Guide: What Are the Benefits of Part-Time Jobs for Students?
You may be the parent of a teen or a college student, and you’re trying to help them decide whether or not student part-time jobs are right for them. Or perhaps you are a student in high school or college, and you’re weighing the advantages of taking on one of the best part-time jobs for students.
There is some decision-making that needs to go into whether or not student part-time jobs are right for your child, or for you, and if so, what the best part-time jobs for students would be.
First, the benefits of the best part-time jobs for high school students include:
- When you work as a high school student, it gives you the opportunity not just to earn extra spending money, but also to save money for your post-high school education costs.
- Finding part-time jobs for high school students can be a great way to get a head start on networking and building relationships that will be valuable as you look for a career later.
- When you find part-time jobs for high school students, you might also be able to use that experience on your college applications.
Benefits of part-time jobs for college students include:
- If you have student loans, you may be able to start paying them off while you’re in college or offsetting the cost of your education while working to reduce the debt you graduate with.
- Depending on the part-time job you take, you may be able to build your resume as well as your marketable skills.
- When you find part-time jobs for college students, you learn life skills that will help you when you’re ready to launch your career, like time management and how to work with other people.
The following guide covers some of the best part-time jobs for students, including part-time jobs for high school students and part-time jobs for college students. The part-time work for students in this guide includes a mix of traditional work, as well as options that can often be done remotely and virtually.
See Also: Discover Student Card vs Wells Fargo College Credit Card vs U.S. Bank Student Card vs BankAmericard Cash Rewards for Students
Comparison Review List
List is sorted alphabetically (click any of the names below to go directly to the detailed review section for that part-time job):
High Level Comparison Table
Best Part-Time Jobs for Students | Pay Rate | Skills Needed |
| Babysitter/Nanny | Average rate is around $15 per hour, according to Care.com | CPR certification Nurturing and good with children Responsible |
| Copyeditor (Freelance) | Can charge up to $40-$50 an hour, depending on experience, skills, and client | Journalism knowledge Eye for detail Strong writer Ability to learn style guides |
| On-Demand Driver | Rates depend on driving time and location but can range from $19-$30 an hour in big cities | Clean driving and criminal records |
| Online Researcher | Rates can range from $10 to $35 an hour | Good Internet research capabilities Analytical skills Attention to detail |
| Social Media Assistant | Pay usually starts around $10 per hour and goes up from there | Strong social media knowledge Awareness of current trends Excellent communication skills |
| Waiter/Waitress | Hourly rate ranges from $2.19-$10.25 and hourly tips range from $1.03-$16.34 | Excellent customer service and communication skills Skills interacting with difficult people Physical stamina |
Table: Top 6 Best Part-Time Jobs for Students | Above list is sorted alphabetically
How Do You Juggle School and Student Part-time Jobs?
While there are certainly plenty of advantages to landing one of the best part-time jobs for high school students or one of the best part-time jobs for college students, many students and their families worry about whether or not they’ll be able to properly manage their time and keep up with their other commitments.
Image Source: Student part-time jobs
It is possible to keep up with school and extra-curricular activities while having one of the student part-time jobs on this list, but time management skills are essential.
Consider the following tips to balance school and part-time jobs for students:
- Create realistic goals. You should start each week and even each day with a set of goals you want to achieve that are small and realistic. If you make your goals too ambitious, you run the risk of not only not meeting them but also becoming discouraged.
- Set priorities each day. If you can create a list of your top priorities for the day, it will help you stay organized even if you also hold down part-time work for students.
- Think about flexibility first and foremost. When you’re searching for the best part-time jobs for teens or the best part-time jobs for college students, prioritize flexibility first and foremost. Many of the part-time jobs for students included on this list are very flexible and can even be done remotely.
- Prepare for your day the night before. If you’re going to be busy juggling classes and work the following day, you want to do as much as you can to prepare the night before. Get everything you need ready for the day, and consider doing food prep one day a week, so you’ll have meals ready to go when your schedule is packed.
