You don’t have to experience college being broke because it isn’t funny at all; there are legitimate ways any college student can start making money fast.
And no, you don’t have to risk your grades or social life with any of these options, for instance, freelancing and picking up gigs you can do according to your schedule.
These gigs let you work whenever you want to, anytime, any day.
In this blog post, we’ll be going through the various ways any college student can start making cool cash by trading their grades for it.
Let’s get right in.
How To Make Money As A Student
Now let’s look at these tested and proven legitimate ways to start making decent money right away as a student, and no, you don’t need a hell of years of experience to get started; beginners can do them.
Become a Tutor
Most students need to be made aware of the numerous options available for college students to work as tutors. You may want a tutoring certification if you wish to deal with agents and obtain more legitimate tutoring positions.
In the US, several formal organizations certify tutors. Even while certification opens many more doors, only some opportunities call for it.
Students can be tutored in various ways;
In-Person Tutoring
Talk to fellow students in your course or at lower levels who may need help. Ask at church or gatherings, consult family and friends for potential tutoring opportunities.
Start with high school students or check local schools for tutoring programs. Rates vary from $10 to $25+ per hour, increasing with experience.
Online Tutoring
Use online marketplaces to find tutoring jobs. Although there are fees, you’ll find plenty of work.
Target your expertise and earn around $10+ per hour as a beginner, increasing to $25-$50+ per hour with experience. Consider sites like Tutors.com, Chegg StudyRoom, Student-Tutor, and StudyPool.
Language Tutoring
Separate from academic tutoring, language tutoring involves conversing with people learning the language.
English tutoring is highly sought after, but other languages have demanded it too. Some companies require TEFL certification for English tutoring, particularly for Chinese learners.
However, you can start without certifications. Explore online platforms like Cambly, Preply, PalFish (App only), SkimaTalk, Lingoda, Verbling, iTalki, and Tutlo for language tutoring opportunities.
Rideshare Driver
If you have a car on campus, you can drive for Uber, Lyft, or another ridesharing service and earn decent money.
However, once you’re up and running on the app, you can drive whenever it’s most convenient.
For instance, Uber requires that drivers under the age of 25 have at least three years of driving experience, and in some states, you’ll need to get your car inspected every year. Some drivers use numerous applications.
Virtual Assistant
For busy professionals, virtual assistants handle their administrative tasks. It might be necessary to manage social media, keep records, and manage email.
There are several freelancing sites where you can find VA jobs. However, there is frequently intense competition.
Working using a platform like Time etc., or Belay, which pays a flat price and lets you work as much or as little as you like without bidding, or hiring totally remote workers to work 10-40+ hours per week, is one option.
Create an Online Course
Have you ever thought of sitting on the opposite side of the room during class? Learning a new skill through online courses is quite helpful.
By instructing others in a skill that you already have, you can use it as a means of earning money.
Proofreading
Proofreading might be a great option if you have an ability for language and want to use that talent to earn some additional cash.
Proofreaders look for errors in papers, books, articles, and other written items.
These can involve grammatical errors such as typos, incorrect language use, etc. Many different people regularly use proofreaders.
You could collaborate with organizations, publications, writers, bloggers, and even other students. With no prior experience, you may make $15 per hour as a new proofreader.
With a bit more experience, you can charge up to $25–$50 per hour for more difficult work. The benefit of proofreading is the work’s high degree of flexibility and the likelihood of finding a sizable market for it.
Make Money from Selling Stock Photos
Stock images are regular images that can be seen all over the internet. Most of the time, when you see a photo of two businessmen shaking hands, individuals sitting around a boardroom table, with a lady on her laptop smiling, or other similar images, you’re looking at a stock image.
Someone needs to set up and photograph such shots. As it turns out, it’s a decent method to get passive income.
Do On-Campus Jobs
You have the exceptional chance to work in your school while still a student. On-campus employment often prioritizes students and is flexible enough to fit around your academic schedule.
Below are some of these jobs you should consider going for;
- Tutor
- Campus ambassador
- Caterer
- Social media assistant
- Teaching Assistant
- Barista
- Resident assistant/advisor (RA)
- Research Assistant
- Gym instructor
- Campus tour guide
- Production assistant for student programs
- Library Attendant
- Security
- Mailroom attendant
- Administrative assistant
- Server/cook
Sell Gigs on Freelance Platforms
Nowadays, you can basically do anything for money. You may get paid for a wide variety of services by local, national, and even worldwide clients via platforms like Fiverr and People Per Hour (PPH).
