Category: Finances

Jobs For When You're Pregnant In College

6/23/2025

Looking for an entry-level job with low physical demands or flexible hours? We’re here to help. As a college student navigating pregnancy, you might feel nervous about finding a job that suits your needs. If you’re worried about working around possible fatigue, morning sickness, or doctor appointments, this guide will help you get started with your job search.

Here’s what to look for in a job if you’re pregnant. Keep an eye out for flexible scheduling, remote or hybrid work options, limited travel requirements, limited physical demands, clear maternity policies, a responsive HR team, and benefits like health insurance, short-term disability, and paid parental leave. Keep reading to learn more about the best jobs for pregnant women who are attending college classes.

Remote Jobs
Work-from-home jobs can be a great option for students with crazy schedules in need of work-life balance. Working from home may also offer more flexibility to accommodate unexpected pregnancy symptoms.

Virtual Assistant: Provides remote administrative support such as scheduling, email management, and task coordination for individuals or businesses.
Data Entry: Inputs, updates, and maintains information in digital systems or databases with a focus on accuracy and speed.
Customer Service: Assists customers by responding to inquiries, resolving issues, and providing product or service information, often via phone, chat, or email.
Online Tutoring: Offers academic support or subject-specific instruction to students over video calls or messaging platforms.

Gig Economy Jobs
Gig jobs are short-term engagements where you’re hired to complete specific tasks or projects. Many pregnant students love gig jobs because they have so much control over their schedule, environment, and physical demands. Unfortunately, most gig jobs do not provide benefits like health insurance.

Freelance Writing or Editing: Creates or refines written content for clients such as blogs, articles, or marketing materials on a flexible, project-based schedule.
Pet Sitting/Dog Walking: Provides care, companionship, and exercise for pets while their owners are away, either in-home or on scheduled walks.

Reselling: Sells handmade, vintage, or secondhand items online by sourcing, listing, and shipping products through e-commerce platforms.

Food Delivery: Picks up and delivers meals or groceries to customers using a personal vehicle or bike, often on a self-chosen schedule.

Babysitting: Cares for children in the absence of their parents, ensuring safety, basic needs, and entertainment during agreed-upon hours.
Uber Eats, DoorDash, Instacart: Delivers food or groceries to customers using your own vehicle or bike, with the ability to choose when and how long you work.

Ways To Make Money Online
Working online can be a good way to supplement income from a part-time job, especially if you find yourself with a couple spare hours here and there outside of typical 9 to 5 work hours.

Transcription: Earns money by listening to audio recordings and accurately typing them into text format.
Taking Surveys: Provides feedback or opinions through online questionnaires in exchange for small payments or gift cards.
App Tester / Website Tester: Gets paid to test the usability and functionality of websites or mobile apps while providing feedback on the user experience.
Microtasker: Completes simple, repetitive online tasks—like categorizing images or verifying data—for small payments per task.
Captioning / Subtitling: Adds accurate text to videos by syncing spoken words and sounds with timed captions or subtitles.
AI Training / Content Tagging: Labels images, text, or audio to help train artificial intelligence systems, often through structured, remote tasks.
Résumé / Canva Template Seller: Designs and sells downloadable templates for résumés, planners, or branding kits, often through platforms like Etsy.
Freelance Services for Social Media Management, Blog Writing, or Basic Design: Offers creative or marketing services to individuals or businesses on a contract basis, often through platforms like Fiverr or Upwork.
Print on Demand – Digital Art, Stickers, Planners, T-Shirts: Sells custom-designed products that are printed and shipped by third-party services when ordered, requiring no inventory.

Jobs On Campus
Looking for a work-study position or a job that doesn’t require extra traveling after class? An on-campus job might be a good fit. Typically colleges have several desk or administrative positions that don’t require long hours on your feet or heavy-lifting.

