Last update: 08.12.2021
I don’t know if it was your case, but during my studies in Switzerland, I really struggled to find good tips to get a student job in Lausanne and Vaud… I wish I knew where to look (blogs, forums, or others…)
In the early days of the Internet, there was Ados Job, which by the way still exists. Now they even have another sister organization called Ados Pros that offers individual coaching and job placement assistance. As they write: “Students and young people can thus benefit from quality follow-up in the writing of their applications and find a small job alongside their studies.”
But what I was missing at that time was to have concrete feedback from real people. And also to know the salaries of these student jobs.
That’s why I called on the Mustachians who follow this blog (thanks to all of you!), so that it would be the most exhaustive and representative of a maximum of Swiss cantons.
I will update this article as I receive new responses. So send me an email (by replying to one of my newsletters) to share your good plan for a side job in Switzerland while studying!
Without further ado, here is the list of 11 student jobs in Switzerland, with their salaries revealed!
Wait, just one more thing!
As we are on a blog that has to show the way to FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) in Switzerland, I remind you why it is interesting to earn money while being a student, and especially how to use it to create your wealth:
- Why a student job? Because the earlier you start earning money, the earlier you can save, and the younger you can retire in Switzerland — like, 30!
- The rule of thumb I teach our MP kids is you set aside 50% of any income you receive, and do what you want with the other half
- Finally, that money you put aside, you have to invest it to make it grow much faster than with a bank (and their negative interest rates at the time I’m writing this). Don’t know how to do that? Go read this article where I explain everything
Now that that’s out of the way, we can get to the crispy stuff 💰!
Student job Switzerland #1: Truck driver (Gilles)
In which city or canton?
Bussigny-près-Lausanne (Vaud).
Name of the company?
Felix Construction.
How did you hear about this student job the very first time (family, friends, online community, etc.)?
I would always sign up with employment agencies during summer vacations, during my apprenticeship, and then during my studies.
How did you manage to get this student job in Switzerland (expertise, networking, specific knowledge)?
Few students have a truck driver’s license, so I could easily find a job during the vacations. As I was obliged to do the army, I made the necessary to do my license during the army.
If a reader is interested, can you give him a contact in this company?
Unfortunately the company is in liquidation today…
How much did you earn per month net? (or per hour net)
I don’t remember, but much more than the other students who worked as a temp at the shop during the summer vacations. Moreover, this job as a driver was very nice, because I was driving all over the French-speaking part of Switzerland.
Student job Switzerland #2: Tutoring in psychology (Nicole)
During my studies, I had various tutoring jobs at the university. This was a long time ago (2010s!), but these student jobs still exist, as studies have not changed much in the last few years.
In which city or canton?
Zürich (Zürich).
Name of the company?
University of Zürich.
How did you first hear about this student job (family, friends, online community, etc.)?
The Association of Psychology Students University of Zurich (www.faps.ch) runs a mailing list. This is where the tutor mandates were advertised. Some student jobs were proposed by the professors themselves, who mentioned them during lectures.
They were also posted on Facebook in the psychology groups or on the university’s website.
How did you manage to get this student job in Switzerland (expertise, networking, specific knowledge)?
One of my tutorials was monitoring the OLAT online learning platform, recording courses and supporting teachers with these platforms. I originally worked as a web designer, and I was able to bring my expertise to it.
Other tutor jobs were remedial courses for younger students, so to speak.
I had to attend the classes (or watch the recordings), and go into more depth with the students during the lectures.
FYI, there are tutor jobs where older students teach younger students. They teach and review the lecture material. Of course, you have to have understood the course yourself (which is why I never took such a course, I did give it :-)).
Another activity counted as tutoring was attending the general assembly of the institute. All the professors met on this occasion, 3 to 4 times a semester. Also present were 4 representatives of the intermediate body (doctoral students, researchers, etc.) and students.
I was at the time a member of the student association of psychology, and therefore a student representative.
There are similar positions, for example in the ethics commission or the canteen commission. You just have to keep your eyes open and be a little interested in the content.
