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How to find summer jobs: Earn money and gain experience online
Summer is a great time for students — or anyone with some free time — to explore new jobs, build their resume, learn new skills, and gain experience. While summer offers a variety of opportunities as businesses work to meet seasonal demand, some of those opportunities are more valuable than others. A stress-free job at a local ice cream shop may make lasting memories, but finding a summer job in your field may be an important first step in your budding career.
In this article, Upwork, an online marketplace for hiring skilled freelancers, offers tips to find the right summer job, and provides 10 ideas for great summer jobs you can do from anywhere with an internet connection.
Decide what kind of job you’d like
The first step in finding a summer job that’s good for you is to decide the kind of job you’d like. If you have a clear idea of the type of career you want, that’s great. If you don’t know what you want to do long-term, that’s okay, too. One of the great things about summer jobs is their mix of low stakes and high value in growing your career.
To help you find the summer job that’s right for you, first answer these questions:
- How many hours can I work each week?
- When am I available to work?
- How much flexibility do I need in my schedule?
- Do I want an in-person or remote job?
- Do I have any summer plans that would conflict with a set schedule?
- What interests me?
- What hard and soft skills do I currently have?
- What skills do I want to learn and develop?
- What do I enjoy doing?
- What do I find boring?
- What am I looking to gain (other than money)?
Get a personal or job reference on your resume
Before you start applying for jobs, you’ll want to update your resume. Or, if you don’t have one yet, create one using a resume builder.
If you don’t have a lot of experience, a personal recommendation or job reference can go a long way with potential employers. A personal reference could be from a professor or mentor whom you feel comfortable asking. You could ask a former manager to write a recommendation if you’ve had past jobs or volunteered.
If you don’t have any relationships where you feel comfortable asking for professional references, you can grow them easily and quickly by freelancing.
As you develop professional relationships with clients, you can ask them for references, testimonials, and recommendations.
Begin the search as soon as you can
One common mistake students make is waiting until summer starts to start looking for jobs. Finding a good summer job takes time; if you want to work at a bigger company, you might need to start applying as early as December. Smaller companies tend to look for summer students and seasonal workers in the spring, well before school lets out.
You want to have an idea of what you’re looking for before it’s time to apply for jobs. Once you know what you want, you can start looking at job boards and reaching out to companies. You may need to do a few rounds of interviews with a company before getting an offer. Giving yourself enough time lets you pick the best job for you, rather than waiting too long and having to take the first offer you get.
If you want to freelance full-time during the summer, you can start building your portfolio now. With freelancing, you can work throughout the school year whenever you have a break or lighter coursework.
Try looking within your own network
While your first thought may be to scour the job boards, remember to consider your own network. Let your friends and family know you’ll be looking for a summer job a few months ahead. You could post on your personal social media channels and see if you get any leads. A friend of a friend may know of a position that hasn’t even been posted yet.
Learning how to network is an essential skill that will help you throughout your career. It may feel awkward at first, but you never know where a good lead will come from. You could send a few emails to people in your network who are well connected or work in an industry that interests you. They may even be able to refer you to a summer job at their company.
Connect with recruiters and temp agencies
Another option is to reach out directly to recruiters and temp agencies. Instead of waiting for the company to post a job, you could find their recruiter, send them your resume, and let them know you’re interested in a summer job. Recruiters know the ins and outs of the job market and can be helpful resources.
Temp agencies are also great for finding seasonal work, like a summer job. They work with companies to fill their short-term hiring needs. If you don’t have the time to look and apply for jobs, you could have a temp agency do the heavy lifting. Once you give them your information and what you’re looking for, they’ll work to find job openings that suit your skills.
Try looking on social media
Social media can be a helpful tool for job hunting. Before you start using social media to find a summer job, review your public accounts and see if you need to clean anything up. Your personal brand is important; you want to make sure there are no red flags on your profile that an employer might see. If you aren’t already on LinkedIn, create a professional profile, as this is a popular platform for networking and finding jobs.
Follow the brands and companies that you’re interested in working for. They may post jobs and announce position openings on their social media channels. You can also use hashtags like #remotework #hiring #summerjob or get more specific with the job title like #projectmanagerjobs to filter posts. Or, you might send direct messages to the hiring managers and recruiters on social media.
10 summer job ideas
Are you ready to start your summer job hunt but still not sure what you want to do? Check out these summer job ideas that can help you earn extra money while building marketable skills that you can use later in your career.
1. Project management
Project managers develop strong leadership, organization, and communication skills. They lead projects from start to finish, making sure that everyone has what they need and that projects stay on schedule and under budget.