Library Assistant: Helps organize, shelve, and check out materials while assisting patrons with library services.
Library Monitor: Maintains a quiet study environment and enforces library policies.
Research Assistant: Supports faculty or academic staff by gathering data, analyzing information, and preparing reports.
Desk Jobs (Residence Halls, Admin Offices): Provides customer service, answers phones, and performs basic administrative tasks.
Teaching Assistant: Assists instructors with grading, classroom support, and tutoring students.
Test Proctor: Supervises test-takers to ensure academic integrity and compliance with testing procedures.
Ticket Booth Attendant: Sells or distributes tickets and provides event-related information to customers.
Archivist Assistant/Records Clerk: Organizes, files, and maintains access to historical or official documents.
Building Monitor: Oversees facility access, enforces rules, and reports maintenance or safety issues.
File Clerk: Sorts, organizes, and retrieves documents for office staff as needed.
Records Technician: Maintains and updates databases or paper records with accuracy and confidentiality.
Registrar’s Office Data Clerk: Enters and updates student records and supports academic services.
Transit Information Desk Attendant: Provides schedules, route details, and travel advice to commuters.
Mailroom Assistant: Sorts, distributes, and processes incoming and outgoing mail.
Gym Equipment Attendant: Maintains cleanliness and functionality of workout areas and assists gym users.
ID Card Issuer at Government/Corporate Sites: Verifies identities and produces official ID badges for staff or visitors.

In-Person Jobs
Need a little more social interaction than a virtual job, but not looking for a position on-campus? There are more in-person options out there! Community centers, hotels, museums, salons, and other retail locations always need help.

Receptionist: Greets visitors, answers phones, and manages appointments or front-desk operations.
Cashier: Handles customer purchases, processes payments, and provides receipts and change.
Bookstore Clerk: Assists customers, stocks shelves, and manages book sales and inventory.
Salon or Spa Assistant: Supports stylists or technicians by cleaning, organizing tools, and scheduling clients.
Thrift Store/Boutique Associate: Sorts and prices merchandise, assists shoppers, and maintains store displays.
Retail Associate: Helps customers, stocks products, and ensures a clean, organized sales floor.
Museum or Gallery Attendant: Greets visitors, provides information, and ensures the security of exhibits.
Front Desk Assistant at a Small Hotel: Manages guest check-ins/outs, handles reservations, and responds to inquiries.
Theater/Concert Hall Usher: Guides guests to seats, distributes programs, and assists with crowd management.
Community Center Receptionist: Greets visitors, answers questions, and assists with scheduling and events.

Whether you’re looking for remote work, a social in-person job, or an easy-going work-study position on campus, this list will get you started in your search. Gig jobs, freelancing, and administrative positions can be a great fit for a busy college student with a growing family. Take the first step today by updating your resume and bookmarking a few job descriptions. Balancing work, school, and family isn’t easy, but it’s absolutely doable!

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How to Afford An Unplanned Pregnancy In College

1/28/2025

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Facing an unexpected pregnancy during college can feel overwhelming, both emotionally and financially. How do you afford a baby in college, especially when your pregnancy is unexpected? How do you juggle the costs of textbooks, tuition, and dorms with the costs of prenatal care, maternity clothes, and diapers? What do you do if you’re pregnant and simply can’t provide for a child? Let’s look at some of your financial options when going through an unplanned pregnancy on a budget. While it may seem daunting, there are resources and strategies that can help.

Start where you are! Get a clear picture of your current finances.
How much do you have saved? What is your monthly income? What are your regular expenses? Do you have any debt? These are all questions you could easily answer when putting together a budget. If you don’t have a budget already - don’t worry, it’s simpler to make one than you think.

To get started, follow these steps:

Add up all your savings.
Add up your income for the month.
List your current expenses.
Sort your expenses into needs vs. wants.
Determine which “wants” to cut, and consider whether you’re able to reduce the cost of any needs.
Subtract your expenses from your income.
Estimate monthly pregnancy-related expenses. Subtract those from your income as well.
Make a plan for how to use any money that’s left - saving, investing, paying off debt, covering specific expenses, etc. If you don’t have any money left after covering your expenses, don’t panic yet!
Track your income and expenses as you go. Some people use budgeting apps, some prefer spreadsheets, and others just use an old-fashioned notebook. Use whatever is easiest for you! It doesn’t need to be complicated.
Make adjustments to your budgeting method as you learn. Don’t stress yourself out about making the perfect budget on the first try. As you practice budgeting, you’ll learn more about what works for you. In the future, you might look into common budgeting approaches, like the 50-30-20 rule or zero-based budgeting. Just remember to review your budget on a regular basis and make adjustments as you go.

