With growing expenses like textbooks, food, gas, and spending money – if you don’t find ways to make money in college, your financial situation could be pretty miserable when you graduate.
Don’t worry, I’ve listed 48 easy ways to make money in college. If you’re a college student, get ready to make some extra cash to help you through your college years!
48 Easy Ways to Make Money in College
Here are 48 of the best ways for college students to make extra money:
- Take Online Surveys
- Complete Online Tasks
- Make Deliveries with Doordash
- Store People’s Stuff
- Private Tutor
- Teaching Assistant
- Library Assistant
- Retail
- Research Assistant
- Campus Security
- Campus IT Support
- Resume Writer
- Dorm Resident Assistant
- Barista
- User Testing
- Transcription
- Freelance Writing
- Graphic Design
- Campus Ambassador
- Become A Virtual Assistant
- Sell Your Crafts on Etsy
- Data Entry
- Market Research
- Design T-shirts
- Start a Blog
- Web Design
- Create An App
- Launch An Online Course
- Sell College Papers
- Sell Your Textbooks
- Translation Services
- Sell Your Photography
- Sell Your Notes
- Social Media Manager
- TaskRabbit
- Uber
- UberEats
- Lyft
- Seamless
- Rent Out Your Car
- Front Desk At Local Gym
- Become A Dog Walker
- Housesit
- Medical Test Subject
- Babysitting
- Pet Sitting
- Catering
- TV or Movie Extra
1. Take Online Surveys
Companies like InboxDollars and Survey Junkie will pay you cold hard cash for your feedback. You won’t necessarily get rich taking surveys for money, but potential earnings could be roughly $500 each month or two.
Many survey sites offer a welcome bonus just to sign up, so there’s no harm in trying them out and pocketing some quick extra cash.
2. Complete Online Tasks
Want to earn extra money just from watching videos and browsing the internet? Many survey sites also offer rewards and quick cash to complete simple tasks — some of which you are probably doing anyway as a college student.
It’s too easy with Swagbucks. You can even earn a FREE $20 bonus when you sign up today.
3. Make Deliveries with Doordash
This is another on-demand delivery service, specializing in food delivery. All you need is a valid driver’s license and insurance to earn extra money with DoorDash.
Doordash have also expanded their offering to include grocery shopping for people. This type of service is becoming extremely popular across all delivery app jobs, so there is no shortage of work opportunities.
4. Rent out storage space
Have a spare basement, bedroom or even closet that you want to monetize? Store other people’s stuff over summer break, holidays, or while they’re on a study abroad and score some extra cash with Neighbor, the Airbnb of storage.
5. Private Tutor
As a college student, chances are you have some subject-specific knowledge in the area you are studying.
Private tutoring is a great way to make money, by helping others with subjects you’re a pro at. Once you’ve put together a good pitch, advertise your tutoring services on notice boards, online forums, Facebook groups – or sites like Gumtree.
You can also look for tutoring opportunities on sites like FlexJobs.
6. Teaching Assistant
Teachers often need assistance with tasks like grading assignments, doing research, or helping with admin.
Have a look for TA jobs on campus by asking your professors or visiting the administration office. Earning potential varies depending on the college, and some schools may offer discounted tuition as a form of compensation. Either way, it never hurts to ask!
7. Library Assistant
Paid homework time. Need we say more?
8. Work in retail
If there are shops around your college, working in a shop could be a great way to make some cash and gain some work experience!
9. Research Assistant
Do you enjoy gathering and analyzing data? Ever thought about becoming a research assistant at your campus?
Speak to professors or check out on-campus job boards for potential opportunities.
10. Campus Security
Another way to make money in college is to be a part of the security team. And the best part is you don’t have to leave the college campus!
If there are no job openings at your college – you could always try and look for security guard jobs off-campus.
11. Campus IT Support
Are you a bit of a wizard when it comes to solving computer crashes? Then you could probably get a job as an IT support assistant on-campus.
