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Can a kid work their way through college anymore?

6,442 Views | 55 Replies | Last: 1 mo ago by RightWingConspirator
harge57
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10:48p, 5/18/25
AG
Have a family friend that is starting next fall. He is going to be doing his best to work his way through college. Certainly no easy task.

Not really expecting any specific job opportunities however I am certainly open to passing them along.

What kind of jobs can a kid look into these days where they can make a decent wage and get enough hours in with a college schedule.

I was a salesman at sears autocenter and made right around $20 an hour after commission in 2006, which actually covered my costs pretty well. Tuition was 3500 a semester and rent was $300 a month in a house with 6 guys.

Just looking for ideas.
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Naveronski
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8:48a, 5/19/25
AG
A&M is roughly $10k/semester.

I don't think you're making that anywhere except OF.
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10andBOUNCE
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8:51a, 5/19/25
AG
My wife was a beer tub girl at Harry's in the mid 2000s. She did very well and basically hung out with her friends who came by who were spending a ton of money while she made money. In addition to that she was a vet tech.

Do RA's get free housing these days? Might be one option to look at.

Obviously summer jobs and/or internships while home are going to play a decent part of the equation. Or possibly cranking out a bunch of summer school may be a more economical route - maybe graduate in 3 years vs 4?
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wts2014
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9:09a, 5/19/25
AG
Bus Driver is the best job on campus if he is confident enough to do that. Looks like they are starting at $14 an hour now, and it's regular raises (50 cents after training then a fairly regular quarter based on hours worked). Flexible with class schedules and usually let you work as much as you want (within rest / hours guidelines). Gonna be best bet at it, but still no easy task.

Sidenote, can't believe I started at $8 something for that job in 2012..
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PlanoAg98
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9:34a, 5/19/25
AG
UCS
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BiggiesLX
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9:37a, 5/19/25
Join the Coast Guard reserves.
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Ihatefallscounty
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9:58a, 5/19/25
AG
lolz no.

I worked 39.5 hours a week and couldn't sniff paying my tuition, rent, food etc.

I did however pay for all my food, gas, beer etc with my job and my refund paid my rent along with the loan paying my tuition.
I live in waco....therefore, I am ready to move elsewhere.
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78bc3
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10:27a, 5/19/25
AG
If coming to A&M, FIRST THING they need to do is visit Student Success Center in Rudder and learn about/get ideas on time management.
Every thing hinges on time management and they are really good at helping get students focused.
Would also make sure they realize going to college isn't 13 grade.
Also recommend they take the Focus2 career assessment early. May help with decisions on how/where to focus time.
Paul Pausky BC3 '78
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I Am A Critic
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10:42a, 5/19/25
Have him delay starting school a year or two to save money.

Join the armed forces reserves.

Learn a trade. I know people who worked as A/C techs summers during school and they made enough to not have to work during the school year.
Username checks out.
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harge57
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In reply to Naveronski • 3:22p, 5/19/25
AG
Naveronski said:
A&M is roughly $10k/semester.

I don't think you're making that anywhere except OF.


Making 20k a year does not seem implausible at all?

If you can find something near $15 an hour that is flexible enough to get enough hours in with a college schedule.

I think that is the main challenge is finding something where you can get the hours in. I was looking for some ideas on jobs like that.
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Naveronski
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In reply to harge57 • 3:35p, 5/19/25
AG
Making $20k for tuition and fees + rent, bills, insurance, gas, etc.
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AJ02
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3:41p, 5/19/25
AG
When I was there from '98-'02, I had no help from my parents. So I relied on scholarships (about $3k total per year) and loans. I worked to try to keep my loan balance as low as possible. During spring & fall, I worked probably 20 hrs/wk which is nothing to sneeze at when you're also taking 16-18 hrs/semester. In the summers I worked 39 hrs a week (of course UCS wanted to keep me as part time).

Despite all of that, I had to graduate with about $20k in loans for 4.5 years of college (including summer semesters for 3 of my 4 years).

I just don't see how anyone can fund their undergrad on work alone, especially now.
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AJ02
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In reply to PlanoAg98 • 3:43p, 5/19/25
AG
PlanoAg98 said:
UCS


The stories we could all tell about that place. Made some damn good friends while working there though.
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AggieMainland
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6:08p, 5/19/25
" Have him delay starting school a year or two to save money". 100% disagree. The success rate for someone doing this is low. Prices continue to go up. Start early and finish earlier is a better strategy. Life happens fast. Get through with college before the excuses of why you didn't go/can't go start piling up.
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DallasAg 94
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In reply to Naveronski • 7:25p, 5/19/25
Naveronski said:
A&M is roughly $10k/semester.

