Easy way to make money for uni

June 15, 2007 2:20 PM

I'm starting university in October and I'd like to make some money over the summer. What are some easy/fun ways to make money? I've just finished a foundation art and design course and I'm studying graphics at uni so I'd like to do something that's in some way related to graphic design but if that's too much to ask then a job where I can just sit at a desk and read for most of the day would be cool. I live in Weymouth which is a sea side town in south-west England if that's helpful. Also, I've never had a job before.
posted by Andy Harwood to Work & Money (5 answers total)

Here are some previous questions on this topic.

Also,
- My first suggestion is that you should look into temping - lots of advice in those threads. It will be hard to get a real, interesting job when employers know that you're off to uni in a few months - it won't make sense for them to hire you, train you, and then do it all over again with someone else. Temping gives you a chance at some remotely interesting work.
-finding a real post-uni job in design
-again, finding a real post-uni job in design
posted by LobsterMitten at 3:22 PM on June 15, 2007

Also, look at what tourist summer things there might be in your area -- they will be hiring now, and they'll be looking for someone who has no job experience and who they don't really have to train. Working in the "Welcome to Weymouth's Historic Seaside" booth would be interesting and not hard.
posted by LobsterMitten at 3:25 PM on June 15, 2007

Do you like working with kids? Lots of places have summer day camps/sleepaway camps with a focus on the arts. They like to hire university students with an art background. Depending on the place, you might actually even be paid more than minimum wage, and these jobs can be a lot of fun (speaking from personal experience).
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 6:22 PM on June 15, 2007

If you can find an IT shop that handles deployments/refreshes for a school system, you might be able to hire on as an entry-level tech, basically unboxing, setting up and configuring new PCs. The shop I worked for did massive deployments over summer break while the students were out of the buildings. I did that for two summers in college. Hours and environment kind of sucked (they don't run the A/C in school buildings in the summer if kids aren't in them), but the pay was pretty good and most everyone on the on-site team was in my general age group (+/- 5 years) and pretty chill.

But for more fun, hurdy gurdy girl has it.
posted by Alterscape at 10:40 PM on June 15, 2007

speaking from personal experience, it's generally difficult to find jobs in Dorset as a student, unless they're along the bar work/retail lines..companies are often reluctant to take students on unless they take them on unpaid.

My advice to you would be to take whatever you can get in your area, given how limited Dorset is for jobs (i'm in Bridport, probably even worse!) and try to find something during holidays or even term time when you start uni. Companies based in university towns/cities are often more likely to pay an undergrad!

On the other hand, if you can drive, and you are prepared to travel a bit, you could try design companies based in Bournemouth...
posted by farfaraway at 5:14 AM on June 16, 2007