The month of May has come and gone, so whether it’s due to financial or parental reasons, it’s time for many college students to find a summer job. While many students come into the summer with jobs lined up, many do not. It’s understandable. When you first get home, you’re still in “school mode” where nine to five jobs are not a top priority.
Are you jobless in June and think you’re stuck for the rest of the summer? Don’t fret, because there are plenty of last minute summer job options for college students. The first and easiest: babysitting. Promote yourself through word of mouth, flyers at working parent hot spots such as train stations, coffee shops, and camps and ads in local newspapers. There are also websites like SitterCity.com, Care.com and Babysitters.com that will make the connections for you. You can use these same tactics to get dog walking or house sitting jobs as well. Junior psychology major at Tufts University Hana Paisner babysits in between her internship days during the summer. “Babysitting is where the money is,” Paisner said. “A lot of these parents need someone to pick their kids up from camp and will pay you $10 an hour. You can also get nighttime babysitting jobs from them.”
If you’re looking for something more regular, many day camps are looking for last minute counselors or lifeguards because people drop out at the beginning of the summer. Call these camps and inquire about open positions before someone else takes them. Junior elementary education major at Pennsylvania State University Carly Furino is a recent full-time camp counselor. “Things fell through with my previous summer plans, so I called a bunch of camps in my area hoping any of them would have an opening,” Furino said. “Some turned me down right away, but some asked me to come in for an interview. Once they met me, I got the job!”
Also try picking up jobs with flexible hours, such as waiting tables, bartending or retail, to combine numerous part-time jobs in order to make your summer full of work and money. It’s not too late to find where the cash is at this summer. You just need to get up and go find it!
