People want part-time jobs for a number of reasons—schedule flexibility, side hustle, and the chance to gain experience in a new field are just a few. But while part-time work is increasingly common, these jobs don’t always have the same features as their full-time counterparts, like benefits in addition to your salary or hourly wage.
However don’t despair: if you’re seeking a part-time job with benefits (like health insurance, dental insurance, paid time off, etc.), it’s not necessarily like searching for a unicorn. Here are six part-time gigs (30 hours or fewer per week) that come with some of the perks normally reserved for full-timers.
1. Registered Nurse
This one may not seem like a part-time job on first glance, but it’s a career path that can be made flexible by taking reduced shifts or overnight hours. Nurses typically receive benefits through their employer, whether on a part-time or full-time basis. Becoming a nurse requires a minimum degree in nursing (typically a bachelor’s), plus certification, so it’s important to make sure you have those credentials before you consider it for your part-time career.
2. Bank Teller
If you have strong math skills and availability during traditional daytime “banker’s hours,” then you might want to consider becoming a bank teller. Some banks offer a full range of benefits to part-time employees including health insurance, retirement programs, and tuition reimbursement.
3. Retail Associate
You might have heard that retail companies are notorious for not having employee benefits, right? Not so fast. While unfortunately many retail companies do not provide benefits for their employees, there are large companies that famously offer benefits to part-time employees who work a certain number of hours per week, including the following:
- Costco
- Land’s End
- Barnes & Noble
- Lowe’s
- Staples
- Nike
- Whole Foods
It pays to do a little extra research on companies before you apply so you can see if these kinds of benefits that are available to non-full-time workers.
4. Barista
Similarly, some food service companies go out of their way to provide benefits to part-time employees, like Starbucks. Starbucks prides itself on offering healthcare coverage, a 401(k) retirement program, and educational reimbursement programs even to its part-time employees.
5. Pharmacy Technician
Like nursing, pharmacy technicians are health professionals who can set hours to turn a full-time job into a part-time one. These professionals work with pharmacists to dispense medication according to prescriptions and strict standards and work with customers to understand their prescriptions. Because many pharmacies are part of retail stores, the hours can be flexible.
6. Logistics and Shipping Associate
Companies like U-Haul and UPS offer a range of benefits to their part-time employees including insurance, a 401(k) retirement program, stock ownership, and educational reimbursement programs.
So if you’re looking for part-time work, you don’t necessarily need to give up on the idea of having (at least some of) the benefits you’d enjoy as a full-time employee. You can have your flexibility and your perks at the same time. It may take some extra searching, but the research you do now will definitely pay off later.
