Working While You Study: Common Student Jobs

We’ve discussed here previously how great a shock to the system it can be when the student bubble bursts and you are cast into the unforgiving world of full-time employment. Why then, you might ask, would you want to taint the halcyon days of your time at university with the inconvenience and general tedium of a part-time job? It’s called ‘work’ for a reason, after all – if it was that fun, they’d probably think of a better name for it.

Well, for one thing, you may be compelled into taking on a few hours of work per week by economic necessity – unless you happen to have the luxury of a bottomless trust fund, or a personal bullion vault in an off-shore tax haven. No, thought not.

But there are plenty of other reasons, too. For one thing, increased competition for jobs means that employers won’t necessarily be battering down your door with offers when you graduate. You’ll need to be able to demonstrate that you have some work skills as well as the ability to pass exams.

While student jobs are often not the most glamorous, showing that you can hold down some sort of paid employment and don’t mind putting in a day’s work will be of more interest to a future employer than yet another anecdote about this one time on your gap year.

Working student jobs can even be a way to meet people and maintain some contact with the real world outside of the student bubble – whether it’s back home over the holidays, or for a few hours per week in the evenings or weekends during term time. Here are some of the more viable ways to earn some pocket money as a student that needn’t involve the loss of your dignity/soul:

Working in a bar or restaurant

Bars and restaurants are the traditional domain of student jobs, whether you’re propping one up or serving drinks behind it. Student towns are never short of licensed premises,  and there’s a strong argument that if you’re going to be spending half your time in bars anyway, you may as well try to get paid for some of it. There are plenty of advantages, too.

Working in a bar or restuant can be fun, particularly if you’re a ‘people person’ and like to make new friends. The hours are normally pretty flexible and you can fit them around your lectures by only working evenings and weekends. It can also stand you in good stead – I have one friend who liked his bartending job at university so much he decided to make a career of it, and became the UK’s champion cocktail mixologist.

Retail Jobs

It may not sound like a glamorous option or exactly what you went to university for, but part-time retail jobs while you’re studying can be a great way to meet people while earning a bit of cash. I’m not really talking about stacking shelves or flipping burgers (though there’s no shame in either).

If you’re a music geek, film buff, book nerd, art-aholic (I’m running out of these now but you get my point) or have a keen interest in any other marketable commodity (fashion, sports, food and drink, facial piercings, whatever) then working a few hours per week in retail jobs that cater those with your interests will earn you a bit of pocket money and will introduce you to likeminded people.

Student jobs on-campus: reception, librarian etc.

Most university campuses will offer some sort of part-time student jobs, whether it’s a paid position like receptionist, manning the college bar or an assistant librarianship, to voluntary responsibilities that get you other perks like cheap accommodation.

Private tutoring jobs

Particularly for graduate students or those in their third or fourth year of undergraduate studies, this one can be a winner. It may be easier to come by in bigger cities, but tutoring jobs are the type of work – the holy grail! – where you can earn money by using the very knowledge you have gained from all of those hours reading obscure books in a library or mixing up test tubes in a lab.

It may sound surprising, but there are plenty of people further down the academic food chain studying for their school exams whose parents will pay good money for access to your well-informed insights and tips on how you aced your school exams. Tutoring jobs might be more difficult if you’re an international student who was educated in a different school system, but it’s a great way to earn money if you’re back home over the holidays. Hourly rates of pay for tutoring jobs tend to be better than other student jobs you’ll find, too.

Volunteer work

Money isn’t the only reason why doing a few hours part-time work per week can enhance your university experience. If you have a philanthropic conviction, why not do some volunteer work for charities – whether it’s manning the till in a charity shop on a Sunday afternoon, helping out at a local homeless shelter or spending a few hours per week fundraising.

Not only will this enable you to help out with a good cause and meet people who share your convictions, it also helps pad out your CV with some of the experience that is now virtually a prerequisite for finding work in the charity sector when you graduate.