Making money can be difficult for college students. Having to keep up with classes, homework, and extracurricular activities makes it nearly impossible to hold a full-time job. And even part-time, in-person jobs can become a challenge as commute times start to get longer and you don’t always have a say in your work hours.
That’s why online jobs are perfect for college students. Not only do online jobs save you valuable time, but they often give you the flexibility to work whenever and wherever you want.
Here are 12 of the best online jobs for college students.
freelance writing
If you major in journalism or English, or just love writing, you may want to consider becoming a freelance writer. There are always companies in need of freelance writers. Find a subject or topic that interests you and look for opportunities. Several websites list available opportunities, including FreelanceWriting.com and MediaBistro.com.
Freelance writing is great for many reasons. The first is flexibility. Employers usually only give deadlines. That way you can choose your own time and location. The second reason is that freelance writing will look good on your resume. Employers are always looking for great writers and communicators. Freelance experience can help you secure a full-time job after college.
- Estimated wage: $15-$75 per assignment
freelance web developer
If you’re studying computer science or a related field, the best option for your resume and bank account is to pursue freelance web development. His freelance web developers are in high demand, and his professional hourly rate is more than $60.
Not all freelance web development jobs require advanced skills. Many jobs are basic enough that even a novice programmer can complete them, so they don’t necessarily require a lot of experience. If you’re new to programming, or you’re a first- or second-year student who needs to sharpen your skills, check out these courses and programs for beginners in web development. From there, you can create an online portfolio so you can apply for jobs on websites like Upwork and Thumbtack.
- Estimated wage: $35 to $75 per assignment
freelance resume writer
Freelance resume writing is a great way to earn extra money while in college. People are always looking for ways to get an edge in the job market and are often willing to invest in a good resume.
If you’re interested in a freelance career and resume mastering, get started with your friends and colleagues on campus. Many college students are applying for jobs and internships and are looking for a good resume. But before you start charging, you need to make sure your skills are up to par. To be a good resume writer, you need to understand what employers and recruiters are looking for in a resume and become familiar with editing tools like Adobe InDesign and Canva.
If the business provided by friends and colleagues on campus isn’t enough to pay your living expenses, you can sign up as a freelance resume writer on websites like Freelancer and Upwork.
- Estimated wage: $15-50 per hour
transcriber
Transcription is a simple task that can easily fit into your class schedule. Typically, you will need to listen to and type an audio recording. If you can type quickly with laser-sharp focus, you can make good money as a transcriber.
There are many transcription services that frequently adopt new transcription services. Some places to get started include Accutran Global, GoTranscript, and GMRTranscription.
While getting a transcription job is usually very easy, the actual task of transcribing can be very tedious and stressful. Monthly income usually depends on the amount of time required.
- Estimated wage: $0.005 per word
video editor
If you know how to use Adobe Premiere, iMovie, or other video editing software, you can earn some serious money. Video editors are in high demand, with professionals often charging upwards of $50 per hour for their services.
As with most of the jobs on this list, before someone will pay you to do the work, you’ll need sample work to show the client. Create a website and post the videos you create. It doesn’t have to be a professional level job. With proper editing, you can even make it your own video.
The best place to start looking for video editing jobs is on campus. Maybe there’s a local theater student who needs someone to edit their short film. Or maybe you’re a broadcasting student who needs help editing their portfolio. If you can’t find anyone on campus, check out websites like Upwork and Thumbtack.
All kinds of academic programs, from journalism to video production, require students to take video editing courses. However, if video editing isn’t on your class schedule, you can always take online courses like Mastering Final Cut Pro on Coursera or Premiere Pro CC for Beginners: Video Editing in Premiere available on Udemy.
- Estimated wage: $15-50 per hour
blogger
Blogging is not about getting rich quick. It takes years for a blog to gain traction, and some people never get there. However, if you have the time and patience, creating your own blog can be a very rewarding experience.
If your goal is to make money from your blog, you need to build a solid audience. Therefore, you need to create interesting and unique content. You can increase your readership by creating social media accounts that push traffic to your blog. Once you have a certain number of followers, you can post branded and sponsored content, embed affiliate links in your articles, and earn money through ads. The amount of money you make depends almost entirely on your readership, so you should spend the majority of your time thinking about the specific type of content that will retain your current readers while attracting new ones.
The hidden benefit of starting a blog is that you can naturally develop a variety of skills that will help you get a job after college, such as writing, SEO, and marketing.
