10 Creative Ways to Earn Cash While in College
Your class schedule is packed and you barely have time for a part-time job, let alone your homework. But, you’re tired of asking Mom and Dad for a handout every time you need a little something. How can you find funds to cover those unplanned incidentals? Here are creative ways to grab a little coinage, leaving your schedule open for more important things, like partying.
1. Provide Academic Help
No, I am not talking about writing someone else’s paper for them. Instead, I suggest offering legitimate services, like tutoring, researching or note taking. Tutors and similar workers can make $20-$40 an hour, depending on the subject and geographical area. Think of it this way. If you’re a third-year student who earned at least a B in most of her classes, some first-year student somewhere needs your help now.
Ask yourself: What do I know? Do you know the difference between Epimetheus and Prometheus? Offer to drill mythology students for test prep in exchange for a set fee. Network on Facebook, email your friends and visit selected campus offices to promote your expertise. For long distance tutoring, use email, chat rooms, IM, Webcams and Skype for free. For local tutoring, meet in a public place, like the main campus library or residence hall lounge, for everyone’s safety.
Do you know your way around a search engine? Spend an hour creating a custom list of topic-related bookmarks for a student who needs help researching a topic. Can you follow lectures well and are you an expert scribe? Organize and sell the class notes you take to students you know and on sites like ShareNotes.com. Warning: Some professors and colleges may frown on this practice, so ask about it before you proceed.
2. Register as a Mystery Shopper
If you have ever shared your opinion on a site like Yelp.com, you know how valuable consumer feedback has become. As a registered mystery shopper, you get paid for your opinion. Here’s how it works: your assignment could include evaluating a retailer, fast food chain, restaurant, bank or other business. For example, you go out to lunch at a nearby casual dining restaurant, posing as a normal customer. Later that day, you complete an online questionnaire about your customer experience. You earn a fee for your time and get reimbursed for your expenses.
There are more than 250 mystery shopping companies, so there are plenty of possibilities. Companies like Market Force may require you to be at least 20 years old. If you’re old enough, are exceptionally observant and like shopping anonymously, check it out. You can find out more online through the Mystery Shopping Providers Association. Warning: There have been recent identity theft and financial scams around mystery shopping, so only sign up with reputable companies.
3. Monetize Your Website
Do you have a blog or Website? You might have a hobby that inspires you to post quality content online. That means you have a niche group of individuals interested in reading every word, and a way to make money from your writing. For example, if you love horses and write every week about horsemanship or equestrian events, you should sign up for an affiliate or associates account at a site like Amazon.com. Once registered, you add coded links from your articles to equine-related products and reap the “passive income” benefits. You’ll get sales commissions when Web visitors click on your links and buy.
Affiliate programs differ, along with their commission percentages. You get paid in gift certificates or cash by check, direct deposit or PayPal, monthly or quarterly. The sales bounty you earn may increase with your link placement, writing quality and posting frequency. Write daily or weekly, and promote your site selectively so your desired audience can find you. They’ll return to read your words of wisdom and, with the right in-context links, they’ll keep clicking and buying online.
4. Sell Unwanted Stuff Online or At Second-Hand Stores
Craigslist.org and Uloop.com are a few places to list your pre-owned things. Register for an account, write a brief ad and chill. Not into taking calls from strangers? Post a flyer in your dorm instead. Local students want your gently-worn Paris Blues or never-used downhill skis, and you can parlay that cash into current downloads for your new iPod.
If you don’t want to wait for customers to contact you, “bring sexy back” now by taking your ugly clothes to a nearby recycled fashion boutique like Buffalo Exchange. You’ll collect currency immediately for anything the store accepts.
5. Apply for a Dorm Desk Assistant Job
You could become the face of dorm life for residence hall newbies. Most of the time, desk assistants sit behind a counter fielding questions about stopped-up toilets or taking phone calls from hysterical mothers who haven’t heard from their kids in a week.
What easier way is there to earn dinero while doing homework? You get at least minimum wage and it’s very convenient, especially if your desk job is in the same dorm where you live. Admittedly, many residence halls have actual duties for these student jobs, so ask about work expectations before you apply.
6. Perform Music Online
Your friends say you have the voice of an angel or they gather ’round to hear you strum your guitar. You have real talent — in fact, performing arts might even be your major — but you have no time for the coffee house scene. Join the hundreds of anonymous live musicians performing in a virtual world. Your audience can access your live performances while logged on to the service or through an online media player. It’s like being a radio celebrity of yesteryear, but with a 21st century twist.
