh, NC
  • CFO @ My Life
Re: Best Jobs for Students
« Reply #17 on: July 19, 2016, 04:38:49 PM »
Let's see, in college I...

-Worked at Starbucks & Chick-fil-A
-Tutored
-Flipped textbooks (bought them for $1 each at lost and found sales, sold them on Amazon for $60-$80 a piece)
-Interned with a startup that paid me to be a grocery shopping beta tester
-Interned with a coffee event planning company and got paid well to reconcile credit card statements

Most of these (all except the first) I found through the "Gigs" section on Craigslist.  It's gotten a lot sketchier, but you can still find some decent gigs.

2Birds1Stone

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 7916
  • Age: 1
  • Location: Earth
  • K Thnx Bye
Re: Best Jobs for Students
« Reply #18 on: July 19, 2016, 05:25:05 PM »
Stripping, pays well and shouldn't interfere with your class schedule
Student Pharmacist, everyone needs a little Adderall to study, or pot to relax
Bouncing, getting underage folks into clubs/bars pays great tips
Start a tutoring business
Bartend, great way to get laid, make good money, and drink for free
Sell sperm/eggs
Sell an organ
http://rentafriend.com/