Working in project management, you could get your foot in the door of a major company and gain experience as a project coordinator or assistant project manager. Assignments would likely include using project management software to organize projects, assign tasks, and help ensure deliverables stay on track. You could also work as a freelance project manager, taking on clients in a variety of industries.
Project management is a valuable skill and can turn into a profitable career down the road. Project managers can make around $19-$45 per hour. If you work 20 hours per week over the summer in a project management role, you could make $1,530-$3,600 per month.
2. Medical writer
Working as a freelance medical writer could be a great summer job if you’re in a pre-med program or taking a science-heavy course load. This type of technical writing focuses on medical resources, from journals to sales brochures, and can also include editing and proofreading.
As a medical writer, you could work on the patient side, taking highly technical and scientific research and turning it into easy-to-understand healthcare information for the general public. You could also work in research and document findings for scientific publications and medical journals.
A background in medicine and healthcare is helpful to find work as a medical writer, and you can also get a medical writing certificate from the American Medical Writers Association.
Medical writers can make around $23-$50 per hour. If you work 20 hours per week as a medical writer over the summer, you could make $1,840-$4,000 per month.
3. Sales consultant
If you’re interested in sales, you could work as a freelance sales consultant during the summer. Learning how to sell is a valuable skill that can carry over into different career paths, like marketing and account management, if you don’t want to stay in sales directly.
Sales consultants are the intermediaries between a company and its customers. They pitch products and services to potential customers, earning an hourly wage and sometimes a commission. As a sales consultant, you represent the company and must have strong communication skills and knowledge of the product or service to answer customer questions.
Beginner sales consultants can typically make around $10 per hour, but as they gain experience can earn around $24 per hour at the intermediate level. Expert and advanced sales consultants can make $88 per hour or more. If you work as a sales consultant for 20 hours per week over the summer, you could make $800-$1,920 per month, potentially even more as you build your experience and skills.
4. Operations management
Operations managers oversee the day-to-day activities of the companies or teams they work with. They help ensure their teams are functioning correctly, looking at operational processes, quality control, compliance, and safety and efficiency in different departments to prevent or eliminate bottlenecks.
Operations management could be an especially beneficial summer job for students studying business. You need strong leadership, communication, problem-solving, and organizational skills to succeed as an operations manager. Working an entry-level operations management job, you may be analyzing data, identifying areas of opportunity for a business, overseeing project areas, or implementing six sigma methodology.
The average hourly rate for an entry-level operations manager is around $26 per hour, according to Glassdoor. If you work 20 hours per week as an operations manager over the summer, you could make $2,080 per month.
5. Tutor
Tutoring is a popular summer job for college students who feel like they’ve mastered a subject and can help others with homework and test prep. Working one-on-one with students virtually or in person, you can review lessons and homework problems. It’s a job that requires patience, as you may need to find different ways to explain a concept, and to explain a concept more than once. You should only tutor in subject areas that you feel really comfortable with.
Tutoring is a great summer job especially for those looking to gain experience in teaching. You could work remotely and freelance, connect with parent groups, or work in person for local schools and in your community. Schools may be hiring part-time tutors during the semester so you can gain experience working a couple of hours per week. If you want to work more hours during the summer, you can work with more than one student at a time.
The average hourly rate for a tutor is about $26 per hour, according to Salary.com. Working with multiple students at a time is an easy way to get more hours per week; if you work 20 hours per week tutoring during the summer, you could earn an extra $2,080 per month.
6. Transcriber
If you’re a fast and accurate typist, transcribing is a summer job with flexible hours that can be done remotely. Companies and even individuals hire transcribers to type audio and video recordings into Word documents or Google Docs. They typically send the files digitally and then ask you to transcribe them within a set timeframe.
Colleges also use transcribers to help students with visual or auditory disabilities during classes, typing out lectures, class discussions, questions, and other important information. If you’re interested in transcription jobs, you can search for work-from-home options or see if your college is looking for on-campus transcribers.
While you can get a transcription certification through the Transcription Certification Institute, transcribing is often an entry-level job that you can do part time and work on building your skills and efficiency. A client may ask that you type out what you hear word for word, unedited, including filler words like “um,” or you may need to edit as you go and correct grammar, depending on the type of transcription.
Transcribers can make around $12-$22 per hour. If you work 20 hours per week as a transcriber during the summer, you could make $960-$1,760 per month.
7. Software development
Working as a software developer could be a great summer job. Front-end developers work in languages like JavaScript and HTML to develop the user-experience side of software. Back-end developers work behind the scenes, building the framework and functionality using Python, PHP, and Java.