- Make time for things you enjoy in your day. When you’re taking on student part-time jobs as well as school, it can be easy to get overwhelmed and forget about yourself. Try to take time out for at least a short time every day to exercise, meet with friends, grab a coffee, or just do something small that will help you relieve stress.
All-in-One Change Management Tools
Top Rated Toolkit for Change Managers.
Get Your Change Management Tool Today...
Babysitter/Nanny
Being a babysitter or nanny is one of the best part-time jobs for students. There are a few differences between a babysitter and a nanny that students should understand before exploring opportunities. Being a babysitter tends to be one of the best part-time jobs for high school students because it tends to be very flexible, and families may call the babysitter on specific occasions or for a few hours each week.
A nanny is someone who is more likely to care for children on a regular, set schedule, and many nannies also help families with various household duties.
Responsibilities
Before exploring the specifics of why childcare is one of the best part-time jobs for teenagers, it’s important first to consider the responsibilities.
As a babysitter, you’re responsible for playing with and caring for children. You may occasionally be in charge of meal preparation or planning activities, but for most babysitters, the role is pretty relaxed, and the top priority is the safety and welfare of the children you’re caring for. This is great in terms of part-time jobs for teenagers and part-time work for students because it tends to be incredibly flexible, and most of the work hours are going to be on the weekends and in the evenings.
As a nanny, you are often the person who is going to drive children to activities, possibly pick them up from school, prepare a variety of their meals, and you may also take on some of the household duties, such as laundry or light cleaning. When you’re looking for part-time work for students, you might want to consider nanny jobs for school-aged children so that you can watch them only in the hours they’re not in school, which is likely to work well with your own school schedule.
Finding Babysitter and Nanny Jobs
One of the biggest perks of babysitter jobs and nanny jobs in terms of being one of the best part-time jobs for students is the fact that you’re able to find these types of positions easily. There are any number of ways you could start looking for this type of part-time work for students.
You could look for referrals from friends and family members, or many families will advertise in campus newspapers or on virtual bulletin boards.
There are also sites like Care.com where students can go to find part-time childcare.
Image Source: Care.com
The Pay
When you hear the phrases part-time jobs for teens or part-time jobs for college students, you might not necessarily think of high-paying positions. But being a babysitter or nanny can be a lucrative position, particularly depending on the area you live and the number of children you’re caring for.
You may be able to earn anywhere from a low rate of $10 per hour, to a high rate of around $30 per hour. If you live in a bigger city, you’re likely going to earn more, and it can be a great way to put away extra money as a student.
Copyeditor
In the creation of this guide of the best part-time jobs for teens and the best part-time jobs for college students, critical to choosing the part-time jobs for students was looking at the amount of flexibility they offered. With that in mind, AdvisoryHQ wanted to include not just part-time jobs for teens and part-time jobs for college students that were traditional, in-person positions, but also options where students could most likely work remotely.
One of these jobs is a copyeditor. There are full-time career copyeditors who work for companies and publications, but there are also abundant opportunities to be a freelance copyeditor as well, which is one of the best part-time jobs for students.
The Job
A copyeditor is someone who goes over written material and digital content before it’s published or disseminated to the public. In addition to standard style rules used in journalism, there might also be considerations from the company or publication itself that a copy editor would need to check for, such as spelling, spacing, letter cases, etc.
Many times, copy editors are expected to go beyond simply looking for grammatical and style errors, however. Many copyeditors are also asked to review for various style issues, and they may even do some writing when they make changes on content.
Copyeditors need to have a good eye for detail, and they need to be excellent at meeting deadlines.
Valuable Experience
While being a full-time copyeditor might require a bachelor’s degree, being a freelancer is the best option if you’re looking for part-time jobs for teens or part-time jobs for college students. There are plenty of places to find this kind of freelance work online, and many people doing the hiring won’t know or care if you’re still a student, as long as you do excellent work.
