Summer Jobs for College Students-Thinking Outside the Retail Box

Welcome Home! It has been a tough year but you have survived. Now you need a summer job and are doing the mall application circuit. In spite of the fact that you are filling in all the lines completely and are dressing as if the interview could happen on the spot nothing is happening. Things are getting desperate. It is time to think outside the Retail Box.

You have just spent a year in college cramming your head full of info that you haven't a clue as to how to use. Here are a few ideas on how to earn some money from all that stuff.

Post ads in your local penny saver newspapers offering your services as a tutor for Elementary or High School Students. Also check out the local Homeschool Association. Those kids are basically in school all day everyday of the year and their parents don't always have all of the knowledge to fill in certain curriculum requirements. Your college major may provide just what they are looking for and supplying that info could prove to be the perfect summer job.

As a student, you have spent a year or more writing Term papers and Essays that you probably won't be able to reuse. Before you delete them, check out some of the websites that buy this kind of work. Some offer cash up front per paper and some pay by the quarter. Check out the sites carefully because there are a lot of scams out there.

Rework those term papers into articles for sites like Associated Content. You might be sitting on some serious cash and not know it! You have already done most of the work as a student. Now it is time to earn some money for the Summer.

Buy stuff at yard sales and flea markets and flip them on ebay. Focus on things that you know the most about first. For example, you collect action figures and know that any of the original cast-metal Voltron characters are drool-worthy. Hunt those down, buy them at a fair price, list them on ebay and watch your paypal account grow!

Many people know that ebay is a great way to get rid of old stuff but don't want the hassle of listing and shipping for themselves nor do they feel like carrying that stuff over to one of the local ebay consignment stores (if there is one of those in your area). Offer your services as a Trading Partner and sell that stuff for them. Go to ebay.com to learn the in's and out's of this kind of service.

If you are good at organizing things, offer your services to the organizationally impaired. Clean out their garages and attics and carry that stuff to the landfill for them for a fee. Not only can you get paid to clean out their stuff, you may also find things to flip on ebay for free. One man's trash is another man's treasure!

Are you artistic or crafty and have work piling up in your workspace? Borrow someone's digital camera and post your work on your blog. Include a notice that your work is available for sale even if you don't think your stuff is "good enough". Many people collect student work both in the hopes of having an "I knew them when" piece as well as wanting to support the arts through feeding a "starving artist". You may not be "starving" yet but isn't the purpose not to get to that point?

Do you have access to a mini-van in good condition? Many senior citizens, handicapped or otherwise physically impaired people, need to get around town during times that may not sync up with public transportation schedules and taxis are expensive. Offer your services as a driver for the day for a flat rate.

As you can see, the list of things you can do outside of the Retail Box can be pretty extensive. Take a minute to make a list of your likes and dislikes and what skills you have. Brainstorm ways you can earn money with those skills. Soon you will have a list twice as long as this and at least one will put cash in your pocket this summer and possibly beyond!