If you are a college student, you might be searching for ways to make money between classes. However, the pressure of getting good grades may have you worried that you don’t have enough time to earn extra cash.
Thanks to the gig economy, there are many ways to make money in college without missing class or sacrificing your social life. You can easily take on a side hustle to defray the cost of tuition and have more spending money.
Here are some of the best ways to make extra money in your free time.
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Best Ways to Make Money in College
There are many lucrative ways to earn money on the side. Here are some of the best ideas to make money and still balance all of your responsibilities.
1. Deliver Meals
Do you have a car, bike, motorcycle, or scooter? If so, you can make money as a delivery driver.
DoorDash is an on-demand delivery service that allows you to deliver restaurant meals. The company says you can earn up to $25 an hour, including tips.
Read our DoorDash Driver review to learn more.
2. Grocery Shopping
On-demand grocery shopping is one of the top high-paying jobs for college students. Instacart Shopper is a leader in the space.
People order groceries with Instacart. Then, as an Instacart shopper, you purchase and deliver them.
Like DoorDash, you can work on your own schedule.
*Related: Do you want to deliver packages instead of food? Read our Amazon Flex driver review here to learn how you can earn $20+ per hour delivering for Amazon.
This service is available nationwide and claims drivers can earn $20+ per hour.
Read our Instacart driver review to learn more.
If you want other ideas to make money in the on-demand space, here’s a comparison of the top apps and what you can expect to be paid.
| App | Avg. Hourly Pay | Pay Frequency | Bike/Motorcycle? |
|---|---|---|---|
| DoorDash | $20 | Weekly + instant | Yes |
| Instacart | $20 | Weekly + instant | No |
| Shipt Shopper | $22 | Weekly | No |
| GrubHub | $12 | Weekly + instant | No |
| Saucey | $12 | Weekly | No |
| Caviar | $25 | Weekly + instant | Yes |
| Postmates | $20 | Weekly + instant | Yes |
| Uber Eats | $15 | Weekly + instant | Yes |
| Favor | $14 | Daily | No |
3. Take Surveys
You won’t get rich with surveys, but a site like Survey Junkie is a good way to add a little extra spending money to your wallet if you are a broke college student.
This platform is easy to use, and you only need a $10 balance to redeem earnings. If you’re active enough, it’s possible to earn several hundred dollars each month.
4. Walk Dogs
Walking or boarding dogs is one of the best side hustles for college students who love animals. An app like Rover lets you connect with pet owners who need help.
The site claims active contractors can earn up to $1,000 per month. Read our guide on the best dog walking jobs to learn more.
5. Do Small Tasks Online
If you’re like most college students, you spend a lot of time online. You can monetize that time through an app like Swagbucks.
*Related: Looking for ways to make money for a delivery service? Read our Postmates job review to learn how you can make $20+ per hour delivering meals.*
The app pays you to do things like watch videos and use their search engine. You won’t make a ton of cash, but it’s a simple way to earn extra spending money.
6. Freelance Writing
Companies and small businesses always need new content. If you enjoy writing, you can work your way up to earning $100, $200, or more per article.
Sites like ProBlogger and Freelance Writing Gigs are a terrific way to locate writing jobs.
If you’re new to writing, consider checking out Earn More Writing. This is a free workshop offered by our friend Holly Johnson.
She earns six figures a year as a writer and shares her secrets to increase earnings.
7. Rent Out Your Car
Renting your car is an easy way to earn money in college. HyreCar is a platform that matches you up with renters looking for a car.
The site says the average person earns $720 a month renting out their car. If your car sits unused a lot, this is a fantastic way to earn passive income.
8. Babysitting
Babysitting is a classic way to make extra money. If you don’t mind giving up a few evenings each week, you can easily earn $15, or more, per hour.
Referrals are the name of the game when it comes to getting more babysitting gigs. Care.com is a helpful site that lets you create a profile, find jobs, and get referrals.
9. Start a Blog
Blogging is a popular side hustle idea and one of the best ways for college students to make money. From display to affiliate advertising, there are many ways to make money with a blog.
Bluehost is a fantastic resource to launch your site. They install your site, provide 24/7 support, and give you a free domain name for just $2.95 a month.
Read our guide on how to make money blogging for the exact steps you need to follow to launch a successful website.
10. Become a Resident Assistant
If you live on campus and don’t mind overseeing operations, being a resident assistant (RA) is a fun job.