What’s great about being a copyeditor in terms of the best part-time jobs for teens and the best part-time jobs for college students is the fact that working as a freelancer can give you valuable job experience if you plan to go into a field such as journalism or digital marketing. It’s also not just a part-time job for students that can earn you extra money, but it can also be good for your resume in the future.
Flexibility
Being a freelance copyeditor is one of the most flexible positions on this list of part-time jobs for students. You can often take on as much or as little work as you want, and you can balance the amount of work you take on based on your current school demands.
Along with being flexible, this is one of the best paying part-time jobs students can take, as long as you can impress clients and earn quality work. Of course, not all available copyeditor jobs are going to offer you top pay, but as you continue to work and build your resume and experience level, you can charge higher rates.
Image Source: The-EFA.org
According to the Editorial Freelancers Associations, the rate for basic copyediting should be $30-$40 an hour, and for website copyediting, you may earn up to $50 an hour, although of course, this does depend on the client and your skills and background.
Related: American Express Serve® & Amex Serve® FREE Reloads Cards Reviews | Amex Prepaid vs. Suntrust Bank Credit Cards
On-Demand Driver
The growth and innovation of the on-demand and gig economy have provided new opportunities for people to work in ways that are flexible and convenient. One excellent opportunity for part-time jobs students is on-demand driving. This refers to ridesharing companies, perhaps the most popular and well-known of which is Uber.
Regarding being one of the best part-time jobs for college students, working for Uber means the utmost in flexibility, as well as the opportunity to earn a relatively high amount of money compared to many other part-time jobs for students.
Requirements
While there are other platforms in addition to Uber that might make for a good opportunity for student part-time jobs, Uber is the one that’s most common. With Uber, there is a requirement that you be at least 21 years old, so this is not one of the part-time jobs for teens but is instead one of the best part-time jobs for college students.
Other requirements include having at least one year of driving experience in the U.S. and three if you’re under 23 years old. You also need a valid U.S. driver’s license and an eligible 4-door vehicle.
You’ll need proof of vehicle registration and insurance, and after you sign up, you’re screened regarding your driving record and criminal history.
While the primary Uber platform does require you to be 21, drivers who are at least 19 can sign up to drive for delivery services including UberEATS and UberRUSH.
Convenience
One of the main reasons being an on-demand driver is included on this list of the best part-time jobs for college students is the fact that it’s incredibly flexible. Drivers use an app that allows them to control their work experience, including deciding when and how they’ll drive and earn money.
If you’re considering this as one of the possible part-time jobs for college students, once you’re approved, you can simply open your app and go online. You’ll start to receive trip requests, and you can decide whether or not to accept them. The app will also provide you turn-by-turn directions, and after each trip you make as a driver you’ll be able to see how much you earned.
You can have the money you earned automatically transferred to your bank account weekly, or you can withdraw your earnings instantly as many as five times a day.
Image Source: Uber
Earnings
If you’re looking for the best part-time jobs for college students that will earn more money than the minimum wage, being a driver is a great option.
Uber sets the rate and then takes a small commission, but drivers keep 75% of the fare they earn. Fares tend to be higher in bigger cities, and there are also surge pricing times, which means drivers can earn more money when there is more demand for service.
Uber will provide drivers with a list of the busiest times in their local area and while earnings vary significantly based on your location and the time you work, it’s estimated that in a city like L.A. there is the potential to earn between $19 and $23 an hour, and in New York, the average driver makes more than $30 an hour.
Popular Article: PayPal Prepaid MasterCard® vs. American Express Bluebird® vs. Western Union Prepaid Card vs. Kaiku Visa® Prepaid Card
Online Researcher
Increasingly, people are looking at virtual and work-from-home opportunities either as full-time careers or to supplement their income, and there are plenty of possibilities for people searching for student part-time jobs as well. One of the best options if you’re searching for part-time work for students is to become an online researcher.
