Share and Help your Friends With Their Job Search!
If you’re currently in college, chances are good that you need some extra income. Working around a full-time schedule of classes can be tricky, but it’s doable. The first step you should take is visiting your campus Career Services Office which can help you connect with available positions on and near your campus. Second, visit your Financial Aid Office to inquire about work study, internship, and externship opportunities. Finally, just walk around campus and ask questions about possible employment in various offices and service related venues. Here’s an overview of what you might find.
Campus Services
A university campus is like a miniature city. Consider all of the services provided on a campus; then pursue positions related to them. For example, campuses bring visitors, everything from future students and their parents to returning alumni, community leaders, and others with a vested interest in your school. Consider becoming a tour guide for your school.
Campuses also have tutoring centers. These may be broken down into subjects, such as math or writing, or there may be a single center for all subjects. Consider working as a tutor in a subject you excel in or that is connected to your major. Similarly, academic libraries are massive. Check into opportunities not only in the main campus library, but also in any program or subject specific ones, too.
Students buy books and other items at the bookstore; need help with technology; or just have questions of various departmental offices around campus. Look for positions in each of these areas, too. You might, for instance, work as a bookstore clerk, as a computer technician, or as an office receptionist.
Hospitality
Another category of jobs falls under hospitality. Not only does your college campus probably have a lot of places to eat or buy snacks, but it also most likely has a convention center with a hotel for guests and residence halls. Universities are also surrounded by eateries and places to stay. Consider looking for part-time work as a waiter, host, bartender, desk clerk, night auditor, switchboard operator, residence hall supervisor, or maintenance worker.
One of the best aspects of hospitality jobs for college students is that these businesses are open roughly 24/7, so they offer a lot flexibility in terms of work versus class schedules. If you work in this area, you may find yourself busy around lunch time or during major events; however, you will also find some downtime during which you may be able to get some studying completed—with your supervisor’s permission, of course.
Research
A third major job category is research. Your professors may have grants or funds to conduct research, so offer to assist them. You might work as a teaching assistant helping with clerical tasks, such as making copies so that their professional time can be better focused on teaching and researching. You might offer to assist with the actual research itself, helping to conduct experiments, input data, find sources, or even interpreting results. You could volunteer to be a paid test subject, too.
As the three categories above indicate, there are a lot of employment opportunities on campus and Career Services is the best place to start looking for a job. Try to find something close to your major so that you not only invest time toward earning a paycheck, but also toward gaining valuable work experience and networking opportunities that may help you jumpstart your career after graduation.