• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

HBCU Lifestyle – Black College Living

  • HBCUs
    • What is an HBCU?
    • History
    • List of HBCUs
    • Notable Graduates
  • Jobs
  • Parents
    • HBCU Rankings
    • Black College Tours
    • College Admissions
    • Financing
    • College Scholarships
    • College Planning
  • Current Students
    • College Life
      • Greek Life
      • Sports
      • Dorm Living
      • College Survival
    • Careers
      • HBCU Career Hub
      • Internships
      • Career Profiles
      • Entrepreneur
    • Research Paper Resources
      • Research Paper Topics: 50 Ideas to Get Started
      • How To Write An Annotated Bibliography
      • Journalism Research Paper Resources
  • Alumni
    • HBCU Shirts
    • Podcast
    • Alumni Spotlight
    • HBCU Merch
    • Jobs
  • Shop

You are here: Home / Current Students / College Life / Summer Jobs for College Students: 7 Ways to Get Paid

College Life

Summer Jobs for College Students: 7 Ways to Get Paid

Summer Jobs for College Students: Male HBCU students with paint brush painting rooms during summer break.

Summer jobs for students are great ways to earn a little extra cash between semesters. While some are updated versions of jobs your parents may have worked, others are fairly modern. Here, we’ll take a look at 7 of the best ways to get paid this summer.

Freelance Writing

Freelance writing is some of the most flexible summer jobs for college students. While you won’t earn much – high-paying jobs are usually reserved for established authors, experts in their fields and staff writers – you can make some cash. As a bonus, you don’t even have to get out of your pajamas!

To get started, check out websites such as The Barefoot Writer or Freelance Writing. Be sure to determine your strengths before you begin applying. After all, there’s no point in vying for a job blogging about cars if your automotive knowledge doesn’t extend past paint color.

Serving

Waiting tables – or working behind a cash register – is perhaps the oldest group of summer jobs for college students. Like any type of job, it has its disadvantages, but plenty of advantages as well.

As a server in any type of retail, hospitality or restaurant setting, you’ll learn invaluable skills such as patience, attention to detail and how to keep cool when faced with a customer melt-down. Regardless of your future profession, these skills are sure to come in handy!

Success in the service industry is based on (essentially) a single skill – customer service. Can you be pleasant, friendly and accommodating, even when faced with picky, demanding and downright rude customers? If so, head to Jobs2Careers and get started!

Internships

Got your chosen career field all picked out? Ready to gain experience and see what it’s really like to work in that field? Internships may be your ideal summer job. Check out the opportunities at Work For Students and see which openings are available in your field.

The main disadvantage of interning is the low (or nonexistent) pay. You will work long hours and be asked to do very menial tasks. However, there can be huge payoffs. Interns who excel are sometimes asked to come on-board as part-time assistants. You will make contacts which will help with networking later in life. You’ll also be gaining invaluable experiences and insights. A pretty good deal when you consider the long-term perks!

Nanny

Busy parents are always on the lookout for responsible, intelligent people to watch their children – and those people can be hard to come by!

Aligning yourself with a trusted resource is your first step, and Sitter City is considered one of the best around. You can also check Craigslist or even the old-fashioned newspaper classifieds.

Watching kids can be demanding, but also very rewarding. If you truly love children, it doesn’t feel much like work! Some families hire short-term sitters as live-ins, and even take them along on vacations. Right now, it’s all about building experience and showing that you’re the caring, fun, responsible sitter those parents have been searching for!

Entrepreneur

Are you really good at something? Something people would pay for? If so, why not strike out on your own? You’ll be your own boss, set your own hours, and negotiate your own wages. Although it can be tricky getting started, many students have created their own businesses doing everything from house-sitting to landscaping to selling homemade hair-care products! There are no guarantees of success, but you’ll never know until you try. These start-up summer jobs for college students have – for some – turned into careers.

Customer Service Gigs

A hidden Craigslist jewel is the temporary gig. These are not part-time jobs; they last a few days – a few weeks at the most – and require little to no experience. During summer, when fairs, festivals and concerts abound, you’ll find tons of these jobs. Most are extremely simple, such as selling soda from a cart. You won’t make millions, but your commitment level is extremely low – if you really hate a particular job, you’re only stuck there for a few days!

Be very careful when using Craigslist – it’s full of opportunity but can attract less-than-desirable, shady ’employers.’ Always meet in a public, crowded place and if you feel that a job isn’t quite ‘right,’ don’t hesitate to walk away.

Labor Gigs

Short-term physical employment is another wonderful perk of Craigslist, offering good money and quick pay for those willing to sweat a bit. You’ll find everything from elderly homeowners who need their house painted to established handyman services who need an extra body for a big job. Choose carefully, and always ask for a quick reference to build your resume.

Powered by ZipRecruiter

March 8, 2014 by Stephanie Gallardo

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. susan says

    May 24, 2014 at 12:06 am

    The money is really insane. Work whenever you have the time and it is all about sharing what you already do in our everyday lifes. WakeUpNow check out this youtube video, link below, and contact me for more details. This is incredible helping people save, manage and make money. The money is really insane, WakeUpNow is simply brilliant actually. Only serious people need respond as this is a life changer – thanks…
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEf9NyJcv_o
    Contact info: houghts51.wakeupnow.com

Primary Sidebar

Search

Follow Us

  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Quick Links

  • Newsletter
  • Jobs and Internships
  • Shop
  • HBCU Colleges List: 107 Great Education Options to Consider
  • HBCU Rankings 2022
  • HBCU College Tours
  • Contact Us
  • About Us

Popular Posts

  • Happy female college student working on research paper topics. Research Paper Topics: 50 Ideas to Get Started
  • HBCU Sororities and Fraternities to Consider The Divine Nine: Sororities and Fraternities on HBCU Campuses
  • New Programs at Morgan Address the Work of the Future and the Future of Work Morgan State Offers 4 New High-Demand Academic Degree Programs
  • Bowie State's nursing program students check a patient in class simulation. Top 10 HBCU Nursing Schools Rankings for 2022 by RN to BSN
  • A female African American HBCU student poses while smiling and holding her book in her arms. HBCU Rankings 2023: The Top 25 Black Colleges from U.S. News

Before Footer

Follow Us

  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Subscribe to our newsletter

Sign up to receive weekly HBCU news, jobs, and advice in your inbox.

Sign Me Up

Footer

About HBCU Lifestyle

The spirit and camaraderie of black college living is a lifestyle - the HBCU lifestyle! We're committed to keeping you connected to the black college living experience, bringing you the latest on everything, from scholarships and dorm living to Greek life and alumni giving.


Contact Us

Latest from the Blog

  • PVAMU’s College of Nursing Helping to Cultivate Inclusive Classrooms
  • HBCU Go Partners With Award-Winning Movie ‘Freedom’s Path’
  • Local Initiatives Support Corporation Offers New HBCU Internships
  • Morgan State Offers 4 New High-Demand Academic Degree Programs
  • Newsletter
  • Jobs & Internships
  • Shop
  • List of HBCUs
  • HBCU Rankings
  • HBCU Scholarships
Copyright © 2010-2022 HBCU Lifestyle, LLC. All rights reserved.
Contact Us | Sitemap | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy
Get the best of the Black college experience delivered to your inbox.
Your email address:*
Name:*
Subscribe to (select all that apply):*





Please wait...
Please enter all required fields Click to hide
Correct invalid entries Click to hide
No spam, ever. Promise. Powered by FeedBlitz