Whether it’s allotting more money for your daily expenses, or saving for a new phone, it doesn’t hurt to make a little cash on the side. For students, it’s common to ask: how do you make extra money as a college student? Some schools don’t offer job opportunities or assistance, so this is an important question to ask if you’re serious about making good money in college.
How to make extra money in college?
There is a multitude of platforms that cater to both beginners and experts in their field. With a bit of time and entrepreneurial spirit, you can succeed in making some money while you’re in college. Don’t know where to start? Here are 15 ways to make extra money as a student that fits your skill set.
1. Become a Freelance Writer
If you have a passion for writing, you can use your skills to create content for clients all over the world. The most common form of freelance writing is creating content for articles. You can also try writing stories and e-books to stand out from the crowd.
You can choose to write all types of content, depending on what you have a passion and background for. Topics such as travel, finance, cryptocurrency, business, and lifestyle are usually the trend.
2. Edit video content
With the world gravitating towards online content creation, video editing services are in demand. If you’re savvy in using video editing software and have a vision for putting together content, you can consider using your skills to edit other people’s videos.
3. Become a freelance graphic designer
Like writing, pursuing freelance graphic design has all kinds of options. Depending on your specialty, you can go into making logos for businesses, website design, and even animation. Protip: Prepare a portfolio of your works as an artist for clients to see what content you’re most fit for creating!
4. Translate written and audio content
Fluent in multiple languages? You can use your knowledge to make money translating content for clients. As a translator, the content you may have to deal with varies in difficulty, with some clients looking for people to translate more technical content (medical or legal jargon), so make sure that you first establish your niche before providing services.
5. Transcribe videos and audios
Transcribing audio content works best for those who have a keen ear and fast typing skills. In transcription, clients look for individuals who can quickly write out all kinds of content. Make sure to have a solid background in whatever field you’re transcribing content for!
6. Become a virtual assistant
Virtual assistants are essential in keeping brands afloat, especially for starting companies. Virtual assistants are generally administrative support to businesses. Responsibilities include scheduling meetings, sending e-mails, making phone calls, and any other organizational tasks the business may need.
Other brands look for specific roles and responsibilities, such as finding virtual assistants who focus on social media brand growth or content creation.
7. Start a dropshipping business
For a more entrepreneurial try, you can pursue a dropshipping business. Dropshipping is essentially selling and promoting products that you currently don’t have on hand. Once customers order your items, you buy the products from a supplier for a lower price than what you’re selling them for. This is what allows you to profit. As a beginner, the best place to start dropshipping is Shopify.
Starting a dropshipping business is certainly daunting and difficult, but with enough dedication and patience, it’s a solid way to make a lot of money as a college student.
8. Become an online tutor
Make use of your learnings to teach other students! You can apply to become a part-time tutor for students, both young and old. Teaching subjects such as English, Math, and Science are in-demand. There are many existing platforms that you can apply as a tutor. Some don’t even need a college degree to get started! What better way to get started than answering your question on how to make extra money as a college student.
9. Complete paid surveys
If cash isn’t your style, consider completing paid surveys on sites like Swagbucks to earn all kinds of gift certificates and coupons for your favorite brands. You can earn rewards worth that starts at $0.25, to over $20, depending on the company. Platforms such as Swagbucks are the most popular for this.
10. Accomplish easy data entry tasks
On Remotasks, you can help improve artificial intelligence (AI) software by doing small and easy tasks such as drawing lines around images, categorizing items, and identifying spam. If you have a keen eye and a good attention span, you can try making some extra money on the platform. Remotasks also provides fully prepare you before you do your first task.
11. Start your own blog or newsletter
Making content for other people might not be everyone’s cup of tea. If you’re more comfortable making your own content that caters to your own niche, you can definitely find ways to earn off of it. By starting your own blog, you can control your own content and style, while attracting all kinds of sponsors and readers. You can also consider submitting your content to existing, high-paying platforms, without having to compromise your creativity!
12. Start your own YouTube or streaming channel
As college students, chances are you’ve already come across platforms such as Twitch and YouTube. These are platforms where content creators can post both short and long-form videos based on their particular interests.
Recently, hour-long streams and videos are the trend. If you’re passionate about content creation and activities such as gaming or chatting with a live audience, you can give streaming a chance.
13. Sell your photos online
Into photography? Love taking photos as a hobby? You can make use of your talents to sell your photos to websites like Shutterstock and GettyImages. After submitting your photos to these platforms, they’ll be made into stock images for the public to use.
14. Sell your second-hand clothes
If you’re looking to clear up some closet space, you can try your hand at selling your clothes on platforms like Poshmark and even Instagram. With Poshmark gaining over 46 million visitors per month, the app is considered the best place to buy, sell, and trade all kinds of clothing and accessories for optimal prices.
15. Find a part-time job as a service or retail worker
Besides online opportunities, the most common positions college students can take up to make money are jobs as service workers in restaurants, cafes, fast food chains, clothing stores, kiosks, and more. Though the work will be physically more tiring than others, it’s a way to ensure a consistent paycheck.
What platforms can I find jobs on?
Now that you’ve figured out what kind of work interests you, it’s time to start finding the right platform to find the right job. We’ve already mentioned the specific platforms for specific jobs, but you can do some of the job ideas we’ve listed on the following freelance platforms.
Fiverr
Fiverr is a great platform to get started with when you want to get into freelancing. On Fiverr, sellers can post ‘gigs,’ which are the services that you want to offer to clients based on what they need. Sellers can post many gigs of varying job types and skills, which makes it good for all types of people who have different skill sets.
Sellers have great control over the services they offer, down to the price, which is set at a minimum of $5. To get a better idea of what services you can provide on the platform, check out these other Fiverr gigs you can do to make extra money as a student.
Upwork
If Fiverr is the beginner-friendly platform for freelancers, Upwork is the place for more experienced workers who know how to sell themselves to clients well. On Upwork, freelancers have to browse for job openings posted by clients. If you’re interested in a particular job, you will send in a cover letter and other requirements needed by the client. Upwork also provides more high-paying rates and long-term projects compared to Fiverr. Using this platform is a bit more promising in helping you figure out how to make good money while in college.
It’s not guaranteed that you’ll be able to get the first job you apply for. Be patient, and eventually, you’ll be able to land your first gig and continue making connections!
Freelancer.com
Freelancer.com functions similarly to Upwork. Clients will post job openings based on what tasks they need to be accomplished, and freelancers will apply for them. On Freelancer.com, you can apply for a job by sending in a bid, which is the price you’re willing to work for. This makes it a bit more difficult since you’re competing with all kinds of other individuals. However, the uptick is that Freelancer.com is greatly reliable, and there are a great number of jobs to choose from.
What else should I know before making extra money as a student?
Though there are many opportunities available, it’s important to remember that no one can learn how to make easy money in college. All types of jobs require hard work and dedication. Here are some extra tips to maximize making good money in college.
First, figure out your niche. What skill of yours is strong enough to make you stand out from the crowd? Once you figure this out, be proactive in learning important skills that will strengthen your knowledge. You can sign up for trainings, seminars, and boot camps that can teach you both hard and soft skills in the field you want to excel in.
College life is hard and it can definitely get overwhelming. But, remember that it’s 100% possible to balance your studies with your personal goals, so shoot your shot: try out one of these 15 ways to make money!
