Sell yourself

Some of the highest paying jobs for people offering few qualifications, and no major long-term commitment, can be found in sales. If you have the confidence to pull this off, then hourly rates of pay after commissions and bonuses can be double that of your average retail establishment. However, sales jobs are not for the faint hearted. You have to be able to face up to the personal rejection, and you also need to watch out for unscrupulous sales organisations, who will withhold your commission payments if you do not meet sales targets. However, for the right person, door-to-door sales of services such as gas and electricity have been known to net some students upwards of £12 per hour.

Use your skills

Although you may not see yourself yet as fully qualified in the field you are studying for, the chances are that you already have a number of skills which maybe of interest to part-time recruitment agencies, or directly to employers.


In particular, if you're studying IT, or a related course, then these skills are always highly sought-after, and you may well be able land invaluable part-time contract work through a local IT specialist recruitment agency.

Language students may also be able to get translation work, for which they can command higher hourly rates, especially if you are an expert in a rare foreign language.

Any student may be to provide private tuition in his or her subject area to A-level and GCSE students. To attract this work, try placing small adverts in local newsagents, or approach local schools.

Accountancy or business studies students may be able to get work in the financial services sector by going through specialist recruitment agencies. Roles such as credit control, purchase and sales ledger management, or marketing systems, will pay substantially more than general office work.

Remember that it isn't just the multinational companies with large London offices who offer generous paid internships or part-time work. You may find that by approaching local companies in your university town you can offer some useful skills to them, and be paid reasonably well for doing so.

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