The best part-time jobs for students

Students often struggle to balance school and work life and finding a job that provides a stable income can be even harder. A job that offers flexibility around your busy school schedule during the semester is the ideal thing to keep in mind and luckily, there are several to choose from.

Freelance graphic designer

As a freelance worker, you are in control of where and how many hours you work throughout the week, which is a major benefit as a student. Students who are pursuing an arts and design career at school can heavily benefit from this as it acts like a work study placement which helps simulate what a typical work day feels like during your time at school.

Mauricio Franco, a game design student at Fanshawe and Fanshawe Student Union (FSU) designer utilizes his background in graphic design as a means to make an income while attending school.

“I think that it’s a good way to gain money and to also feel free, by being able to make your weekly schedule so you can learn how to spend time working at the same time as studying, overall making me feel organized in the end,” Franco said.

Franco added that the other great aspect of this option is having the freedom of choosing the clientele you want to work with. Building and matching up your own clientele who have the same work ethic as yourself makes work less stressful and more enjoyable. 

“As a designer, your aim is to look for a full-time job. As a freelancer, you work with one person and then another person, so it’s convenient to have a lot of income, but as I mentioned before you have to create your schedule because that allows you to work efficiently on multiple projects,” Franco said.

Photographer

For any student who has a camera with the ability to take crisp, clear photos, the option of working as a part-time photographer for events or a newspaper is a great way to make money. The additional equipment required to set up is quite minimal and very cost-efficient

The work setting is great as it’s adaptable to fit however you want to use your skill set and what you want your focus for your customer base to be. You can prioritize your work into being directed towards events, commercial photoshoots, or other media related jobs.

Nanny

If you enjoy working with kids, working as a nanny may be a great part-time job for you. The job focuses primarily on taking care of kids during the day or at night. For a student who has lectures in the morning or evening, working as a nanny is beneficial as it accommodates working at any time during the day.

It keeps you busy by planning activities, meals and basic household chores. For students focusing their studies in early childhood education, working as a nanny provides great experience and strategies for future teachers to bring with them into their careers.

Writer

Most colleges or universities have newspapers that offer part-time positions to students during the semester with flexible working hours. You can focus a majority of your stories locally so you write about school events happening around campus and sporting events. The articles are reasonably lengthened and it serves as a great way for a students to sharpen their writing skills for future essays and writing reports. For students in a journalism program, it is also as a great way to bolster your writing portfolio with content you create during your time at the paper.