Work study jobs offer a great way to earn as you learn. In the following article, you’ll learn what your best options are.
Work study jobs offer students a way to earn extra cash to help with things like the cost of tuition, room and board, or spending money. While you might think you can’t afford to go to school full-time and work a job, work study jobs make it more flexible to choose when and how to work. In the following article, we look at the 7 work study jobs that you should absolutely consider doing to earn as you learn.
1. Research Assistant
Research assistants are responsible for conducting research for a professor or a research team. The best research assistants are detail-oriented and have the ability to work independently.
As a research assistant, you’ll be involved with projects from the very beginning stages to the very end stages. You’ll have to be on top of the latest trends and technologies because your boss will likely give you a lot of freedom to choose what projects you want to work on.
Research assistantships are often available at your college or university. If you’re a student, you can check to see what opportunities are available at your school or ask your advisor for advice.
2. Teaching Assistant
The purpose of a teaching assistant is to help the professor teach the class. You want to make sure that you’re clearly communicating the objectives of the class to the students, and that you’re helping them to achieve that.
First and foremost, a teaching assistant is there to help the teacher. They’re there to run the class and to ensure that the students are engaged and that they’re paying attention.
They’re there to keep the class moving along and to make sure that everyone is having an enjoyable learning experience. You can find teaching assistant opportunities through your college or university career services office.
3. Writing Assistant
A writing assistant job might be available through your college or university’s writing research lab. These types of jobs are typically available through the English department. They tend to favor English majors or related fields of study, but that’s not necessarily true if you have a clear enthusiasm in writing and are competent at it.
The types of things that you might end up doing include proofreading, helping other students develop their ideas, teaching them how to structure and format documents, or simply being present when students come to work on their papers.
4. Tutor
The purpose of a tutor is to help develop a student’s skills in a particular area. A tutor’s job is to make sure that the student is learning and developing in a way that’s manageable for them. Tutors aren’t there to do the work; they’re there to support.
A tutor is someone who provides instruction to students who need extra help with certain subjects. Some tutors work with students one-on-one, and some teach groups of students in a classroom setting. The specific duties of a tutor vary depending on the teaching environment and the needs of the student.
To find tutoring opportunities, you should first contact the departments you’re interested in and ask them if they have any available tutoring positions, or if they know of any tutoring companies or groups that have work available.
5. Peer Counselor
A peer counselor is someone who has experienced the same challenges that the person they’re speaking to has. They’re not necessarily there to give advice, but they’re there to share their experience.
At most colleges and universities, the peer counseling department is overseen by the dean of students’ office. In some cases, the dean of students may also be the director of the peer counseling department.
This is the case at the University of Colorado Boulder, where the dean of students is also the director of the peer counseling department. There are a number of ways you can get considered for a peer counseling position. One way is to ask your professors to put you in contact with students who have previously served as peer counselors so that you can ask them for advice and tips.
6. Career/Internship Coach
An internship coach works with students to help them secure internships. The goal of an internship coach is to help students to develop their resume, build their LinkedIn profile, and hone their interview skills.
The overall goal of an internship coach is to put students in the best position to get an internship. As with getting any position, it helps to have experience. Have you ever had an internship of your own? What can you share from your experience that might help you stand out?
Use that knowledge to look for positions at your college or university. Talk to your college or university’s career services position to see if there is any money available for such a position. If there isn’t, maybe consider offering your services to other students at the school.
7. Office Specialist (Receptionist)
Virtually every department at your school will have the need for an office specialist or receptionist position. The good news is that you probably won’t need a lot of specialty experience. The even better news is that you can get a feel for the department you’re in, make valuable connections, and earn money as you go.
Being an office specialist requires one to brush up on their soft skills as well. This gives you more transferable experience as you change majors or go to graduate school or enter the workforce. You get a feel for how the office politics works as well as the rote tasks. You understand what it’s like to be a valuable asset to the department (and, in the future, a business).
Wondering where to find office specialist jobs at your college or university? Go directly to the source. Visit the departments you are interested in. Talk to the head assistant to see if there are any student positions available.
Keep These Work Study Jobs In Mind If You Are Strapped For Cash
Finding work study jobs is a process that you should start as late in your current semester as possible so you can be ready to go when the next semester begins. We’ve given you 7 great ideas here, but it’s hardly an exhaustive list. And before you just take whatever the college or university is offering, you should consider flexing your entrepreneurial muscles and “side hustling” on your own, if possible. Best of luck!
Aric Mitchell's work appears regularly here at 4tests.com and across the web for sites, such as The Inquisitr and Life'd. A former high school teacher, his passion for education has only intensified since leaving the classroom. At 4tests, he hopes to continue passing along words of encouragement and study tips to ensure you leave school ready to face an ever-changing world.
