Life can be tough when you are going to school, trying to work and juggle a social life. You don’t have a degree yet, but you don’t want to stay at your high school fast food job anymore. It can be tough trying to find a job that fits your schedule but still help you pay your bills. So what jobs are the best for while you’re still in school working to finish your degree? I compiled a list of 20 flexible, good paying jobs for before you have a degree. Depending on what you’re going to school for some of them may even help you get some experience and build a resume before you even hit the workforce!

*This post contains affiliate links. I may make a commission off anything I recommend but know all recommendations are my own. 

1. Cleaner

Sure it may not sound super glamorous, but working as a cleaner has the potential to earn you some serious cash and work flexible hours. If you know how to market yourself, you could even turn this into an entrepreneur gig. Set your own schedule, if you have class in the morning, schedule the clients whose house you can clean in the afternoon and vise versa.

Ideal for: This is ideal for someone with an entrepreneurial spirit and allows you the flexibility to set your own hours. You can easily work around a demanding school schedule and still get your bills paid.

Average pay: Cleaning houses in your spare time can easily earn you between $25 to $30 per hour.

2. Lifeguard

Many places like outdoor pools, waterparks, hotels, and gyms are needing lifeguards around the clock to help supervise their pools. Most of these places will be willing to work around your schedule so that you can keep school a top priority.

Ideal for: While this position would be a great idea for most university students, it would be best for those who are hoping to get into the medical field. Being a lifeguard requires CPR and other minor medical training that could come in handy on a future resume and when working in an actual health care field.

Average pay: Pay usually averages around $9 per hour. This may not seem like a lot compared to some other jobs, but if the experience benefits your future job goals, it’s definitely worth it.

3. Nanny

Being a nanny is a great job especially if you are hoping to go to school out of state. Not only will you get work experience and great pay, but often times you can find live-in nanny positions that will help you better afford the cost of out of state schooling.

Maybe you don’t need something as permanent as a live-in nanny position. Keeping an eye on sites like Care.com, you’ll find a lot of positions are only a few days a week or require more hours in the summer. This way you can rack up the money during the months when you don’t have school.

Ideal for: People working toward a child-care or education degree. If you prefer working hard 3 months out of the year so the remainder of the year can be fully focused on school work this would be a great option.

Average pay: Average pay for a live-out nanny is $705 per week

4. Airbnb

Renting an apartment with a significant other or roommates near a big city campus? Maybe you should consider listing on Airbnb. If you are renting, you must first get the “OK” from your landlord. Own your own place? Even better! Here are some great tips for making money by hosting with Airbnb.

Ideal for: People who own property or who are home very rarely

Average pay: Varies by location. Use the AirBNB calculator to see how much you could be making!

5. Senior Care

There are many companies out there that are hoping to find home visitors for their elderly clients. Most of these places will work with your current schedule and match you with a senior based on your availability. You may be matched with one person or several depending on the company and their individual operations. There may even be opportunities where you are paid for sleeping over in order to ensure the safety of the individual.

Ideal for: People hoping to work in health care or nursing that have a fondness and patience for the elderly.

Average pay: $10 Per hour with more for overnights

6. Uber

Uber is a great company when it comes to needing major flexibility. Their motto is “drive when you want, chill when you want.” You choose when you work and who you pick up. There may be additional incentives depending on your city and you can get paid up to 5 times daily with Instant Pay.

Don’t like driving around people, see if UberEATS is available in your area. Deliver food, not people.

Ideal for: People hoping to set their own schedule. Someone with a trusty, reliable vehicle.

Average pay: Varies based on location

7. Coffee Shop

There is nothing I love more than a laid back, eclectic coffee shop in the heart of the city. To work at one would be even more of a dream come true. The best part is a lot of coffee shops are open early in the morning to late at night so you have plenty of time to squeeze in some hours throughout the day. Plus, any job where you can leave at the end of the night with cash in your pocket is a job worth taking.

I had a friend who used to work the night shift at a bakery/coffee house and he always came home with a bag full of pastries. I mean…I’d probably do that for free

Ideal for: Sociable coffee drinkers.

Average pay: $7 – $9 per hour

8. Reselling items

There is major money to be made on the internet. I think we all know that by now. But there is a whole new selling movement that a lot of people don’t know about and don’t realize how easy it actually is. Did you know you can purchase items on sale and then re-sell them for more? I recently checked our local Target that had popular Barbie sets on sale for $5. Those same sets were available on Amazon for $20! For individuals, Amazon takes a $.99 commission, or you can join AmazonFBA.

One wife was actually able to supplement her husband’s income and they now earn over $100,000 just by working through AmazonFBA and re-selling items.

Ideal for: Self-starters with a passion for bargain hunting.

Average pay: Varies per person

9. Social media manager

Are you great at social media? Did you know people will actually pay you to get help managing theirs? It might be a local business, a blogger or other entrepreneurs who need a little help promoting themselves. Because technology is all around is this is a job you could easily accomplish during your free time and build a portfolio and client base. If you have knowledge in Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter, Pinterest or other social platforms, start marketing yourself and reaching out to people you think may benefit from your services.

Ideal for: Entrepreneurs with a passion for social media and design

Average pay: Between $34K and $56K per year

10. Photographer

If you have a high-quality digital SLR camera, you could easily start up a part-time job as a photographer and set your own hours. You could do photos sessions for people, shoot weddings, work real estate or even shoot landscape portraits and submit them to online sites that pay you for your work.

Sites like Smug Mug allow you to build an online portfolio that will definitely help with future job prospects and keeping all of your work in one easy to find place.

