Long Read
Vienna Student Jobs: Caffeine, Cash, and Crappy Shifts
so, you're a student in vienna and need cash. i've been there, grinding beans and dreams on a shift at some café that thinks Sachertorte is a personality. vienna's expensive, yeah, but if you know where to look, you can cobble together enough for rent, a stupidly overpriced coffee, and maybe even a weekend trip to bratislava. let's get into it.
*the rent is too damn high (and other vienna truths)
first, the money talk. rent's a killer. a room in a shared apartment averages €500-€700, but if you're lucky you'll find something in Simmering for €350, though you'll be living next to a sausage factory that smells like... well, sausage. utilities extra, of course. food? if you cook at home, €200 a month if you're cheap. but vienna loves to tempt you with late-night sausage stands and fancy cafes. you'll need at least €800-€900 a month to survive, which means part-time work about 20 hours a week at €12/hour. that's doable, but you'll be exhausted. safety's great though-vienna's one of the safest cities, so you can walk home from your late shift at some kaffeehaus without looking over your shoulder. just watch out for pickpockets in tourist traps like Schönbrunn.
the weather's been doing that viennese thing-sunny one minute, downpour the next, like the city's mood swings. but at least it's not brutal cold. and just a quick train to bratislava where everything's cheaper, or a bus to budapest for the thermal baths when you need to escape your tiny room. the neighbors-slovakia, hungary, czech republic-are all a short flight away, basically like vienna's annoying but cheap cousins.
jobs that actually fit around your lectures
so, where to find jobs? the obvious: coffee shops. as a coffee snob, i can tell you-working at a third-wave spot like Kaffeeküche pays okay and you get to geek out over beans, but they'll work you like a dog during morning rush. also, they might give you free coffee, which is a plus. but the real secret? tutoring. rich expat kids need help with their matura prep. €25/hour, flexible hours. put ads on r/vienna or at universities. another gig: event staffing. vienna's always having conferences, balls, weddings. you can find these on Eventbrite or local Facebook groups. pays well, but you'll be on your feet for 12 hours.
drunk advice from my mate who works at Café Central: the management counts every sugar packet, so hide your stash. also, the Sacher Hotel supposedly has a secret student program for housekeeping, but you have to apply in person and dress super formal.
overheard at Naschmarkt: that the fruit stall owners hire students for weekend mornings, but you'll need to wake up at 4am and deal with wholesale chaos. also, that the guy who runs the Flak Tower tours (yes, those weird WWII towers) pays under the table for guiding, but you gotta learn the spiel about "peaceful uses of concrete."
another rumor: Prater hires students for ride operators, but the noise gives you tinnitus. avoid if you value your hearing.
some other gigs: working at Billa or Spar supermarkets as cashiers-€11/hour, but you'll develop a hate relationship with customers asking for discounts. Zara in Mariahilfer Straße pays similarly, but you get staff discount. Universität Wien often needs student assistants for admin work, which is chill and sometimes you can study during downtime. check the uni-print portal or notice boards in the Arkadenhof.
if you speak german fluently, consider call centers-they pay €14/hour but will drain your soul. or baby-sitting through agencies like Babysitting Vienna, €15/hour, but you deal with weird parents.
gig economy: apps like Foodora or Lieferando let you deliver food by bike. you need a bike, but vienna's bike lanes are decent. pay is €10-12/hour plus tips. but watch out for rain-vienna's rain is no joke. also, Rover for dog walking, but it's not huge here.
viennese coffee culture is serious. if you're working in a traditional Kaffeehaus, they'll expect you to know the difference between a mélange and a kapuziner. learn it. also, tips are cash and often not declared, so factor that in. another thing: austrians value punctuality. if your shift starts at 8, be there at 7:55. being late once might get you fired. and dress code-depends. in hipster cafes, it's all about the apron and clean shoes. in fancy places, maybe a white shirt. oh, and if you work at a Heuriger, you'll need to know your wines. they'll test you.
also, watch out for the infamous Fiaker drivers-they're basically taxi drivers with horses, and if you delivery something to them, they might try to haggle the price down. not worth the stress.
language: most jobs require german, at least basic. if you're in a tourist area like Stephansplatz, english might cut it, but don't count on it. take a german course-the Volkshochschule offers cheap ones.
taxes: as a student, if you earn less than €11,000 a year, you might get most taxes back. but you still have social security contributions (~€60/month). health insurance is covered if you're a student, but you need to be enrolled.
student discounts: get an ISIC card-it's a lifesaver for public transport, museums, even some shops. the Wiener Linien student pass is €24.80/month for unlimited travel.
some random bolded nouns to impress your friends: Donauinsel (that weird river island), Zentralfriedhof (the huge cemetery, actually peaceful), Burgtheater (if you can get an usher job, you see plays free), Karlskirche (baroque church, nearby cafes hire), Kunsthistorisches Museum (they hire students for ticket desks), Prater (already mentioned), Schönbrunn (tourist trap but hiring guides), Belvedere (same), Ringstraße (the grand boulevard, lots of shops), Volksgarten* (park, nearby cafes).
anyway, that's my two cents. if you land a gig at a café near Karlskirche, send me a free coffee. i'm joking. but not really.
r/vienna job board
Yelp: coffee shops hiring in Vienna
TripAdvisor: student discounts
AMS - Austrian Public Employment Service
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