Part-Time Jobs for Students: Best Picks (and How to Land One)

The best part-time jobs for students are the ones that bend around your timetable: on-campus jobs (especially Federal Work-Study), tutoring, retail or restaurant shifts near campus, and a couple of no-car gigs like paid research studies.

• Pay: about $15 to $18 an hour (national medians for typical student jobs)
• Hours per week: 8 to 20
• Startup cost: free
• Works from your dorm? partly

The shortlist, ranked for students

These are ranked by how well they fit a broke, busy, car-free student, not by top pay. Pay figures are national medians from May 2025 BLS data, so pay where you live can be higher or lower. Want more ideas? See our list of jobs to make money in college that fit your schedule.

1. On-campus jobs. Library desk, dining hall, research assistant, tour guide, RA. There’s no commute, and your boss already knows finals exist. If your aid includes Federal Work-Study, your school can’t pay you less than the federal minimum wage. Rates vary by school: the University of Georgia, for example, lists $11.75 to $20.00 an hour.
2. Tutoring. Did you ace intro calc or chem? Someone down the hall is struggling with it right now. Ask your department or tutoring center first. On Wyzant, tutors keep 75% of their rate (100% for students they refer themselves), so set your price with that cut in mind.
3. Retail and cashier jobs. You get steady hours, and they train you. Cashiers earn a median of $15.81 an hour and retail salespeople $17.03. Part-time shifts are common.
4. Restaurants and cafes. Waiters and waitresses earn a median of $16.94 an hour with tips included. Hosts and fast food workers are around $15.00, mostly from wages.
5. Babysitting and childcare. Childcare workers earn a median of $16.82 an hour. Platforms like Care.com require caregivers to be at least 18.
6. Camp counselor and recreation jobs. The median is $17.58 an hour. These jobs are often seasonal, which makes them a great fit for summer break.
7. Paid research studies. Prolific is 18+ only. Researchers must pay at least $8 an hour (Prolific recommends $12 or more), and you can cash out from $6 via PayPal. Treat it as filler for dead time between lectures, not a job replacement. Our guide to survey jobs for students covers similar options.
8. Delivery without a car. Uber Eats lets you deliver by bike or on foot from 18 with a government ID, and you need an SSN for the background check. DoorDash allows bikes and e-bikes in some areas, but new applicants must be 19 in many states and 21 in California. Here’s our take on whether DoorDash is worth it between classes.

Why we’d start on campus

Off-campus jobs can pay a bit more. Campus jobs still win on three things students care about:

• No commute. You can fit a shift between a 9am lecture and a 2pm lab.
• Smaller tax bite. Students employed by the college they attend don’t pay Social Security and Medicare (FICA) taxes on that job.
• Aid-friendly. The FAFSA treats Federal Work-Study earnings as an “income offset”. That means they’re subtracted when your aid eligibility is calculated, so they don’t count against you. Pay from a regular job doesn’t get that treatment.

How to land one (in this order)

1. Block your hours first. Write down the windows you can work every single week, exam weeks included. Almost every application asks for your availability, and a clear answer gets you hired faster.
2. Check your aid award for Work-Study. You’ll find it in your financial aid portal or award letter. If it’s there, ask the financial aid office how to find eligible jobs.
3. Use the official campus job board. Apply through it, never through random emails (more on scams below).
4. Ask professors and departments. Labs, libraries and tutoring centers often hire students who did well in their classes. A short email after office hours is enough.
5. Walk the blocks around campus. Cafes and shops near a college are used to student schedules. Ask for the manager, say you’re a student and share your hours.
6. Write a one-page resume. No work history? List relevant classes, clubs, volunteering, languages and your availability. Student employers mostly want someone reliable.
7. Apply in batches. Send five applications instead of waiting on one, and follow up after a few days.

What you need (and what you don’t)

You don’t need:

• Experience. Cashier, host and dining hall jobs expect to train you.
• A car. None of the top seven picks needs one.
• Money. Legit employers don’t charge you to start. One exception is TaskRabbit, which takes a one-time, non-refundable $25 registration fee and doesn’t guarantee approval. We’d try the free options first.

You do need:

• A government ID and an SSN (or the right work authorization).
• A way to get paid, like a bank account for direct deposit. Prolific pays only through a US PayPal account.

