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This post is all about summer job ideas for college students.
Summer is right around the corner and it's time to get serious about finding a summer job.
Not only will your parents not stop leaving you alone about where you'll work this summer, but you're also noticing that all your summer activities and clothes you want do not come cheap.
BUT, finding someone that hires for just a few months and pays higher than minimum wage is way easier said than done. Don't worry though, I've been there and I have a ton of friends dealing with the same issues as you.
I've put together a list of 19 summer job ideas for college students (that actually pay well).
Nanny
All of my college summer jobs have been nannying and let me tell you, it's the best. I get paid extremely well and my day usually consists of taking the kids to the country club.
Now... not all nanny jobs might be that ideal so I would recommend asking around or applying to a lot of different families and finding one that seems to suit you best.
I have had great luck with Care.com. The family I nanny for now found me on Care and I am really close to them. I wrote a really nice paragraph or two about my babysitting experience and applied to all the nanny jobs that seemed would work for me. Some families didn't get back to me, and others did. If you keep applying you definitely find a family.
Also, working parents are super eager to find summer nannies so make sure to price yourself at a place you would like. One thing parents will pay for is good childcare for their kids.
Server
This is a great job for making a lot of money in a little amount of time. Every city no matter how big or small offers serving jobs. Find a restaurant that offers outdoor seating so that way you can maximize the number of tips you make.
Also, it's great to get serving experience on your resume if you choose to apply to another serving job in your college town.
Internship
Not only will this look great on your resume, but more and more places are offering paid internships. It really is a win-win.
Check out local listings on Google jobs for internships in the area you are majoring in. Also, when junior year comes and everyone is applying for internships, you will have a step up since you have previous experience.
Lawn Maintenance
Start a lawn company!! Seriously, anyone can do this (boys and girls!) as long as you have a lawnmower/weedwhacker. A huge pro to this that you probably didn't think about is that it would be a great workout and killer tan.
According to Home Advisor, the average lawn cutting price is between $30 and $80 dollars. Let's say that a yard takes you two hours total and you charge $45 dollars total. If you mowed two houses a day you would be making $450 dollars per week. That's almost $2,000 a month. Pretty good!
{RELATED POST: How I Made $9,349.60 In January 2019 Blogging}
Bar cart girl
Golf courses are always looking for bar cart girls and let me tell you, you can get paid well doing this. Those old men reallly like young ladies serving them alcohol. Creppy, I know, but as long as they're not doing anything inappropriate and tipping you well, what's the harm?
Not only this, but I also think about how beneficial it is to learn how to make all those drinks. Just a thought ;).
Camp Counselor
My sister and cousin are camp counselors every year and love it. You become super close to all the staff and since you're living there you don't have the opportunity to spend all your money.
If you don't want to live at the camp, you could look into "camps" that schools offer during the day.
Daycare Teacher
Daycares usually need extra staff on hand during the summer with the influx of children attending. A lot of them put up ads for needing staff on Care.com so I would look and see if there is anything in your area! If you don't see anything there if you went to your local daycares or called them they would give you information.
This is great if you are an education major too for your resume!
Country Club Server
Along with bar cart girls, a lot of country club up their staff in the summer for servers by the pool and other jobs like that.
I worked at a country club one summer in their "Kid's Club" area and it was actually really fun. You end up getting close to a lot of the other staff your age.
Lifeguard
Being a lifeguard allows you to get tan while saving kids lives 😉 JK, hopefully, you won't actually have to save any children's lives.
But really, a lifeguard job is really convenient because most pools close early so you will be able to have the whole night to hang out with friends.
CNA
I know at my school, if you are in the nursing program you are required to become a CNA. Nursing is a pretty popular major, so I am assuming that I will have some future nurses reading this post.
If you are in the nursing major, you should really consider becoming a CNA! CNA's are paid much higher than minimum wage and it gives you a great place to make connections. Also, something to put on your resume.
House Painting
Have you ever heard of College Works? It's a painting company for college students offered in 33 states. This company offers college students a job where they paint houses. It is not an easy job, but from what I have heard from people who have done it, it pays really well. Something you may want to look into or see if your state has something similar!
Brand Ambassador
With brands realizing the power of social media, more and more companies are paying college students like us to market their brands.
And, the best part, they're paying big bucks for it. If you have a decent following on Instagram (anything over 1,000) you can definitely do this. Most of the time all you do is take pictures and post them on your accounts.
Retail/sales
Choose your favorite store and get paid BUT also (hopefully) get a killer discount. Retail is something that is really easy to be in for just a few months.
It might not be the most glamorous job, but it is a great experience to work with people.
Dog Walker
How fun would this be?! Chances are you know a lot of people who work full time and have dogs. A lot of these people would love for someone to let their dog out and take them for a walk during the day.
For dog lovers, this is a dream job. Charge $10 dollars for a thirty-minute walk. Contact a bunch of people and build up "clients". During the day you can walk these dogs and then when people go away they know to contact you for dog sitting.
Work at a realtor firm or car dealership.
Car dealerships and realtor firms constantly are looking for receptionists to greet people and answer phones to transfer to their employees. My sister did this and loved it because while she wasn't answering phone calls, she was able to do whatever she wanted.
She did this during the school year so she did homework, but you could take only classes and do this or start a blog 😉
Work at where you used to play sports.
Let me start out by saying that refs make really freaking good money. If you played soccer or any other sport that needs a ref, you should definitely look into it.
I was a gymnast, and a great option for other gymnasts would be to teach gymnastics classes.
Whatever sport you played, you could apply this too.
Gym Receptionist
These next two jobs give you great benefits. Almost always, if you work at a gym they will give you a free membership.
This will save you a lot of money since you won't have to pay for your gym membership monthly. Also, you probably will be able to wear leggings everyday to work;).
Salon Receptionist
And for a benefit for this job, a lot of salons offer discounts off their products and services. And from what I have heard from people that I know who were receptionists at salons, this is not a small percentage.
My sister worked at a salon and got free services (she paid tip) AND 50% off all products. For me and my other sister, it was the best thing ever because she would get us all our products way cheaper.
Bartender
Is there a more stereotypical job for a college student? If you're over 18, this is a great option for you.
You can make crazy good tips doing this and learn all the drink recipes (which will benefit you the rest of your life).
Driver
Become an Uber driver! If you have a car, you should really look into this. You can get paid so much and can do it on your own hours. Win!
Almost all of these jobs can be found in an area near you. Write down your top 5 favorite places you would want to work and think of places near you that you could apply. Before you know it, you'll have a job.
These 19 summer job ideas for college students will load you up with money before going back to college.
