Nowadays, making money at school is becoming more and more popular among students due to many circumstances that have developed recently. First of all, with the advent of short-form social media, many financial gurus and other rich people have started to share their life stories and describe how they got rich.
Even though not every one of their stories is true and the side hustles they tout are sometimes not feasible, they have sparked a desire to make money even among the youngest generation.
Moreover, today we live in a complex financial environment that is constantly talked about, so almost everyone knows what inflation is, what the downside of a recession can be, and so on. For this reason, many students have started to earn some money on the side, just like their parents. And so that they can protect themselves against bad economic conditions and maintain their current lifestyle.
In this article, we’ll introduce to you the 12 best ways to make money in school. I’ve personally tested them all and I hope that you, too, can start with at least one of these side hustles to earn some extra money.
Why Is It Important To Make Money At School?
I’m currently a student and have started many part-time jobs over the past three years to find the most profitable ones that will allow me to have a larger budget available when I’m not on campus.
It’s true that most students always have something to do, whether it’s studying, attending class, or relaxing after a busy day at school. But putting some extra time into a side hustle can actually enhance what little free time you have.
Let’s weigh the pros and cons to find out if a part-time hustle at school really makes sense.
Pros:
The biggest advantage is definitely the extra money you can earn. First, you can spend more with that money and do not have to worry about the bill when you go out with your fellow students. If you’re interested in a particular subject, making money in that niche can be a great way to pursue your passion and gain experience.
For example, I’ve always been interested in finance and the stock market, so most of my “long-term” part-time hustles focused on that niche. This allowed me to do something I enjoy while gaining work experience in an area where I’ll be looking for a job in the future.
the second advantage is exactly the work experience you can gain with a part-time hustle. While it’s true that after school, the grade on your diploma and possible internships are one of the most important factors in your career, it’s also true that good work experience in a related field can help you stand out from many other students who did better than you in school.
Cons:
The biggest drawback is that you’ll have to coordinate with your school schedule. This step can be especially difficult if your school has an irregular class schedule. But that’s why all of the ways to make money on this list can be treated as part-time jobs with flexible schedule. Most of them can even be used to make money online without a commute.
Also, some methods in this list basically take no time at all, such as selling textbooks or school grades. Even though these methods don’t generate a steady stream of income, they can be used here and there to earn a few hundred dollars without much effort.
What Are The 12 Best Ways To Make Money At School?
As previously said, I tried all these methods in this list (and more!), to help me find the best ways to make money while at school. After a couple of years of research and testing, I narrowed down the list to these 12 ways to make money.
1. Selling School Books
It’s often the case that after a few years in school, college students have a lot of books on the shelf or in the garage that they’ll never use again.
Even though many people keep them, their high price makes it extremely profitable to sell them, even if they’re used. The higher your education level, the more expensive the books are and the more money you can make selling them.
Even if you don’t really make a profit with this method because you’re selling purchased books, it’s a great way to make a few hundred dollars (depending on the number of books you sell) that would otherwise be rotting in your garage.
2. Selling Class Notes And Other School Materials
Just like textbooks, school notes and other school materials fetch a very high price. There are many websites where you can upload your notes as a Word file or as a photo.
There are two business models for these websites: Either the website pays you a certain amount upfront for your material (e.g. Studocu), or they offer your notes for sale and pay you a royalty each time the material is purchased by other students (e.g. Stuvia US).
No matter which website you choose, this side hustle has the potential to earn a significant amount of extra cash online without a huge time commitment.
3. Become A Campus Tour Guide
Another good and fun way to make money is to become a campus tour guide. Generally, this side hustle only works for college students who have larger campuses than high school students. But there is usually no difference between junior or senior year students.
Getting started with this gig is extremely quick and easy. Just visit your college’s website or talk to the person in charge of campus tour guides and ask if there are any openings.
This way, you can earn money while staying on campus without having to commute, which is especially handy if you have a lot of classes to attend that day.
4. Take Part In Studies And Surveys
This side hustle is definitely not about those annoying online surveys that are advertised all over the internet, where you have to watch ads for an hour to earn $0.10. On the other hand, there are many surveys and statistical research that are done in person and for which you get paid well.
