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Looking for the best side hustles for college students? This is it! You're finally going to take your finances into your own hands, make money, saving money, and set your path to financial freedom. Making money through side hustles is a great way to boost your income. You can buffer your savings account, grow your retirement nest egg, save for a large purchase, your child's education, etc. It's just a good thing to have, more money equals more financial power. There are a ton of side hustles out there. This list will show you the very best side hustles for college students to check out. Dive in! The 21 Best Side Hustles for College Students Before getting into it, here are our quick earners we want to share real quick: Cliqly: Get paid to send emails. They have a referral program too. Some Cliqly users have reported making up to $2,500 within the first 2 weeks of starting. I made nearly $600 in my first two weeks. Here’s my Cliqly review. Swagbucks: Share your opinion for cash. You can also play games, watch videos, listen to music and perform other tasks for money. Arrived Homes: Invest in rental properties with as little as $100. Perfect if you’ve wanted to diversify your investments without having to support an entire mortgage on a rental property. You can get into fractional shares. Read our Arrived review. From flexible gig work to freelancing, there are plenty of opportunities out there for you to choose from. Not only will these side hustles help you pay for tuition and other expenses, but they can also provide valuable experience and skills that can benefit you both personally and professionally. So, let's get started and explore the top side hustles for college students! 1. Website Flipping People are starting to realize the value of websites and website flipping is a very real way to make money online! It's like real estate. With real estate flipping, you might buy a foreclosed home, fix it up, then sell at a profit. People make their living doing this! And, you can do the same with websites. I've been doing flipping of websites for 6 years and have made six figures doing it on the side. You can do it full-time too! I see sellers making $140,000+ every year flipping sites. https://youtu.be/4Qu-rEmV-BE It's relatively easy to do and you don't need tech skills or experience to break into this industry. Buy or build a website Grow a website Sell a website You start by buying or building your website. Then, you grow the site. Growth happens with more traffic and more traffic comes from producing engaging content your audience will love and promoting it online. Lastly, once your site has grown in value, sell it, flipping it for a profit! That's how it works. If you're interested in learning more, here's my website flipping ebook or you can check out this resource where I've helped 700+ students learn website flipping! 2. Taking Surveys Survey taking is one of the best side hustles for college students because of its flexibility! You can literally work when you want. This is an oldie but a goodie! This makes the list because it's SO EASY! Click here to check out these 8 survey sites which are some of my favorites! You need absolutely no skills. You only need internet access, through your smartphone, computer, etc. You sign up for survey sites for free. Then, take surveys, being 100% honest and then get paid. Because it's so easy you aren't going to get paid a lot of money per survey. But, why would you, anyway? You're just filling out questionnaires. You can earn a few bucks to $20/survey. Sometimes more, sometimes less. The most I've made has been $400 for a single survey. It was actually a panel and was more involved. It took about 90 minutes and required a web interview but totally worth it! Here are some of my favorite survey companies that pay the highest amount: Pinecone Swagbucks Survey Junkie 3. Drive for Uber Uber driving is one of those college side hustles I wish had been around when I was in college. This is a super easy way to make money driving your car and it's pretty easy to get started. You sign up for Uber, get set up, pass their background checks and start work. You work from an app. Start working when you want to, which means you can drive whatever shift you want. And get paid weekly to drive your car. You'll be taxiing people around in your car. That's it! Learn more about becoming an Uber driver here. 4. Start a Dropshipping Store ( I did this!) Dropshipping is a side hustle for college students that many college kids are already doing, believe it or not! I watched an clip from an episode of Dave Ramsey who was talking to a 16-year old making $50,000/month dropshipping! Starting a dropshipping store can earn you cash from day 1! First, starting an online store period is pretty simple. Especially if you do it with Shopify. First, figure out what you'll sell. Next, sign up with Shopify and source your products. Figure out where you'll get your supply. Then, add products to your store, add pricing and launch. Dropshipping means that your supplier will ship the goods to your customer instead of you. https://youtu.be/h95fS7EMYok This saves you A TON of money because you won't have to carry inventory. Carrying inventory requires a lot of capital because you have to buy wholesale supply and then you have to store it. Dropshipping eliminates both of these things, making it affordable to do with a low barrier to entry. All you need is $29 to start, which is one month of Shopify service. It's a monthly plan and they have it all. When I operated my $30K per month store I was on Shopify. New store owners are making $7K to $10K their first month. Take a look at Shopify's 14-day free trial to get started. 