I don't think you're making that anywhere except OF.
You're mileage varies.

From here:
https://tuition.tamu.edu/undergraduate

Tuition and Required Fees is $5800 for 12hrs per semester.

A&M Commerce was about $10K/semester which included a breakdown like this:
$2500 Meal Plan
$2200 Tuition <- it was the lowest cost of the 4.
$2700 Fees
$2600 Dorm



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DallasAg 94
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In reply to harge57 • 8:04p, 5/19/25
By college are you meaning A&M... or another state school in Texas?

I know lots of HS grads that start college with between 30-60 hrs. If you are not living at home... I don't think it is possible to work your way through college.

One kid I mentored recently went to a BXII school. He started at JuCo living "at home." Went to a small school and lived on campus then, commutted from "home" one semester. He worked some got Pell money... got a grant... so, he got some Financial support he didn't have to pay back. But he ended up graduating with $30K in loans. He could have done it at less than $20K. I was not happy to see took more loan money to get a computer, 3D headset and other things I'd consider frivolous. Now, he was CompSci so he needed a computer, but he got more than he needed (gaming).

A&M IMO is designed to extract as much money from students as possible.

I worked my way through A&M. Got some Pell money. Worked 20-25 hrs/wk and took 12-13 hrs/semester in Engineering. It was almost impossible to keep up academically. I waited tables and made about $10-12/hr. I would go to my 9a class, take the bus to the restaurant, work a lunch shift, return to a 2:30/3 class and then would work a dinner shift. Missed almost every Yell and certainly every home game for 2 years.

Rent was $300/month, so, at $10/hr... I'm in 30+ hrs for the month (7hrs/wk) just to pay rent. That was in the '90s.

Recent costs I've seen are about $1000/mo for rent in North Gate area. I think $35K/yr is what I've paid the past few years.

The calculator I have above... every school has one... if you look at the COA for living on/off campus, you're looking at about $14-15K/semester. That shows lots of built=in costs that shows the real cost of going off to school.

The bigger question is at what cost does someone attempt go work their way through college. For myself, you get 2+ years in and in my case, could I get academically eligible to graduate if I continued to work as much as I did. The answer is... No. You can't walk into a Thermo exam having worked and compete academically with someone who spent that time in the library studying. And then try to cram for your DiffEq exam for the next day that you were barely able to have the time to get the homework completed.
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DallasAg 94
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In reply to harge57 • 8:14p, 5/19/25
Waiting tables is the type of job, IMO, that works great, if that is what you're looking for.

You work mostly Friday and Saturday nights... Sundays, so your weekend can give you 17-20 hrs. You'll miss all the fun stuff. Restaurants are usually very flexible during the week knowing their employees are mostly students.

Hrs - 10:30/11 - 2 and 5-9/10. I've taken classes before, between and after shifts, so you can generally get plenty of hours if you want. People are always looking to dump shifts.

For me, I worked for a restaurant that was a chain. I was able to work in CStat and then transfer back home. One manager who really helped me out. When I would come home from school, he'd let me work tirelessly... his only stipulation was I had to work the hours he gave me. I'd work Spring Break, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and summers. I had to work Christmas Eve, New Years Eve, and every other ****ty shift, but I made great money and I could get shifts anytime I was home.
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zooguy96
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10:07p, 5/19/25
AG
I worked 40 hours/week while at A&M and took a full load. Worked 50 during the summer.

Still had loans I had to pay off. Course, I was sending $$ to my parents so they could pay bills.

College sucked.
I know a lot about a little, and a little about a lot.
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Petrino1
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In reply to DallasAg 94 • 10:52a, 5/20/25
DallasAg 94 said:
Waiting tables is the type of job, IMO, that works great, if that is what you're looking for.

You work mostly Friday and Saturday nights... Sundays, so your weekend can give you 17-20 hrs. You'll miss all the fun stuff. Restaurants are usually very flexible during the week knowing their employees are mostly students.

Hrs - 10:30/11 - 2 and 5-9/10. I've taken classes before, between and after shifts, so you can generally get plenty of hours if you want. People are always looking to dump shifts.

For me, I worked for a restaurant that was a chain. I was able to work in CStat and then transfer back home. One manager who really helped me out. When I would come home from school, he'd let me work tirelessly... his only stipulation was I had to work the hours he gave me. I'd work Spring Break, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and summers. I had to work Christmas Eve, New Years Eve, and every other ****ty shift, but I made great money and I could get shifts anytime I was home.
Came here to say this, waiting tables is 100% the way to go. I waited tables throughout college and typically made around $400-500 per week just working Friday-Sunday nights. I also worked part time at school in the computer lab and various other departments. Both jobs were obviously flexible with my school schedule.

