Depending on the kind of college your attend, the cost of schooling is not always cheap even with scholarships, grants, and loans, you might still need money for other college-related expenses. There are always opportunities on campus or through apps that offer easy ways to make a few extra bucks.

Whether you want a steady schedule, flexibility, or a place to study, there are plenty of options to choose from. This article will focus on exposing you to some of the opportunities available to you as a college student to make money without having to drop out of class.

• 10 Apps For College Student to Make Money
• How to Make Money in College Without a Job
• 29 Totally Flexible Ways to Make Money in College Without Dropping Classes

10 Apps For College Student to Make Money

There are several mobile apps available to help students earn some extra bucks easily in their spare time.

Here are 5 best money making apps for college students.

1. Notesgen app will help you learn and earn

Notesgen is the perfect app for students to make money. All they need to do is to share or upload their notes to help other Notesgen users to start earning some pocket money for their efforts.

The platform allows students to upload handwritten notes on various courses and subjects or for competitive exams.

It is currently available on the web, Android, and iOS too.

2. GigIndia is another useful app for college students

“GigIndia Pocket Money, Part Time Jobs for Students” is another great money making app for college students in India.

They can make money online by working with popular brands and companies and performing easy gigs, part-time jobs, and work from home jobs. They can also apply for paid internships on the app.

The app is currently available only for Android.

3. Students can get Paytm cash using SquadRun app

SquadRun is another useful Indian app using which students can earn rewards called SquadCoins for completing various tasks.

The company says they convert business activities of large companies, including Flipkart, Snapdeal, Ola, etc., into small missions that are completed by users.

The missions include giving feedback, tagging images, categorizing products, etc. SquadCoins can be sent to users’ Paytm wallet or redeemed for PayUMoney points.

4. Lemonop app offers well paid gigs and internships

Lemonop is another good app for college students and freshers to find part-time gigs, short-term internships, and work from home projects and get paid.

They can find opportunities in their areas of interest like food, travel, blogging, marketing, content writing, photography, music, hosting, fashion, coding, and graphic designing among others.

The app is currently available only for Android.

5. With mCent Browser, make money just by browsing the internet

mCent Browser is a “recharge browser” app students can use to save on their mobile recharges/bills and data.

Users can earn credits by simply browsing websites without any complicated steps.

They can surf the Internet, watch/download videos, read the news, use Facebook, shop online, or use Google Search like they normally do on the app to receive reward points that can be redeemed for recharges.

6. Foap

This is an app that allows you to make money by taking photos. You can charge as much as you like per photo, which means that your money-making opportunities through Foap are virtually limitless. People are always looking for a huge variety of photos, and you may be surprised at how much money you can make with a photo of your cat.

7. Bookscouter

If you have old books you want to get rid of, use this app to sell them. Scan the barcodes with your smartphone, and Bookscouter will let you see comparisons of payouts from more than 20 book buyback companies. Once you find the best offer, fill out some information about where payments should be sent, and ship the books to the buyback companies.

8. Ibotta

Take photos of your receipts and receive rebates using this app. Sign up for a free account, download the mobile app, and click on “Rebates”. Here you will find loads of great offers. Rebates will vary depending on the product and the promotion.

9. Survey Junkie

Survey Junkie is a legitimate way to earn extra cash while you are waiting for the bus, on your lunch break, or even when vegging on the couch. I like to earn money with Survey Junkie as I wake up in the morning. Survey Junkie is 100% free and easy to sign up.

Once signed up, (which takes less than 1 minute), you can start taking surveys on the go, from anywhere on your phone! With Survey Junkie, you can make the most money in the least amount of time (compared with many other sites)!

10. OfferUp

OfferUp is one of the most convenient and flexible selling apps I’ve ever used. You can list your items, just like Craigslist, but your buyers have profiles you can check out. Plus, if you don’t want to meet up with strangers, you can opt to ship your items to them instead and get paid with PayPal.

How to Make Money in College Without a Job

As a college student, getting a job to make money should not be your goal. Traditional jobs often have rigid hours that don’t fit around your schedule—or they limit you to the minimum wage—which is why the perfect solution is finding a flexible way to make money in college without a job.

Fortunately, there are many things college students can do to make money on the side in college. We’re going to explore how to make cash fast for college students with 10 ideas. These quick ways to make money in college will let you work within your schedule so that you don’t have to miss classes to make rent.

Sell Your Knowledge

Are you academically inclined or ahead of the curve in certain subjects? There are a lot of ways to make money during college by drawing on the hard work you’ve put into your studies.