5. Become a YouTube Influencer (Doing this now, earning a side hustle of $1,000 to $1,500 per month) YouTube is exploding! You can make a full-time income teaching people through videos on the platform. Give music lessons Teach a language Educate people on your industry Show off your cooking or baking skills Record your life through vlogging There are so many ways you can take this. I actually have like 5 or 6 YouTube channels. I have a channel for blogging, one for dropshipping, one for food ASMR, and on and on. I really love it and once you start monetizing your videos you can make money passively, though you'll want to keep producing new videos to keep your income increasing. My first year full year devoted to YouTubing just ended and I went from zero to 281,000 subscribers, making thousands of dollars! I only spend about 10 minutes a week doing it! 6. Teach Udemy Courses (passive income) You can teach others online through video course and sell them in the Udemy marketplace. I've been getting checks from Udemy for years. It's so easy. You can create multiple courses and really up your income game. It's free to join as an instructor, as Udemy keeps a portion of your earnings as their payment. Join Udemy to learn more. 7. Become a Virtual Assistant Virtual assistance might be one of the most rewarding side jobs for college students on our list! You'll be assisting people virtually, as a virtual assistant (or online assistant). Your tasks may include: Email management Coordinating events Posting to social media Scheduling appointments and meetings You can be a VA for professionals, companies, or regular people that are busy. Find jobs for VA in job banks like Indeed or social media like LinkedIn and other places. You can even make up to $10,000/month like this VA! 8. Start Your Own Digital Agency This can be a content agency where you help companies get copy written. Or, it can be a marketing agency where you connect brands to marketers. You don't actually have to do the work here, like the content work for a content agency or the marketing for the marketing agency. You hire others (contractors) to do it for you. This is dropservicing. You create a service-based business and outsource the work! I saw a YouTube video on this recently and the owner was up to $30K per month in her second month doing this. Smart stuff, right? I used to do this years ago on Fiverr. I'd offer SEO services (had little knowledge of SEO back then) and when I'd get a job booked, I'd outsource it for about 20% of the cost, keeping the difference 80% as my profit. It's arbitrage. Check out this story of this guy who took advantage of an opportunity to make $1,000 in 5 hours doing no work, through arbitrage. Check out this resource that teaches you how to start your own digital agency! 9. Drive for Doordash Doordash driving is a bit like Uber driving but, you won't have to deal with people. And, you won't have to worry about picking up and dropping off others. Instead, you'll pick up and drop off food orders. This is a good side hustle for college students because of the flexibility. You work comfortably in casual clothes from your car and pick up shifts when you want to. I've watched videos of people doing on-demand delivery like Doordash, UberEATS and others, making $6K to $8K per month, full-time. What's Doordash? DoorDash is a food delivery service that allows individuals to work as drivers, delivering food from restaurants to customers. Drivers, also known as "Dashers," use their own personal vehicles to pick up and drop off orders, and are able to choose their own schedule and work as much or as little as they want. DoorDash provides its drivers with a smartphone app that helps them navigate to the restaurant, keep track of their deliveries, and receive payment. If you're interested in working as a DoorDash driver, you'll need to meet the requirements, which typically include having a valid driver's license, auto insurance, and a clean driving record. 