If you’re starting out, you could work as a junior developer and learn from those with more experience on your team. Having a few programming projects and IT or software classes on your resume can be helpful for getting interviews. If you’re already comfortable with multiple coding languages, you could freelance and accept more advanced projects, building your portfolio.
Software developers can make $10-$100 per hour. If you work 20 hours per week as a software developer during the summer, you could make $800-$8,000 per month. While software developers at every level are in demand, the highest rates are typically reserved for senior developers with years of experience.
8. Content marketing
Brands use focused content marketing to spread their messaging, grow awareness, find leads, and generate sales. Content comes in many different types, from copy to videos. The job of a content marketer is to figure out what content a brand needs and then find the best channels to use and promote it.
As a content marketer, you could work on planning and strategy, using content calendars to find the best times to put the right content in front of the right audience. Or, you might work on the creative side, generating pictures, images, and videos, and writing copy that resonates with the audience for websites and social media outlets. A third aspect of content marketing is data analytics — using metrics to make better-informed decisions.
Content marketers can make around $15-$40 per hour. If you work 20 hours per week during the summer as a content marketer, you could make $1,200-$3,200 per month.
9. Freelance graphic designer
If you enjoy art and design, you could work as a freelance graphic designer during the summer. Graphic design can be a very rewarding career, allowing people to work in a creative field while earning a respectable income. As a skill-based job, a strong design profile and portfolio are important for winning proposals and projects.
In addition to graphic design, other types of design include website, user experience, and interior design.
Depending on your design skills and the programs you’re comfortable using, you could provide a variety of design services to clients.
Graphic designers can make around $15-$35 per hour. If you work 20 hours per week as a graphic designer over the summer, you could make $1,200-$2,800 per month.
10. Bookkeeping
If you’re studying accounting, finance, or economics, bookkeeping as a summer job can help you gain experience and build your accounting skills. You could work for a company during the summer as a bookkeeper or offer your services to clients as an independent professional. Depending on the client or employer, you may start with data entry but work your way up to financial analysis and reporting.
Bookkeeping, an aspect of accounting, is typically entry level. It focuses on the administrative side with payroll, data entry, and updating and organizing ledgers and other record keeping. A bookkeeper should have a background in finance, be comfortable working with numbers, and know how to input data correctly into spreadsheets and run reports. You could work in spreadsheets or specific software for accounting and bookkeeping like QuickBooks or ADP.
Bookkeepers can make around $11-$25 per hour. If you work 20 hours per week as a bookkeeper over the summer, you could make $880-$2,000 per month.
FAQs about how to find summer jobs
What are the best summer jobs for students?
The best summer jobs for students will depend on your schedule, interests, and goals. Traditional options like retail and food service offer steady hours and customer-service experience. If you’re looking for more flexibility, freelance work — such as writing, graphic design, social media management, or virtual assistance — can be a great alternative.
How can I find a summer job with no experience?
You can find a summer job without prior experience by focusing on transferable skills like communication, organization, and reliability. Many entry-level roles — both in-person and online — don’t require a formal background.
You can also start building experience and developing a portfolio through small freelance projects. Creating a strong profile and applying to beginner-friendly roles can make it easier to get started.
Are online or remote summer jobs legitimate?
Yes, online and remote summer jobs are legitimate — but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t also bad actors who try to abuse the system. Scammers have been known to offer jobs in an effort to steal their victims’ bank account or personal information, and you should know what to look for to spot an online scam on a work platform.
To start, look for opportunities on trusted platforms, check reviews or client history, and avoid roles that require upfront payments or seem too good to be true. Using established marketplaces with built-in protections can help reduce risk.
How can I make more money during the summer?
To make more money over the summer, consider combining multiple income streams — such as a part-time job with freelance work. You can also focus on developing in-demand skills like content writing, data entry, customer support, or social media management.
Freelance work often allows you to set your own rates and take on multiple clients, which can increase your earning potential over time. Exploring different types of opportunities can help you find the best fit for your goals.
Can freelancing be a good summer job?
Yes, freelancing can be an excellent summer job if you’re looking for flexibility and the chance to build real-world skills. You can choose projects that fit your interests and schedule, work remotely, and gain experience that’s valuable for your future career.
Many beginners start with simple projects and gradually take on more complex work as they build confidence, a portfolio, and long-term relationships with clients.
When should I start applying for summer jobs?
You should start applying for summer jobs between January and March, especially for competitive roles like internships or structured programs. However, many employers continue hiring into late spring and early summer — so you can still make an effort even if you get a late start.
Freelance and gig-based opportunities are available year-round, so you can work as soon as you’re ready and take a break if your class load gets too heavy. Learning how to search effectively can help you find opportunities faster.
This story was produced by Upwork and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
