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Looking for unique side hustles for college students? If you’re going to college and looking for a source of additional income, I’ve got some side hustle ideas for you.
When I was in college, I was cash strapped most of the time.
Living paycheck to paycheck was the norm and yes that did include ramen lunches and dinners, closely monitoring my gas tank so I’d never be short on gas, and saying no to some of the luxuries I enjoyed in high school like getting my nails done regularly, going out to brunch with the girls, and shopping when I wanted.
I didn’t have to live this way very long. When I graduated, it all changed but, how nice would it have been if side hustles for a thing back when I went to school.
Well, they were but usually when you spoke of a side hustle, you were talking about helping out a friend for $50 or taking on some extra hours at work.
It was nothing like the side hustle landscape today.
Side hustles can be a good source of extra income.
People like them because they can integrate seamlessly with your schedule, they can be quick money, easy to do and accessible to anyone.
And today with the abundance of online jobs, you can find a work from home side hustle while in college, easier than you might think.
How does a side hustle work?
Easy.
A side hustle is just a side gig you do alongside your regular schedule whether it’s balancing your school load in college or working another job.
The purpose is to pick up some work for extra money and if you’re in college, there are plenty of options for you that can work with your busy college schedule.
These unique side hustles I’m going to share are entry-level and great for beginners. You don’t need specialized experience or a degree to land these jobs. The barrier to entry is low and there’s a lot of variety in these positions so there’s something for everyone.
What to look for in a college student job?
Think about your schedule. You’ve got classes, extracurricular activities, your personal life, college events and more. Pick a side hustle that works seamlessly with your schedule as a student. You don’t want this opportunity to cause more stress to your life.
There are plenty of flexible opportunities on the list that you’ll find interesting and worth pursuing.
7+ Unique Side Hustles for College Students
Whether you’re into social media, a hustle idea, you’re looking for easy extra cash and extra money jobs you can work on the side, or you want to start something now in college that can possibly be your career after you graduate, we’ve got you totally covered.
In this list you’ll find 15 job opportunities perfect for college students that want extra money. You will not be disappointed.
Dive in!
1. Content Creator
I see so many college kids and young adults doing this.
Become a content creator.
What is a content creator?
You can make money creating content online. This is usually social media based and you can monetize the content in a bunch of different ways.
Here are some examples of platforms you can join to do this:
- Snapchat
- YouTube
- Tik Tok
- Your own WordPress blog
How it works?
First, pick a niche and start creating content.
For example, if you have a love of food you can make your favorite dishes on video and post to Tik Tok.
For those with a love for money and finance, you can teach what you know to an audience on YouTube.
Love comedy or creating entertaining skits? Video yourself and post them to Snapchat.
Content creation comes with a bunch of perks:
- Flexible
- Work when you want
- Casual dress (or really wear what you want)
- Unlimited income potential
- Ability to scale
This side hustle makes it on the list for all the benefits mentioned above. It’s a flexible job that works well alongside someone who has a busy or complex schedule. That’s because you can work when you want.
Next, there’s no work uniform or stuffy suit you have to wear. You wear what you want, which I’m sure a lot of people can appreciate.
The income potential is unlimited. I started a content creator brand a few months ago and I’m already earning $1,2oo to $1,500 per month. This creator has reportedly been earning $20K to $30K per month as a twenty something.
Many other creators are following in these footsteps.
And so can you!
How can you make money as a content creator?
First, there are a ton of creator programs available that pay you to create content:
- Tik Tok Creator Fund pays influencers that have at least 10,000 followers and meet other requirements
- Snapchat pays $1 million to creators from it’s creator fund, with some creators making millions from this
- YouTube has offered creators monetized content opportunities for a while now, paying a flat cost per thousand views your video gets once your channel is monetized
Next, you can make money from sponsored content (or brand deals).
You can also make money with sponsored content.
This is when you work with a brand, sharing their products with your audience and making money doing it!
Herfirst100K on Tik Tok with 1.7M followers charges $12,000 minimum for her brand deals on Tik Tok.
You can boost your income by learning from the competition. Check out this Instagram profile spying tool to help you learn from the competition in your niche, so you can improve and make the most money creating content.
Here’s a free course that will help you learn how to make money from sponsorships a content creator.
Must read: How to land Instagram sponsorships
2. Online Tutor
You can make money tutoring others.