10. Babysitting If you're looking for easy side hustles for college students, babysitting fits the bill, I think, especially if you have experience with kids. Make money babysitting kids. You'll be responsible for caring for children and doing things like: Preparing snacks and meals Supervising play time Getting children ready for bed Reading a bedtime story Making lunches for the next day It'll keep you busy but, the time will fly and when kids are sleeping, you can relax and wait for their parents to come home. If you love kids, this can be a very rewarding job. How to get started with babysitting? Babysitting is a popular side hustle for college students because it can be a flexible and relatively easy way to earn some extra cash. Here are a few tips for how college students can make money babysitting: Create a profile on a babysitting website or app: There are several websites and apps that connect babysitters with families in need of childcare. Create a profile and start applying for babysitting jobs in your area. Spread the word: Tell your friends, family, and classmates that you're available to babysit. You can also post flyers in your dorm or around campus to advertise your services. Build your resume: Consider getting CPR and First Aid certified, as these certifications can make you a more attractive candidate to potential clients. You may also want to consider taking a babysitting course or getting experience through volunteering or internships. Be reliable and trustworthy: Show up on time and follow through on your commitments. Parents will be more likely to hire you again if they know they can count on you. Set your rates: Determine how much you want to charge for your babysitting services, taking into account your experience, qualifications, and the going rate for babysitters in your area. Be willing to negotiate, but don't undervalue your time and skills. 11. Petsitting Petsitting is about watching pets for pet owners that are away. This might be about walking dogs, preparing meals and administering medicine to animals, and similar tasks. For pet lovers, it might feel like a dream job. There's petsitting and pet walking, or you can do both. Some companies to look into for this are: Wag Walking and Rover. 12. Tutoring Tutoring is a great side hustle for college students who are knowledgeable in a particular subject and enjoy helping others learn. Here are a few ways college students can make money tutoring: Offer tutoring services through a tutoring website or app: There are several websites and apps that connect tutors with students in need of help. Create a profile and start applying for tutoring jobs in your area of expertise. Advertise your services on campus: Consider posting flyers in your dorm or around campus to advertise your tutoring services. You can also let your professors and classmates know that you're available to tutor. Work as a teaching assistant or tutor for the school: Many schools have programs in place that allow students to work as teaching assistants or tutors for other students. Check with your school's academic support center or student employment office for opportunities. Offer private tutoring: Reach out to students in your classes or in your community who may be struggling with a particular subject. You can offer to tutor them privately for an hourly fee. Build your resume: Consider getting certified as a tutor through a professional organization, such as the College Reading and Learning Association. This can make you a more attractive candidate to potential clients and can increase your rates. Cambly is an example of a company hiring for tutors. 13. Data entry Data entry is an easy side hustle for college students and it's just what it sounds like. You will enter data into a system for an employer. This could be typing data into a spreadsheet, database, or into a word processing software system. People like data entry because it's low key for the most part and there are many high-paying data entry jobs that let you work remotely. Some even let you create your own work schedule. To find data entry jobs, you can search job banks like Indeed, Glassdoor, or LinkedIn to see who is hiring in your area. 14. Customer service Customer service is a side hustle for students that is about offering customers assistance with routine activities like answering questions, processing requests in a ticketing system, and performing basic transactions. There are several ways that college students can make money in customer service. Here are a few options: Work a part-time customer service job: Many companies hire part-time customer service representatives to work in their call centers or in-person at their retail locations. These jobs are often flexible and can be a great way for college students to earn some extra cash. Become a freelance customer service representative: There are many companies that hire freelance customer service reps to work remotely. These jobs often allow you to set your own schedule and work from home. Start a customer service-based business: If you have a particular skill or area of expertise, you could consider starting your own customer service-based business. For example, you could offer tech support services to small businesses or help individuals with tasks such as setting up their social media accounts. Offer customer service as a freelancer: Many businesses and individuals are willing to pay for customer service support on a freelance basis. You can offer your services on websites like Upwork or Fiverr. Intern in a customer service role: Many companies offer internships in their customer service departments. This can be a great way to gain experience and build your resume while earning some money. 