These days, most students are overwhelmed by the fast pace of university and college courses. Keeping up with various reading assignments, projects and what seems like endless exams are enough to force a student to forego part-time work while completing their studies.

But for some, being jobless while going to school is not an option – the bills don’t stop coming in. Whether you’re in need of a job while you go to school to pay for your expenses or if you just want to gain some experience, here are the top three part-time jobs to have with a busy school schedule, according to students.

• On-campus jobs: These are extremely convenient part-time gigs for students especially because it will often cut out travel time to and from your place of work. On-campus jobs range from being a tour guide to working at the on-campus food locations. These jobs are often advantageous as the employers are cognisant that their employees are students and have varying class schedules. Alicia Willmott, a third-year business administration student at Algonquin College, works at The Tea Shoppe in the Connections store. She says the greatest thing about her job is the flexibility that comes with it and the nature of her work. “I have a huge sweet tooth, so this job is perfect,” she says.
• Retail jobs: These jobs are plentiful in Ottawa with the city’s half a dozen shopping malls and multiple other plazas around town. What’s great about these types of jobs is that they often offer discounts to their employees, which means cheaper clothes, food, and any other merchandise found in the store. Jessika Laframbroise, a second-year business administration student at Algonquin, is a supervisor at Shoppers Drug Mart. As someone who juggles work and school she says the best part of the retail environment is that it’s usually pretty easy to request time off or work minimal hours because the business typically has a large pool of employees.
• Hospitality jobs: Although most of these jobs offer a lower minimum wage than other jobs, often times your tips can increase your wage above the national wage, which is currently $11.25 an hour. What’s even better about these jobs is that the busiest times for business are over the weekend, which would allow any student to focus on school during the week. Ashley Curran, a second-year advertising and marketing communications management student at Algonquin, currently works for both Swiss Chalet and Boston Pizza. Although she says customers can sometimes be a pain, she loves being a waitress. “The best thing is that you can work for 3 hours a day and still walk out with 8 hours worth of money,” she says.

Whether you’re a student trying to make ends meet, or just someone looking to gain some experience and earn some extra cash, all while going to school, these three types of jobs are bound to be the best suited for your temporary student career. Flexibility is the most important aspect of finding a part time job because it allows students to focus on school when it starts to get busy.