Summer internships can also pay a great wage if youre able to land them. I had friends that paid their way through college by selling books door to door in the summer, but not sure I would recommend that route lol.
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DallasAg 94
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In reply to zooguy96 • 11:14a, 5/20/25
You mean like.... mom calls 4 days before rent is due and tells you their lights were turned off and she needs $X to get them back so your HS brother and sister has electricity... and so you give her your rent money knowing you can pick up a couple shifts even though you'd rather study.

Personally, I took a little longer to get through school because I knew I'd never be able to have as much fun with as little responsibility once I graduated, as I could in college. And once I graduated, I landed a job making great money, with 13 paid holidays, 18 days of Vacation, AND... Friday happy hours where they bought beer and we started drinking at noon on Fridays. My 1st week, the CEO is walking by our group eating lunch. "Why hasn't happy hour started?" I said, "I'll get right on that." SO, I was wrong.
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zooguy96
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In reply to DallasAg 94 • 12:06p, 5/20/25
AG
DallasAg 94 said:
You mean like.... mom calls 4 days before rent is due and tells you their lights were turned off and she needs $X to get them back so your HS brother and sister has electricity... and so you give her your rent money knowing you can pick up a couple shifts even though you'd rather study.

Personally, I took a little longer to get through school because I knew I'd never be able to have as much fun with as little responsibility once I graduated, as I could in college. And once I graduated, I landed a job making great money, with 13 paid holidays, 18 days of Vacation, AND... Friday happy hours where they bought beer and we started drinking at noon on Fridays. My 1st week, the CEO is walking by our group eating lunch. "Why hasn't happy hour started?" I said, "I'll get right on that." SO, I was wrong.


Yeah, about like that. No water or electric, etc.

My dad used to like to joke that he sent five kids to A&M and paid for them all, although he didn't pay for any of us to go. We all paid our own way, and I was the only one who sent money back.
I know a lot about a little, and a little about a lot.
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Mookie
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12:50p, 5/20/25
AG
I would do dual enrollment with blinn and A&M to keep costs even lower.

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Eliminatus
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1:26p, 5/20/25
AG
Baseline of typical minimum wage college labor job with zero loans and not having more than one roommate and being 100%, and I mean true 100%, self sufficient?

Pretty much no.

Add some nuances to the above and you can work out some scenarios for some individuals. But life is going to suck and if you are at all one of those who has to devote actual outside classroom time to schoolwork, it's going to be brutal. You will be doing college with the odds stacked against you.

I am CO '22 so probably far more recent than most here. Rapid rent price increases to go along with tuition is kinda insane. The college difference between those with help and those without (excluding loans) is so vast.
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zooguy96
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In reply to Eliminatus • 1:52p, 5/20/25
AG
Yes, rent has gone completely nuts. At the University I work at, four students rent on campus apartments with a common area. Each room cost $2000 a month. That's almost twice my mortgage. I don't know how they afford it.
I know a lot about a little, and a little about a lot.
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DallasAg 94
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In reply to zooguy96 • 2:02p, 5/20/25
zooguy96 said:
DallasAg 94 said:
You mean like.... mom calls 4 days before rent is due and tells you their lights were turned off and she needs $X to get them back so your HS brother and sister has electricity... and so you give her your rent money knowing you can pick up a couple shifts even though you'd rather study.

Personally, I took a little longer to get through school because I knew I'd never be able to have as much fun with as little responsibility once I graduated, as I could in college. And once I graduated, I landed a job making great money, with 13 paid holidays, 18 days of Vacation, AND... Friday happy hours where they bought beer and we started drinking at noon on Fridays. My 1st week, the CEO is walking by our group eating lunch. "Why hasn't happy hour started?" I said, "I'll get right on that." SO, I was wrong.


Yeah, about like that. No water or electric, etc.

My dad used to like to joke that he sent five kids to A&M and paid for them all, although he didn't pay for any of us to go. We all paid our own way, and I was the only one who sent money back.
You are like my twin.

Dad said the same thing. They took debt out in my name and my dad said it wasn't his problem. I quickly paid everything off, including any "just enough" Student Loans.

Mom was like, "Take as much as you can get, you deserve it." I'm like, "I have to pay that back."

