Being a student and working casual jobs go together like Hannah Montana and Miley Cyrus. However, one place a lot of students forget about when looking for a job to support their studies is campus itself.

Surprisingly, there are a few more casual jobs on offer at universities than you might think. We’ve gathered a list of five odd jobs you can do at your uni (for a sweet hourly rate as well) that we doubt you’ve heard of before.

#1 Student Ambassador

Remember those people who would come along to your high school and brag about how great their university was? Yes, they were there because they probably loved their uni, but they were also getting paid for it.

Being a Student Ambassador can involve many different jobs, the most popular being giving tours of the campus, going to school expos and giving testimonials about the uni student experience. It’s ideal work for someone who lives close to or on their campus.

#2 Summer Research Scholarship

Many university faculties will offer Summer Research Scholarships where students assist professors in their research endeavours. These are usually undertaken for a 6-10 week period over the summer holidays, so from mid-November until mid-February.

You can receive up to $300 per week for a minimum for 20 hours of work per week on your chosen research project. Not only is this a great way to earn some cash over the summer, but it looks great on a resume!

#3 Peer Note Taking

Do you usually find yourself weeks behind lecture content? Or are you one of those people who’s pretty good at keeping on top of lectures? Either way, peer note taking is a great way to motivate yourself to learn the content and to make a couple of extra bucks!

You can make around $10 per lecture on notes that will be used to help students with varying types of disabilities. It’s very common for universities to offer these jobs around mid and end of semester exams, and there’s usually a time frame to submit the notes by (but it’s often pretty lenient).

#4 Student Election Polling Clerk

Many of us dread election season when the student pollies emerge and invade our personal space. Something good that comes out of student elections, though, is the opportunity to work as a polling clerk.

Working as a polling clerk simply involves crossing people’s names off lists and handing them their ballot papers. It’s easy enough that you can do it hungover, but also stimulating enough that time goes by pretty quickly. You also get really good at singing the alphabet to yourself.

#5 Call Centre

Did you ever get that awkward phone call in your first year of uni from an older student asking how you were finding uni life? Hate to break it to you, but they probably weren’t calling out of the kindness, but rather because of the emptiness of their bank accounts.

Working in a uni call centre is a great way to earn some extra cash on campus by literally sitting and talking to people for a couple of hours. You could be talking to first years about how they’re settling in, talking to alumni about their uni experiences, or (if you’ve got the guts) calling friends and alumni from the university asking for donations.

Emily Steinhardt is currently studying Journalism and Communications at University of Queensland. She’s a Disney enthusiast who enjoys going out for brunch, taking photos of dogs and a good G&T. 

(Lead image: Legally Blonde/Metro-Goldwyn Mayer Studios Inc)