Black woman in green shirt and cap holding up bag of delivery food in doorway

5 Flexible Part-Time Jobs for High School and College Students

Many high school and college students get part-time jobs while in school, but flexibility for a busy student schedule is key. Here are five jobs to consider!

Holding down a job as a student can be difficult whether you’re in high school or college. While earning money is a great motivator, it can be hard to find a job that’s flexible enough to work with your class schedule and busy life. Whether you’re looking to earn some pocket money in high school or minimize your student debt through college, here are some flexible options to consider in your job search.

1. Tutoring

If you excel in one or more academic areas, tutoring could be a good job for you. Not only does it pay well— typically between $15­–$20 per hour—but it offers you almost unheard-of flexibility. After all, you’re the one providing the service, so you get to set a schedule for your clients. Another added benefit is the extra practice you’ll gain. Whether you’re a high school senior tutoring younger students for the SAT or AP exams or a college student offering tutoring for higher level courses, once you establish yourself as a reliable tutor, you’re sure to have plenty of business. The hardest part about this part-time job is getting started and finding people to tutor, but with a little networking and time, you should have a solid source of income.

Related: Who Can Help if I'm Struggling in My College Classes?

2. Childcare

Childcare comes with a wide range of possibilities, from nanny or after-school worker to babysitter or extracurricular instructor. Working with children can be both flexible and lucrative. And, if you enjoy being around kids, it’s also rewarding. If you’re working with children over the ages of four or five, they’ll be in school for most of the day, meaning your hours won’t begin until at least 3:00 pm, likely after your own classes have concluded for the day. Plus, some babysitting may even allow you time to get homework done as children nap or play with each other. Getting into the industry can take on a lot of forms. You can find positions by word-of-mouth, applying at a childcare center, or marketing yourself online through services such as Care.com. You may also want to consider taking a child safety class and getting your First Aid and CPR certification. While pay rates vary by the specifics of your responsibilities, childcare is typically one of the more profitable industries, especially if you can establish yourself as a dependable and responsible caregiver.

3. Coffee shop barista

While a barista’s schedule is harder to control than some other jobs, it’s still far more flexible than many entry-level hourly positions. In my experience, most shifts are shorter than the average fast-food restaurant. Coffee shops also open early in the morning, giving you the chance to get in a four- or five-hour shift before your classes start in college (if you’re a morning person). If you’re in high school, you can work after school or on the weekends potentially until close; chains such as Starbucks don’t typically close their doors until 8:00 pm. Keep in mind that wages vary widely based on what coffee shop you work for and whether it’s a chain or local business. A perk of this job is you’ll likely receive tips (and free coffee); not to mention, some coffee chains offer tuition assistance and other student-friendly programs. A lot of students pursue these jobs, which should mean managers are familiar with the flexibility you’ll need.

Related: 7 On-Campus Jobs You Really Want

4. Freelance Delivery Driver

DoorDash, Uber Eats, Grubhub, and Instacart are always looking for reliable delivery drivers, and the good news is that they all have very flexible hours! You can apply to be a freelance driver and choose when you can pick up and deliver orders in your spare time. While DoorDash, Grubhub, and Uber Eats mainly specialize in picking up takeout orders from restaurants, Instacart workers are responsible for shopping for groceries and delivering them. All four options provide hassle-free flexibility and high-demand evening hours that tend to line up with a student’s free time. Of course, this does require you to have a driver’s license and access to a car. If you’re a high school student, check with your parents before jetting across town as a delivery driver, especially if you’re using their car.

5. Fitness instructor, referee, or coach

If athletics are your thing, you may enjoy working as a fitness instructor, referee, or coach. Whether you dream of leading Zumba a few nights a week or coaching little league soccer, these jobs offer the flexible evening and weekends hours many students look for. Consider becoming certified to referee YMCA games and enjoy making a few bucks while getting to be active and watch sports. Although some level of certification is usually required to teach or coach, most sports academies will help you get certified for minimal expense and time. One of the biggest benefits of choosing an athletics-based job is you can roll your work and exercise time into one!

Related: Student Fitness: How to Get Moving in High School and College

These are just a handful of part-time jobs that may work well with your schedule as a student; in reality, your options are endless. Find an area of work you’re at least somewhat interested in and search for part-time jobs with decent pay that work with your schedule. Although you’ll be busy, working a part-time job as a student will help you hone your real-world skills, build your résumé, and prepare you for the world ahead.

For even more advice on finding great flexible gigs, check out our article on Part-Time Jobs and Money-Making Ideas for Students.

Like what you’re reading?

Join the CollegeXpress community! Create a free account and we’ll notify you about new articles, scholarship deadlines, and more.

Join Now

Tags:

About Laura Wallace

Laura Wallace

My favorite part of CollegeXpress is that it features student writers so I get an inside perspective from students slightly older and farther along than me. I realize that other college websites also utilize student writers; however, I relate the most to the college writers that I read articles from on CollegeXpress.

 

Join our community of
over 5 million students!

CollegeXpress has everything you need to simplify your college search, get connected to schools, and find your perfect fit.

Join CollegeXpress

College Quick Connect

Swipe right to request information.
Swipe left if you're not interested.

Oberlin College

Oberlin, OH


Jada Bohanon

Jada Bohanon

High School Class of 2021

CollegeXpress has helped me find scholarships for the colleges I applied to. It was very hard for me to find scholarships in the beginning that I was qualified for. My teachers recommended this website to find some, and not only did I find some scholarships but I also got to look into some schools I hadn’t heard of before. I was very happy to have discovered this website, especially with the coronavirus spreading all over as I can’t really go visit many colleges.

Yuhlani Patterson

Yuhlani Patterson

High School Student

CollegeXpress has helped me find so many scholarships that fit me. They match me to colleges I have specific interest in to make searching for colleges way easier and more efficient. CollegeXpress refers me to schools that have my major of interest and backup schools if I want to change my mind. CollegeXpress also gives out their own scholarships, so you have even more of a chance at gaining multiple scholarships. This website has helped me de-stress from the pressure of not being able to afford college, [of finding] what schools are right for me, and how to find easy access to scholarships that most people never knew existed.

Rana Slosberg

Rana Slosberg

Slosberg College Solutions LLC

My favorite part of CollegeXpress is the 800+ lists which have all kinds of hard-to-find information. These lists are helpful when I’m creating college lists, and I also use them to give students a feel for a particular college or university.

Abhishek Kumar

Abhishek Kumar

High School Class of 2022

As a high schooler, I know how hard it is to plan for college. You have to consider a lot of factors: SAT/ACT scores, college searches, scholarships, and more. CollegeXpress has been a helpful resource that solves all these problems. One can easily create a free account and search away. They help you search for scholarships and colleges, they have graduate program search, they have lists and rankings, and so much more. CX also has a lot of articles and advice to read—whether it’s financial aid, test prep, campus visits, internships/careers, or anything. Not only that, CX gives out free scholarship money to students who sign up and create a free CX account. I love CX and will continue to use it! Thank you CollegeXpress for making my college journey easier!

Mataya Mann

Mataya Mann

High School Class of 2022

To say that CollegeXpress is a helpful tool would be an understatement as it is much more than that. Before finding CollegeXpress, all I knew was that I wanted to go to college, it was going to be insanely expensive, and I felt lost. CollegeXpress has given me access to resources such as helpful tips for applications and scholarship [opportunities], and helped guide me in a direction where I feel confident moving forward and pursuing a career. CollegeXpress has helped instill a spark in me that makes me want to continue and supports me in doing so.