Ideal for: Artistic entrepreneurs. Potentially those who hope to make a career in journalism, photography or design.

Average pay: Charges should be based on each individual service

Related posts

• 22 Summer Entrepreneur Jobs
• Make Money with Minimalism
• 3 Ways Uber Can Help You Save for a Vacation
• How to Get Cash with Decluttr

11. Pet care

Maybe you love hanging out with animals or you wish you had one of your own but can’t make the commitment right now. There are sites like Rover that allow you the puppy sit dogs in your area, take them for walks or even host them overnight. When you set up your profile you can select if you want to host dogs overnight, if you are available during the day or if you are just looking to walk some dogs in your area. You can the shots and can literally get paid to snuggle dogs. (I’m doing it right now!)

Ideal for: Animal lovers who like earning easy extra money by helping others in your area.

Average pay: Between $20 and $40 per day

12. Catering staff

Finding a venue in your area that does a lot of catered events on the weekend can be a great way to free up your week to focus on school while raking in the money on the weekends. While being a part of a catering staff team is definitely demanding, it may be highly beneficial if you’re only doing it a few days a week!

Ideal for: Someone with wait staff experience or is potentially interested in working as a professional chef someday.

Average pay: Around $21,000 per year

13. Blogging

It is amazing to me how many people work full-time jobs or go to school full time and are still able to make a fortune by running a blog on the side. Many bloggers started as a hobby without expecting to pull in a salary in the 6 figure range! While there is definitely a lot to be learned blogging offers a ton of flexibility and you can literally work from anywhere. Which is a big part of the major appeal?

A lot of blogging courses can be extremely expensive when first starting out, which is why I tried to cram a lot of my knowledge into info packed blogging basics course that you can afford for only $25.

As a blogger, I strongly believe this is a perfect fit for many individuals out there, especially students who really need the flexibility or are hoping to build a writing portfolio.

Ideal for: Students working in writing, English or journalism field and hoping to get writing experience.

Average pay: Depends on each individual

14. Direct sales

So many people are working in the world of direct sales these days. There are many companies that seem to flood our social media that it seems it would be hard to make money when there is already so much competition. However, this is the perfect field for a lot of people with natural salesman capabilities and there are still plenty of companies out there who offer great benefits and aren’t as well known.

Stella & Dot is a great one for aspiring female entrepreneurs with a flair for fashion. With low start-up costs and great commission percentages, you could easily work in your spare time and make some serious cash at the same time.

Ideal for: People with strong sales skills and a social media presence who are hoping to set their own hours and work from home.

Average pay: Depends on each individual

15. Brand Ambassador

Brand ambassadors are becoming a more and more popular thing. Whether it’s promoting a company at major events, festivals and shows or just getting paid to promote a brand from your social media, brand ambassadors are everywhere. In f,act places like Victoria Secret and Apple now offer a Campus Rep position where you can get paid to promote their brands on campus!

Ideal for: Social people with a social media presence

Average pay: From free product to annual pay

16. Create your own subscription box

Yes! This is a real thing and something that is easily done in your spare time. You can easily create a subscription box with CrateJoy! And you can base your boxes off of just about anything you can dream up!

Physical therapy toys, Harry Potter fanfare or even the latest silly trends.

This is a job where you can really let your personality take over and maybe even get an assembly line of friends together to help you fold your boxes! It is easier than ever to start a subscription box company and it’s no surprise because they are in high demand!

Ideal for: Great for people who love putting together gifts or care packages and have a self-starter attitude. If you are working in the marketing field this could be a perfect way to practice marketing your own package, designing logos and working on building a strong website. (With help of course)

Average pay: Varies based on each individual

17. Run an online boutique

Similar to re-selling items online, running an online boutique requires a lot of online shopping, working with vendors and creating an online presence for yourself. Depending on your state, this may require different permits so make sure you do your research before getting started. However, there are a ton of online resources available to help you succeed. Starting your own website and getting setup with online sales are the two major steps when it comes to launching.

Ideal for: Those with a strong interest in the fashion or retail industry.

Average pay: Varies based on individual

18. Wait staff

Good ‘ol fashioned working in a restaurant. If you are living on or near a college campus, there may be no better way to make some money, stay busy and stay social. Wait staff, depending on the work place, can head home every night with cash on hand. This is extremely helpful for anyone, but especially when you’re already living on a tight income and a busy schedule.

Ideal for: Those with a strong interest in the fashion or retail industry.

Average pay: $11 per hour

19. Tutor

Have you ever considered teaching English online? While most companies require a teaching degree, QKids offers availability to people who are currently working on a degree.  You can choose your hours and because you will be working with children on other countries, the hours rarely interfere with class schedules.

Ideal for: Those currently working on a teaching degree

Average pay: $16 – $20 per hour

20. On campus jobs

Many campuses offer different discounts or freebies for those who choose to work on the campus grounds. That could even be something like becoming a resident advisor in the dorms in order to get free room and board. You don’t get paid, but saving on the cost of living will be HUGE when it comes time to actually graduate. Other potential on-campus positions include:

• Tour guide
• Library assistant
• Cafeteria worker

Ideal for: Those currently living on a college campus who need financial help.

Average pay: Varies from paying for school costs to actual earnings

Find what fits

When it comes down to it, you just have to find what is right for you. However, I think so many college students aren’t even aware of the awesome opportunities available especially when it comes to setting their own hours or even building up their resume before they have even graduated! So, I hope you took something away from all of this. Any other unique or unheard of ways to earn money while on campus? I would love to hear about them in the comments!

Don’t forget to Pin this!