Back to Feed
Long Read

part-time gigs that don't suck (são luís edition)

@David Vance2/8/2026blog
part-time gigs that don't suck (são luís edition)

so you’re a student in são luís. you’ve got the textbooks, the terrible cafeteria coffee, and a bank account that screams at you every time you open it. you need cash, but not the kind of soul-crushing 9-to-5 that makes you want to throw your syllabus into the atlantic. welcome to the scramble. i’ve been there, scrolling through those same awful generic job boards, thinking there’s nothing here but government offices and tourist trinket shops. I was wrong. mostly.

first, let’s get the grim stuff out of the way. the city’s cheap(ish) if you’re smart. a room in a shared apartment in the centro histórico or closer to the university (ufma) can run you 300-600 reais if you hunt. but safety? look, the vibe changes block by block. after dark, the touristy pelourinho area gets eerie-all those colorful colonial buildings, empty. a local bartender in the mercado das tendas told me, ‘don’t walk alone near the pier after 9pm, kid. not even with a coffee.’ he wasn’t kidding. stick to well-lit streets, get a cheap bike (200 reais used), or just master the bus app. the bus system is a chaotic, humid testament to hope.

river beside trees during daytime


now for the actual jobs. forget ‘vibrant scene’-it’s a scratch-and-sniff economy.

café/bar backs: the city’s cafe culture is blowing up, especially around the rio anil area. they need someone to wash dishes and carry trays. pay is minimum wage (1320 reais as of 2024, but they’ll pay under the table sometimes). the perk? free coffee and you learn the local gossip. i once heard a chef whisper about a hidden beach in alcântara while i was scraping espresso grounds. overheard rumor: ‘the place by the pink wall on rua da estrela pays in cash and grilled cheese. don’t tell the health inspector.’
 *tour guide for dolphin tours: you don’t need a license, just a loud voice and basic english. the tour boats in the maranhão estuary leave from the port. you get a cut per passenger and a sunburn. but you’ll see the river dolphins, which honestly feels like cheating on your study session.
 *content moderator for local influencers: são luís has a weirdly strong micro-influencer scene. they need someone to comment on posts, manage basic stuff. it’s remote, works around class, and pays 15-25 reais an hour. check the são luís subreddit (r/saoluis) or facebook groups like ‘trabalhos são luís’.
 *university research assistant: if you’re in any stem or social science field, bug your professors. ufma always needs help cataloging stuff in the Museu Histórico ou transcribing interviews about the reggae scene. pays 20 reais an hour, looks amazing on a cv, and you’re basically paid to be curious.

rocks near lake


the weather is a beast. it’s not just hot; it’s a pressure cooker. from january to june, the rain doesn’t fall-it attacks. monsoons that turn streets into rivers. your bike gets muddy, your books warp. but then july hits, and the sun’s out, the sky’s this impossible blue, and you’re a 20-minute ferry ride from alcântara’s dusty, beautiful ruins. you can literally be drowning in rain in one part of town and sunbathing on a nearly empty beach 30 minutes away. it’s schizophrenic and perfect.

neighbors? we’re surrounded by water and history. to the east, the atlantic-but the real magic is west, the delta’s labyrinth of rivers and islands. easy day trip to alcântara, which is like a ghost town with a soul. further inland, the Atlantic forest starts pressing in. you feel the history here, in a way that’s not packaged. it’s in the cracked azulejo tiles, the reggae blasting from a borrowed sound system, the way old men in the praça talk about the 19th century like it was yesterday.

a local warned me about: the ‘sketchy looking guy’ at the feira do líbero who sells the best pastel de nata and also knows everyone’s secrets. tip: pay exact change, smile, and ask about the reggae scene. he’ll tell you everything.

data, but make it bar talk:

you can live on maybe 1,200 reais if you’re ruthless. rent is the killer. a studio in the downtown centro? 900+ reais. a room in a shared house in the quieter jeolândia? 400. food at the botecos (local bars) is cheap as hell-a plate of arroz com feijão and grilled fish for 25 reais. but that tourist restaurant in the historic center? 80 reais for a mediocre moqueca. avoid it. your wallet will bleed.


so what’s the play?

get a mix. one stable, low-brain job (like the bar back) for the rent. one flexible, weird gig (social media mod) for the books. and one that feels like an adventure (tour guide, helping at a reggae label). don’t just chase the cash; chase the stories. this city is a storyteller. the job that pays the least might give you the best connection-like the guy who runs the vinyl store in the historic center and always needs help organizing crates. he pays in records and stories about 1970s caribbean sound systems that played here.

final drunk advice:

 ‘the real network is in the botecos after 10pm. buy someone a cerveja, ask about their week.’ - marcos, 22, geography student.
‘the best hidden job board is the bulletin board atBiblioteca Pública. it’s all handwritten.’ - overheard at the post office.
 ‘if someone offers you ‘easy money’ handing out flygers for a political party, run. they never pay.’ - a very tired law student.

são luís isn’t easy. it’s sticky, loud, and sometimes feels forgotten by the rest of brazil. but that’s the point. you’re not just a student here; you’re an archaeologist of the present, finding jobs and moments in the cracks. now go before the rain starts again.

some useful links to get you started: r/saoluis on reddit for local classifieds, the yelp page for são luís cafés to spot places hiring, and the são luís tourism board for weird seasonal gigs. also, check tripadvisor’s things to do list and see which tour companies look like they need extra hands.

You might also be interested in:

About the author: David Vance

Writing is my way of listening.

Loading discussion...