There are any number of reasons a company or even an individual might hire an internet researcher. You could work for a small business that needs to research the competition, an individual who’s going to be writing a book or journal publication, or a marketing team, and these are just a few of the many possible scenarios. The wide availability of internet researcher jobs is just one of the reasons we’ve selected it as one of the best part-time jobs for teens and the best part-time jobs for students.
Simple Work
Most students are very proficient when it comes to using the internet to do research, and it’s something they frequently do for their school work, which is why this part-time jobs for students is a natural fit. Being an online researcher can be a very simple job in many ways, as long as you’re analytical, good at finding details, and are adept at looking at online resources.
When you are looking for student part-time jobs or the best part-time jobs for teenagers, an online researcher can also be a good way to develop skills you use both in school and later in your career.
As an additional note, when you’re working as a researcher, projects can vary significantly. For example, you might do a quick project for a law firm or you might need to do a very in-depth project that takes weeks or even months.
Flexibility
This is yet again a very flexible pick for one of the best part-time jobs for students and the best part-time jobs for teens. You can work any hours that suit you as long as you’re able to meet deadlines you’re given, which is why it can be such a beneficial way to work if you’re also in school.
You’ll probably most often communicate with your clients via email or Skype, or perhaps a collaborative platform, but that is also flexible. You can work from anywhere, and all you really need is a reliable internet connection.
Pay
When choosing the best part-time jobs for high school students, the best part-time jobs for teens and the best part-time jobs for college students, it was important to look outside the traditional box of minimum wage jobs.
Sure, there are options to work retail or service jobs, but many of the jobs on this list of the leading part-time jobs for students are not just flexible and convenient. Many of them also provide the opportunity to earn quite a bit more than you would in what are seen as traditional part-time jobs for teens and part-time work for students, such as working at a store.
Being an online researcher is no exception. While billing rates may start around $10 an hour, you have the ability to charge clients more, particularly once you gain experience. You may find that you can build your own business if you do a good job and get return clients as well.
Eventually, you may be able to bill anywhere from $25 to $35 an hour as an online researcher, which is a big reason it’s included on this list of the best part-time jobs for teens and the best part-time jobs for high school students.
Social Media Assistant
For many young people, the role of social media assistant is likely to hold the most appeal on this list of the best part-time jobs for teens and the best part-time jobs for college students. Among the part-time jobs for teens and part-time jobs for college students in this guide, this is one of the best regarding preparing you for a variety of future careers, which we’ll detail below.
You might be hired to work in-house as a social media assistant, but many companies prefer to outsource the work to remote employees because it helps them save money on overhead. If you are able to find an outsourced social media assistant role, it usually provides you with a high level of flexibility.
Skill Set and Job Requirements
When companies or individuals are hiring social media assistants, being younger can often be an advantage, which is a big part of why this is ranked as one of the best part-time jobs for teens and part-time jobs for students. Younger people tend to be very familiar and proficient with social media, so they can bring a unique skill set and perspective to this role.
Some of the tasks that might be required of a social media assistant, one of the best part-time jobs for college students and a top opportunity for part-time work for students include:
- Creating social media profiles and maintaining them
- Building lists and followers across social media platforms
- Curating content and articles to share with followers
- Monitoring trends in social media, as well as marketing campaigns
- Publishing content based on an editorial calendar
You might also be responsible for interacting with followers and customer service conducted via social media, as well as commenting in chat rooms and other outside places where you can help build the brand of your client.
Relevant Job Experience
Often, one of the biggest mistakes young people make when they’re searching for part-time jobs for high school students, part-time jobs for teenagers, or the best part-time jobs for college students, is not thinking enough about gaining valuable experience that will help them in their future career.
With a social media assistant job, you can gain experience and skills that will be relevant across a variety of career fields including marketing, advertising, writing, and more.
