Get Paid to Study - The Best Jobs on Campus

College is a great time to find jobs that are comfortable and easy to do. In fact, it may be the last time in a person's life when they will get the chance to get paid to do little to nothing. There are lots of jobs like this available all over campus, and they're usually pretty easy to get if you know where to look and how to interview for them.

When I was in college, I worked for two years for the small press that published out of the English Dept. Every year, they had a call for manuscripts, and a few were chosen to be published. My job was to pick up the manuscripts from the department mail, number and log the pertinent information, file them and the entry fee checks, and send a confirmation of receipt to the author. Simple enough work as it is, but for only two or three weeks out of the year, I did this for my entire shift every time I worked. What made this the ideal job for a student was the fact that the rest of the year, there were only about two manuscripts in the mail every day. The rest of my shift was spent studying, reading, and working on assignments. Very rarely this leisurely pace was interrupted by a phone call or a session of answering emails for my technophobe boss, but that provided just enough work to keep me interested and make me feel needed. It sure beat the pants off of McDonalds.

If you're looking for a job that contains very little actual work, you usually don't need to look much farther than the front desk of your residence hall. This strategy is usually better for night owls, as the day workers do have to sort mail, organize packages, hand out equipment, etc. The night shift workers need only make sure guests are signed in. The rest of the time is theirs.

Another good place to do nothing much but sit are the copy rooms or computer labs. Admittedly, the computer labs are usually staffed by knowledgeable people, but if you're knowledgeable, it can be a pretty easy going environment. Bear in mind that during the last few weeks of the semester, you can expect to dread going to work, since those are the busiest times and students are so stressed out they can't see straight. Especially if they've resorted to working on their papers in the labs.