Being a student is tough: you’re studying all the time, and sometimes you just want to help lighten your parents’ financial burden or have a bit of extra cash to pamper yourself.
Working part-time as a student is a pretty common occurrence nowadays. Furthermore, the rise of online job platforms gives you accessibility to more job choices that can suit your needs and schedules.
There are so many different types of part-time jobs that you can choose from! If you don’t know where to start, we compiled a list of the pros and cons of the common industries to help you make a better choice for your part-time job.
Tuition
Pros:
Decent pay
Being a tutor can earn you more than the usual other part-time jobs. Part-time home tutors can expect to earn at least $20 per hour.
Stable job
In our competitive society, tutors are always in demand If a student cancels on you, there is a high chance you can still find other students. You are also able to take on more than one student if you think that you’re able to handle your school workload.
Cons:
You need to prepare your lesson materials/plan outside of your working hours
In order to carry out efficient and smooth lessons, you should prepare for your lesson beforehand. That includes marking your student’s work!
You might face difficulty with handling young children
As a student yourself, you might struggle with getting younger children’s attention in your class due to your inexperience. This may discourage many young part-time tutors.
Food and Beverage (F&B)
Pros:
High demand
Working in the F&B industry is a very common choice because it is an essential industry. There are countless F&B brands and stores in which they will definitely need workers.
Possible free meals/snacks/drinks
You don’t have to spend a cut of your pay on your food and drinks!
Learn how to clean up
If you’re not used to doing household chores at home, working in F&B is a great way for you to learn. As part of the service crew, you will have to clear the dirty dishes, carry them to the dishwashing area and clean the table for the next customers. If you’re part of the dishwashing crew, then, of course, you will wash the dishes.
Build strength and practical skills
For higher efficiency, you might be expected to carry multiple dishes at once, which can take both strength and practical skills as you need to balance the heavy dishes. It’s a great way to train yourself!
Hone communication and customer service skills
Communication is very important in ensuring that an F&B store runs smoothly. You will have to communicate with the kitchen crew, other service crew, as well as the customers.
You will be kept occupied
For those who can’t stand just sitting around, the F&B industry might be the one for you. With the crowds of customers constantly going in and out, you would be so busy that you probably won’t have a chance to feel bored. Time will pass faster!
Cons:
Eating at irregular meal timings
Since you’re serving the customers their meals, you will have to eat way before or after your regular meal timings when you have a shift. Make sure that you eat enough so that you have energy for work!
You can easily get yourself fired
In any service industry, customers are always kings/queens. Some customers/supervisors can be extremely particular about customer service and you might quickly lose your job if you are not performing up to their satisfactory standard. You will need a lot of patience to deal with customers, especially hungry ones!
It might be really busy during peak hours
As mentioned, F&B work can be extremely busy especially during peak hours, and this might be a very exhausting job for some.
Retail
Pros:
Possible staff discount
Love a certain brand and its products? Applying to work there might open doors to their staff benefits and you might be able to get their products at a huge discount.
Pick up organisational skills
If you work at a retail store, you would likely need to do a lot of organising in stock checking, displaying the stocks and packing them.
Learn customer service
In retail, you are also faced with customers and it is a good chance to hone your communication skills.
Practice Math if you’re a cashier
Although cash is not a very common mode of payment nowadays, you have to work your brains if you’re handed cash. Math keeps your brain healthily engaged!
Cons:
Long hours of standing
To many supervisors, sitting down shows a poor working attitude and they might not find it a good look for their customers. So, some stores might expect you to stand throughout your entire shift. If you get sore legs easily, perhaps Retail is not the industry for you.
Might have to deal with fussy customers
Of course, with customer service comes unreasonable customers and unreasonable requests. You might face customers who demand you to fetch them this and that, as well as check every detail for them.
Freelance/Ad-hoc/Event
Pros:
Flexibility
This type of job is the best for those who have irregular schedules as you can choose when you want to work.
Cons:
Might not have slots
With flexibility comes competition. Since your working shifts are up to availability, you might face periods when you have no job opportunities, which is not recommended for those who need a stable source of income.
Sales/Promoting
Pros:
Possibly commission-based
Often, doing sales/promoting rewards you based on your performance. That means it gives you a chance to earn more if you do well. For those who are great at persuading, you might be able to earn a fair bit from doing jobs like these.
Step out of your comfort zone
For those who have been in a sheltered environment their whole life, this is a good opportunity to shine. Who knows, you might discover your talent in talking to and persuading people!
Cons:
The pressure of needing to hit a certain quota
Most of the time, companies pay their salespeople/promoters based on their performance and might let go of those who are underperforming. This may be stressful for some!
Not for the shy
This job is more suitable for those who are extroverted and comfortable with socialising. If you’re an introvert, you might find this industry challenging.
Influencer/Modelling/Acting
Pros:
Possible free products
This industry is popular because of the attractive rewards that might come together with it. If you’re scouted by a brand, you might either receive payment, free products, or both.
Up-and-about job
Many people fancy this industry because you’ll get to meet different clients and new people all the time. This means that your job wouldn’t be repetitive and boring!
Hone marketing skills
By being an influencer, you will learn how to engage an audience and draw attention to a brand! Companies/brands will often tell you how they need you to sell their products/services that can attract customers for them.
Increase social circle and connections
When you’re under the spotlight, more people will know you, and that means you have an advantage in expanding your network. You never know when a member of your audience is able to provide you with better opportunities!
Cons:
Needing to keep up with a strict image
Being in this industry, many are prone to body image and self-esteem issues because there is pressure to always fit into a certain stereotype to stay likeable and attractive to their audience.
You have to constantly engage your audience
It may be difficult for influencers to establish a work-life balance because they rely on their audience to make money. As such, there is a need for them to always maintain personal interactions with their audience so that they remain relevant.
The more popular you are, the higher rates you can charge from your clients. However, with the density of this industry, it could be easy for influencers to become irrelevant over time, and their hard work might not be appreciated and rewarded.
No privacy
Once you are in the public eye, you will have to be careful with how you portray yourself both online and offline. This means that people might recognise you on the streets and have an eye over you all the time.
Your online presence may invite stalkers which may put you in danger. You may also be harassed online since it is easy for people to cyberbully behind anonymous identities.
Delivery
Pros:
Travelling around the country
Doing deliveries are for the adventurous! You will get to explore many new places.
Exercise for those using bicycles
If you ride a bicycle for your deliveries, this job is a great way to exercise while earning money.
Possible tips
If you are in luck and happen to send a delivery to a generous or wealthy customer, you might get a big tip!
Cons:
You have to brave harsh weather conditions
In Singapore, it’s usually either really hot or raining. You might be scorched or drenched!
Have to deal with unreasonable customers
When it comes to delivering food/products to their houses, customers can get really picky and have many requests that they expect you to handle. Some customers might even try to cheat the system.
Conclusion
Heading out to work is a great way to learn many valuable life lessons. It is beneficial to gain experience when you’re young, so that when you actually step out into the working force, you will have better knowledge of what to do.
It can also boost your portfolio when you show your future employers that you have valuable experiences and skills you’ve picked up!
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