Winter Break Jobs: Ideas for Extra College Cash

Last Updated on November 16, 2017

African American male college student holds a bin while pretty female puts cardboard into it for winter break jobs.

The holidays are a welcome chance for college students to head home, unwind and relax, but savvy students realize that short-term winter break jobs are a great way to earn spending money and help pay for next semester’s books. The challenge for students lies in finding, applying for and landing winter break jobs before this short college vacation is over.

One good way to find short-term employment in your area is to put yourself in different places in the community where you think that people may need help with one-time or short-term jobs.

Residential Winter Break Jobs

Christmas is a time for kids to kick back and celebrate but it’s also a time when adults like to cut loose. As a result many parents are looking for someone to look after their children, allowing them to slip away for a night out on the town.

Babysitting is one of the most popular winter break jobs for college students because you’ve proven yourself to be responsible and if you’re studying early childhood education or have attained CPR certification at school you’re probably one of the most qualified people around.

What’s more, parents are very grateful for time out of the house during the holidays. It doesn't matter if you’re house sitting, looking after a pet or two for a family that travels, or you land a couple of babysitting gigs … you’re likely to return to college flush with hard-earned (and much-needed) cash thanks to grateful parents in your neighborhood. Free online finance courses can be found in different online colleges.

Commercial Winter Break Jobs

Few people are crazy about working holiday retail, but if you have experience working at a local retail shop during summer vacations or during high school they could probably use an experienced set of hands to combat the holiday crush. Reach out to former employers in retail before returning home from school to see if they could offer you some hours – even if it is just part-time.

If you’ve never worked retail before, contact your local garden center to see if they could use an extra set of hands to help customers load Christmas trees on top of their cars. These winter break jobs will get you outside, keep you active and allow you to spread some holiday cheer.

Holiday-Specific Winter Break Jobs

It’s time consuming to put all of those Christmas lights up, but what’s worse is taking them down. You could contact neighbors on your block and offer to do this dirty work for them before heading back to school. Additionally, you could supplement your service by offering to transport Christmas trees to the dump for your neighbors (if you have a vehicle that will allow you to do this). This is a great way to connect with your community during the holidays and it will feel great to offer a valuable service to elderly neighbors who may struggle to complete this task that comes easily to you.

Whatever you choose to do this month – remember that winter break jobs don’t have to interfere with your time at home for the holidays … they can be an opportunity to get outside, visit your neighbors and share your excitement about your college experience. There are probably plenty of high school students you know and some of them may be still deciding about their future. This holiday break make the most of your time at home by earning some cash, sharing news about your college experience and spreading some cheer in your community.

Powered by ZipRecruiter

Comments are closed.

Scroll to Top