We all know the stories of college students who live on ramen noodles and pay for the pizza delivery with the change they found in the couch cushions. University and college students have a reputation for being broke and having limited means to earn money while in the dorms or living in an off-campus apartment. But this doesn’t have to be the case. There are many easy jobs and ways to earn cash that are available to college students, and they may have very little impact on the student’s schedule or social life.
Almost every college and university has an office which contains job listings. These listings are not only for jobs once you have your degree in hand. There are many jobs that are available for students who are enrolled full time or part time and need some extra money. Your best bet would be to check there first. Some schools even have binders full of hundreds of job opportunities that are rarely visited. You may be the first person to call and have an easy time getting your foot in the door with many of these positions. They can vary from an occasional babysitting job to offerings of room and board to those who would consider being a nanny.
One avenue that is often overlooked by college students is substitute teaching. Once a student reaches the 60 credit hour point, and this is usually by the start of their junior year, they are eligible to teach in most school districts. Many school districts are desperate for substitute teachers and will work with your schedule. This would be a perfect opportunity for students who have one or more days off a week with no classes scheduled. Pay differs with each district, but you can expect anywhere from $50 to $100 or more for working a day while your friends are still in classes.
Gas is skyrocketing and not every university student has a car, but this doesn’t eliminate the opportunity to earn some money. There are many jobs on your own campus, and this even does include small colleges.
Work study is a program where you are assigned a job on campus to help defray the cost of your education. You do have to apply for this, but you can net comfy jobs answering phones in a business office or making copies in a copy center. Most of these jobs are during business hours, so your social life will not be infringed upon. Also, all of these positions will work with your ever-changing class schedule.
There are many other jobs on a campus besides just the work study positions. There is always a need for lab assistants, people to check in guests in the dorms, mail room jobs, and even the cafeteria is usually on the look out for a warm body. Many times these jobs can be found posted in the various offices and departments where the help is needed, so take a stroll around campus and take note of those signs you normally breeze past.
College and university students need not live of mac and cheese alone. There are so many opportunities open to them in their own community that pay well and understand the schedule needs of a student. Who knows? You might actually be able to afford to do your laundry.