A lot of people struggle with academic subjects, especially things like math and science, so if you’re good at these skills, you can potentially make a lot of money just by sharing the gift of knowledge with your classmates. Spread the word with fliers around campus, posting on your college social media groups, and (of course) telling your friends.

This idea to make money in college isn’t limited to academic subjects, either. If you’re a good guitarist or pianist, you can give lessons to children and students near you. Or, if you are experienced with a niche topic, you might also consider selling your knowledge in courses on sites like Skillshare and Udemy.

Freelance With Your Skills

This method can get you through college and you can start to build a freelance career, so we absolutely recommend giving it a shot. It’s not the easiest way to make money on the side in college—there are a lot of logistics involved like finding clients, writing proposals, meeting deadlines, managing taxes and invoices, and so on—but it does teach you real-world skills and helps you build valuable connections. Long after your college, you can still work for some of the clients you got in college.

There’s a large market of people on the internet who are looking to outsource tasks from programming to graphic design to content writing.

From freelance-specific sites like Fiverr and Freelancer all the way to broader communities like Reddit, there are plenty of opportunities for you to connect with these potential clients.

Over time, it’ll become even easier as you build a worthwhile portfolio that shows off everything you can do. Depending on your skill level, availability, and the rates your clients agree to, this is a potential way to make a lot of money in college.

Make Use of Your Car

Driving jobs like deliveries can run up a car’s mileage, so they usually aren’t recommended for new cars because it reduces the value faster. Many college students, though, drive a used car, which means that this might be a perfect flexible way to make money in college!

There are several app-based courier-style jobs that will pay you just to drive things from place to place in a timely fashion. Delivery apps for college students to make money this way include Postmates, DoorDash, Grubhub, UberEats, Instacart, and Shipt.

On average, people make about $10 to $15 an hour doing this sort of work. Of course, it’s more consistent in places where there are more people. Since college towns usually have a pretty decent population, these can be a good way to make side cash—especially since there’s a sizeable market for food delivery from your tired (or drunk) fellow students.

Sell Plasma

On one hand, it sounds a bit dystopian and vampiric that you can actually sell your blood to make money at school. But if you think about it another way, it’s a wonderful thing to do for others and a fairly universal way to make money (after all, blood is something that everybody has—and you’re young, you’ll make more).

Plasma is the viscous and clear part of the blood, and it’s an extremely helpful medical resource for people with various different chronic diseases.

Selling plasma is fairly painless, both literally and figuratively. Normally, you’ll go in and have a physical. After a short foray into your medical background, you’ll be seated in a room with a bunch of machines and other donors.

A small needle is inserted into your arm and then you just sit there for about an hour. Many plasma places will let you donate twice per week, and this can be an extra $50-$100 in your pocket depending on how much your local plasma clinics pay out. Some people report bruising or tenderness at the needle site afterward, but it tends to get easier every time.

Use Passive Income Techniques

If you have spare time and a little money to invest, you can use various different techniques to generate passive income (well, passive after you do the initial work to set it up). For example, you can start up a website full of reviews on a niche topic and do affiliate marketing, where people pay you to link their site or product in your articles and get conversions.

While this idea is a bit more intense, you can also look into dropshipping, where you act as a middleman between manufacturers and customers to sell products at a markup. You can ship right from your manufacturer to your customer without ever having to handle shipping yourself. This is easy to set up using platforms like Shopify, but you’ll need to market the products and take on some financial risk if your items don’t sell. Peter’s series on Amazon FBA is a good place to head for more information on setting up a dropshipping business.

Buy and Flip Items

Flipping is a super simple concept that can net you a lot of profit. If you’ve ever heard that saying “buy low, sell high” about the stock market, flipping is sort of the same idea. You look for things that are good deals, maybe do a little work to them to improve their condition, then sell them off for more than you paid for them. It’s a pretty simple concept, but it also requires background knowledge and good research and sales abilities.

The most foolproof way to manage flipping is to search for items you’re familiar with, be it video games, vintage clothing, or technology. Lots of people will sell things at yard sales (or on Craigslist, eBay, or Facebook Marketplace) without knowing how much they’re actually worth. If you spot items at a price you think is undervalued, snap them up and relist them yourself on other platforms. Locally, you can also look for furniture that’s cheap or free, then paint or reupholster it and resell it. You can make a massive profit for only a little bit of your time and money.

Teach English Online

In places where English isn’t widely spoken, many parents want their children to grow up with a grasp on the language so they have a leg up on the competition. This is where you come in.

If you’re a native English speaker, you can often find a position with one of many companies teaching English to children in places like China. Often these companies will have predefined lesson plans ready for you, which will make your job even easier.