Often the student association is also directly approached by the institute management to see if they can send someone.
So you can write to the association and say you’re interested in this kind of thing if there are ever any openings.
The workload was extremely variable. For the most part, I had to read the minutes and documents and confer with my
consult with my colleagues. A tutoring position, of course, requires much more commitment.
If any reader is interested, can you give them a contact at this company?
Association of Psychology Students University of Zurich (www.faps.ch).
How much did you earn per month net? (or per hour net)
In my day, I received about CHF 1500 per semester for each tutoring job.
The settlement was always in January and July.
You certainly can’t make a living at it, but it’s a good boost! You learn a lot and can build valuable networks for your future professional career.
I hope that my contribution will help student readers to realize that you can also earn money while being in university, and that it also allows you to gain interesting experiences while being paid.
Student job Switzerland #3: Synthesizer operator (JR)
Having spent many years at university, I had many student jobs, most of them related to what I was studying. However, I also had a small job open to everyone, which might be of interest to your readers. I should mention that I left that job 3 years ago, but it is still possible to apply. Job offers specifically for students are posted on the internet at regular intervals.
What does “Synthesizer Operator” mean?
Very concretely, it’s a position in audio-visual in which you are responsible for inlaying all the elements of the images that go live on the air: texts, names, subtitles, diagrams, score, etc.). I have worked mostly on sports programs (e.g. Sport Dimanche) or live soccer, ice hockey, Olympic games.
In which city or canton?
Geneva (Geneva).
Name of the company?
Radio Télévision Suisse (RTS), Sports Department.
How did you hear about this student job the very first time (family, friends, online community, etc.)?
Via the University of Geneva’s job platform (https://emploi.unige.ch) accessible to the University’s students. My girlfriend had sent me the offer. As far as I know, the job offer was also published on other platforms and with other institutions (universities, colleges).
How did you manage to get this student job in Switzerland (expertise, networking, specific knowledge)?
I got the job because of my knowledge in sports. Before any interview, I had to pass a general sports knowledge test of about 1 hour, without help.
The questions were either very specific (i.e. who was the world champion in downhill skiing in 2020?) or general (i.e. at what interval are the summer Olympic games organized?), with varying levels of difficulty.
So personally, I got the job because I scored the highest on the test out of all the applicants present.
However, after I started working there, I realized that many of my colleagues had not scored fantastically well on the test, but had been hired anyway through networking or “piston”. RTS is indeed a rather “family” company, in the sense that it likes to hire people who have connections with existing employees. Many of my colleagues were sons/daughters, nephews/nieces, cousins, etc. of journalists, directors, sound engineers employed by RTS.
If a reader is interested, can you give him a contact in this company?
Unfortunately, I can’t give a contact in the company. You will have to brush up on your sports knowledge to get hired ;-)
How much did you earn per month net? (or per hour net)
The position was paid by the hour, with varying rates depending on the type of show (live or studio show), time of broadcast (weekend, live overnight, etc.) and location (studio, onsite at the stadium, etc.).
The occupancy rates also varied from month to month depending on our unavailability which we could always indicate. So there are months where I worked on about ten shows in a month and earned the equivalent of CHF 1000.- net and other months where I had time and took all the live shows I could (weekends, evenings, nights all together) and earned CHF 3500.- net.
The net hourly rate is therefore a bit difficult to calculate precisely, but I would estimate it at CHF 35, which was a nice sum for a student. On top of that, there was a meal allowance of, if I’m not mistaken, CHF 40 if we had to do the show outside, plus a night allowance of CHF 80 if we had to go home later than midnight (which happened quite often during the field hockey season when we had to go to Fribourg, Zurich, Zug, etc.)
Student job Switzerland #4: Substitute for supervised homework, or summer camp counselors (Marc)
I am retiring at the end of this year and I would like to offer you student jobs within the association I managed. It is an inter-community school association.
We are regularly looking for young people for supervised homework or as auxiliary monitors for summer camps. You can access our webpage dedicated to student job vacancies in Switzerland here.
In which city or canton?
Morges and Vallée de Joux (Vaud).