For example, last semester I had a professor of “games and strategies” who was a researcher for a local company. He invited us to participate in his surveys and paid each student $20 for 2 hours.
The biggest drawback of taking surveys is finding such opportunities on a regular basis, but they’re definitely worth trying when they come up.
5. Work As A Translator
Working as a translator could be another great way to make money if you study foreign languages or live in a bilingual household.
The beauty of this part-time hustle is that it can be either freelance or part-time, depending on your preferences and time availability. Also, it shouldn’t be hard to find translation opportunities, and the hourly rate for a translator can be as low as $25 per hour.
6. Become A Book Reviewer
If your passion is reading instead, becoming a book reviewer could be a great opportunity for you to earn extra money. If you already read in your spare time or before bed, why shouldn’t you get paid for it?
A book reviewer’s fee depends entirely on the length and genre of the book, but when you consider that reading is an activity you’d do for free in your spare time, any pay is a good amount.
Typically, a book reviewer gets about $15 to $25 per book review, but this amount can vary widely.
7. Help Other Students With Handouts, Assignments And Research
Similar to selling notes online, helping other college students with handouts, assignments, and research can also be very profitable. The only requirement for this job is that you have done well in your school. Then you can offer either your teaching skills or your ability to complete assignments for one or more classmates.
Depending on the level of education, the pay can be very high, but the downside is that the time and effort required increases.
On the other hand, if most of your clients attend the same lectures and courses as you do, you won’t have to do extensive research on the subject, as you’ll most likely have already done the task yourself.
8. Work As A Personal Assistant
Another great way to make money is to work as a personal assistant. In this case, it’s also possible to work as a freelancer or part-time. But regardless, the time constraints are usually not so great.
Also, in most cases, the only requirement to find a good personal assistant job is that you’re familiar with CMS and software like Microsoft Office. Also, you don’t need to commute, as this work is done completely remotely.
The average hourly wage of a virtual assistant is $15.
9. Video Game Tester
This side hustle is the dream of almost every high school or college student. Although it can be difficult to find such an opportunity, video game testers are paid very well and their work is a lot of fun!
I was working as a game tester for a while when I met one of my fellow students whose father had a video game development company. Since it was a very small business, most of the testing was outsourced to students, and it was so much fun.
The average salary of a game tester varies between $15 and $25 per hour.
10. Start Freelancing
The tenth way to make money on this list is to start freelancing. This is the side hustle I use the most, and have been using for more than three years now.
This job is perfect because it allows you to work remotely, choose your preferred specialty, and set your hourly rate. Then you can apply to as many (or as few) jobs as you want and go from there.
The platform I’ve had the most success with is Upwork, where there are many different jobs and potential customers looking for your services!
11. Babysitting Or Pet Sitting
The penultimate way to earn money is babysitting and pet sitting. It’s extremely easy to get one of these jobs, as parents and pet owners often advertise the position even on the Facebook marketplace.
What I love most about this job is that the average pay is around $15-20 per hour. And it can be a relaxing part-time job where you can even bring your books and study for a while if you need to.
Plus, it’s possible to expand the job into dog walking, so you can hit your daily step goal with a nice walk in the park!
12. Start A Blog
The last side hustle in this list is starting a blog. Many people say that the best time to plant a tree would have been 10 years ago, and the second best is today.
This thought applies perfectly to starting a blog because it could take even more than a year for the site to get monetized and bring in any kind of extra money. But after a few years, you could potentially be making thousands of dollars a month.
So if you put in extra effort while you’re in school, it could pay off before you even start your future career!
Final Thoughts
In summary, despite the many difficulties students may face when trying to take a side hustle, such as coordinating school and a job, and commuting from one place to another, taking a side hustle can become one of the best decisions of their lives in just a few years.
Plus, there are many different ways to earn money that can reduce or even eliminate all the negative aspects of taking a side hustle while in school, so it’s definitely worth taking.
I hope you enjoyed this article and that you find at least one alternative that is worth starting right now!
The post Best 12 Ideas On How To Make Money At School appeared first on Vital Dollar.
