It's not uncommon for college students to hold a part time job to help them finance their education. Extra cash is always useful whether it is used to grab some chow with your girlfriends or hit the town on a Friday night. In my experience, one of the best ways to make money while in college is by waiting tables! Here are 10 reasons why waiting tables is a great option.

1. You'll meet people from all over.

Throughout my three years of waitressing, I met people from all over New York, New England and beyond. During the summer, I meet people from Virginia who ride their motorcycles up, and in the winter, I meet people from Florida who come up to ski in the mountains. It's great to be exposed to people from all different backgrounds -- even just for an hour or so. Not to mention, it's pretty fun to listen to some of the different accents!

2. Your co-workers become your best friends.

The diner I work at is pretty tiny and there's only a handful of us on staff. There are usually only three or four of us working at a time. That being said, after spending hours upon hours with your coworkers, a bond begins to form. Over time, you'll realize they're some of your truest friends. You experience everything together, and that just makes you closer.

3. You'll hone your customer service skills.

There will always be customers that waitstaff believe to be impossible to please. However, if something isn't to his/her satisfaction, you learn that a smile and a sincere apology will go a long way. Dealing with difficult customers just helps you to improve for the next time there's a similar issue and can help you in any career path you follow.

4. You will become a better customer.

This is probably what I'm most thankful for. I learned that asking for dessert when the waitress doesn't even have time to breathe isn't necessary and that asking what every single option on the menu includes, although it is all clearly printed, is just wasting the waiter's time. When a waitress is busy, patience and thoughtfulness is the best policy.

5. You'll be forced to learn how to work under pressure.

Similar to customer service skills, the ability to work under pressure will be looked for in almost any career you pursue. You definitely don't need to be perfect, but learning how to manage your stress when a huge table walks into your section can really help out in the long run for both the customers' experience and your sanity.

6. The tips you get are usually pretty good!

Of course, it's no secret that wait-staff tend to live off the tips patrons leave for them -- but there are other kinds of tips that I'm just as happy to receive! (Ok, maybe not just as happy, but pretty darn close.) For example, the best tip I ever received was from a nice woman who told me to smile more because it made the restaurant look sunnier when I did. Of course, I know my smile didn't actually make the diner brighter, but her point was clear to me, and it made my day so much better!

7. You'll be well equipped to clean up your next cooking fiasco.

Let's face it. Everyone forgets to hold the lid on the blender down at least once in their life. Well, after waiting tables and cleaning up some pretty horrific messes left behind, you'll get those blueberry stains off the ceiling like a pro.

8. You'll learn to make some tasty food.

I'm not sure how it was for everyone else, but my upbringing did not include a ton of cooking lessons! When I started working, my cooking skills almost instantly went from 0 to 100. Before, I didn't even know how to make mac and cheese from a box! But since then, I learned some pretty yummy recipes that all my friends love.

9. You'll always have great stories to tell.

When there's downtime and it seems like everything was already scrubbed down five times, you'll need to find something to do to kill the time. Those water fights you had with your coworker will make a great story to share someday.

10. Your regular customers become like family.

After you see the same group of people at the same time every single Friday night, you begin to connect with them a bit. You'll know their names, where they're from, and you'll even send them holiday cards! It's so satisfying to know that they can be considered your second family.