Jobs for Students

Jobs for Students

The thought of having to work your way through school is not a pleasant one for most. College is viewed as a time to take a step toward adulthood, toward living in the “real world,” but without the full weight of having to support yourself. And that is as it should be. After all, the focus should really be on studying and gaining an education so that you are better equipped to support yourself later on.

For some, however, working through college is simply unavoidable in order to pay the tuition and other related costs. Some will choose to work even if they don’t necessarily have to in order to have a bit of extra cash in their pockets. Whatever the reason, getting a job in college doesn’t have to mean a deterioration of your social life or a hindrance to learning.


Most college towns thrive economically off of the student body, and many local businesses rely on students for seasonal staff. What that means for you is that these places of temporary employment know your needs as a student and are more likely to work around your schedule.
Restaurants, eateries, bars and nightclubs abound in college towns, and are almost always looking for temporary staff, making them the natural choice for most student job hunters. If you want something a little less hectic, small local stores or local department stores also provide good temporary employment opportunities.

And when you head home for the summer or winter break, most restaurants, bars, department stores and the like will be hiring on a seasonal basis to accommodate the greater number of customers during those seasons. Again, a tailor-made opportunity for a student who needs to make a little extra money before heading back to school.

So how do you go about finding these jobs, whether at school or during your breaks at home? The first and most obvious way is to just keep your eyes open when you are out. The types of establishments listed above will usually have some kind of public notification about temporary or seasonal job openings.

If you are in more of a rush, spend half a day driving around to the restaurants or local stores and ask a manager if they are hiring. You are guaranteed to find at least a few options.

The Internet is also a great way to find a student job. The student sections of a lot of university websites include resources for finding local jobs. Also, there are a growing number of local and national websites that aggregate student job listings.

A modern alternative for the student job seeker is doing some kind of work via the Internet. If you are good at web design, writing or graphical art, you can offer your services on a freelance basis. This is really ideal for students, as you can work on your computer from wherever is most comfortable for you, and only take as much work as you can or want to handle.

If you really want to get a head start on life, you can create and run a full-fledged online business while you are still in school. Many have done it with great success, and the time requirements are usually very manageable.

Getting a job during school may not sound very appealing, but remember, in addition to possibly being necessary to actually pay for school, a student job can help to prepare you for what is coming after graduation.