This type of work is perfect for students already studying computer science, and will give you awesome work experience to show potential employers after graduation.
12. Resume Writer
Lots of students need help with writing good resumes!
And even if this isn’t your area of expertise, there’s plenty of information online on how to become a pro at writing impeccable resumes. It’s not that hard, and a pain point for so many people. Learning resume writing skills early in life will help you throughout your own career, as well as will always be an option to make cash on the side quickly, anytime.
13. Dorm Resident Assistant
Do you think you’d enjoy supervising and overseeing a floor in your college dorm?
You don’t typically get paid, but you could get a ton of perks like a dorm room for free and a partial or total meal plan! Reducing costs can sometimes be more effective than earning extra income in college.
14. Barista
Working at a college coffee shop is a great option – you’ll earn money while getting to know fellow students!
Not to mention, the best perk — FREE coffee!
Most baristas make between $10 – $15 per hour, or minimum wage plus some tips. This isn’t a bad option if you want a steady schedule of work shifts that match a weekly routine.
15. User Testing
Companies create new websites all the time – and they need people like you to test them. You’d be responsible for usability testing, which means you assess the usefulness of an app or site.
Don’t worry if you’re not so tech-savvy, because this could be an advantage. Many companies want to check their software suits people like you.
UserTesting claims you can earn up to $60 per test, while UTest and UserFeel both offer $10 per test. Not a bad way to make some extra income.
16. Transcription
Are you a quick typist? Check out sites like TranscribeAnywhere to find transcribing jobs.
Depending on your typing speed, you could earn between $8 – $15 per hour for transcribing audio or video files. One of the best part is that college students can do this job from anywhere, all year round.
17. Freelance Writing
Do you enjoy writing? Companies constantly need copywriters! Check out sites like Freelancer or ProBlogger for freelance writing jobs.
Most clients will want to see a portfolio (which is super easy and FREE to create on sites like JournoPortfolio)! Earning potential can vary depending on how creative you are and the client budget, but you can expect to earn between $0.10 – $1 per word written. Not a bad side gig for a creative college student!
18. Graphic Design Work
If you love graphic design, you could provide these services as an independent contractor. Even if you have no experience, you could master Canva in just a couple of hours.
Graphic design is one of my future-proof skills worth learning — no matter what career you end up in, there is always plenty of opportunity in their area.
You can sell your services on popular freelancing sites like Fiverr, Upwork, Guru, and FlexJobs. Mechanical Turk has graphic design job postings too.
19. Campus Ambassador
Becoming a campus ambassador is a fantastic way to earn money by representing your campus – and helping new students.
Plus, the job is pretty diverse, and you could be doing anything from road trips to giving talks ad job fairs!
20. Be a Virtual Assistant
Do you like organizing, booking tickets, and doing other admin tasks? It sounds like you’ll love being a virtual assistant!
This is also the type of job you might be able to land as a paid internship, giving you credit while also making extra money.
21. Sell Your Craft on Etsy
People love unique, handmade stuff. If you’re into crafts – you could be making good money on Etsy!
Printables are extremely popular too, and are a good way to generate passive income. You can make a design only once, and sell it over and over again without additional work.
22. Data Entry
You don’t need any complex skills to become a data entry clerk – all you need is a computer and decent typing skills. We’ve reviewed many different sites, and here are the best data entry jobs and how to apply.
You can expect to earn anywhere from $8 to $14 an hour doing data entry work.
23. Market Research
Yup, you can make some money by completing surveys – but did you know you could earn so much more by taking part in focus groups? Look for adverts on campus – or check out companies like Elevated Insights.
24. Design t-shirts and sell them on Shopify
Starting a t-shirt selling business with sites like Shopify is inexpensive – and can bring great rewards. If you’re good at coming up with funny sayings – or think you can create a design people will love, then – what are you waiting for?!
25. Start a Blog
This one is obviously one of my favorites. You won’t make a million dollars overnight, but you can definitely make a million dollars blogging over the next 3-5 years.