While some of these jobs will require that you already have a bachelor’s degree, others (like QKids) do not. In the end, people are generally just looking for the best possible quality education for their children, and you just might be the person to give it to them.

Take Surveys

This is one of the really easy ways to make money in college, but the tradeoff is that you probably won’t earn a lot with it. That said, it definitely adds up over time, and occasionally you’ll find a survey with a pretty large payout. 

You can find a variety of sites online that will pay you for your thoughts. We recommend Survey Junkie because it is safe and easy to use, and it usually has surveys available on any given day. Doing a few surveys every day between classes or during lunch at the dining hall could earn you a not-insignificant chunk of cash over the long run. If you can make even $5 a day, that’s $150 a month, which definitely isn’t chump change.

Offer a Helpful Local Service

There’s always a demand for services like dog-walking and babysitting, especially in metropolitan areas. Try looking around for opportunities near you. These don’t cost you anything, and with something like babysitting (or house or pet-sitting), it will often be a pretty low-profile job that effectively acts as downtime for you to study. Two birds with one stone!

Depending on your area, there will also generally be a lot of open opportunities for menial labor on sites like Craigslist. People will need things like brush removed from their property or their yard mowed, and they’re willing to pay you to do it. This sort of simple work can be a great opportunity for you to make some pocket money in college or to supplement a summer job.

You often don’t even have to market these services yourself, thanks to several gig-economy apps for college students to make money with these services. Look into TaskRabbit, Wag!, Rover, Gigwalk, Care.com, UrbanSitter, and Handy.

Sell Your Craft

If you have an artistic flair, you can easily invest in skills like painting, calligraphy, sewing, or jewelry-making in order to create physical products that you can sell on storefronts such as Etsy. In fact, with a little business savvy, you can build an entire brand based around the things that you’re selling and eventually turn it into your own company.

This one will take a little bit of time, and like any business, there’s an element of risk that you may lose your financial investment. But you don’t have to shell out a lot of money to try and get started. Even something like $50 towards supplies can go a long way in terms of the products you’re making, especially when you consider that some things such as jewelry can have a pretty huge markup and still sell.

As a broke student looking for quick ways to make money in college, the main thing you need is determination. What’s ultimately important is that you’re willing to put yourself out there and invest your time and effort to build a variety of income streams. After all, the opportunities are all around, and it’s up to you to seize them.

29 Totally Flexible Ways to Make Money in College Without Dropping Classes

Just because you’re a college student, that doesn’t mean you have to be broke. There are a whole host of ways you can make money as a student, and they go well beyond stereotypical student jobs like delivering pizza and working fast food.

Find 29 flexible ways you can make money as a college student without dropping classes below.

1. Be a Research Assistant

You can work with a professor, as a research assistant. Your duties as a research assistant will vary depending on the department and the professor you’re working for.

If you’re working in a science position, your duties might include performing or monitoring experiments, preparing and cleaning equipment, or collecting samples.

On the humanities side, you might do anything from scanning pages from a book to transcribing recorded interviews for use in an essay.

The work isn’t always glamorous or exciting, but these jobs will do wonders for your communication, organizational, and problem-solving skills. They’re also the best way to learn how the university research process works, teaching you far more about the real world of academia than you’ll learn from writing a research paper for a class.

Like teaching assistant jobs, professors or departments will sometimes post openings for research assistants on campus job boards. But you can also go to a professor directly and offer to assist them. You’ll need to state what skills you have, what you hope to learn from the position, and how you can help them. If you’ve had the professor for a class (that you did well in), then all the better.

2. Become a Teaching Assistant (TA)

If you’ve taken any intro-level or gen-ed class at your university, you’ve probably had a TA. The TA’s job may have been to assist the professor during class, help students with assignments outside of class, or even to teach the class entirely (though those sorts of TA positions tend to be reserved for graduate and PhD students).

Whatever the specific duties, being a TA is a great way to get hands-on experience with teaching and the daily life of a professor. Especially if you’re considering a career in academia, a TA job will show you what life is like “behind the scenes” of the lecture hall. In some cases, you can also get class credit for being a TA.

To become a TA, you’ll need to have an existing relationship with the professor. It’s best if you’ve taken the class you’ll be TA-ing (or at least know the subject matter very well). While TA positions are sometimes advertised on official campus job boards, the best way to get one is to contact the professor you want to TA for directly. Let them know you’re interested in being their TA, explain why you’re qualified, and tell them how you’d bring value to the class(es) they teach.

