How to find job for cash in US?

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This year I'm moving to US as college student but at the same time I'll need to find any job to pay the bills and save money for future years of studying.
As some may know student visa doesn't general gives me any opportunity to work legally in the US (there is only almost zero possibility of on-campus job) so I need some not official job paid by cash, without any contracts.
Can anybody give me advice on how can I find one? I know some foreign students in US and know that they work without permission but of course they didn't tell me how they found it. I need at least some basic advices.
I'll live in Philly area if it matters.
I mean completely any job - I failed to find official jpob with my MS in IT Engineering so I'm ready for anything - stores, bars etc. BUt how to get it? Not sure that if I'll walk around nearby businesses I'll find any opportunities.
Of course it's not good to break the law, that's obvious, but I just have no other chances to leave Russia - having here troubles with police only due to political views is not being considered in US or EU as a reason for the politcal asylum so I need a student visa to stay and job to pay the bills.

Probably the best way is to babysit kids, or babysit older people.

There might also be cash-type jobs like tutoring other college students posted on your student-center bulletin board (if you're going to college).

Alas, most of those sorts of jobs go to women.

If you're in Manhattan, perhaps you could find out where illegal immigrants wait for employers. These employers pay in cash because they don't want it to be known that they employ illegal immigrants. Many of these jobs are "sweatshop"-type jobs, though. The conditions aren't good. And they usually pay less than minimum wage.

Then again....this might be even better....you could offer to fix people's computers for, say, $50, instead of the $75 which most computer stores charge for doing things like zapping viruses from people's hard drives. You could post your services on the college bulletin board.

Unfortunately, no tutoring opportunities in my future college, I checked already

And yes, for baby- and other -sitters they'd rather hire woman than almost 30-years husky guy.

One place you could look is a local listings site called www.craigslist.org. Click on the city you're moving to, then on "jobs", and search "cash paid" in the job listings there. In my city I see quite a few--driving for Uber, serving at banquets, even one for "bilingual security guard". Remember that some of the jobs could be scams, though! Good luck on finding some paying work while you're here.

You could fix people's hard drives, though!

Find out what the computer store is charging, and charge $10 less. People will come swarming to you, especially if you get a reputation as reliable.

Thank you! I'll check this site - once I heard about it but didn't expected it to be so useful.

UPD: right now nothing cash paid for "cash paid" but I'll try later different search words.

Last edited by Andreger on 05 Feb 2015, 11:58 am, edited 1 time in total.

If I'll learn how - possibly I could, never tried yet. Thanks!

You can advertise yourself as a tutor on craigslist.
You can include all topics you can tutor, including your language.
You can tutor students at their house or the library, and they can pay in cash.
It is normal to charge $40/hour as a tutor.

Thanks! I didn't considered it before. However that's not always work - my father failed to find language tutor jobs (I'll live at his house so it's one area). And I think most tutors required for some practical skills e.g. C# Programming or Drawing. From such things I know only basics of web design and project management on enough level for now
And things like History that are my special interests no doubt not marketable for tutoring.
Of course I don't know exact situation and that is why I ask here but I consider on what I read on all forums about jobs.

If it's a regular job, not reporting your pay to the IRS could potentially land the owners in prison.

That would leave minor jobs here and there. In some places, a good handyman who can fix just about everything can do pretty well. Paint a room, fix a broken porch railing, stop a water leak, ... .

One thing that can be surprisingly good is washing windows if you are in a city. Not the high rise windows -- those employees would likely be on payroll. Houses.

An old friend of mine and his girlfriend (who had a BS in Biology from a major university but didn't like the lab work in the real world) used to wash windows in Houston. Not just washing the dirt off, but polishing them until you could hardly see the glass.

Their best time of year was in the couple months before an annual home and garden tour of homes of the very wealthy. The owners wanted those houses, including the windows, perfect for the tour and were willing to pay to get them done right.

They also washed the first floor windows of skyscrapers. The upper windows were just a rinse and wipe by someone on a scaffold, but the first floors of major buildings had to be done to a high standard.

He told me that it was slow at first when they started doing that, but once word got around that they did a good job and weren't thieves, they had all the work they could handle.

Before that, he did pool maintenance and hated it. They had monthly contracts for the pools, but too many of his customers were deadbeats who would not pay.

Another thing about tutoring jobs that I forgot to mention was that you can teach subjects that you were good at in high school to high school students. High school can be quite academically competitive in middle to upper class neighborhoods, so parents are really willing to pay $40+ per hour in cash for a good tutor. Even if you haven't done any official work in the subject, as long as you know it well, you can advertise yourself as a tutor for it. There are some people with english/humanities degrees tutoring high school or test prep math, and they are good at it and have busy schedules.

But studying programs are very different in other countries, even for math or physics not to mention humanities - so my knowledge of subjects could be more or less useless in US.

Use Curricular Practical Training (CPT) for internships early on in your academic program and then you'll be sitting in better position for more exclusive on-campus jobs, Leadership Development Programs (LDPs), assistantships, and scholarships. After you graduate, if your US degree is in a Science, Technology, Engineering, or Math (STEM) field, you'll get a chance to work for 29 months under Optional Practical Training (OPT), or 12 months for any other field.
Finding an unofficial job for cash would be unwise, since you could be deported. If you're curious how people get them though, it's usually through word of mouth, and usually people from the same national origin (ie. Chinese restaurants hire Chinese students, Indian restaurants hire Indian/Nepali/etc students, Irish pubs hire Irish students, you get the point).

You don't understand. I have money only for two years of studying in community college, maybe three, okay. And I need to stay for seven years before I get green card, not even mentioning classes in university even for BA will cost more than in college. So that is why I need to find a job since the first year, and not unpaid internship (I wonder if I have get even this without at least BA).
As for a foreign student my scholarship possibilities are dramatically limited. And I'll better shoot myself than be deported, they won't make me back to Russia until I'm alive.

craigslist is probably your best bet.

some of the job ads might say cash paid, but most will be on the books. you can email them and ask if they pay cash. don't tell them WHY you prefer cash. just ask if they pay cash. many construction contractors and moving companies etc will pay cash daily to their labourers. it shouldn't be that difficult.

there's another section you want to look in called "gigs" where people post one off jobs they need done and the amount of cash they will pay. things like landscaping, junk removal, help with moving things, building furniture, demolition etc. you could find & arrange one day jobs almost as often as you need via this, then make some contacts with some people/contractors who have more cash work.. which could turn into regular part time cash work, or on call work etc.

also, you can post a brief resume in the resumes section outlining the things you can/will do for cash, and then see if you get any emails/calls.

also, seeing as you're obviously computer savvy.. there's the option of working online & getting paid online - paypal or something. but that's more traceable than cash.

Thanks! These are useful ideas.