I had an inspiring conversation with one of my patients lately. She’s a university student, completing her master’s degree in social work and working four different jobs. I was immediately intrigued as to how she was managing so many different jobs, on top of completing a difficult academic workload, and I was impressed with how she set out to find so many different jobs that would accommodate her schedule.

I was pretty lucky with job(s) I held during university for no reason other than the people I worked for were great in understanding my schedule and willing to work around it. Any job I hold, I respect. I make sure I’m a worthy employee and my experience is that when you show up and do your best, keep open communication with your employer, they’re much more willing to work with you when you need time off. Never abuse this regardless of where you’re at in life.

Here are 4 (more) great job options for college or university students that would work well with any schedule.

Proof Read and Edit

This is something I’ve know quite a few people to do. They offer to proof read anything from lab reports to entire thesis papers. The pricing for this can vary so ask around or get on google for an idea to start. I’ve had friends make decent money for full editing of larger papers. Make flyers advertising your services and place them in academic buildings. You could even start a basic webpage advertising your services with testimonial too.

Banqueting

Again I have had many friends who work banquets at local convention centers and hotels on the weekend. The shifts are almost always on the weekend and only for a few hours. Easy to get studying done in the morning and work at night making decent money. Some do waitressing, some do event setup/tear down, it really depends on the venue.

University Library

This was the job to have on campus. They pay well, they’re great with schedules and encourage you to work on homework when there (after you’re done your work). There was everything from working the desk to IT jobs, to research to shelving and cleanup. Some jobs are reserved for educated librarians but most campus libraries hire students for odd jobs (and summer) as well so it’s worth looking into.

Babysitting (Before Class)

There are so many people out there who are looking for someone to watch their kids before school. Many of my friends are nurses. They need to leave home around 6am but their kids don’t leave for school until like 8am, which it too late for their spouse to stay home for their work so they -end up hiring before school care. This is a great job for a university student who’s classes may not start until a bit later. Bonus is that they often have weekend and summer babysitting jobs lines up too!

While in college or university, academics come first but it can be great to hold a job to help offset the costs. The key is to balance the two as best as possible.

Did you have a job while pursuing post secondary? Did it interfere too much with schoolwork?