You could be making at least that much for each work you are hired for, thanks to Fiverr and their $5 minimum gig pricing. You decide the conditions of these assignments.
You can place advertising for the services you provide and the locations where you provide them.
I mean anything when I say anything. Pick up dry washing, sweep the driveway, wash cars, pull weeds from the garden, conduct errands, scoop dog feces, change a lightbulb.
All these things can be done locally; however, if you prefer a more digital approach, you might involve simple tasks for online services like researching the best-rated items in a certain category, evaluating website features, etc.
You have a lot of options that you might need to be made aware people will pay for. Why not give it a try and see what type of response you receive since creating an account and posting gigs are both free?
Test Websites
You can work as a paid website tester and check for bugs, errors, and issues on websites and applications with just a computer and a reliable internet connection.
As you’ll need to use your camera and mix for some of the tests, make sure they’re functional as well.
Sometimes you’re just verifying a website’s usability to evaluate how simple it is to browse rather than just searching for bugs.
If you’re ready to put in the work, you may make a respectable amount of money because the majority of legitimate sites will pay you between $10 and $50 for every exam.
Resell Fashion (Clothing & Accessories)
The resale value of several different clothing and accessory businesses is excellent.
Shop for discounted brand-name clothing that you can later resale for more money if you have the Time and some additional cash. An excellent place to start is a thrift store.
Brand-name products are frequently available for incredibly low costs, or at least for less than you might sell them for elsewhere. Over the weekend, look for yard sales in the area.
Clothing is typically priced at a discount during yard sales in order to be quickly sold..
Someone else’s closet may contain some hidden treasures that can offer you a tremendous return on your investment! You can purchase and resale items like bags, shoes, and clothing.
Do Social Media for Businesses
It takes actual work to maintain social media, and it’s for something other than the regular IT beginner.
However, most small local businesses only require a part-time social media manager to establish and execute a comprehensive marketing plan.
You can offer to be the manager of their social media accounts for some of the neighborhood companies in the area if you’re excellent at it.
This would probably include posting once or twice daily and interacting with DMs and comments. Anyone who is already familiar with the ins and outs of social media should find the work to be rather straightforward.
The major distinction is that you’ll need to create goals and hit engagement benchmarks to support the organization in achieving its overall goals.
Depending on what works best for you, you can choose to charge an hourly rate per post or month. If you’re starting out and have little experience, you can probably expect to make $15–$20 per hour, or around $200+ per month if you post 30–45 times each month across several sites.
Be mindful not to commit oneself excessively. Always remember that managing social media with enough clients might be a full-time job; therefore, always try to do your best.
Sell YourYour Study Materials
Let your lecture notes, flashcards, and other customized study materials assist other students while earning you money.
If your notes are approved and meet the platform’s eligibility conditions, you’ll be paid a percentage of each sale if you’re accepted. You might try Study Soup and Studypool as platforms.
Sell Unwanted Items
Your unwanted items, whether they be outdated textbooks, gadgets, clothing and accessories, sports equipment, or even childhood toys, may have a market.
While certain e-commerce platforms, such as Poshmark for fashion and Amazon Trade-In for electronics, specialize in specific sorts of products, you can always go the simple route and put large items on Facebook Marketplace or OfferUp and easy-to-ship items on eBay.
Earn from Mystery Shopping
Mystery shopping is a great way to earn some additional money while doing activities you like, even though it will only amount to a little.
You can get compensated to evaluate the service in places like restaurants, stores, tourist attractions, and more.
It’s an actual position that market research firms have listed. In essence, you’re assisting the business in learning how its services are actually delivered and rating your entire business experience.
When mystery shopping, you’ll often have particular questions to answer or tasks to complete. A useful website from The Balance SMB provides you with some further details on being a mystery shopper.
Also Read: 7 Ways: How To Earn Money By Copy Paste
Final Thoughts
As a student in college, you don’t have to ask How To Make Money As A Student again because this guide just covers everything from start to finish.
And no, you don’t have to be an expert or professional at it, as most of them only require your time which you might have some to spare while on campus.
You can choose to freelance, do campus jobs, Test websites, etc. No matter what you decide to go with, it doesn’t matter.
What matters is that you are comfortable doing it and can deliver your best anytime, any day.