One catch to know about: federal law lets employers pay workers under 20 a youth wage of $4.25 an hour for their first 90 calendar days. Some state or local laws forbid this, so ask about the starting rate before you accept.

Minimum wage also depends on where you study. The DOL’s state table (July 2026) lists $18.40 in DC, $16.90 in California and $7.25 in Texas. Florida went up to $15.00 on September 30, 2026. In tipped jobs, federal rules allow a cash wage as low as $2.13 an hour, but if your tips don’t get you to $7.25, your employer has to make up the difference.

Does it fit around class?

• Campus jobs usually follow the academic calendar, so breaks and exam periods are easier to work around.
• Retail and restaurants mostly need evenings and weekends. Ask about exam-week time off in the interview, not the week before finals.
• Tutoring and research studies are the most flexible, because you set the hours.

The usual advice is to work about 20 hours a week at most during the semester. In 2020, 37% of full-time undergrads aged 16 to 24 had jobs, and 15% of full-time undergrads worked 20 to 34 hours a week. Go past 20 and your sleep schedule (and your instant noodle intake) will notice.

The money stuff: taxes, aid and visas

Quick note: this is general info, not tax, legal or financial advice. Check your situation with your school’s financial aid office or a tax pro.

Taxes

• A regular W-2 job withholds tax from your paycheck. If someone can claim you as a dependent, your 2026 standard deduction is the greater of $1,350 or your earned income plus $450.
• Gig and freelance pay is different. All of it is taxable, even if you never get a form. Apps only send a 1099-K above $20,000 and more than 200 transactions in a year.
• If your net self-employment earnings are $400 or more, you owe self-employment tax of 15.3%. Set part of every payout aside.
• Waiting tables? A “no tax on tips” deduction of up to $25,000 a year applies for 2025 through 2028. It only covers qualifying occupations, and your tips must be properly reported.

Financial aid

• On the 2026 to 2027 FAFSA, a dependent student’s income above an allowance (set each year) is assessed at 50%. That form uses your 2024 earnings.
• Work-Study pay is the exception, as covered above. If a scholarship has its own income rules, read those terms too.

International students (F-1)

• On-campus work is capped at 20 hours a week while school is in session, and you need Active SEVIS status.
• Off-campus work needs authorization: either an approved hardship EAD after at least one full academic year, or CPT/OPT.
• That means gig apps, delivery and freelance platforms are generally off-limits without authorization. If you work without authorization, your SEVIS record is terminated, you have to leave the US and you could be barred from coming back. Talk to your DSO before you accept anything.

Don’t get scammed

Students are a favorite target. The FTC says reported losses to job scams jumped from $90 million in 2020 to $501 million in 2024. Watch for these red flags:

• A “recruiter” texts you about remote work and asks you to reply “YES.”
• You’re told to deposit a check and send part of it back. The check bounces, and you owe the bank.
• You’re asked to pay for training, a starter kit or a certification.
• A “reshipping” job asks you to forward packages.
• An unexpected admin job offer lands in your school email. The FBI has warned about this exact scam.

The FTC’s rule of thumb: never pay to get paid. You can report scams at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

The semester plan

• Week one: apply for campus jobs early and send your availability with every application.
• During exams: drop to your minimum shifts and use flexible gigs like research studies if you need cash.
• Summer break: pick up more hours or grab a seasonal camp job. International students: the 20-hour cap applies while school is in session, and IRS guidance mentions on-campus work of up to 40 hours a week in summer. Confirm with your DSO before adding hours.

Quick questions

What’s the easiest job to get with zero experience? Dining hall, cashier and host jobs. They expect to train you, and reliable availability matters more than a resume.

Does a part-time job affect financial aid? It can. Regular wages count toward the FAFSA formula above an allowance, but Federal Work-Study earnings are subtracted, so they don’t count against you.

Do students have to pay tax on part-time jobs? On a W-2 job, tax is withheld from your pay, and the standard deduction often covers small earnings. With gig income, self-employment tax kicks in once your net earnings reach $400.

Can international students work part-time? Yes, on campus, up to 20 hours a week during the semester. Anything off campus needs authorization first.

Your first step tonight

Open your financial aid portal and check whether Federal Work-Study is in your award. Then find your school’s student employment page and bookmark it. Finally, type your three best weekly work windows into your notes app. That takes under 30 minutes, and tomorrow you’re ready to apply.