Name of the company?
Association scolaire intercommunale de Morges et environs (ASIME).
How did you hear about this student job the very first time (family, friends, online community, etc.)?
I created these student job offers :)
How did you manage to get this student job in Switzerland (expertise, networking, specific knowledge)?
Application.
If a reader is interested, can you give him a contact in this company?
Administrative Director: Vincent Hacker.
How much did you earn per month net? (or per hour net)
Homework substitute approx. CHF 33/hour, summer camp counselor approx. CHF 80/day (room and board).
Student job Switzerland #5: Swimming coach (Teo)
In which city or canton?
In the canton of Geneva (for 3 years), and in the canton of Vaud (for 1 year).
Name of the company?
Local swimming club (GE), a chain of clinics (VD).
How did you hear about this student job the very first time (family, friends, online community, etc.)?
A family member saw an ad.
How did you manage to get this student job in Switzerland (expertise, networking, specific knowledge)?
I first started as an assistant coach (with a lower salary) while I got my “Jeunesse & Sport” swimming certification, and then I coached kids aged 5-14 on my own.
If any reader is interested, can you give them a contact at this company?
He/she should ask their local swim club, or any other sports club where they can get a J+S (a good level of practice is required, but not necessarily a competitive level, at least I never did).
How much did you earn per month net? (or per hour net)
I started at CHF 32.-/hour (assistant), then I got CHF 42.-/hour (with J+S) in the canton of Geneva. When I moved to the canton of Vaud, I ended up giving private lessons (1-2 children) for CHF 60.-/hour (actual time, no preparation included, but still a good salary at 20 years old).
Student job Switzerland #6: E-commerce parcel deliverer (Eddie)
For 1.5 years, I had this student job as an e-commerce parcel deliverer. I did it in my spare time (very flexible hours) during my studies 2018-2020. I enjoyed driving around the city and occasionally getting a small tip from satisfied customers. With this job, I had some sense of community as I was part of a team, which made me somewhat happy with the side job besides the obvious reason — the salary.
In which city or canton?
Zürich (Zürich).
Name of the company?
notime AG.
How did you hear about this student job the very first time (family, friends, online community, etc.)?
Ad on Instagram (via an Instagram story).
How did you manage to get this student job in Switzerland (expertise, networking, specific knowledge)?
I just asked, and took an easy driving test. Then I took a subsidized course for the A1 driver’s license.
If any reader is interested, can you give them a contact in this company?
Yes, just send them an email (notime AG). They are looking for new drivers for the holiday season (including Black Friday).
How much did you make per month net? (or per hour net)
CHF 21.00/hour net.
Student job Switzerland #7: Warehouse Specialist (Carmen)
I worked in the same company for six years during my studies, here are my answers:
In which city or canton?
Zürich (Zürich).
Name of the company?
I can’t name the company. It was an eyewear company that was starting up.
How did you first hear about this student job (family, friends, online community, etc.)?
I heard about it from a friend who got the same job through an online platform.
How did you manage to get this student job in Switzerland (expertise, networking, specific knowledge)?
It was a startup. I didn’t even have a job interview, I just started. I didn’t need any expertise for my job, I was just cleaning the product, but after a few weeks I was able to find other tasks, and ended up helping out as an optician.
If any reader is interested, can you give them a contact at this company?
No, sorry. Especially since I don’t work there anymore, and they don’t hire students for the work I used to do.
How much did you make per month net? (or per hour net)
I started out making CHF 22.50/hour, and when I left, I was making CHF 26.50/hour.
Student job Switzerland #8: Photography Logistician (Rolf)
I have a company that offers jobs to students in Switzerland.
It’s a student logistics job where you have to take care of sending and receiving cameras and lenses for rent.
In which city or canton?
Bern (Bern).
Name of the company?
Rentalens GmbH.
How did you first hear about this student job (family, friends, online community, etc.)?
I distribute flyers at the University of Bern.
How did you manage to get this student job in Switzerland (expertise, networking, specific knowledge)?
Knowledge of office work, computers and logistics. Preferably knowledge of photography.
