The Best Jobs for Uni Students
For most uni students, juggling study with a casual or part-time job is a necessity - but it can also have a positive impact on your life.
A part-time job while at university allows you to earn more to spend on the necessities like rent, food and textbooks, and also for things you love to do outside of work and uni. What’s more, a part-time job can also help you to gain valuable experience and transferable skills that will set you up for the workforce.
Balancing work and study can be challenging, so you need to find a flexible job that can fit in with your busy (and often packed) study schedule.
What are the most flexible jobs for uni students?
According to research from UniLodge, more than 60% of students enter their first year of university balancing work and study, and the key to making it work is flexibility.
As you’ll probably need to fit work around a busy study schedule, keep an eye out for jobs that are flexible with hours so you can find a healthy balance.
If you’re considering the best type of job or part-time work you can do while studying, here are the top 4 flexible jobs that are perfect for uni students.
Top 4 Flexible Uni Jobs
Tutoring
Tutoring is the perfect job for university students as the hours are really flexible, and you can organise your tutoring sessions around your personal study commitments.
So long as you have a breadth of knowledge on subject matter, you can offer up your expertise and tutoring services to other students at an hourly rate (usually $30 - $60 an hour). Consider checking with your university, as they are often seeking part-time tutors. You can also look for work through a tutoring agency, or advertise your services privately.
Retail, Cafe, Bar and Hospitality Work
Working in the retail or hospitality industries are really popular with uni students as casual shift work is often flexible. You can let your employer know your availability and preferred days and times - and usually weekends and weeknights works well for both parties! You might also be able to get an employee discount which helps when you’re living on a student budget.
Babysitting
If you like being around kids, babysitting is a great casual job that pays well. It’s also pretty flexible, as most work will be the afternoons evening or weekends, so you can schedule babysitting jobs around your schedule.
If you have family and friends who live nearby, consider asking around to see if they know anyone who needs babysitting services.
Being responsible and dependable are the most important attributes of a babysitter, so if you can demonstrate you have those skills, you can expect to build a nice roster of recurring work.
Depending on the age of the kids, you might even be able to get some study done ‘on the job’ while the kids are napping!
Dog Walking
If you like animals, dog walking is a no-brainer for casual or part-time work. Most dog owners are pretty flexible about what time of day their dog is walked, so ask around or advertise your dog walking services on the uni notice board or on Facebook.
Things to consider when looking for a part-time uni job
- Location
If you’ll be balancing work and study, consider whether the job is close to campus and your accommodation so you aren’t racing and frazzled between commitments.
- Resume
Before applying for jobs, make sure your resume is up to date with your school, study and work experience. If you’ve done part-time or casual work before, make sure you highlight the transferable skills and personal traits that would make you a great fit for the job.
- Bank Account
Some casual work like dog walking or babysitting might be paid ‘cash in hand’, while other jobs like retail or hospitality work will require a bank account to pay your wages into. To help you choose the right bank provider we've done the leg work for you and analysed the best student bank accounts from the ‘big 4’ major banks.