Best Jobs for College Students: Freelance or Part-Time With Pay Rates
Even if you are a college student who’s busy with your studies, you still probably want the opportunity to earn income. Whether you need money to cover expenses or just want to start building up a resume, there are a lot of freelance or part-time jobs available for college students. Finding the right job with enough flexibility to fit your busy lifestyle can take both time and research. In this article, you can learn about the best jobs for college students, covering the primary responsibilities and average income for each role.
What are jobs for college students?
Jobs for college students offer flexibility to allow students to work while still maintaining busy school schedules.
Here are a few factors that students need to consider when pursuing a job while in college:
- Location. The job has to be easily accessible, especially if you don’t have a car
- Schedule. Students generally need flexibility in order to have time to attend class, complete homework and study
- Pay. Most students aspire to find a role they enjoy that also pays the income they need to cover their expenses
- Career-relevance. Students may want to consider whether a role will be relevant to their future careers and help them build a resume
Best jobs for college students
Here are the best jobs for college students who need the flexibility of freelance or part-time work:
Barista
National Average Salary: $11.54 per hour
Primary Duties: A barista typically works in a coffee shop or bookstore, serving coffee and espresso drinks and pastries. They have a variety of duties, including preparing hot and cold beverages, preparing food and taking orders.
Bartender
National Average Salary: $11.68 per hour
Primary Duties: A bartender greets customers, gives them menus, takes orders and prepares drinks. Bartenders are responsible for checking customers’ identification to ensure they are of legal drinking age. They typically operate the cash register and take payments. They may also take food orders and serve customers food prepared by the kitchen, and they clean bars and tables.
Retail sales associate
National Average Salary: $11.79 per hour
Primary Duties: Retail sales associates greet customers, answer questions, retrieve inventory upon request and operate the cash register. They provide general customer service and are responsible for directing customers to merchandise based on the customer’s needs. Retail sales associates are also responsible for maintaining an orderly store appearance and introducing promotions and cross-selling products.
Head server
National Average Salary: $12.37 per hour
Primary Duties: Head servers take orders and serve food to customers. They are also responsible for coordinating the actions of the other staff members to keep operations of the restaurant flowing. They may help with opening and closing duties, and they may train new hires as necessary.
Photographer
National Average Salary: $15.09 per hour
Primary Duties: Photographers often work in a freelance capacity and are hired by individual clients to perform certain jobs, such as taking photos at weddings, graduations, anniversaries or for family photoshoots. Some photographers work full-time for studios or businesses as well.
Nanny
National Average Salary: $15.97 per hour
Primary Duties: Nannies are responsible for creating a safe environment for babies and children. They bathe and dress children, change diapers, and wash and fold the children’s clothing. They may also plan meals, prepare food and feed the children when the parents are not home. They conduct educational activities and crafts and may also arrange play dates and outings.
Tutor
National Average Salary: $21.38 per hour
Primary Duties: A tutor reviews assignments that students receive at school, discusses the content and helps with homework. The tutor may help students to comprehend the course material and may even prepare training materials to help them better understand a subject. They increase the confidence of the student by providing positive feedback and helpful solutions that improve the student’s mastery of a subject.
Personal trainer
National Average Salary: $21.54 per hour
Primary Duties: A personal trainer is responsible for helping individuals meet their health and fitness goals. They perform client assessments, create training programs, demonstrate exercises and routines, modify exercises according to a client’s fitness levels, monitor client progress and help clients get excited about the idea of improving their health. They also hold clients accountable for lifestyle habits and missed workouts.
Freelance writer
National Average Salary: $25.70 per hour
Primary Duties: Freelance writers produce whatever written material is requested by a client. They may work for many clients or one main client who needs a substantial amount of ongoing writing support. Writers can specialize in one area, such as travel, or work as a generalist and cover a wide variety of topics.
Massage therapist
National Average Salary: $28.33 per hour
Primary Duties: A massage therapist uses touch to manipulate the muscles and joints, relieving pain, rehabilitating injuries, improving circulation and reducing the client’s stress. A massage therapist talks with a client about their symptoms and medical history, evaluates the client to locate the areas of the body that are painful or tense and manipulates muscles or the soft tissues of the body to address the issue the client is having.