It’s never been easier to make money blogging.
Learn the exact strategies I’ve used to reach over 5 million visitors. I’ll walk you through the exact steps to set-up, grow, and monetize your new blog.
My Free Blogging Side Hustle Course: Launch A Million Dollar Blog in 7 Days!
26. Web Design and Development
Do you have web design and development skills? There are plenty of people out there who need websites, you know.
27. Create an App
Think you could come up with a cool idea for an app? Do you have programming skills? Create an app and sell it on the App Store!
28. Launch an Online Course
Do you have skills that others could benefit from? Maybe you know how to write killer essays, or memorize dates? With sites like Teachable, launching an online course is easier than it sounds.
29. Sell Your Old College Papers
Did you know you could sell your old college papers on sites like GradeSaver for $100?
30. Sell Your Textbooks
Chances are, you’ve paid a lot for your textbooks – so why not sell them on sites like Amazon, and get some of that money back? It’s also a great place to buy or rent used textbooks.
31. Do Translation Work
Do you speak another language? Live Translation could be an excellent place to start as a translator.
32. Sell Your Photography
If you’re into photography and have a decent camera, you could be making money by selling your shots on sites like Shutterstock.
33. Sell your Notes
Are you good at taking notes in class? Many campuses will have note-selling services – or you can sell them online on sites like StudySoup.
34. Become a social media manager
Do you have a thriving social media page? Know how to create a social media post that gets tons of likes? Then you could become a social media manager and help companies grow their online communities! There’s a lot of free info online about how to get started – and you can find jobs on sites like Fiverr and Upwork.
35. TaskRabbit
People post their jobs on TaskRabbit (like doing someone’s grocery shopping, picking up lunch, etc.) – and you apply to do them, then get paid. Easy!
36. Drive for Uber
Become an Uber driver and make some dough driving people around in your spare time!
37. UberEats
Same thing as Uber – but you can start at the age of 19, instead of 21. Plus, some cities allow bicycle delivery – so you may be able to do this even if you don’t own a car!
38. Lyft Driver
Lyft is an alternative to Uber – but ride rates tend to be a little higher.
39. Deliver for Seamless
Seamless is a food delivery service owned by GrubHub – you’ll deliver food to people’s homes from local restaurants.
40. Rent your Car
Rent your car on sites like Turo or HyreCar – a great way to make some money without moving a finger!
41. Become a Front Desk Associate at a Local Gym
This is great because many places offer free classes to their employees, or allow them to use gym facilities!
42. Become a Dog Walker
Love dogs? Awesome! Dog walking is a surprisingly profitable job you can do in your spare time. Check out sites like Rover for dog walking jobs.
43. Housesit
Housesitting is a classic way to make money in college – and you thought we wouldn’t mention it! Live in someone else’s home and get paid – it’s the dream, right? Find housesitting gigs on sites like MindMyHouse.
44. Take part in medical tests
Taking part in clinical trials is an interesting way to make money. You’ll learn lots, meet new people and get to earn money at the same time! Look out for opportunities on-campus, or visit sites like CenterWatch.
45. Babysitting and nannying
Many college students make money by babysitting or becoming part-time nannies.
It’s easier than ever to find childcare gigs with Care.com, which puts babysitters and nannies in touch with parents in their area.
46. Become a pet sitter
Hanging out with furry friends and getting paid – sounds like an awesome job! Check out Rover.com to find people who need a pet sitter.
47. Catering
Working for a catering company is a good job for college students because they usually need more staff on weekends. Check out Craiglist for catering jobs.
48. Become a TV or movie extra
We’ve saved the best for last! Want to fill the backgrounds of movie and TV shows – and get paid? Become an extra! Find a local casting agency to sign up.
You Can Make Money as a College Student
Working through college is a great way to reduce the amount of debt you have after graduating – plus gain some work experience before you enter the “real world”.
There are so many ways you can make money in college – and I hope this list helps you pick the ones that work best for you.
Remember – you got this.
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