It is a well-known fact that college costs get more expensive each year and many students now are trying to manage their studies while working either part-time or full-time jobs while in college. With the advent and accessibility of the internet, there are plenty of great online jobs for college students that pay really good wages. More and more college student opt for online jobs as they allow you more flexibility but still provide solid earnings.
Reasons to Consider Online Jobs If You Are In College
If you need some extra cash while in college but don’t want to lose focus of your studies, online jobs might be right for you. In most of the available online jobs for college students, you are not obligated to show up at certain hours (when you might have an exam tomorrow!), and you don’t need to make long-term commitments. You can be selfish and schedule everything around your availability, needs and wants. Don’t feel like working that Friday evening like you did last week? Then don’t.
Plus, taking an online job while in college can give you a skill that will help you when you join the workforce. You may end up learning to be a better writer, or practicing your javascript coding on someone else’s dime.
Requirements for Online Jobs
Depending on the online job you choose, you generally don’t need too much to be able to do it. You usually only need a computer and decent internet connection and it would be a good idea to have a private place for some peace and quiet. You will also need a bit of free time, of course, but it can be between classes, at night, at weekends or whenever you can spare some. Compared to a traditional job there is far less required when working online. You don’t need a car, you do need specific types of clothing that a job may require, and you do not typically even need a phone!
You will typically need a bank account so that you can get paid, and you will need a provide some basic information about yourself so that your employer can send you a 1099-misc form at the end of the year.
Top Online Jobs for College Students
Freelance Content Writing
If you have any writing talent whatsoever you apply to be a freelancer writer. Register on one of many freelancing websites and get hired for your first assignment. Working as a web content writer (writing content for websites) can bring you a fair income but so can ghostwriting (people hire you to write for money but without any credits for the job), copywriting (writing content in order to increase brand awareness), newspaper writing, etc. Depending on your writing abilities you could expect to earn anywhere between $100-$300 per article written which may only take you a few hours to write.
Here are a few websites that you can get started at: Hirewriters, Contentmart, or Upwork.
Blogging
A great job for any age. It can bring you a nice extra income during your studies but also a lot of opportunities and good career prospects for later. You need to create a blog on whatever topic you are passionate about and write something good about it, then do basic SEO and promotion on social media and that is it. Starting a blog means you are your own boss and you get to start a kind of a business with minimal initial investment. The way you can earn money from your blog is from advertising, sponsorships or you can sell products and services. Just be patient as creating a blog that makes money takes time and there is no instant gratification.
YouTube
Sky is the limit when it comes to what you can film and put on youtube and start making money. Is there something you are particularly skilled in that you think people would actually value your opinion? If so start making videos about it and share them. It’s not easy to make it look professional but it doesn’t have to be-you will definitely get better if you do it regularly. When you get enough views you need to become a YouTube Partner in order to start making money. You can use a website like fiverr to help make a professional looking logo and intro video for pretty cheap!
Online tutoring
Whatever your major is you can provide online classes to your fellow students or to anyone anywhere in the world via Skype. The most important requirement, obviously, is to really know the topic you teach. You decide about the frequency of classes or the schedule unless the website you work for says otherwise. Working as an online tutor can easily get you around $20/hour.
You can search Tutor.com and see what works best for you.
English Teacher Online
A growing need for English language knowledge (especially in Far East countries) could be your ticket to earning some extra income. You can do it via Skype from your dorm room or anywhere you find convenient but with necessary privacy. The earnings are about $10-20 per session.
You could try VIPKID, Cambly or SameSpeak.
Data Entry
If you are looking for something easy and stress-free this is the job for you. The basic requirement is to type quickly and without mistakes as your job here is to enter data into electronic form. You can choose from basic typing, Captcha entry or copy/paste jobs to medical transcription or proofreading and many more. Logically, the faster you type, the more you can earn but it could be over $500 a month. Check for openings on Freelancer or Clickworker.
Online Surveys
Did you know people actually make money taking online surveys? This could easily one of the most popular choices among college students looking for an online job. Taking a survey could earn you $20 bucks and they sometimes only take 15-20 minutes. Taking surveys can also provide you with points which you can later use to shop at certain businesses. You can fill up as many surveys as you want and they can sometimes be quite fun.
You can start with one of these sites- Survey Momma, InboxPays but beware of scams as there are plenty in this area.
Virtual Assistant
A virtual assistance is basically an out-of-office assistant that needs to do most of the regular assistant’s tasks like bookkeeping, filing, answering phones, etc. The requirements for this one include good communication skills, knowledge of MS Word/Excel, etc. but loyalty, multitasking, and great communication skills are highly valued too. You can earn up to $20 an hour and you can find some openings on Upwork or 24/7 Virtual Assistant.
Micro Freelancing
If you still haven’t found what works for you and your skills, a freelancing job might be a solution for you. If you have a skill, you can probably freelance for it. Depending on your skills you can earn some serious money on Upwork or Fiverr. Here are some of the more needed skillsets for freelancing:
- Writing
- Translating
- Web, Mobile & Software Development
- Design & Creative
- Customer Service
- Sales & Marketing
- Web Research
- Legal Support
- Accounting Services
Social Media Manager
Have you mastered the art of social media networking? Then this job might be for you. Young adults are the target demographic for many brands so they do not hesitate to hire them to manage their social media platforms (Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, etc.) and promote their business. It could be fun for you and you can earn up to $40 per hour. If you are already spending a ton of time on social media, why not post for a company and get paid to do so?
Website/ App tester
In order to test a website you must spend 20-30 minutes checking it and then write a review (you can earn up to $15), give your honest feedbacks (up to $15) or answer some questions about it via Skype (up to $50) but before all that you need to qualify by doing a sample test.
You can start on Testbirds or Testingtime.
Transcriptionist
If you have good listening and typing skills and pay close attention to details, give transcribing a try. All you need to do is listen to an audio and type what you hear. The topic could be general but you will earn more (over $25) if you do legal or medical texts.
Find this kind of jobs on TranscribeMe
Amazon Mechanical Turk
mTurk is a great option for an online job for students. It gives you easy and quick tasks to do and they pay up to a $1 for each (data entry, surveys, transcription, etc). If they accept your application (they often don’t, without giving you the reason) you have to do the qualification test and then you can start with HITs (Human Intelligence Tasks) and that is when you start making money.
Search Engine Evaluator
You are required to have great analytical skills, know the features of search engines as well as your web browsers. You will search for certain keywords and provide feedback about the results so they could improve their algorithms. You can earn up to $14 an hour but make sure you have your antivirus software updated.
Websites like Appen could be a good start for you.
Give Online Jobs a Shot
While there are plenty of online jobs for college students, they do require work and dedication. The beauty of an online job is that you can try multiple ones at the same time, see which you like the best, and stick with it. The ones you don’t like or that don’t earn enough money you can quit and not worry about burning bridges like you might if it was a typical job. You do not have to sacrifice your studies to earn a decent living online, and you can earn that extra cash you need for living expenses and fun while in college. Who knows, you may end up learning a skill that helps progress your career in the future, and by taking an online job while in college you can help free yourself of the student loan debt problem the US currently is facing.
