Working Part Time at School
Although holding down a full-time, 40-hour-per-week job is unrealistic for a full-time college student, working 10 to 15 hours a week is very reasonable. In fact, it helps create a set routine that you or your student must adhere to, making it all that much easier to also schedule regular times for study, rest, and play.
From a financial point of view, a student working 10 hours per week earning $8 per hour will earn roughly $1,200 pre-tax per semester. For a student attending only the fall and winter semesters each year, that is roughly $2,400 pre-tax, or $300 to $400 per month. That’ll take a nice bite out of any unfunded tuition, room, and board. That’s not counting the money a student can make working part or full time when he’s home for the summer and holidays.
However, when it comes to working while enrolled, not all jobs and opportunities are created equal. In fact, some jobs can prove downright counterproductive to getting an education, while others can serve as a “double-dip,” providing valuable benefits on top of a part-time paycheck. So perhaps the biggest question you’ll need to answer if you or your student takes on a part-time job is whether it’ll be through a work-study program or an unrelated outside employer.
Work-Study Programs
Work-study programs are a special type of financial aid that allows students to earn money for tuition by working in specially designated jobs. Usually these jobs, which are required to pay at least minimum wage, are offered on a student’s campus or in partnership with a local nonprofit organization.
Most opportunities for work-study funds are offered through the Federal Work-Study (FWS) program administered by the Department of Education. The FWS program provides more than $1 billion annually to over 3,400 colleges and universities around the United States, with the average award in 2009 being approximately $1,500 per student. For anyone doing the math, at minimum wage, that works out to roughly 200 to 250 hours of work over the course of a school year, or 10 to 15 hours per week while school is in session.
In addition to the FWS program, many states provide their own work-study programs, as well as some schools having their own internally funded work-study programs.
Eligibility for work-study programs is primarily determined based on a student’s demonstrated financial need. In other words, those who need it the most are the ones who tend to get it. Financial need is primarily determined through the calculation of someone’s expected family contribution (EFC; see Chapter 8). The lower the EFC, the more likely someone is to qualify for work-study.
FLUNK-PROOF FINANCES
Not all financial aid is created equal because work-study is subject to income taxes, whereas grants and scholarships are generally not. That means you can expect the real value of any work-study you or your student receives to be reduced by at least 15 to 20 percent for federal, state, and payroll taxes.
Unrelated Outside Employment
A work-study program might not be the best option for three main reasons. First, a student might simply not qualify based on her EFC to college. Second, the student might need to make substantially more than the few thousand dollars she can earn under a work-study program. Lastly, the student might be able to earn a much higher hourly rate doing something else besides work-study programs, especially if she has special training like being a lifeguard or childcare provider.
Here are some of the key things that a student and her family need to consider when evaluating off-campus, non-work-study employment:
• The commute—Having to walk or ride your bike a couple of blocks to your on-campus job is significantly cheaper and less time-consuming than having to drive or use public transportation to get to an off-campus job. This usage of time and money can be especially large if a student is living in a major metropolitan area like Los Angeles, New York, or Miami, as opposed to a small college town.
• The fringe benefits—Some companies such as Starbucks, Barnes & Noble, and Whole Foods Markets offer part-timers the ability to buy cheap group health insurance. Further, countless companies offer employees discounts on their purchases, which can help lower your direct and indirect college costs substantially, especially if you’re working for a grocery store, travel provider, or clothing store.
• Temptation—Not all jobs are great for younger college students, no matter how noble their aspirations to work are. Whether it is tending bar or working at an establishment that offers a tempting discount on unnecessary purchases, the choices these jobs can lead to very quickly offset the monetary gain.
CHEAT SHEET
Keeping a great part-time job from school year to school year can be a challenge. To ensure the best shot of picking up where you left off with an employer, make sure that you’re clear about when your employment will be wrapping up for the school year, as well as when you hope to be back and resume work. Be sure to also call or e-mail a month ahead of going back to school to let them know you’re on your way and that you still want to work for them.
The Top Ten Paying Off-Campus Jobs
I’ve always figured that if you wanted to open a labor-intensive business, a college town is a heck of place to think about doing it. You have a ton of people with strong backs and low expectations who are willing to work for minimum wage. That doesn’t mean that every student in a college town is earning the bare minimum, though. As many smart students have figured out, there are all kinds of jobs that break the $10-per-hour barrier, but you have to hustle to get them:
• Lifeguard—You don’t have to look like David Hasselhoff or Pamela Anderson to make a double-digit hourly wage, nor do you have to have years of training. A short course at your local YMCA or Red Cross will get you certified as a lifeguard who can work at a local community pool. Because it does require some—albeit minimal—training, there’ll be a lot fewer people fighting for these jobs.
• Nanny—Although the ideal candidate for a nanny position is usually female, I’ve known more than a few guys who served as a “manny” for a brood of rambunctious boys. Either way, if you’re lucky enough to score a nanny position, it can easily pay $10 to $15 per hour or more than $100 for a day’s work, plus meals. Again, a trip to your local YMCA or Red Cross for a first aid and CPR certification can greatly increase your marketability.
• Bank teller—It doesn’t take a degree in accounting to cash checks or count out $20 bills. All it takes to land a job as a bank teller is a high school diploma and an attention to detail. Many teller jobs start off at $8 to $9 per hour, but raises often come quickly for those who do a good job.
• Waiter or waitress—There’s no doubt that slinging hash browns, burgers, or coffee at a local restaurant can be exhausting, but many people don’t realize that the pay can be five-star. The trick is to find someplace where the tips are good. If you’re lucky, you can easily make $15 to $20 per hour on a busy night.
• Swim instructor—In college, my wife made $25 to $50 per hour giving private swim instructions to children. All it took was a couple hundred flyers and a bubbly attitude, and she was raking in the easy money. So if you or your student loves the water and will be going to school in a town where many of the residents have their own pools, don’t hesitate to dive in.
• Commissioned salesperson—Although selling insurance or real estate might be out of the question for a college student, many local retailers hire part-time salespeople who earn both an hourly wage and a small commission. Especially if you or your student is a mini-expert on something, be it make-up or lawnmowers, you should look into these opportunities.
• Construction—Local contractors are always in need of part-time help. If you’re willing to carry boxes, unload supplies, and cart away the trash, you can consistently earn $10 to $12 per hour without a problem.
• Delivery person—From pizza to flowers to legal documents, students with a reliable ride can rack up the dollars as they rack up the miles. If possible, try to find a position that reimburses your gas in addition to your time.
• Anything night or graveyard—If you or your student is going to be up late studying anyway, you might as well get paid to do it. If you’re willing to burn the midnight oil for your local motel, gate-guarded community, or 24-hour call center, you’ll typically get a substantial increase in pay over those who will only work the day shift.
• Tutoring services—With more and more students trying to claw their way into college, more parents than ever are hiring tutors to help coach their students through difficult subjects. This is especially true with math, science, and foreign language classes. By simply dropping off some flyers with the secretaries at your local high schools and posting them in local coffee shops, you can easily find a job that pays $10 to $20 per hour.
FLUNK-PROOF FINANCES
Many of the best jobs for college students are paid as if the student is an independent contractor. That means the student is on the hook for paying self-employment taxes (15.3 percent) on her income, on top of whatever income taxes she owes on those earnings. For the student not expecting this, it can leave her having to come up with a few hundred to a few thousand dollars in a hurry.
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