You don’t always receive payment as an RA, but you often get your dorm room and meals for free.
Some schools will pay a small stipend in addition to those perks.
11. Become a Virtual Assistant
Do you like to work behind the scenes by managing administrative tasks like email or scheduling appointments? If so, you can support a small business as a virtual assistant (VA).
You don’t need specialized skills to do this job, but they do help.
It’s possible to earn $15 or more per hour in this role. Additionally, the hours are flexible.
Our friend, Kayla Sloan, offers a helpful free webinar called $10K VA. Within the workshop, she shares tips to locate VA gigs and increase earnings.
12. Graphic Design Work
If you like to design graphics, this is one of the best jobs for college students. You can work in your free time and design anything from logos to marketing materials and more.
Sites like 99designs are a fantastic way to earn cash selling your designs.
13. Do Odd Jobs Around Town
Students who enjoy working with their hands can make good money helping people around town.
Taskrabbit is an awesome resource that connects you with people who need help with various jobs, from yard work to mounting a TV and more.
You set your own rates and work when you want.
14. Sell Your Old Textbooks
How much do you spend on textbooks for your classes? The average college student spends $1,200 per year on textbooks, according to CBS News.
If you take good care of your textbooks, you can try to sell them on BookScouter to get some of your money back.
The Amazon Trade-In page is a good resource to determine pricing on your old textbooks to ensure you’re selling at market price.
15. Sell Your Notes
Do you take very detailed notes? You can sell your notes to help other students and make money in the process.
Stuvia is a site that allows you to sell your notes. You retain ownership of the notes, and you can set your own price for them.
Stuvia does all the marketing for you. This means that all you need to do is upload your notes, set a fair price, and get paid when someone buys them.
16. Housesit
Housesitting is an easy way to make money on the side, especially in college. As a housesitter, you get paid to stay in someone’s home while they travel.
Care.com is a good resource to find gigs. Expect to earn $25+ per evening you watch the home.
17. Donate Plasma
Donating plasma for money may not sound fun, but you can easily make several hundred dollars per month doing it.
Each plasma center has its own requirements and payment amounts. However, if you’re in a pinch, this can be a good way to make extra money on the side.
18. Sell T-Shirt Designs
Similar to graphic design, you can design and sell t-shirts with minimal effort.
You don’t store the shirts. Instead, you simply create the design and use a platform like Teespring to produce and market the products.
These sites do all the backend work for you, so you only deal with designing.
19. Proofread
From fellow students to companies, everyone wants good content. A proofreader examines content to ensure everything is grammatically correct and there are no misspellings.
You can demand $20 an hour as a proofreader. Use social media to market your services, or use sites like LinkedIn to find work.
20. Teaching Assistant
Many professors need help with grading assignments or doing research. A teaching assistant can be invaluable to help teachers balance their responsibilities.
Ask around campus or talk to your favorite professor to see if they need help.
21. Get a Part-Time Job
If you want to know how to make money in college, a part-time job is one of the most common opportunities. Part-time work can include anything from working in retail to being a barista.
While part-time work might not be extremely lucrative and will require more rigid hours, it’s a legitimate way to earn money in college.
Many businesses post signs or website ads when they’re looking to hire, so keep an eye out for opportunities at your favorite stores.
Bottom Line
Earning money on the side is possible, and there are many jobs for college students that pay well. You can work delivery driver jobs or tackle another type of contractor role.
There are lots of businesses that happily hire college students, so you can even pursue retail work.
Regardless of what opportunity you choose, you can offset costs and even put extra spending money in your pocket without sacrificing your schoolwork.
Do you think it’s a good idea to work while in college or should you avoid it if possible? What’s the oddest thing you’ve done to make extra money?
A buddy of mine gave guitar lessons in college and you’d be surprised how much you can make. He was charging $50 a lesson, 1 hour lessons. It does take some commuting and scheduling time, as well as prep, but for a college student he was making more than most people. Honestly if he really loved it he could have avoided college altogether or dropped out and made a very good living doing it.
That’s pretty cool and good money for a college student.
I feel like than half of these jobs didn’t exist when I was in college lol or maybe I never heard of them.
I worked 2 very normal part-time jobs. One of them was at the career office on campus. The school used the $4000/year from work study that I qualified when I applied for FAFSA. It’s not free money – but almost.