College can be stressful. What’s even more stressful however is going broke in college. If you’ve been slowly watching your account balances turn towards zero, then maybe it’s time to get into the side hustle game.
Thankfully, in today’s gig economy you have plenty of options. From online self-publishing to driving for Lyft or Uber, there are dozens of easy ways to make extra money while you’re in school or college. So don’t wait, follow along and get started earning some extra cheddar today!
Freelance Writing
Freelance writing is one of the best ways to make extra money in college. I mean, you’re already writing essays, why not get paid for them?
Thanks to the explosion of the gig economy freelance writing gigs are easier to come by than ever before as well. Online publications have to churn out the content and that means employing a lot of freelancers to write quality articles and blog posts—fast.
Some online publications that accept submissions from outside sources include:
- Poetry Foundation
- Slate
- Carve Magazine
- Story
- Ideomancer
- Brevity
- SeekingAlpha
Freelance writing is a great way to practice your English and writing skills while helping to pay the rent at the same time. Even if you’ve never published online before, give it a shot, I think you’ll be surprised at how successful you can be.
Online Self-Publishing
This one is for the serious writers out there. Writing a book and publishing it yourself online may sound daunting, but the reality is if you are in college you are already writing books worth of material each year.
According to a recent survey from the studentstrategy101, the average freshman writes 92 pages during the academic year, and seniors write 146 pages each year. That means by the end of college life, the average student has written a 400-page book worth of essays alone.
All of a sudden, online self-publishing doesn’t sound so far-fetched now, does it?
Beautify Your Friends
This one may sound odd, but the fact is beautifying your friends or fellow students before they go out to greek functions or music festivals like Coachella can be a quick way to make some extra cash doing something you love.
Eyelash extension courses are a great option to get started perfecting your beautician skills. And after you learn, you can even transfer those skills to a job at a local beautician. So, don’t be afraid to become the fashionista of your group. It pays!
Drive For Uber or Lyft
Driving your fellow students around after they have been out partying isn’t exactly fun, but it does pay well.
Uber and Lyft drivers are able to make a living through driving alone, that means if you’re looking to just make some extra cash you should have no trouble. That’s especially true if you focus on night and weekend shifts where drivers can make extra money because of ‘surge’ multiples.
‘Surge’ multiples are when there are more riders than drivers so in order to entice more drivers to get out on the road, Lyft and Uber will offer extra money per ride. As a student, you can take advantage of this and increase your hourly earnings to upwards of $25/hour at times.
Driving for Lyft or Uber is a great job for any student looking to make part-time money. Don’t be afraid to get out there and drive!
Become A Tutor
Becoming a tutor in college is one of the best ways to practice your skills and make some extra cash at the same time. Tutors are in high demand these days, too, so you shouldn’t have any trouble finding a gig.
GoodHouseKeeping has a great list of the best online tutoring websites available. From Princeton review’s recently acquired tutor.com to Chegg and Skooli the options are plentiful.
Tutoring also looks good on your resume and can help you stay up to date on your skills, so it’s really a win-win opportunity.
Try Dog Walking
Come on, who doesn’t love dogs?
Dog walking is a great way for college students to make some extra cash on the side. It’s also one of the easiest side hustles to start on this list.
Mobile apps like Wag! and Rover makes dog walking for money a breeze. You can also become a pet sitter in just a few easy steps.
Dog walking may not be a great way to practice the skills you’re learning in college, but it can be a great release to get out into nature and just spend some time in thought with man’s best friend.
Babysitting
You thought your days of babysitting were done, didn’t you?
Well, maybe not just yet. Babysitting is a (sometimes) fun and easy way to make extra money as a struggling college student. These days you don’t have to only babysit for your neighbor either. Online websites like Care help connect parents with responsible babysitters.
As a college student, you will have a big advantage over your younger or less qualified babysitting peers as well, so you should have no trouble finding a gig.
Making extra money in college can be a pain. The last thing you want to do after class is more work, but still, many students don’t have any other option. Thankfully, in 2020 there are more resources available than ever before to help you make ends meet.
So don’t wait, if you need some extra money to go out with your friends or make your rent this month, try some of these easy ways to fill your wallet in your spare time.