After going through this process, you should have a better understanding of your current financial situation.

Factor in an unplanned pregnancy with a pregnancy budget.
Next, factor pregnancy into your budget. It might be intimidating, but this is an important next step! Breaking pregnancy costs down into categories can help make this process more manageable, and help you feel more in control. Here are a few categories to consider when forecasting pregnancy costs:

Medical expenses. This would include things like prenatal care, hospital costs, insurance premiums or deductibles, medications, and vitamins.
Maternity items. Clothing, comfort aids, and personal care fall into this category.
Baby essentials. Furniture, baby gear, clothes, diapers, wipes, feeding supplies (this will depend on whether you’re breastfeeding or not), and bathing supplies.
Childcare and support. Includes daycare and parenting classes.
Miscellaneous costs. Transportation, food, emergencies, postpartum care.
Education and preparation. Books and hospital classes.
Long-term adjustments. Housing and utilities.

Researching the average costs for each category will get you started. The numbers do not have to be perfect or exact, but just enough to give you an idea of what to expect. If this feels impossible to navigate, call or text our team at 720-386-6009 to find out more about working with an advisor. If you’ve put together your pregnancy budget and covering all these expenses feels daunting, don’t worry, next we’ll talk about where to get financial assistance.

Consider whether to ask parents or family for financial support.
Your parents might be much more accepting and encouraging in this difficult time than you would expect. After all, they love you and want what’s best for you. On the other hand, you may not have parents you feel comfortable being this vulnerable with. It takes a leap of faith to ask your parents for financial help when you’re facing an unexpected pregnancy. You might not want to face their judgement or anger. That’s alright, you still have options.
If you’re not sure whether to ask your parents for help or not, here are a few situations where asking your parents for help might not be the best first step to financial security:

Your parents are under extreme stress.
Your parents are financially limited.
They’ve already set strict financial boundaries.
They’re emotionally overwhelmed by the news of the pregnancy and need time to let their feelings settle.
You’re not ready to share a plan for your financial future.
There are other support systems you could explore first.

If you do want to ask your parents for help, you might consider ways to demonstrate your responsibility and explain how you’ve exhausted your other options.

Get help from charitable and government organizations.
There are many charitable organizations that will help pregnant students take care of themselves, their babies, and their educational goals. The Avi Project helps students afford medical care, tuition, and housing. Food, clothing, care packages, and other material resources are available as well. Financial assistance is a key part of our proven program designed just for expectant college students. Call or text 720-386-6009 to learn more (it’s confidential and commitment-free). For a detailed list of government programs, scholarships, and other financial aid opportunities, check out our other blog post on Scholarships, Tuition Assistance & Financial Aid for Pregnant Students.

Live frugally and stretch your dollar.
There’s a lot of great advice out there about how to live frugally and make the most of every dollar, but here are a few tips to get you started:

Take advantage of free meal plans if they’re available at your college.
Use grocery store apps to get extra coupons and discounts.
Do meal prep at home instead of eating out.
For fun, check out free museum days or free passes at the local library.
Prioritize essential expenses and reduce unnecessary spending.
Buy second-hand from online marketplaces or thrift stores.
Join buy-nothing groups to swap or borrow items from neighbors.
Get a roommate or find another shared housing arrangement.
Find out which textbooks you have to buy, and which you can borrow from the library.
Buy textbooks a couple days after class starts to find discounts.
Learn how to do laundry in the sink or with a portable wash bag.

It can take time to adopt a frugal mindset and build new habits, so focus on making one new lifestyle change each week if it feels overwhelming. Celebrate small wins along the way. Even small changes can have a big impact on your savings, and every adjustment is a step in the right direction.

While you work through this process, don’t be scared to ask for help! Financial support may be top of mind, but emotional support can be just as valuable when navigating a challenge like this. We are available 24/7 to talk through your situation, identify your options, and help you make a plan (720-386-6009). No matter what your support system looks like, you shouldn’t have to go through this alone.

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Jobs For When You're Pregnant In College

How to Afford An Unplanned Pregnancy In College

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