Summer & College Students

By: Daniel Avila

As we all know, summer is just around the corner, and for some students summer means vacations and fun, but for others it is time to find a part-time job and/or apply for internships. Teens may be the recession's hardest hit demographic. According to the Department of Labor, the unemployment rate for teens ages 16 through 19 is north of 20%, higher than workers in any other age group. While teens typically have some financial support from their parents, high school and college students in need of summer cash could find themselves without jobs. Consider these three ways to make money if the summer jobs aren't there.

Internships and apprenticeships
Two of the fastest ways to land a post-graduate job, internships and apprenticeship, are solid investments in your future. A lot of organizations that offer these programs don't advertise them. Students need to take a lot of initiative, make inquiries, and approach prospective employers whether there's a listing or not.

Research grants
Get paid to build your resume. Available through colleges themselves as well as through private companies and governmental bodies, research grants can help students pay for college, and room and board while they study. Students need to apply for grants early. Normally students start looking for jobs in April, but for these programs you have to start in February or March. For fall semester, they need to start looking the spring semester before the upcoming fall semester. The best place to start the hunt is within your school. Once students have exhausted options available through their academic department and financial aid office, they can find additional opportunities through scholarship sites, the federal government at students.gov and professional associations in their field.

Work-study jobs
If you're smart about picking a work-study job, it can actually give you more real-world experience than a summer retail job. Jobs ranging from research assistant to recycling manager, work-study positions won't make you rich, the pay is usually just above minimum wage, but they are flexible and won't subtract from your financial aid eligibility as much as other jobs. The federal government currently allows students to earn up to $3,000 in income without it affecting their financial aid package. For every dollar earned over the $3,000 benchmark, students will lose 50 cents in federal scholarships and grants, reports the Department of Education. Work-study jobs along with earnings from the Peace Corp, AmeriCorps and Teach for America are exempt from this clause, so students are free to earn away without any repercussions. Students seeking work-study jobs for the academic year may have more say in where they're placed if they can start during the summer. At campuses that empty out during the summer, work-study students will have significantly lower competition for the best jobs.