Part-time Work Option in Canada for International Students

By working while studying in Canada, you get a great job experience especially if you have plans of applying for PR (permanent residence) ultimately.

On the Canadian student visa, you have the permission of working for 20 hours/week of a paid job. However this is the maximum number of hours, and you are free to work for a lesser number of hours. Usually, those students enrolled in difficult or intensive courses are recommended by the universities to work for a maximum of 12 hours a week. This is because working for more than this number can affect a student's performance in studies. So you can reduce the number of working hours if you feel you are unable to maintain a work-study-life balance.

Monetary Pay

Usually, for part-time jobs, students are paid by hours. The rate of pay is around $10 an hour, on average. If your aim is only to gain work experience, like helping your professor with research work, then you don’t need a work permit. This kind of work has to be on-campus and will be paid less; you can work beyond the stipulated number of hours. So with just the student visa, you can still engage in academic work on-campus.

If an international student wishes to work off-campus, he can apply for an off-campus work permit after completing six months of study. That permit will allow the student to work for a maximum of 20 hours/week off-campus.

How to find a part-time job

All colleges and universities have bulletin boards where on-campus job openings are advertised. There will also be websites carrying information about similar job openings.

You can work in cafes, restaurants and coffee shops; retail stores like clothing or sports goods stores; lifeguard or swimming instructor at a college swimming pool or beach; bookstores, library etc. If you are multilingual, you can work as a translator. As Canada is a multicultural society, the services of a translator are widely required.

Top part-time jobs in Canada

Salary for part-time jobs can vary according to the work they get. Like the average salary for a part-time job can CAD 22 per hour, however, students are paid by hours for part-time work which is around CAD 10/hour. Also, wages for part-time work can differ from city to city.

Related articles:

• Education Loan for Studying in Canada: Everything You Need to Know
• Top Universities in Toronto
• Express Entry Canada