This can be subjects you’re really good at like math or science. This can also be subjects you’re an expert in, tied to your job or experience like accounting, finance, or related topics.
Tutoring can be done for other college students or younger kids.
Part-time and full-time opportunities are available with this.
And, online opportunities are open too!
Check out these companies which can pay you up to $25/hour teaching small classes of kids online;
- Cambly
- VIPKid
- Golden Voice English
- Magic Ears
Some of theses ESL companies require a bachelors degree but some don’t, so just keep that in mind.
3. Freelancing
Make money freelancing your skills.
How does freelancing work?
Use your skills and monetize them. You can do a variety of jobs as a freelance worker including:
- Graphic design
- Freelance Writing
- Animation
- Translation
- Transcription
- Proofreading
- Virtual assistance
I personally do freelance writing and I’ve tried virtual assistance, proofreading and graphic design too!
Freelancing is an opportunity to make good money, whether you’re a student or not. Top freelancers earn six figures per year and they love what they do: independence, flexibility, high income potential and other perks.
Do a self-check of your skills and figure out what path you’d like to take with freelancing.
Then, start finding freelance jobs.
Here are some places…
Check out this training by a creator who banks $200,000 per year as a freelance writer to learn more about writing on a freelance basis.
4. Paid Online Surveys
Paid surveys are one of the easiest ways to make some extra cash online.
You can make some pocket cash with this, working from home, from your phone or laptop.
Take surveys when you want, as often as you’d like and keep continuing to make money. You won’t earn a full-time income but you can earn some side hustle money and if your schedule is busy, this gig promises a lot of flexibility which you’ll definitely appreciate.
Some of my favorite paid online survey companies;
- Respondent (highest paying) $40 to $400+ online panels
- Springboard America
- Pinecone Research
5. Copywriter
Make money writing copy for your clients. This can include:
- Articles
- Blog posts
- White papers
- Job descriptions
- Product descriptions
If you enjoy writing, this could be what you’re looking for.
This is flexible with no set hours or times you have to work, usually. You’ll get a writing assignment and deadline. Work when you want, how often you want until you complete that assignment.
Check out freelance job boards:
- Upwork
- Guru
- Problogger Job BOard
6. Social Media Management
Work as a social media manager helping your clients manage their social media channels like Tik Tok, Instagram, Facebook and others.
If you’re crazy about social media then you’ll like this.
It takes someone that has knowledge about social media, someone who is diligent and well-organized.
Learn how to become a profitable social media manager in just 2 weeks!
7.Transcription
Transcription is about translating audio content to written content.
You basically type what you hear in a transcript.
Transcriptionists can work from home, making up to $25/hour on a part-time or full-time schedule.
You can get training here.
8. Dog walking and pet sitting
Dog walking and pet sitting is perfect for animal lovers and great for the outdoorist.
You’ll make money walking dogs and pet sitting. You can walk one or multiple dogs at once, making money getting some fresh air and exercising.
The companies to look into for this are:
There may be opportunities to pet sit too.
For petsitters, they help busy pet owners who may need to be away from home on travel and the pet sitter can do things like administer meds (if needed), feed and water the pet, take the pet for walks and/or to run in the backyard, and other potential activities.
9. Writing on Medium
The Medium Partner Program pays writers who create content and post behind the paywall. This basically means that only paid Medium members will have access to your content (if you put it behind the paywall) and it makes you eligible to earn money.
I started talking writing on Medium seriously a few months ago and my income has totally transformed. Take a look…
This is the payment from just one article on Medium.
Making money on Medium is not guaranteed though, it’s based on your views but if you are a strong writer and you get a good number of views, you can get paid.
I earned $2,775 this month from Medium.
While you don’t have to be a paid Medium member to be part of their partner program, I’d recommend it. It’s great to have full access to the platform and see what kind of content exists and what articles do well on Medium.
Sign up to become a Medium member. It’s only $5/month.
10. Rent out your assets
If you’ve got stuff, then there’s probably an opportunity to rent it out for extra cash.
This is one of the most unique and passive-earning side hustles available. From designer handbags, wedding dresses, camera equipment, your apartment, your car, etc. You can earn money passively renting it out.
Here are some examples…
1. Rent out your apartment with AirBNB
AirBNB rental arbitrage helps you make short-term rental income without the need to own a house.
