<p>It'd be good to kill two birds with one stone. Start a business? Stock portfolio? Or are there impressive and resume-friendly part-time jobs out there? My family isn't rich, and I want to be burden them as little as possible.</p>
<p>Internships, job experience related to your major, extracurriculars that pay you, and yes, starting a business related to your major. Maybe even tutoring.</p>
<p>One thing you could do is a year long co-op, spread over two years. (So basically one semester working there, go to school the next semester, work for them the next summer and then the next semester, then back to school.) It looks GREAT on a resume and yes, you'll be finishing a year later than you would have but they do pay, and some pay pretty well, and you won't be paying for school during that period.</p>
<p>Tutoring is definitely good. Refereeing is good as well- it shows communication skills, and the ability to keep a level head- to not lose your temper easily.</p>
<p>Would a paid research position fall into this category?</p>
<p>Tutoring</p>
<p>A local job in your field (or similar) even if you do the "crap work" when you first start, but you keep with it for a few years and by the time you graduate, you're doing "real work". Employers like to see dedication to one thing, even more so in your field.</p>
<p>Any job. If you can't find anything locally related to your field, but you work in dining or at the rec or as a secretary in your dept's office for 4 years and advance through the ranks there, employers will like to see that as well.</p>
<p>I worked as a student assistant (doing basic administrative work) in a program sort-of-related to my major during freshman year, 10-12 hours a week at $7.25 an hour. I don't know that it adds that much to my resume, but any job looks better than none, the experience and the connections I made there likely helped me in the application process for my D.C. internship this summer, and I'm guaranteed a glowing reference when I apply for a new job (perhaps as a research assistant in my major department) in the fall. </p>
<p>I've also managed to save $1,000 to cover expenses during my unpaid internship this summer, in addition to the housing and $1,000 stipend provided by the program. Without my job, I (a) might not have been able to afford an unpaid internship, and (b) might not have been accepted into the program in the first place; I'd imagine that an internship at a D.C. think tank after freshman year looks pretty good on a resume, and the job certainly helped with that.</p>
<p>So I don't know what your major is, but if you can find a job that allows you to get experience and might lead to further opportunities in that field, that'd probably be my recommendation.</p>
<p>Yes, ANY job is great. I work as a Lab Tech in one of U of I's cleanrooms and not only does it pay during the school year, but it adds to my resume. Get a job, STICK with it and it will help you in the long run.</p>
<p>If you are into sciences, REU (research experience for undergraduates) programs pay pretty well and they look decent on a resume.</p>
<p>strip. :-p</p>