How You Earn 1K on Campus | 5 min read

Thought I’d include a photo of myself to really hammer the point home: see that guy down there not made of money? That’s me. And though I can’t won’t put money on it, I bet you’e not either (no offense). So, despite the clickbaity-sounding title, I really am going to walk you through how I honestly made 1K with on-campus employment in intervals of two-week work periods. No gimmicks. I’m a first-gen student (parents didn’t go to college) working six jobs during my senior year. But enough about me; how can YOU make 1K on campus?

How to make more money

It’s simple, but not easy: Create multiple flows of income, one active and passive, and if your college allows, one in-class income. Sure, you could log a gazillian hours from a bazillian jobs while living in the No Fun Zone for four years, but that’s cheating a ‘lil. My aim is to maximize your time, which is money, in order to make the most out your earnings per working period.

My Susquehanna campus, like others, has a limit on how many hours students can work. For example: 20 hours weekly, with a 40-hour cap for a two-week period. Let’s say you’re paid minimum wage($7.25), and exceed that limit; now we’re talking overtime, where an institution may pay up to 1.5 times the regular hourly rate in hours excess to 40. Go to a school where yearly raises are in order, and you’re adding up to 50 cents annually. Sounds small, but adds up when by senior year you make $1.50 more at each of your jobs. Include promotions, which can be a whole dollar more, and you can possibly earn $8.50 an hour when as a sophomore.

My aim isn’t to give you a math lesson or economics lecture; I’m showing you how my time management model allowed for an ample social life and still not have to worry about putting gas in the car.

why work on campus?

On-campus employment benefits you by being close to where you live, study, and eat, as well as usually willing to work with your academic schedule. Off-campus employers might not understand the ins and outs of the school/work tug-and-pull, while working at the campus library you’ve spent hours studying at has people aware of why you might be a few minutes late clocking in.

Just ask rising Susquehanna University senior Kristen Blair how she does it. Kristen’s both a building manager and award-winning thrower for the college track team, carving out time for her sports and studies.

“I have practice about 10 hours during the week, then a full day’s worth of a [track] meet, then having to go to work the day after getting home late…but I have learned to cope with it….[this] provides me with the skills I will need for time management…. it’s possible [to earn 1K] if you’re willing to work when you can. To add to that, there are also jobs on campus that give $.25 or $.50 raise with each year that you’ve been working at that job.”

Kristen Blair

Your passive income

You’ve probably heard of work-study programs* offering paid positions, where you make money while having the time to finish schoolwork. The flexible hours and “hold down the fort” mentality make it ideal for working another job in the same time frame. Think library assistant, arts gallery attendant, or front desk manager. If no one’s stopping by the desk, time to make some extra cash!

*NOTE: Becoming a resident assistant, depending on the university, will either be a paid position or possibly cover room and board with a meal plan alternative offered to you. Full disclosure as an RA, this is something you should do!

your active income

Next, seek out an “active” campus position like online tutoring or social media manager. You’ll find these positions often require returning phone calls, answering emails, or proofreading papers online. The takeaway here is that they are all easy to pick up/put down at a moment’s notice, which is bound to happen at some point during one of your passive income jobs.

your in-class income

You won’t find this category in any business textbooks, but I’m sure you’d like to earn cash while earning your degree. Many universities (like mine, thankfully) offer in-class note takers, where the notes you take for a class are now a paid endeavor! If notes are needed for a class, you’ll be notified and can vie for the position, logging the hours you’ve taken notes for in class. Nice to get paid for something you should probably be doing already, to be honest. Check with your university’s “academic tutoring” department for open positions.

tying it all together

Feel free to get creative! Take a semester “easy” and apply for more passive jobs to catch up on school work, or dedicate yourself to clocking more hours in for your active income position. There are laws for how many hours a student can work biweekly, only so much overtime, and work-study can run out eventually. Don’t expect, I repeat, don’t expect two things:

1.) That you’ll make 1K first thing as a first-year and

2.) That this is the be-all, end-all of get-rich-quick scheme.

To make that much in such a short time span is possible, but not always plausible. Covering people’s shifts constantly and never missing any of your own could result in something similar, but again, time is money. Now more so than ever we are aware of how our mental states can affect our work performance and personal relationships. “Doubling hours” can help you earn more in a shorter amount of time with your in-class income adding to that, and leaving the rest open for you to prioritize your academics and enjoy what some call the best four years of your life.

Remember that you’re at (insert college name here) for an education, first and foremost, and that having downtime for yourself is not a bad thing.

This post also serves as an intro for what we do here at 1st Gen Class; we educate, collaborate with, and share the real-life success stories of first-generation college students going through higher education, and break down some of the concepts I was unfamiliar with as a first-year. Like, did you know that’s what we call freshmen now? Stay up to date with what we offer and you’ll be ‘in the know with Noah’ in no time!

Let us know in the comments section: Is making 1K with campus employment common? Have you done it before? What other tips should we include for making the most money while at college?

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