Job options for school students

Department of Immigration and Citizenship in Australia is the authority on student visas and restrictions in relation to working in Australia while you are on student visa.

If you come to Australia on a student visa subclass 571 (Temporary visa under the schools sector), you would be allowed to work up to 20 hours a week while your school/course is in session. However, during scheduled course breaks, you are allowed to work unlimited hours.

There are also certain restrictions regarding your family members’ working hours. Therefore, if any family member is going to accompany you to Australia, you must seek more information from our office.

Due to restrictions on the number of hours, job options for international students are less than local students. Nonetheless, there are numerous jobs that are available to students. We have listed below few of the most common jobs available for international students:
 
Retail

Retail jobs involve working at a shop, big department store or a super market. These stores/shops could be selling clothing, accessories, electronics, toys, groceries etc.

Many students prefer to work in a retail sector as it provides a very casual and comfortable environment. The job usually includes a range of responsibilities that includes getting full knowledge of the products that are being sold and then helping our customers who walk into the shop with their purchase. Being proactive and helping out the customer in choosing a colour or a design is also desirable.
Other jobs in the retail sector include shelf filling and at the checkout. Shelf filling means stacking up the products on the shelves as they are gradually sold. Working at the checkout involves scanning purchased items and invoicing the customers.  
Many shop owners do not impose a sales target on the employee thus reducing the stress associated with the job. However, the shop owners do like to see good customer service and communication skills.

These kinds of jobs are offered either by independent retail stores or by big chains that have stores at every major shopping centre. If you work for one of the big names with stores in every major suburb, you can also enjoy the flexibility of working in a different area by getting an internal transfer. Many major stores also provide a staff discount store wide that can help you save some money in your own shopping bills.
 

Hospitality

Hospitality industry covers jobs at restaurants, cafes, hotels and many other occasions such as sporting events, grand parties etc.
Students work in the hospitality industry by taking up part-time jobs at local cafes and restaurants. These places offer jobs either as kitchen hand (that involves assisting the chef with certain tasks) or as waiters.
Major advantage of working at such places is that their requirement usually doesn’t coincide with school hours. Eating places are busy during the evenings or during weekends and thus provide a very complementing schedule with courses at education institutes.
Many students also register at agencies that provide casual work on an “at-call” basis. These agencies have tie-ups with major event organizers and get contracts to provide staff for occasions such as major sporting event, wedding function, conferences and seminars etc.   
These kinds of jobs are specifically suitable to students who wish to study hospitality.  
 

Sales

Sales jobs require employees to sell some product or service. The job could involve either selling over the phone (e.g., call centre), door-to-door or at a kiosk.
It is comparatively easier to get a job in sales than in any other area as companies are always on the lookout for employees who can bring more revenue in. Moreover, most of the sales jobs are commission based which means that the company that hires you will not have to pay you a very good salary unless you achieve sales target.

For someone who likes doing sales and has the ability to explain to the potential customer the benefits of the product/service in question, sales jobs are not a bad option. The biggest advantage of sales job is its earning potential. Most of the sales jobs have uncapped commission structure which means that your earning capacity is only limited by your capacity to make sales. But one has to be careful about this kind of job as it has its limitations too. Firstly, the public’s perception of sales people is not very kind as lot of people are happy to be left alone and not harassed by salesmen. This perception of public along with the pressure of making sales target can make things stressful sometimes. Therefore, if you plan to get a job in sales, you need to have a strong heart and should get used to taking things lightly as it can become tense.

Second limitation with sales job is that it is not consistent in terms of income. If you are on a low base salary and rely on your commissions to earn your disposable income, sales job might not result in same income every pay cycle.
If you are interested in a sales job, it may be better for you to join sales team of a company that is very well known to the public. Sales people usually find easier to sell a product/service that is associated with a big brand name.
Most of the sales positions come from telecommunication and utilities industries.
 

Call centres

Call centres jobs involves two kinds of roles: sales and customer service.
Sales jobs in call centres are similar to other sales jobs except for the fact that you will have to sell the product or service over the phone. Other features of these jobs are similar to those of sales jobs.
Customer service jobs at call centres are there to provide assistance to company’s existing customer base. Many companies hire a team of staff members to answer queries from their customers either via phone or email. The role requires you to have full knowledge of the product and assist the caller with their query. Calls can range from simple few minutes calls where customers would like to know about their existing account or bills to more complex calls where customers may call you and seek assistance in figuring out whether the service or the product they are currently using is the right one as per their situation.
Customer service jobs are much less stressful as there is no sales target and therefore no pressure to achieve a result from each call.
However, many companies still review these calls to ensure that the employees are providing good service to its customers and the customers are assisted in the best possible manner.
 

Apprenticeship

Apprenticeship usually means working for a company at a beginner level. Many trade industries offer apprenticeships to students who are doing a course in the related field.

Some courses, such as those related to motor mechanics, bakery etc have a requirement where the students are required to gain some practical experience through apprenticeships before completing the course. Therefore, many universities have a tie-up with numerous companies that agree to hire its students as apprentice for a specific time.
The salary in these roles is not excessive but these jobs do provide very valuable practical experience.
 
These jobs will give you a good indication on the type of work you can get as international students. Note that although there are many other jobs that are suitable to students, those jobs are not as commonly available as the ones mentioned above.