Do you know where you’re going to work this summer? With spring semester moving forward, we’re about two to three months away from summer.
I’ve written about where to find internships for college students and whether you should take the unpaid internship or paid summer job. But, this post is different from those. It’s a guide for college freshmen and sophomores who didn’t secure the sweet internship and want to work a fun job.
My first advice is don’t worry about not getting the impressive internship.
You have next year to get a quality internship and you can always improve your resume with extracurricular opportunities on campus.
Also, I’ve found that you can actually gain more life skills in the less prestigious internships. In these jobs you’re given more responsibility and room to develop your communication, social, and negotiation skills.
In the jobs with the fancy company name or title, you’re often left with little responsibility and only busy work that will leave you not happy at work.
So stay positive, be confident in your path, and enjoy working one of these fun summer jobs for college students.
1. Babysitter
Websites like Care.com or UrbanSitter.com make finding a babysitting gig easy. Or you can ask your neighbors and family friends if they need help. Babysitting is not the most glamorous job, but it pays the bills and includes free meals and entertainment. Just pray the kids are nice and not wild.
2. Camp counselor
Remember when you went to summer camp and thought your counselor was the coolest girl or guy ever? Now you can be the one that younger kids look up to. There are plenty of sports and outdoor camps that would love a college student’s help. Remember your sleeping bag and bug spray if you hit the outdoor camp.
3. Fitness trainer
Are you always at the gym anyway? You might as well make a summer job out of it and train gym-goers who aren’t as motivated as you. I heard that you can pass the certifications in a few days to a week, so the opportunity to become a personal trainer is there if you want it. Or you can make your workout plan into a guide and sell it—just an idea. (Fitness trainer is one of the 7 different businesses you can start with no employees, cash, or office space.)
4. Model
Step in front of the camera this summer to look pretty while you pose for pictures for a business or freelance job. And don’t think you need a gorgeous face or body either. There are plenty of well-paid hand and feet models.
5. Bartender
If you’re outgoing and you pass the age requirement to bartend in your state, then spending your summer working at a local bar could be a great fit for you. And you’ll come back to school knowing how to make all the best mixed drinks and concoctions. That’d be chill and you know it.
6. Tutor
You don’t need to be a grade-A genius to tutor. As long as you’re smarter than the person you’re teaching, you’ll be good. Since you’re a college student, that means you can tutor elementary students, high school students, and anyone in college a year younger or less knowledgeable about a certain subject.
7. Dog walker
You can hang out with the best animals on the planet—dogs—while also getting your daily exercise in. If you choose to be a dog walker, let’s hope your dogs are civilized on the trail and you remember your plastic bag.
8. Teach English abroad
Travel to South America, Europe, or Asia to teach students how to read, write, and speak English. There are positions all over the world that could use your expertise. My friend is teaching English in Taiwan and he loves the whole experience. Check out all the benefits of being abroad.
9. Swim lessons instructor
If you enjoy working with kids and being in a pool, you can’t get a better job than a swim lessons instructor. The reward of seeing a little kid smile when they finally swim on their own will be rewarding in itself. And you’ll also get a nice tan while working outside compared to your pale friends with the office jobs.
10. Uber driver
You’ve probably been a passenger in an Uber ride before, but you should consider driving for Uber. From my understanding, this can be a fun job if you like talking to different people, don’t mind driving, and prefer to work on your own time. You can apparently make six-figures as an Uber driver, so the money is there for the opportunist. And depending on your campus location, you can continue this job in school.
11. Cook
Depending on your talent level, you could be a chef at a fancy restaurant putting together lavish plates or a cook at a swim club. People, and Americans especially, always need to eat so I assume there is demand in this field.
12. Flower shop assistant
Do you know your way around flowers? Put this knowledge to use by arranging flowers for events, weddings, and dances.
13. Lifeguard
Getting paid to spend lazy days by the pool and occasionally blow your whistle seems like a nice rest from a stressful semester. Or if you’re privileged to live by a beach, be a beach lifeguard. That’s more fun in my opinion.
14. Restaurant server
If you want free time during your summer mornings and afternoons, be a restaurant server. Of course you will get the rude table every now and then, but if you do your job well then the majority of people will treat you well and tip generously.
15. Golf caddy
This job usually comes with a bonus perk of free golf, which can save you a ton of money if you golf regularly. And there’s good exercise each time you carry clubs for 18 holes. I can think of a lot of worse situations.
16. Concert venue staff
One of my friends works in the corporate office for a concert venue in Cleveland. Because of this, she regularly posts pictures of her meeting celebrities like Luke Bryan and Brad Paisley. And when she’s not working, she gets to rock out at any summer concert she wants for free.
17. Park ranger
Nothing rebels against the cliché office job more than being a park ranger with the outdoors at your feet. Keep the park safe, give directions to guests, and enforce the park rules are some of the basic job requirements here. Your Instagram game will also improve with a beautiful, natural backdrop.
18. Baseball umpire
When I was pre-law, I spent my summers working at a prosecutor’s office during the week. But during the weekends I umpired baseball games and I loved it. I got paid $50 to $60 per game, which is around 1 to 2 hours of work. Each summer I made around $1,000 doing this, so if you like baseball then I encourage you to umpire.
19. Ice cream staff
Develop your ice cream cone making skills and customer service experience at an ice cream parlor. You’ll be the hero when a tee-ball baseball team comes in for an after game snack or you pass along delicious treats to a group of friends.
20. Library front desk
Maybe the easiest job on this list, as a library employee all you need to do is sit there and occasionally check in returned books or look up a book for someone. At some libraries you don’t even have that responsibility, because they have automatic machines that do the work for you. I recommend bringing something to read or do yourself at this desk job.
When you’re not working, spend your time on these 200 things to do over the summer break.