My siblings took max Student debt. Two of them got debt relief from Biden paying like $65K and $70K. So, pisses me off. Who's the Chump? This guy! Worked my ass off while in school and taking care of paying for my school. Yet, "others" didn't work, partied, and had their school paid for by the Government which includes the taxes I have to pay being used.
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AJ02
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In reply to DallasAg 94 • 2:35p, 5/20/25
AG
Damn. I didn't have it THAT bad.

My dad always told me "if you want to go to college, you have to find a way to pay for it yourself." Mind you, he was making the equivalent of $165k with the equivalent of a $500/month mortgage note. So not struggling by any means.

But I did it. Worked my butt off to get scholarships, worked 20 hrs/wk during Fall & Spring semesters and 39 hrs/wk during the summers. Took out loans. Got my degree in 4 1/2 years.

The whole time I was in school my dad would make me send him copies of all of my receipts so that he could claim them on his income tax. Then he'd keep the tax return money to himself.
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Maroon Elephant
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10:32a, 5/21/25
AG
If you do two years of JUCO and then two years at a cheap state school (not Texas or A&M), then it can be done. But $$ will still be really tight because college costs twice what it should.
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TommyGun
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In reply to harge57 • 11:02a, 5/21/25
AG
harge57 said:
Naveronski said:
A&M is roughly $10k/semester.

I don't think you're making that anywhere except OF.


Making 20k a year does not seem implausible at all?

If you can find something near $15 an hour that is flexible enough to get enough hours in with a college schedule.

I think that is the main challenge is finding something where you can get the hours in. I was looking for some ideas on jobs like that.


I worked trade jobs in the petro chem industry around Houston to get a bunch of hours in the summers. I worked for a couple of small industrial contractors and would get hired on as a helper and in some cases I quickly moved to the office doing basic Auto-Cad drafting or project estimating. Pay was generally $17-$21/hr back in the late 2000s and I was able to rack up a lot of OT hours. I think my lowest summer I made $12k and my highest was around $21k. The Houston Chapter of the Associated Builders and Contractors is a good place to network for summer internships and trade jobs.
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GoAgs92
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1:32p, 5/25/25
AG
1. work during HS and HS summers….HEB pays $13 an hour. You'd have $20k ish
2. Take AP classes or dual credit = 1 year college taken care of
3. Go to CC and wrap up you basics, make sure the hours will xfer….work 20 hours per week for another $10k
4. Work your last 2 A&M years…that's another $20k.

So you have $50k to pay for CC and 2 A&M years….possible but bleh…
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BurnetAggie99
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10:59p, 5/25/25
My son is currently at A&M. He's working part time at HEB. Gets to pick his shifts
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htxag09
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7:59a, 5/26/25
AG
Student loans aren't the boogie man people make them out to be, imo. (Not necessarily talking about this thread.)

I worked at a golf course throughout school. I would usually also pick up a 2nd job at 12th man foundation when they were having big donor pushes.

These mainly payed rent, food, etc. Some tuition but I got student loans for most of it.

About two years after graduating I consolidated all my loans and paid it off in 5 years.
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BO297
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9:15a, 5/26/25
I wish I had thought more about what work to do. Find a better paying cash gig. Maximize time and flexibility.
Mow lawns
Babysit
A buddy of mine told me told me yesterday he made $70k his senior year personal training. He got in with a bunch of doctors wives.
Another friend was a bellman at a high end hotel while at UTSA. Killed it with tips
Find what wealthy people want help with and provide it. We hire high school kids to drive us if we go to a party or concert as uber isn't extremely reliable here. $20 an hour plus tips.
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infinity ag
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10:48a, 5/26/25
No.

Those days are gone.

Even 2 income families cannot make it through. We are an investor society. Invest now else suffer later. Working hard does not take you anywhere anymore.
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SunrayAg
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5:05p, 5/26/25
AG
Yes it can be done. But not if you plan to live in the luxury accommodations they are calling student housing now.

Work full time in the summer. Work 20-30 hours/week during school. Work over Christmas break. Live lean.
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Green2Maroon
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1:44p, 5/28/25
AG
I went to college with the GI Bill shortly after I left active duty. I did the 2 years at Blinndergarten and then 2 years at A&M. Worked 20 hours a week or so at UCS/Reynolds and Reynolds for almost all my college years. Also had two years in the National Guard which helped pay bills too.

It was okay financially. I didn't have a roommate except for my sister living with me the last semester. Although this was '07-10 so it was pretty cheap to live in BCS at the time. I had a 2 bedroom apartment for 3 years and only paid 580 with most of the bills included in the rent.
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