Was just about to post this feedback myself as a member of the backstory team! 

Exactly! Student staff also have outside roles in ensuring the site functions well, not just in game. If everyone on site got a student job that they got paid for, even without doing the work for it, it'd make the hard work of student staff very underappreciated and unnoticed- part of the reason they get paid is because of their outside role in ensuring the site runs smoothly.

If you're not interested in doing homework, grading, chatting and cuddling pets are all ways that you can earn experience quickly and you can earn interest when putting money in Gringotts (which takes very little time/effort and only requires you to log in once a day).