7 Summer Jobs for College Students

It’s springtime, and if you are a college student this is the prime time to be thinking about that summer job you’re hoping to get. There are the typical summer jobs out there  working in a grocery store, waiting tables, parking cars and cutting lawns  but there also jobs that offer both better pay and working conditions.

Here are just a few

Tutoring

Just because you are out of school for the summer doesn’t mean everyone else is. There are high school and college students who are either taking summer school courses, or are taking advantage of the long break to strengthen their understanding of subjects they are weak in.

If there are any subjects that you are particularly strong in, you can offer your services out as a tutor. You can do it through your own college, or through local high schools. Parents and students often need good tutors and turn to the schools because they don’t know where else to go. If you’re on the list, you can be making $30 an hour tutoring, rather than working in a burger joint at minimum wage.

Camp counselor

Summer camps are very popular, and they’re about a whole lot more than camping. They can be sports or recreation related, or they can even be instructional or musical. If you have an aptitude in any these areas and have the patience to work with kids, this can be a very rewarding summer job. The pay isn’t always the best, but the working conditions are usually a lot less stressful than most other jobs.

Lifeguard/pool maintenance

Summertime means swimming, and that means all kinds of job opportunities open up at pools and beaches all over the country. You can either work as a lifeguard, or doing pool maintenance. As a lifeguard, you usually have to have proper certification, and that will vary somewhat from one state or community to another. But if you’d rather be around a pool or at the beach during the summer, this could be the job for you.

Golf caddy

If you like golf, being a caddy would be an opportunity to spend more time out on the golf course, and get paid for doing it. In most places, summer is high time for golf, and there are plenty of jobs all around.

Movie theater attendant

With the possible exception of working at a pool or beach, there’s probably no better job in the summer heat than working as an attendant in a movie theater. You will be working in air-conditioned comfort with access to free or discount movies – while your friends are out pushing lawnmowers and painting houses in the hot sun. Movie viewer-ship tends to peak in the summer, so jobs are not hard to find.

Any job in a hotel

Since summertime is also peak travel season, hotels are looking for staff for virtually all positions. There’s probably some job within the hotel industry that you would find very agreeable. One of the biggest advantages here is that it could pave the way for a career in the hotel industry later on.

For the most part, you will have very pleasant working conditions  again, working primarily in an air-conditioned environment as well as the opportunity to meet a large number of very interesting people. If you’re close to graduation, working in a hotel may also be a good way to begin networking for the position that you’ll be looking for to start your full-time career – networking opportunities will be everywhere in a hotel.

House sitting

These jobs aren’t that common but they’re close to a dream situation if you can find one. Many people especially the wealthy take extended summer vacations where they will leave their homes for weeks, or even for the entire summer. You may have the choice of either looking in on a house several times a week, or even living at the house while the owners are gone. In the second scenario, you not only have a paycheck, but you also have free living accommodations for the summer.

Are there other summer jobs you have held in the past that you would recommend to others?