9 Easy Ways to Make Money in College
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Being a broke college student isn’t inevitable. There are many ways to make money in college. When I was in school, money was definitely scarce and I never had much luck with finding decent part-time jobs. Therefore, hustling on the side became one of my best options while juggling classes, writing papers and studying for exams.
If you’re in school and looking for some promising ways to make extra money, here are nine easy ways to get started.
1. Tutoring
Tutoring is a great part-time job and easy way to make money in college. If you excel in a particular subject, you may find it easier to help others with their homework and studying for exams.
Whether you’re a math or science whiz, a talented writer or speak another language, odds are, you can find someone on campus who needs your help and is willing to compensate you for your time.
Some colleges have peer tutoring programs where they actually hire students to help with certain subjects. You can also advertise your services online or put flyers up around campus. Tutoring online is also an option. One of my favorite online tutoring sites is Chegg Tutors, which is operated by the same company that sells discounted textbooks.
According to their website, tutors can create their own schedule and earn a minimum of $20/hr.
2. Babysitting
Babysitting is another easy way you can make money in college if you like kids. Whether you attend a community college or university, there are bound to be some parents who are students and need affordable child care.
If there is a childcare center on campus, you can apply to work there or you can set up a profile on Care or SitterCity to find jobs.
As a college parent myself, I had to take some mandatory night classes for journalism and since I didn’t live in the same town as my family, I really depended on babysitters and friends to help. This is another flexible opportunity to start making money in college where you can work around your class schedule.
3. Taking Surveys
Taking surveys is an easy way to make extra money in college and is open to anyone over 18 years of age. All you need is a computer, Internet connection and an opinion. Below are some of the best survey sites to make money:
You can even take surveys on your phone and sign up for multiple sites to increase your earnings. While taking surveys online is a quick way to earn some extra money, you probably won’t rake in thousands of dollars per month.
It’s also important that you make sure the survey companies you sign up with will pay you in cash or relevant gift cards that you can use to supplement some of your expenses – here are the top sites that let you earn free Amazon gift cards.
4. Walk Dogs
For people who aren’t really fans of kids and babysitting, I always recommend that they try their hand at walking dogs if they enjoy animals. Walking dogs is a great way to get some exercise in and make some easy money in college.
You can walk dogs in between classes or in the mornings or evenings. Some of the best sites to use to advertise your services include Rover and Wag.
5. Sell Stuff Online
As a college student, you may not have that many items to sell but it’s still possible to make money selling things online. Your old textbooks, clothes, shoes and school memorabilia are all excellent candidates.
You can also consider flipping valuable items you find at thrift stores and selling them online to make a profit. You can even sell items on Amazon using Amazon FBA. Check out The Selling Family for helpful resources and tools to help you sell items online.
Find out what sells well, then check out local thrift stores like Goodwill for quality items you can upsell online. This can be an easy way to make hundreds of dollars per month.
6. Buy and Resell Video Games
If you’re a video game enthusiast, you can make some good money reselling video games locally or online. Video games can be quite expensive, and if you own any that you are not playing anymore, consider selling them to make some quick cash.
You can also buy games that are still in good condition and resell them by bumping up the price. You may find profitable games at flea markets, on discounts sites or even on sale for the holidays.
Also, don’t underestimate the value of classic games and gaming consoles. A few years ago, my husband bought an original Nintendo 64 system and a few games for $60.
When selling your games, be sure to shop around for the best offer. Some stores will agree to buy games from you, but they may not offer much or may even only offer store credit. In that case, it may be better to sell your game privately to an actual buyer.
7. Sell Your Notes
Do you take very detailed notes? In college, I actually loved taking good notes and writing everything down because it helped me when studying and retaining the information I learned.
I didn’t just rely on the PowerPoint slides the instructor used in class and I believe that actually helped me maintain good grades. Back then, I wish I would have known that you can actually sell your notes online to help other students study.
Stuvia is a site that allows you to do this and which you can use as a way to make money in college. With Stuvia, you’ll still retain ownership of your notes and you can set your own price for your study notes. Stuvia does all the marketing so all you have to do is upload your notes, set a fair price, and get paid when someone buys them.
8. Move Furniture
You can make some decent money in college by moving furniture around this time of year as well as toward the end of the fall or spring semesters.
Be sure to advertise your services at a rate that is slightly lower than most moving companies in your area in order to get hired for more jobs and help people save money.
You can also find jobs by signing up for a site called Movers Corp.
9. Run Errands
Another easy way to earn money in college is to run errands for others and do small tasks. Sites like TaskRabbit will pay you to assemble furniture, do handy work, help with home improvement tasks, do landscaping work and more.
DoorDash and Postmates are other sites that will pay you to run errands. If you have a car and are 21 or older, look into the requirements for signing up for Uber or Lyft. You can earn extra money during your spare time by driving people around or even delivering food through Uber Eats.
Final Thoughts
It’s important to think outside the box when it comes to earning extra money in college. For some reason, I never got hired for too many part-time retail and restaurant jobs as a college student, even after sending out dozens of applications.
I didn’t let that discourage me and still found a way to put more money into my pocket by finding time for side hustles. Consider what your skills and interests are, and don’t be afraid to combine several of these ideas to boost your income so you can stretch your budget while in college.
What are some ways you made money while in college? Do you think it’s good to work while in college, or should you avoid doing so if possible? What’s the oddest thing you’ve done to make extra money?
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2 Comments
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.