Getting a job as a student can be difficult. Before even having to go through a lengthy application process, you must figure out what kinds of job are going to suit you and your studies best. On top of that, you have to figure out how to manage your time to fit everything you need to do in alongside your job. With a list of job types that are viewed by a fellow student as the best, you will be able to get a better idea of what job areas may suit you better yourself.
Continue reading for my personally ranked top 10 jobs for students in the UK. For each one, you will get to find out a little more about the job and why they are good picks for students.
10. Cleaning jobs
While cleaning isn’t exactly a glamorous job, I feel that it can still be one of the best jobs for a student to have. Not only is this because it is a job that you can get just about anywhere but also because it can teach you an awful lot.
A cleaner’s job may include cleaning homes, offices, shops, or other locations by sweeping, mopping, dusting, emptying bins and doing whatever else necessary to keep the area clean and tidy. For more information about a cleaner’s role, check out this article by Indeed.
As a cleaning job will often come with training, working in this industry can allow you to learn a lot about how this process works. You may even be able to apply this to other areas of your life. This is especially if you are in university or are planning to move out as it can help you to be more efficient when cleaning your own living space.
In terms of the job itself, you get the benefits of it being a lot more flexible than other job sectors. However, you should still be able to find yourself with reliable hours depending on the company you work for. For more information about the benefits of being a cleaner, check out this article by Regional Services.
9. Tour guide jobs
The role of a tour guide is to lead tourists around a specific place, such as a landmark, a museum or gallery or even a whole town or city, and to provide them with key information and interesting facts about tis history and/or purpose. For more information about the role of a tour guide, check out this guide by the National Careers Service.
The seasonal nature of tour guide jobs can make them ideal for students. This is because you may be able to work only in the holidays, especially in summer, which can allow you to focus only on your studies when in term time, while still being able to get some extra cash.
Being a tour guide can also enable you to improve your communication and improvisation skills, allowing you to better adapt to social situations and deal with problems when things go wrong. These are great skills to have both in a work setting and for general life. To learn more about the skills of a tour guide, check out this article by Indeed.
8. Jobs in hospitality
The hospitality sector covers a wide range of different industries and in turn it also covers a wide range of different jobs. The hospitality sector covers industries from food and drinks to accommodation and even entertainment.
Within these industries, the main type of job a student can get will tend to be service jobs, such as bartenders, waiting staff or even team members in a fast-food restaurant, cinema, or hotel.
For more information about the hospitality industry, check out this article from Birmingham City University. To learn more about service jobs in the hospitality industry, check out this Indeed article.
Hospitality jobs are great for students as they are essentially everywhere and so can be very easy to find. Many of these jobs will also not require experience and so they can be a great pick if it is your first job. For more on getting a job with little experience, check out this Think Student article.
The nature of this job area makes it great for gaining experience while you study as you should be able to find a job with the right number of hours to balance with your studies. This is especially as you will likely be in a fast-paced environment and will have to learn to problem solve quickly. For more on the benefits of hospitality jobs, check out this article from Caterer.com.
7. Jobs in retail
The retail job sector simply refers to jobs within a shop. For students, a typical job within this sector is being a sales assistant, check out this article by Indeed to learn about this job role.
As service jobs, retail jobs are very similar to jobs in hospitality, particularly in the skills that you will be able to develop and the perks you can gain from it. Retail jobs can also allow you to gain experience and develop your communication skills as well as a whole range of other skills that will depend on where you work.
A retail job can also be very flexible for students, especially in terms of hours. Also, you may be able to get seasonal jobs, especially at Christmas. For more information about the benefits of retail jobs, check out this article by Chron.
6. Student ambassador jobs
If you are a university student, then one of the best jobs you can get is being a student ambassador. A student ambassador’s role can vary depending on the university but essentially their role is to be a part of events that work with prospective students and applicants. To learn more about this role, check out these guides here and here from the UCL and the University of Nottingham.
Not only does the role of a student ambassador provide you with a good amount of flexibility but its very nature will often mean that you will be able to balance work, life, and socialisation much better. This is especially as some of these roles, such as with the University of Nottingham, won’t require you to work very often.
As a student ambassador, you can pick up a wide range of skills, which you may even get trained for. It can also enable you to be more independent as you will need to take on certain responsibilities within your team and thus improve your confidence. For more on the benefits of being a student ambassador, check out this guide by Teesside University.
5. Volunteering
While not a paid position, volunteering can still be an incredibly rewarding job for students. It can be done in many different ways, such as through raising money for charity, helping out at an animal clinic, helping out at a food bank, organising an event or even litter picking. For more on these, check out this governmental guide.
Volunteering is great for students as it allows you to get involved, whether this be in a social issue, helping others or saving the environment or animals. This involvement can help you to figure out what core values you hold and what activities interest you as you will have to decide how you volunteer.
Volunteering can help you to gain work experience and to boost your CV. You will also be able to gain skills such as team working and organisation skills that can be incredibly useful for other areas of your life, such as working or studying. For more benefits of volunteering, check out these Think Student articles here and here.
4. Virtual assistant jobs
A virtual assistant is someone who does admin tasks for their clients, such as scheduling appointments, making calls and managing emails. For more information about this, check out this article by Investopedia.
The job of a virtual assistant is great for students as it is an online job that can essentially be done from anywhere. Virtual assistants can also fully manage their own schedules and can work as much as they want to.
This is great for students as it allows you great flexibility to work around your studies and social life. As an online job, you can also save more time as you won’t have to travel to go to work.
Due to the nature of a virtual assistant, it will allow you to develop your time management and organisation skills as well as your professionalism due to working with actual, paying clients. For more on the benefits of being a virtual assistant, check out this article by Virtalent.
3. Freelancing
If a virtual assistant isn’t quite for you, you may wish to offer your services in other ways as a freelancer. Freelancing is where you are self-employed. This can be done in a range of industries, such as writing, graphic design, accounting and more. For more information, check out this Flex Jobs article.
Being a freelancer is a great job for students as it provides the same flexibility as a virtual assistant job, but this broader term gives you more options for what service you will offer. This can allow students to tailor their work to their own strengths or interests.
Once again students can develop time management and organisation skills, but it can also enable them to increase their creativity. For more on this, check out this article by Rock Content.
2. Entrepreneurship
Starting your own business, particularly one that sells physical products, can be a great way for students to gain extra income. Not only will you have complete flexibility, but you will also have complete control over what your business sells, where it sells it and everything else such as your branding.
This experience can be great for students as it puts a lot more responsibility on you, which can teach you how to problem solve, deal with pressure, and meet deadlines, before moving into a work environment.
This can make you more prepared for a work environment or for expanding your business once you finish your studies. For more about entrepreneurs and the skills they need to develop, check out this guide by Prospects.
1. Tutoring is the best job type for students in the UK
Tutoring is a great job for students as it allows you to apply what you have learnt and then teach it to someone else. This essentially makes tutoring a form of revision.
Becoming a tutor can be a great way to develop your skills, which in turn can better prepare you for working full-time when you finish your studies. This is because tutoring can allow you to develop excellent communication, time management and organisation skills.
These can all directly come in handy in any workplace environment. Not only that but also tutoring can allow you to develop empathy and better understanding and empathy to other people, which are useful life skills to have in general.
To learn more about what tutors do, check out this guide by Prospects. For more information about the benefits of tutoring, check out this article by Superprof.
* Please note that the ranking of best jobs above is highly subjective and based on my personal opinion of jobs based on how flexible and how easy to get they are as well as the skills that you can gain from them. For other Think Student articles to get job ideas from, check out the articles here, here and here.