Part-Time Job Suggestions

December 2, 2012 2:14 PM

I'm looking for part-time work that doesn't interfere with my schedule (M-F 9-5) is either a)temporary, b)occasional/intermittent, or c)a low # of hours? - any suggestions for fields?

I recently started living alone and my budget has become extremely tight, so I'm looking to make some extra money. While I am looking to change fields and make more money in my full time job, in the mean time, I'd like to find part time work.

Ideally, I'd like something that is either
A) steady 1 night/week + 1 weekend day/night so that I would still have a day off OR
B) occasional - as in a bunch of hours over a short period of time every once and a while AND
C) wont take over my entire life/free time
I would be fine with this work being Seasonal or Temporary. I'd prefer it not be front line retail or food service but I'll take what I can get.

I live close enough to Chicago to take the Metra downtown, so I was thinking of looking into the festivals that take place over the summer.

I have a bachelor's degree in a social service field and I work in banking. I have experience with cash handling and customer service as well as with office work.

Any suggestions?

posted by aka_anon to Work & Money (17 answers total)

The classic suggestion here is pizza delivery (which is discouraged but not ruled out by your conditions.)
posted by Jahaza at 2:22 PM on December 2, 2012

There are many positions at movie theatres that fit most of what you are looking for though the pay is low but you do get free movies.

Most shifts start at 6pm, end around 11 and they love to have more mature employees rather than teenagers. If you don't want to deal too much with customers apply for an usher position as they are the ones who clean the empty theatres and don't have to do too much customer service other than being polite and sometimes take tickets.
posted by saradarlin at 2:37 PM on December 2, 2012

Here are some things that people I know do: test prep for Kaplan; tutor generally; work as a handyman; freelance graphic design; teach yoga/cardio; work in a hotel. With your background, how's about tax preparation with H&R Block. They provide training, and you can work as much/little as you want.
posted by Pineapplicious at 2:44 PM on December 2, 2012

You can't keep this job forever, but it's my go-to suggestion for people looking for a short-term way to make a little extra on the side. If you know languages other than English, so much the better.
posted by town of cats at 3:45 PM on December 2, 2012 [4 favorites]

I was in your boat several years ago. The things that I did on the side to pick up extra money included driving a limo part time (which gave me some awesome stories), doing personal organization, cooking, and errand type chores for friends who couldn't find the time to do them, consulting on web programming at night -- managing a software team that was 12 hours opposed, and picking up night stocking jobs in grocery and convenience stores. I have limited patience though and tend to prefer to work alone. If you have the patience to work with people, you have a lot more in the way of customer service opportunities.

The main things that all of these jobs took were an ability to get by without a lot of sleep (can't do that anymore now that I'm 35) and the ability to work hard and fast at night.

These days, I would probably work as a handyman for extra money before anything else.
posted by SpecialK at 3:48 PM on December 2, 2012

"Event Specialist Food Demonstrator" - in other words, handing out free food samples. Believe it or not, there is a high demand for this job. The demos usually take place on the weekends. Shift last about 7 hours. It is in retail and selling, but everyone likes you and are happy to eat your samples. The starting pay in Louisiana is $10 per hour. Sometimes we demo alcohol, our company pays $17 per hour, but usually a shift is only four hours.

It is a lot of fun, I've been doing this as a part time job for three years.
posted by JujuB at 3:52 PM on December 2, 2012 [2 favorites]

A few more ideas...

1. Is your place suitable for listing on AirBnB? It's an easy way to pick up some extra money with little effort and the people you meet are pretty nice.

2. Task Rabbit is operating in Chicago. Could you become a service provider?

3. What about taking on freelance work via Guru.com, e-lance and similar sites?

4. If you're creative, you can also fatten your wallet by entering the competitions (naming, graphic design, etc.) managed by such sites as 99 designs, crowdspring and other similar sites.
posted by carmicha at 4:26 PM on December 2, 2012 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: These are all wonderful suggestions, most of which never occurred to me. I am going to look into a bunch of them and will post back with any progress I make
posted by aka_anon at 6:32 PM on December 2, 2012

Tax prep, for something like Jackson-Hewitt or H&R Block. Seasonal work, plus they'd love your banking and customer service skills.
posted by easily confused at 7:03 PM on December 2, 2012

Figure modeling for art classes. Try contacting art schools or artist groups.
posted by danceswithlight at 7:29 PM on December 2, 2012

I don't know about where you are, but in Manhattan, Kaplan starts at $25/hr for general SAT prep and then once you get some experience you can hire out independently for $75 or more, especially if you start getting referrals from Jewish, Korean, and Chinese families. (In my experience, the latter two markets are hard to enter unless you speak the language and/or have connections into the community, although a prestigious college, advanced degrees, or high scores of your own will definitely help.)
posted by d. z. wang at 9:31 PM on December 2, 2012

I use TaskRabbit all the time for personal and business errands when I get busy, the majority of the people I hire through it seem to be either students or professionals who need a flexible extra gig. I wish it had existed when I first started freelancing - it would have been a perfect supplement for slow weeks.
posted by bradbane at 10:24 AM on December 3, 2012

Can you work overtime at your existing job? Seems like the most efficient way to make a little extra money. Any creative skills? Maybe setup an Etsy shop?
posted by cnc at 2:51 PM on December 3, 2012

Sports arenas! I know people who usher for the Blazers here in Portland. They put in one or two four-hour shifts a week for eight months a year, get to watch the games -- often from right up close -- and can still hold down normal 8-5 jobs. Hard-core sports fans might have a hard time, though, as you can't pay nonstop attention to the game.
posted by croutonsupafreak at 5:16 PM on December 3, 2012

taking croutons' a step further: General security. The company I know may be odd (not much experience/knowledge of others) but they work at sporting and music and convention events all the time. Generally a 4-6 hour shift, and every... single... Saturday!
posted by Jacen at 9:06 PM on December 3, 2012

Response by poster: CNC: unfortunately, I am not allowed overtime in my current job except in very rare cases. As for creative skills.... I would not inflict my "talents" on the general public.

I have finals within the next few days (I took a couple classes this semester but won't next), but as soon as they are over I am dedicating myself to this search.

Thank you again for all of the wonderful suggestions.
posted by aka_anon at 5:49 AM on December 4, 2012

Response by poster: I am going back through old threads and posting updates. I didn't end up getting a part time job, mainly because I received a good raise this year and then started taking classes again. That said, I will keep these suggestions in mind for the future if I want to earn a little more cash.
posted by aka_anon at 11:47 PM on November 13, 2013