As a student, it’s almost inevitable that you will struggle with your finances at some point in your college career.
Whether you are in your first year and have been hit by the reality of being independent for the first time, or are struggling to scrape funds together for your final year, we’ve all been there.
The natural solution to solve this problem is to find a job that works around college and pays you enough to survive, but these aren’t very hard to come by.
Even when you are lucky enough to find employment, it’s usually on a part-time basis with few hours, leaving you scrounging to find more.
If this sounds like you, then the side gig ideas we’ve listed especially for students could help, providing you with some ideas for work you can easily fit around your studies regardless of your circumstances.
- Rideshare Driver
In the last few years, becoming a rideshare driver for popular companies like Uber and Lyft to earn some extra money has become incredibly popular.
For students, this side gig is extremely lucrative, as the premium prices usually occur during evenings and weekends, when you are most likely to be free.
With no restrictions on working hours, there’s nothing to stop you from reducing your workload when you are busy with college assignments and picking it up again when things quieten down.
Due to the lack of restrictions, there’s a lot of earning potential, with the average Uber wage standing at around $31,335 in 2018.
If you are being selective about the times you work, you may be earning less, but in the life of a student, every little helps.
- Delivery Driver
Many rideshare companies have now created associated apps where people will deliver food from local participating restaurants in exchange for a fee.
This is a better option for you if you’re unable to bring your car to college for you,
as they will often allow people to deliver on pushbikes.
If you do have a car you want to utilize in your side gig, however, there’s also the option to become a parcel delivery driver.
Most places, like Amazon and FedEx, will allow you to agree to slots of time when you’re available as opposed to contracted hours, giving you the freedom you still desire as a student.
On average, delivery drivers earn $16.78 per hour, though this will obviously depend on the popularity of your local area and the times you choose to work.
- Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing sounds complicated, but all it really entails is referring people to online websites in exchange for a commission every time they make a purchase.
The amount of commission will depend on the website you’re referring to, but it generally varies between 5-20%.
As a student, this is perhaps one of the easiest side gigs for you to engage in provided you have some kind of social media audience to market towards.
It’s important that you remember that your opinions have value when you invest in this side gig, so only promote things that you actually use and like yourself.
Some places that offer affiliate marketing opportunities including OCG, and worldwide online retailer Amazon.
The potential earnings you could gain from affiliate marketing vary massively depending on the commission value, and the amount of time you spend on promotion.
- Tutor
Being a student, it’s likely that there is at least one subject that you understand in enough detail to teach someone else about it.
As long as you are also a creative person who can adapt a lesson to suit individual needs, tutoring could be the perfect option for you.
When it comes to tutoring, students will be looking for people across all fields of study, but STEM subjects do tend to be in higher demand. If you’re looking for faster uptake of clientele, then focusing on said subjects might be in your best interest.
In terms of earnings, tutors can expect to earn around $21.45 per hour throughout the US.
This is more lucrative than many of the side gigs we’ve mentioned, so it’s definitely worth looking into if you’re looking to earn a substantial amount of money to support yourself.
- Flipping / Reselling
Another way to earn some decent money from your side gig is to buy secondhand items cheaply and sell them on for what they’re actually worth.
You can pick up these items from everywhere from the Facebook marketplace to garage sales and even flea markets. In the beginning, you can also add to your profits by selling old items you already own but don’t want anymore.
The most common place to flip these items is through eBay, but remember there are hundreds of thousands of people selling through this site, so results won’t happen instantly.
If you don’t have the storage in your dorm room for items before they sell, then something like Amazon FDA might work better for you.
To do this, simply buy new or secondhand items that sell for higher prices on Amazon, and send them off in one big box.
Amazon will then store these items in their own warehouse until they sell, or send them back to you if they don’t sell within a certain period of time.
This is another side gig where the profits aren’t guaranteed, however, and the amount you earn is dependent on so many factors it’s difficult to give an estimate on the average earnings.
With that being said, there are lots of people who do this on a full-time basis and earn in excess of $100,000 a year, so just think about the possibilities available, even when only doing it part-time.
Summary
As a student, finding ways to earn money in traditional ways can be difficult, but this doesn’t mean that you can’t earn money.
With side gigs like those we’ve mentioned in this article, you have complete control over how much or how little you make, and there’s quite literally something for everyone.
Whether you’re looking for a way to make money around your schedule like becoming a rideshare driver or would rather something that requires less effort like affiliate marketing, utilizing this list will help you make money in no time.