It’s a great job to add to your resume, in addition to the fact that being a social media assistant will help you earn money while you’re in school.
Remote Work Environment
One common trend across many jobs included on this list of the best part-time jobs for teens and the best part-time jobs for college students is that the work can be done remotely, and a social media assistant is no exception.
You may have to go to an office occasionally if you work with a local client, but many social media assistant positions will allow you to work completely remote, making it flexible and convenient regardless of how busy you are as a student.
Related: Scotia Momentum® Visa Infinite vs. RBC® Cash Back MasterCard® vs. BMO® CashBack® vs. MBNA Trueline® MasterCard®
Waiter/Waitress
While many of the positions on this list of the best part-time jobs for teens, the best part-time jobs for high school students, and the best part-time work for college students are remote and virtual options, being a waiter or waitress is a traditional part-time job that can be financially rewarding for students.
There are ample opportunities to find these jobs in most towns and cities around the country, and there’s rarely a decline in demand. Being a waiter or waitress as a student has many perks, but also a few downsides. For example, you need to be great with customer service, even when dealing with difficult people, and it can also be physically demanding.
Social Aspect
Many of the jobs on this list of part-time jobs students can manage are not very social in nature. They tend to be jobs that are done from home, and don’t include a lot of interpersonal interaction. This can work well for some students, but maybe not for others.
One of the advantages of being a waiter or waitress is the fact that you do get that social element, which some people find more inspiring as they search for part-time jobs students can do.
Along with interacting with customers, you may meet new friends on the job, and for some people, social interactions can help work go by more quickly and create a more pleasant experience.
Leave Your Work at the Door
When searching for part-time jobs for students and the best part-time jobs for teens, it’s important that your primary focus is still on school. With some of the jobs on this list of the best part-time jobs for high school students and part-time jobs for college students, there may be the chance to gain valuable experience and earn more than minimum wage, but there can also be a bit more stress.
When you work as a waiter or waitress, it’s one of the best part-time jobs for teens and one of the best part-time jobs for high school students because it allows them to leave work at work when the day ends.
While the work may be stressful when you’re on-site at your job, you don’t have to bring home extra work or stress at the end of a shift.
Control Over Your Earnings
Finally, the role of waiter or waitress is part of this list of the best part-time jobs for high school students and best part-time jobs for college students because it allows you to maintain a lot of the control over how much money you make. You can often create your own schedule and work more during your down times from school.
Also, since most of your earnings come from tips, you can ensure you’re giving an excellent level of service to earn more money.
There are also often chances to take on special events, holidays, or bigger parties to earn even more money.
Conclusion—Top 6 Best Part-Time Jobs for High School Students and Part-Time Jobs for College Students
There are many reasons to search for part-time jobs for students, whether that be the best part-time jobs for high school students or part-time jobs for college students. You may be supporting yourself or helping your family, or perhaps you’re looking for student part-time jobs to supplement the cost of your education. You may simply be looking for the best part-time jobs for teenagers or the best part-time jobs for students so that you can earn spending money, or maybe you want to gain work experience.
Regardless of why you’re searching for part-time work for students, including the best part-time jobs for teens and part-time jobs for college students, the above rguide offers excellent options.
The top six best part-time jobs for high school students and best part-time jobs for college students looks beyond the typical minimum wage positions you might think of and instead focuses on innovative, modern jobs that can be done from home, as well as options like being a waiter or on-demand driver, which allow you to interact with people and take control of your earnings.
AdvisoryHQ (AHQ) Disclaimer:
Reasonable efforts have been made by AdvisoryHQ to present accurate information, however all info is presented without warranty. Review AdvisoryHQ’s Terms for details. Also review each firm’s site for the most updated data, rates and info.
Note: Firms and products, including the one(s) reviewed above, may be AdvisoryHQ's affiliates. Click to view AdvisoryHQ's advertiser disclosures.
