I worked for an academic department (which ended up hooking me on my sub-field of history) helping do computer work related to their publication of a journal, helping with their website, etc. It was a great way to combine some of my computer skills (I had started some programming and doing graphic design in high school) with my educational work, and put me in a good position to increase my skills (e.g. I took the time to learn HTML, Javascript, CSS, PHP, MySQL, some server maintenance, and so on). I tell every student who will listen that if you can find a job that will pay you to learn and improve on marketable skills you are really getting paid double — once now, and once in the future. That job ended up putting me in a good position for a lot of things later in life. I worked there for my entire undergraduate career more or less, plus another semester or so after I graduated.

(I also worked for a video rental store. Back when VHS existed. Free rentals was the main perk. The store was not coping well with DVDs. When Netflix came out — even in its initial DVD-only form — I predicted they would be destroyed by it. I am not sure whether they survived long enough for streaming to completely make their industry redundant or not. They kept their entire inventory database in one file on one dying computer with no backups. Impressively incompetent.)

As for finishing school, the advice I would give to myself now would be not to rush it. I graduated a semester early for a variety of reasons. In the end it just meant I was entering into a tough job market earlier than I really wanted to be (I briefly moved to a depressed part of upstate New York, which did not help — worked at Barnes and Noble as a "receiver" for a few months, then got a job doing page layout for a company that produced technical manuals for New York City subway trains), missed an opportunity to spend the final semester just taking interesting courses in fields I might not otherwise know much about, and accelerating things needlessly. But this was back before tuition had become so ruinous and if I was wracking up debt I think I wouldn't have been able to do that. But as it was, I wish I had stayed and just spend a semester exploring.

Bartender and sales assistant at HMV. It sucked but it paid the many, many bills.

As an undergraduate, I worked for my college's department of residential life as an RA. It wasn't the most fun job but it paid for room and board. In grad school, I had a variety of assistantships (teaching and grading) that granted a tuition waiver. So I was paying for basically half my schooling at any time.

As an undergraduate I worked at my university's archives and manuscripts department.

I worked in restaurants all through college as a server and as an office manager. My motivation was simply that I couldn't imagine not being a college graduate.

I've worked in higher education as an instructor (not history) and as an academic advisor. My advice to you is to take it one semester at a time. Don't worry about the next semester or the next year. Just focus on the classes at hand.

Surround yourself with people who share common interests and who are intent on finishing school. If you hang out with unmotivated or uninterested people, you won't get any reinforcement for the effort you are making toward your academic success. Join a group or two where people have similar interests. When I was an undergrad, I belonged to a history honor society. I wasn't the most active but I did enjoy being around like minded people.

Also, think honestly about what you will do with yourself if you don't finish college. What kind of work do you envision yourself doing? Is a college degree required? If your college has a career counseling center, head on over there to see if they offer any workshops on choosing a career path. Often, having an end goal in mind can really help to keep you on track through your undergraduate degree.

As an undergrad, I worked for a small town in their Public Works Dept. By the time I graduated, I was a capable heavy equipment operator. In grad school, I was able to get RA and TA positions during the school term, and did archaeology field work (sponsored by the Anthropology Dept.) during the summers. My blue collar background proved valuable throughout my career, from running a backhoe on excavation projects to knowing how a transit worked.

Radio DJ and bouncer. Schedule matched what I needed.

I worked at a bakery. If you can though try get a good scholarship. Once you get to postgrad you can also look at tutoring or getting a job at the university in an administrative capacity