You can do it with an apartment. This can be your own apartment or you rent a second apartment and use it entirely for passive income, though this second option would require an up front investment (apartment deposit, application fees, etc.)
AirBNB is actually in full support of this but, you will want to make sure you get the permission of your landlord.
2. Rent out your car with Turo
If you have a car, you can rent it out when you’re not using it and make some cash on the side. This is perfect if you have an extra vehicle or if your vehicle goes unused for periods of time like during Spring Break week, holiday break, or vacation weekends.
3. Rent your camera equipment with Borrow Lenses
Camera equipment is expensive and that’s why a lot of photographers rent their equipment. If you’ve got photography equipment like lenses, a camera, etc. This could be a good opportunity to rent it out for extra passive income.
4. Rent your designer goods with Bag, Borrow, Steal
All you do is follow their process to send in your designer handbag which they’ll inspect and help you earn money on consignment.
11. Deliver food on the side
If you have a car, become a delivery driver. There are tons of gig jobs available where you can deliver food and goods to customers and make money in your spare time.
- Postmates
- UberEATS
- GrubHub
- DoorDash
These are just some examples. You can do this with grocery delivery too and become a driver and/or shopper with Instacart or Shipt.
These jobs are great for college kids because they are flexible, you can work when you want, wear casual clothes, and potentially make a lot of money.
This guy did UberEATS deliver for 30 days straight and made over $8,000 for the month!
12. Do small tasks and errands
You can earn money on the side doing small tasks for others. Amazon Mturk and Task Rabbit are examples of companies that you can work for.
This could be doing small data entry tasks, putting together furniture, running errands or other tasks. There are a lot of different things you can do. If this sounds interesting, sign up to both sites above and get started.
13. Become a mobile detailer
This is a job where you’ll earn money detailing cars for people on the go. This is a low startup business because you won’t need a commercial building or space to operate your business out of.
It’s mobile detailing so the idea is that you travel to the customer to detail their car.
This can include:
- Washing
- Vacuuming
- Waxing
- Cleaning tires
This is a hands-on kind of job and one that’ll make the hours go by quickly. If you charged $100 for a mobile detail job and did 5 cars every weekend, you could make $2,000 for the month!
Wear casual clothes, supply your own cleaning supplies, travel to the customer, set your own hours and you can do this part-time or full-time. If you like being hands-on, don’t mind the travel and have reliable transportation, this could be a good fit for you.
You’ll be starting your own business so you’ll want to do things like set up your business form (ex. sole proprietorship, LLC, etc.), set up a business bank account, get any permits/licenses required for your area, buy supplies and equipment and then start getting customers to begin work.
It can be a lot of fun starting your own business but also a lot of hard work. If you’re up for the challenge and this looks interesting, definitely go for it.
14. Sell crafts on Etsy
If you are into crafting, create your creations and sell on marketplace sites like Etsy.
This can be for physical and digital creative work you do like designing coffee mugs or developing custom spreadsheets to keep people organized.
Etsy is free to join as a seller. They charge a small listing fee of $0.20 per item listed and a small portion of your sale goes to them when you make a sale.
It’s a low startup business and can be very fruitful and fulfilling.
15. Sell clothes on Poshmark
Selling clothes can be lucrative and a great gig for college students to take up. This can be your own used clothes that you want to offload for extra money. You can also look at doing arbitrage where you buy clothes for cheap and resell at a profit.
You can do this by finding clothing at places like Goodwill, thrift shops, clearance stores, and other places and then listing for sale on Poshmark.
I’ve tried Poshmark selling a few times and have been successful every time.
Keep in mind that dropshipping isn’t allowed so you will need to have the clothes on hand in order to sell on Poshmark. It’s free to join and you pay no listing fees. They keep a portion of the sale when a customer buys your stuff.
What do you think about these unique side hustles for college students?
If you’re a college student just know that these 7+ side hustles are opportunities to increase your income and make extra money.
Did we miss anything?
Comment below to share your thoughts.
For more on how to make extra money, money-making and money-saving hacks, check out these posts:
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- How to Start a Blog and Make Money
- 5 Things This Millennial Did to Pay Off Her Car Loan in 6 Months
- 10 Easiest Things to Flip
More Unique Side Hustles To Check Out
For more ideas on work from home jobs for college students.
- Get paid to sext
- Make money with your car as a car billboard
- How to make money with YouTube Theme Pages
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