Here’s the deal:
- Register for a Second Life account.
- Download and install the SL browser.
- Log in to SL then search for and join the Live Music Enthusiasts group.
- Join the Music Hall of Fame.
- Borrow or rent an audio stream from someone in the game.
- Download and install software for streaming purposes.
- Hook up a microphone to your computer.
- Find an in-world venue to perform and get booked.
- Broadcast your music gigs from your dorm room or wherever you have a reliable Internet connection.
How do you make money? When you perform as an SL live musician, you collect a fee from “land owners” who hire you; not to mention possible tips from your audience — of course, in the game currency. However, did you know that Linden dollars (Second Life currency) can be cashed out for real money? At around 250 Lindens to the U.S. dollar, this might net only spare change when you first start. Do it often and you’ll find that virtual singers average $10 USD or more during a one-hour set. You could end up transferring a handful of bucks to your PayPal account every week. Not ready for prime time? Try virtual Karaoke while you build your rep. You might become brave enough to start performing in real life.
7. Pose for the School of Art
That’s what I said. Art classes and their students need models and you need cash. Look, not every art school model makes money in the buff. You might not remove so much as a shoe. If you can stand still like a statue, are not shy, or are even a bit of an exhibitionist, this could be a real no-brainer for $10 to $20 an hour. You strike a pose or change poses for 30 minutes to 3 hours while students stare at you and sketch.
Too weird? Decide on your personal limits for disrobing and make it clear up front. That way, you won’t be caught off guard, because everyone will have agreed to the terms beforehand.
8. Hawk a Brand on Campus
There are dozens of American companies who want to reach college students, enlisting undergrad marketing reps throughout the academic year. Pay ranges from $10-$35 an hour, depending on the event or product. Jobs involve staffing events, handing out product samples, stapling posters around campus or getting students to sign up for Websites or mailing lists.
Desirable student reps usually have a large social network (campus clubs and organizations), some marketing savvy and an enthusiasm for promoting a product or service. Often, you don’t need any experience, but you do need to be a self-starter and honest about getting the work done!
Legitimate campus rep jobs are available with Apple, Dell Computers, mtvU and a host of other reputable companies. Already know another student who reps on campus? Ask questions. Find these jobs on campus bulletin boards, RepNation and CampusHero.com. Warning: Companies should never ask to you to pay for promotional materials or product samples to give away.
9. Clean Up the Morning After
Ever met someone who enjoyed picking up a fraternity house after a party? Doubtful. This is your lucky day, you budding entrepreneur. Here’s where you offer your on-call services in “post-party” clean-up: they call, you show up, throw out garbage, vacuum, straighten up and make a frat house look more presentable than ever.
Hand out a flyer along Greek Row and you’re on your way to cashing in on those late night bacchanals. As a student housekeeper, you can earn $15-$20 an hour, depending on your gag reflex. If you do a good job, you could get hired every weekend, and you’ll get the personal satisfaction of knowing you’ve helped a bunch of frat dudes locate those overdue class papers hidden in the sofa cushions.
10. Become a Lab Rat
Does your college have a School of Nursing, Medical School or Department of Psychology? These departments are always looking for test subjects, and some pay cash on the spot if you have the right combination of quirks or ailments. For a one shot deal, you could bank $15-$50.
In many cases, you won’t have to tolerate anything physical — just answer a bunch of questions about your health or talk nonstop for an hour. Talk about your headaches caused by your stressful course load, the jerk of a college professor who hated you last semester or your mother who won’t loan you any money. This is your chance to discover how everything damages your health or self-esteem. Even if the psych session pays poorly, at least you’ll get to vent.
11. Bonus Tip! Get a Real Job
Finally, if you’ve exhausted the odd freelance opportunities I’ve listed above, and you’re not bringing in enough dough, there is one last resort. Get a normal job on campus; just make it worth your while. Look for part time positions in the department of your major. Performing arts undergrads should apply to work in the campus theater box office. Pre-med students should apply to work in a med school lab or the university medical center. Graphic arts majors should apply to work at the campus photocopy and design center.
Fringe Benefits: Faculty members in your major already know your responsibilities and can help you plan around your academic schedule as needed. Meanwhile, every professor you work with is yet another opportunity for a post-grad reference.
Any place that gives you real entry-level experience in your chosen field will help when you graduate from college — you’ll be a step ahead of everyone else who worked a fast food counter.
Tags: job hunting | Categories: Personal Finance |
