Get the Ultimate Guide
to Applying for an MBA
Download for free
Download you MBA Admissions Guide
Need cash but tired of the same old student gigs? Beyond barista shifts and food delivery runs, there’s a world of well-paid jobs for college students you might not have considered. From transcription work to tour guiding to festival staffing, discover the best jobs for college students that go beyond a paycheck. They offer flexibility, build real skills, and expand your network.
Being a student these days can be expensive. Many students combine scholarship funding, personal or family savings, and part-time work. Balancing coursework with a student job can be challenging, and it certainly requires good time management skills. Luckily, there are plenty of online student jobs and part-time student jobs available that offer flexibility. This article will explore five unique jobs for college students that you may not have considered.
Everyone knows the classic student jobs, such as being a barista in a coffee shop, a delivery driver, an online tutor, or a pet sitter. But there are plenty of other student jobs out there. It’s just about finding the right one for you!
Naturally, working a student job helps you to make some extra cash. This can help you finance your studies and boost your budget. However, a student job can have various other advantages. These advantages include:
These advantages may come in handy in the future. The trick is discovering work opportunities with a flexible schedule that fits around your demanding academic schedule. Are you ready to explore the job opportunities you might have overlooked?
Let’s take a closer look at five unique student jobs for college students below.
Transcriptionists convert audio or video content into written text. It sounds simple, but there’s a bit more to it. It is a job that hones active listening and sharp writing skills. The job requires attention to detail, excellent organizational skills, good spelling and grammar skills, and quick typing skills.
It is worth noting that AI tools are increasingly becoming part of this sector. Therefore, look for transcription roles that work with more complex materials or require industry-specific knowledge. For example, a legal transcriptionist, a medical transcriptionist, or a technical transcriptionist. Roles that work with confidential or nuanced information often do not use AI for privacy and quality assurance reasons.
These transcriptionist roles earn more and are more AI-proof in the long term. However, these may require expertise in the field.
It can be a useful bridge into more senior writing, editing, or media production jobs.
Typical Base Salary: US$25.44 per hour
Unique Advantages:
Find job postings on:
Do you speak multiple languages? Are you a language whiz? Then a translator role may be a great fit for you. In essence, translators convert information from one language to another while maintaining the intended message.
The job requires excellent language skills, writing and comprehension skills, and cultural context awareness. Depending on the level of translation, you may require official language certification or previous translation experience. This role could be ideal for language studies or translation & interpretation studies students.
Translation tools are increasingly AI-based, so it is important to understand how to leverage them while keeping your human edge. Look for jobs that require cultural understanding (including humour or cultural references), such as country-specific marketing translations, literary translations, or industry-specific translations. For example, junior localization expert roles include adapting products, services, and content to feel native within foreign markets.
Typical Base Salary: US$25.90 per hour
Unique Advantages:
Find job postings on:
Are you a self-proclaimed bookworm that always has their nose in a book? Try working at your local or campus library.
As a library assistant, your role will primarily be to keep the library organized. This can include assisting with cataloging and administrative tasks, and helping library users find what they need. You may help with setting up and hosting library events or digitizing archives.
This role requires great organizational skills, a people-first attitude, and some technological skills. This could be an excellent match for English literature or education students. If you are looking for an on-campus job or want to be a research assistant, this is a good work environment that will also likely fit around your class schedule.
Typical Base Salary: US$18.97 per hour
Unique Advantages:
You can find job postings on:
Do you study in a historic town or on a well-known campus? Are you a history buff or do you love to connect with new people? Try being a tour guide, either at your college campus or within your city. Or if you want to study or travel abroad, you can be a tour guide in another country.
A lot of colleges and universities offer tours of the campus and open days to prospective students. Therefore, they need motivated and knowledgeable guides to lead these tours. However, city walking tours, museum tours, or historic tours also require tour guides.
This job requires excellent communication skills, interpersonal skills, public speaking skills, as well as tour-specific knowledge. It is a great way to boost your confidence in public speaking and a chance to take on a leadership role. It could be an ideal job for history students, tourism management students, or cultural studies students.
Typical Base Salary: US$21.03 per hour
Unique Advantages:
You can find job postings on:
Do you dream of attending festivals and concerts? By working at them you can often score yourself free entrance and additional perks. If you plan to study abroad, working at a festival can be a great way to meet local people and enjoy local culture.
This type of job can be seasonal. Peak seasons are usually in summer and autumn. But if you don’t mind that, it can be a fun and exciting job for college students, especially during study breaks.
Keep in mind that the pay may differ depending on the type of festival. Some festivals only offer volunteer positions. You may receive free entry, tokens for free food and drinks, or free merchandise in exchange for your volunteer work.
Working at a festival can include catering, working the bar, ticketing and wristbanding, merchandise sales, or cleaning up. The job requires adaptability, customer service skills, teamwork skills, and the ability to stay calm in busy environments. It is an ideal fit for those who want to work in event management & planning, marketing, or music and entertainment.
Typical Base Salary: US$18.11 per hour
Unique Advantages:
You can find job postings on:
These five jobs for college students prove you don’t need to take a traditional employment route or have a full-time job to earn money while you study. These unique job listings for college students offer autonomy, flexibility, and will help you build valuable soft skills.
Additionally, these are excellent student jobs that require little to no previous experience. They can be great first jobs to get your foot in the door. Your future self will thank you for the skills you learned, the people you’ve met, and the extra income you earned. Start applying today and discover the best fit for you.
Learn more about what kind of jobs you can pursue with a master’s on our Careers page.
Don’t wait until after graduation to gain work experience. Stay ahead of the curve with internships and part-time roles, real-world projects, and even volunteering. Discover the best jobs for college students in our guide. Learn how to gain relevant work experience during your master’s program that boosts your skills, confidence, and job prospects, starting right now.