15. Odd jobs Doing odd jobs around your area will be based on the skills you have. Can you garden, landscape, paint, move people's belongings, hang pictures, hang curtains, etc.? These are all examples of odd jobs you can do in your area for some extra money. One of the fastest and easiest ways to do this is to hang flyers. I would commonly see these in my area when I was going to college (I lived in a college-based apartment). Here are some examples of odd jobs: Housesitting Lawncare Washing cars Washing windows Closet organization Kitchen organization Mowing services 16. Do paid-to websites There are tons of paid-to websites on the web. They pay you a small amount of money to do tasks for them. These can be entirely online and while they are low-paying, they are pretty flexible and you can do them when you want. Examples of tasks you might do include: Taking surveys Watching TV Listening to music Watching ads Online shopping Merchandising Here are a few examples: Swagbucks: Swagbucks is a rewards website that pays you for things like taking surveys, shopping online, and watching videos. InboxDollars: InboxDollars is a website that pays you to read emails, take surveys, and participate in other activities. UserTesting: UserTesting is a website that pays you to test websites and apps and provide feedback. Harris Poll Online: Harris Poll Online is a website that pays you to take surveys and participate in market research studies. Survey Junkie: Survey Junkie is a website that pays you to take surveys and participate in market research studies. Pinecone Research: Pinecone Research is a website that pays you to take surveys and participate in market research studies. American Consumer Opinion: American Consumer Opinion is a website that pays you to take surveys and participate in market research studies. 17. Rent your extra storage space Using a service like Neighbor will connect you with people that are looking for storage space. If you have storage space in your closet, a spare bedroom, attic, garage, basement or similar area, you can make money passively renting out your space. 18. Rent your RV If you have an RV like a fifth wheel, travel trailer, motor home or other RV, you can rent it out while not in use. The company is called RVShare and it's like AirBNB but, for RVs. 19. Rent your home You can use AirBNB, VRBO or a similar service to rent out a room or rent out your entire home for passive income. This is growing in popularity and it even works for apartments! And, AirBNB supports AirBNBing your apartment. They even tell you what apartment communities they partner with, on their site! 20. Sell your unwanted stuff on eBay I used to do this every winter. I'd go through each room in my home, pile up the stuff I wanted to get rid of and then sell it on eBay. You can do this all year round to make some extra money. There are eBay sellers that do this full-time. 21. Rent your car Renting your car with Turo, GetAround or similar service is like AirBNB short term rentals but, for vehicles. This can work if you have a spare vehicle you'd like to monetize with short-term renting or if there are times when you don't need your personal vehicle and you can rent it out. This is another passive income option to look into if you're an auto owner. How can college students make money on the side? This is just the tip of the iceberg. There are plenty of ways college students can earn money on the side. When you start in your journey to find side hustles for college students, look at your skills, interests, passions, and resources you have available to you. This will help determine which path you want to pursue. You can even do two or more of these side hustles and the opportunity to go full-time exists with many of these options, as well! Final Word on Best Side Hustles for College Students There you go! 21 best side hustles for college students. I hope this gives you some ideas of what direction to move in, for picking your ideal side hustle! Which one are you going to try? Recommended Resources to Increase Your Income and Save Money Legendary Marketer This online training program shows you how to start an online business. You can join free then, take their 15-day business builder challenge to learn how to start an online business. Business owner Amalie Lund made $100K in 6 months, after going through this program! Join using my link and get my free ebook! Swagbucks If you’re in a pickle and looking to make some extra money, look at paid online surveys. Swagbucks is one of the best survey companies to use. They offer a multifaceted site with many ways to earn: Surveys Watch videos Listen to music Online shopping Discovering stuff online It’s free to join and you can start making money sharing your opinion and through other ways as soon as you’re sign up. Head to Swagbucks to start. Arrived Homes If you’re looking for a way to earn passive income with no work, look at rental home investing with Arrived Homes. You’ll invest in rental properties with a little as $100 and entirely online. This is a way to make your money work for you and earn passively with rental income. Check out Arrived Homes to learn more.

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