It took me the better part of a decade to graduate from college. Some would say that was my fault, but I’m a millennial so I will blame good fishing and better beer.
Most of that time I had numerous cleaning contracts on buildings in Missoula. Cleaning is a good gig, as you can work really whenever you want as long as the work is done prior to business opening the next day. On weekends I could get all the cleaning done on Friday night and have the whole weekend, or I could skip town on Friday and suffer late into the night Sunday to get the cleaning done, but there was lots of flexibility. When I finally got serious, the last three years I was a student I worked full-time for the University I attended as a custodian. Full-time employees of the university had free tuition, and so I did not pay tuition the last three years I was a student. A lot of universities have a similar deal. Tack on my part time contracts, and I was making enough money to pay for school, living, and save some.
Even today as a professional in I.T. I make more money than I ever thought I would. But my wife and I still have a cleaning contract on three buildings in Helena. People look down at custodians, but realistically you can pay yourself about $30-40 an hour if you have a good system and work hard. It’s good extra money. Particularly in these uncertain times.