Part-time jobs for students: How to work while in college
It’s Valentine’s and you don’t have a date; the only hope you had of spending the day cheerfully was by watching Alia spread her charisma in Gully Boy and screaming ‘Apna Time Aayega’ in the middle of the theatre. You open BookMyShow to book a ticket for the movie but turns out you spent all your money photocopying those damned notes and now you’re left with a big nothing! This is when you regret not doing a part-time job when you had the time, but you weren’t even sure what a part-time job was.
So, let’s understand what a part-time job is so that you can earn enough money to host a party next Valentine’s to cleanse your and your friends’ aura.
What is a part-time job?
Before we understand what a part-time job is, let’s define a full-time job and freelancing. The former is a 9-5 job where you’re mentored in an organisation and are entitled to the privileges they offer while in the latter, you are assigned a particular project and a certain amount of money to complete the task. Here, you can work anytime from anywhere; you can wake up at 11 AM and take 3 PM shopping breaks. A part-time job is a sweet middle-ground between the two, where one has to put in a lesser number of hours than a full-time gig, ranging from 5 to 25 hours per week, and is accountable to the employer, unlike a freelancer. One can look for offline part-time jobs where one has to visit the office two to three times a week or online part-time jobs where all one has to do is pop open the laptop, sit back, and work from the couch.
Pros of doing a part-time job for students –
1. Earn while you learn: Need we say more? When the bear trap of being broke tightens, it’s only natural to chew your leg off by considering part-time work. A part-time job allows you to have a nice cash flow to keep your trips to cafes and theatres going.
2. Flexibility in work hours: It might be difficult for students to juggle between full-time internships and academics, but part-time jobs from home for students helps one keep a balance between studies, job, and social life. This is made possible because part-time opportunities offer one to choose the working hours as per your convenience.
3. Enter the workforce with ease: Part-time jobs not only offer you a glimpse into the corporate world but also equip you with practical skills you won’t learn sitting in a classroom. They enable you to boost your confidence, improve your communication skills, establish a work ethic, and learn a craft in and out. This makes it easy when you come out of the four walls of college and join a workforce.
4. Explore your options: Many students are unsure about their career choices, part-time jobs for students let them dabble in different profiles and get an insight into various fields.
What are the available part-time jobs for students?
1. Customer service: This sector is all about providing assistance to the customers and ensuring that they have a smooth experience while taking your services. These jobs involve troubleshooting customers’ issues via telephonic, social media, email, or direct communication.
2. Data entry: If you possess a decent typing speed accompanied by basic knowledge about Microsoft Office, chances are you can easily land yourself part-time data entry jobs. As a data operator, you enter numerical and/or alphabetical data in a database and ensure the accuracy of this data.
3. Food services: While we already owe our sanity to a hot cup of coffee and a big Mac, what could be better than brewing coffee and serving it with cookies. You could look for part-time jobs at food and beverage stores and what can I say, there are tips and free food!
4. Graphic design: If you have an eye for graphics and are comfortable with Illustrator and/or Photoshop, the world of graphic design beckons you. It is a tornado of creativity wherein you get to communicate your ideas through colours and graphics.
5. Writing and proofreading: If you consider yourself the maestro of the written word, writing could be an ideal job for you. Within writing, you can look for profiles such as journalist, copywriter, technical writer, etc. Proofreading opportunities practically inundate the part-time job market, so if you’re a grammarista and have an eye for errors, this profile is tailor-made for you.
This list barely scratches the surface of the available part-time jobs for college students. You only need to figure out what interests you and what your skill set is, and there is a part-time work available for you! The bigger question is where to find these jobs.
Where to find part-time jobs?
Finding part-time work is a part-time job in itself. Even though there are hundreds of options available, finding ‘the one’ is more difficult than finding Valentine’s date for a mechanical engineering student. Here are a few ways in which you can look for a part-time opportunity.
1. Online portals – Students can place their application for a part-time job from home on various platforms such as Freelancer, Qriyo, Monster, Fiverr, Upwork, etc.
2. Internshala – Part-time jobs come with a lot of perks but an embellished resume is not one of them. Applying to part-time jobs on Internshala will not only provide you with a job-completion certificate but also with an opportunity to transition into full-time.
3. Drop in your resume – If you’re looking for a gig at the cheesecake factory like Bernadette, go to the stores directly and drop in your resume. You could work before or after college hours.
Now that you are all caught up with the world of part-time jobs, what are you waiting for? Ready, set, apply! Register on Internshala here and place your application for exciting part-time jobs for students!
Image credits: mein mousepad design