If any reader is interested, can you give them a contact at this company?
Yes, send an email via the Rentalens website contact page.
How much did you earn per month net? (or per hour net)
CHF 20.-/hour to start, then +CHF 1.- per semester.
Student job Switzerland #9: Substitute teacher (Brixton)
I had a very flexible job with a high salary. However, I was not paid during school vacations as they were included in the salary.
In which city or canton?
Canton of Vaud.
Name of the company?
State of Vaud.
How did you first hear about this student job (family, friends, online community, etc.)?
Friends.
How did you manage to get this student job in Switzerland (expertise, networking, specific knowledge)?
Sending applications to institutions, and registering on Mireo.
If a reader is interested, can you give him/her a contact in this company?
All schools are possibilities.
How much did you earn per month net? (or per hour net)
When I left high school, I was paid CHF 65 gross for 45 min, and with a Bachelor’s degree CHF 78 gross for 45 min.
And the work is prepared by the teacher. From time to time, it was to watch a movie during 2 periods, so not a bad job ;)
Student job Switzerland #10: App repeater (support for apprentices) (Guillaume)
In which city or canton?
Canton of Vaud.
Name of the company?
App App (Appui aux apprentis).
How did you hear about this student job the very first time (family, friends, online community, etc.)?
I used their services when I was an apprentice myself.
How did you manage to get this student job in Switzerland (expertise, networking, specific knowledge)?
Good qualifications for tutoring apprentices.
If any reader is interested, can you give them a contact in this company?
Yes (contact MP by email, and he will forward your request to me).
How much did you earn per month net? (or per hour net)
CHF 31/hour, 4 hours per week.
Swiss student job #11: Ground assistant for hot air balloon flights (Joël)
A few years ago, I was a student in Lausanne and I found a job as a ground assistant for hot air balloon flights. I know that the company is still running and that they are regularly looking for new assistants, but I am not sure of the current salary.
In which city or canton?
Lausanne (Vaud).
Name of the company?
Ballons du Léman.
How did you hear about this student job the very first time (family, friends, online community, etc.)?
Friends.
How did you manage to get this student job in Switzerland (expertise, networking, specific knowledge)?
They require this type of profile:
- Ability to work in a team
- Customer service oriented
- Excellent presentation skills
- Able to have responsibilities
- Proactive, enthusiastic, dynamic and meticulous
- Languages: French (English and/or German is a plus)
- Driving license B for more than 3 years
- Holder of a BE trailer license
If a reader is interested, can you give him a contact in this company?
job@ballons-du-leman.ch
How much did you earn per month net? (or per hour net)
Flat rate pay per flight and working time that can change. We are talking about CHF 120 for 6 hours of work.
You can find the latest ad posted on Facebook by following this link.
In addition to all these good tips to find a side job in Switzerland, in parallel to a training, I also received two other interesting hints:
Vincent: As a student, I used the Ados Job platform. They don’t seem to be too active anymore, as it seems to be mostly ads for other websites now, whereas I had found a camp counselor position on this site a long time ago.
More relevant: coople.com. This is a staffing agency, but unlike Adecco or Manpower, they focus on short-term “assignments” ranging from a few weeks to just a few hours. They are very active in the German part of our country, but they also have an office in Lausanne and attract many new companies. I have worked with them on about 100 assignments in fields that do not require specific education (i.e. physical work, handling, etc.). The pay varies from CHF 24 to CHF 27 per hour before deductions. It’s super easy to sign up with them, and then apply for job openings.
Cris: There are also student jobs posted on university websites like the University of Basel website. Another good plan to find a small student job in Switzerland: look at those offered by other students on the WhatsApp group of the current class.
And you, what is (or was) your student job in Lausanne or Zürich or anywhere else in Switzerland? How much did you earn?
As said at the beginning of the article: I will update this article as I receive new answers. So don’t hesitate to send me an email (by replying to one of my newsletters) to share your good plan of a side job in Switzerland while studying!
Header photo credits: By Mediacom EPFL — Travail personnel, CC BY-SA 4.0
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