- Estimated wage: very different
online tutor
Are you a good student with the patience to teach others? If so, online tutoring may be the perfect job for you. If you can build a strong customer base, tutoring can be a very lucrative part-time job. The first step to becoming an online tutor is deciding who and what you want to teach. All kinds of opportunities are available.
If you’re looking to tutor a colleague, checking out the university’s website is the best place to start. Most educational institutions pay students as part-time tutors. However, there are usually some requirements. For example, institutions may have minimum GPA requirements and require applicants to prove that they have taken and passed certain courses.
Another path is to become a freelance online instructor. Freelance tutors usually allow you to set your own compensation, but you have to attract customers yourself, which can be difficult and time-consuming. As a freelance tutor, I can teach everything from basic math to girlfriend SAT prep and college courses to students from elementary school to college.
For freelance online tutors, the community is the best place to start. Maybe your younger cousin is having trouble with multiplication. Or maybe your parents’ neighbor needs help studying for her ACT. If you’re having trouble finding people in the community, check out her websites like Preply and Upwork. Neither has strict educational requirements for online instructors.
- Estimated wage: $10 to $50 per hour
freelance graphic designer
If you’re a graphic design major or a visual arts student interested in graphic design, there’s no better way to make money than doing freelance graphic design work. Freelance graphic designers are in high demand, and clients are willing to pay a lot of money for high-quality designs.
The best place to start is by creating a website and adding sample work to your website. You can search for jobs by reaching out to people in your local community or posting on social media. If you can’t find enough work this way, check out websites like Upwork.
If you’re new to graphic design or looking for something to supplement what you’re already learning in school, check out our affordable Coursera courses for beginners in graphic design.
- Estimated wage: $15 to $100 per assignment
English teacher
If you are fluent in English, you can get a job teaching English online. There are dozens of English companies that pay large sums of money to native English speakers to teach English as a Second Language (ESL) to people around the world.
Unfortunately, most companies that pay well or allow you to set your own hourly rates require applicants to have a bachelor’s degree. Therefore, most of his ESL jobs online are perfect for graduate students. However, there are some schools that accept current undergraduate students. Among them he also includes Cambly and Italki.
- estimated wages: $8 to $30 per hour
social media marketer
Social media marketing is key to the success of any business, and few demographics know more about building a social media following than college students. While many large companies have in-house social media marketers, startups and local businesses don’t always have the budget to hire a full-time employee to run their social accounts. Therefore, they look for freelancers online.
Start by reaching out to local businesses in your community to see if they need help with marketing. Local business owners often have a desire to expand their social impact, but don’t know where to start. Otherwise, you can list your services on websites like Upwork or bid for work on her website like Freelancer.com.
- Estimated wage: $15-50 per hour
data entry clerk
Businesses often need to hire data entry personnel to keep records and databases up-to-date and accurate. A data entry clerk basically takes information from various sources and inputs it into one organized document. To summarize, you can expect to do a lot of spreadsheet work.
Although this job seems easy, it requires a lot of organizational skills and experience using spreadsheet software such as Google Sheets or Microsoft Excel. If you’re new to these platforms, take online classes like the guided project Spreadsheets for Beginners with Google Sheets or Everyday Excel, a course offered by the University of Colorado Boulder. It might be worth it. Both are available on Coursera.
The best place to find jobs as a freelance data entry clerk is on freelance websites like Upwork and Fiverr.
- Estimated wage: $8 to $20 per hour
Website/app tester
There are several websites, such as UserTesting, that pay you to browse websites and apps and take short tests that tell you how well they perform. UserTesting pays you $10 for every 20 minute test you complete. In some cases, you will also have the opportunity to provide feedback via a Zoom interview. In that case, you can earn $1 per minute. Signing up for UserTesting is easy. All you need to do is take a simple practice test. Testing websites and apps is a great way to make a little extra money, but you shouldn’t expect to get rich. The number of jobs you receive depends on the number of companies seeking reviews. Oh, and payments are made via PayPal.
Notably, there are other websites offering similar services. However, UserTesting seems to be the most widely used and reliable.
- Estimated wage: $10 per test
conclusion
It’s not easy being a broke college student. The good news is that there are many easy ways to make money online. Instead of signing up for a cafeteria job or an on-campus bookstore job, cut your commute and set your own hours by working online.