3. Get cash back on things you buy

This isn’t so much a side hustle as it is just making sure you’re not missing out on low-hanging fruit. Whether you do your shopping online or in stores, Rakuten can help you save with coupons and cash-back alerts.

Rakuten users can earn up to 40% cash back with retailers like Amazon, American Eagle, Sephora, and hundreds more. For online shopping, create your free Rakuten account and be sure to install the extension on your browser. Whenever you visit a website that offers cash back with Rakuten, you’ll get a pop-up on your screen. Just click the “Activate Deal” button and your cash back will be applied at checkout.

For in-store cash back, you’ll need to link a credit or debit card to your account. Once you do, you can choose from in-store offers in your area through Rakuten’s online portal. Just link the offer and shop with the card on your Rakuten account to receive cash back.

4. Rent out your car

If you have a car but live on campus and rarely drive it, you can rent it out to earn some cash with an app like Turo.

Turo is a peer-to-peer car sharing service. According to their website, users with at least average quality metrics earn around $706 per month.

When you sign up to list your car on Turo, you’ll need to set your vehicle’s availability and choose your rental rates. Turo offers an automatic pricing feature that adjusts your car’s price based on the type of vehicle it is, demand in your area, and other factors.

The app also allows you to choose your settings for things like how far in advance people need to make a booking, whether or not people can book instantly or need to wait for your approval, and the level of damage coverage you want Turo to help with.

When you’re ready to hand off your keys, you can complete the verification process either remotely or in person. You’ll receive payment for your first trip via direct deposit 72 hours after the trip ends. All future payments will be made within 3 hours.

5. Run Facebook ads for other businesses

We’ve all had the experience of scrolling through Facebook or Instagram and being hit with an ad for something you were just looking at online.

That’s obviously no coincidence. Facebook has a pretty sophisticated ad platform. Many online business owners already know and take advantage of Facebook ads, but most local businesses don’t. That’s what makes this side hustle so lucrative.

As a Facebook ad specialist, you can help local business owners get in front of more people, or even reach an entirely new demographic. Of course, you have to learn how to create Facebook ads first. You can learn the basics of creating and managing ads for free in Facebook’s business center.

6. Give Campus Tours

Hopefully, you visited your college before deciding to go there. And if you did visit, you probably took a tour. Those tours don’t give themselves, so why not work as a campus tour guide?

It’s a chance to learn way more than you ever wanted to know about your university, as well as develop your public speaking and people skills (not to mention thinking on your feet). Plus, you’ll probably have pretty jacked calf muscles after all that backwards walking.

Becoming a campus tour guide is a straightforward process. You’ll need to submit the usual resume and cover letter, and then pass a couple rounds of in-person interviews. There will also be some training involved, including shadowing an existing tour guide and likely giving a mock tour to your supervisor.

Once you’ve done that, you’ll be ready to give tours. Be prepared to sometimes work weekends, as those are often when colleges will give tours to rich alumni or prospective students/parents.

7. Host Prospective Students

To help prospective students get an idea of what college life is like, many universities offer the chance to do overnight visits. The prospectives will shadow a current student, going to their classes, sleeping in their dorm, and experiencing college firsthand.

In my experience, college admissions departments can never get enough people to do this, so it can be a good way to improve your social skills while also making money (or at least getting perks).

In many cases, these positions do not pay. However, they often come with perks, especially if you agree to host regularly. I had one friend who got a discount on his housing in exchange for agreeing to host students. And I’ve also heard of other incentives such as gift cards. At the very least, this job doesn’t take up much time and can be a lot of fun.

To become a prospective student host, you generally just have to inquire at your campus admissions office. You likely won’t even need a resume or a formal application–just lots of enthusiasm and a friendly attitude.

8. Offer your services to business owners

There’s a lot that goes into running a business — creating graphics, managing a team, handling customer questions and complaints, and a thousand other tasks. If you’re studying a subject like marketing or graphic design, this could be the perfect opportunity to gain experience in your field while making some extra money.

In the online world, someone who does various types of freelance work for a business is often called a virtual assistant, or VA. As a VA, you can manage social media pages, handle customer service, organize travel, create graphics, write copy for emails or blog posts. Anything a business owner needs help with that you have adequate knowledge or skill in is a possibility.

All you need to get started is a few willing clients.

9. Start a blog and monetize it

You don’t have to be an English major, or even a good writer, to start and monetize a blog. All you need is an interesting topic to write about, preferably something that solves a problem for others, and a marketing strategy.

There are lots of ways to make money with a blog, but one of the best ways to start is with affiliate marketing. You find products and services relevant to your topic, write about them, and include your affiliate links. When people sign up through those links, you get a small commission. When you search online for “how to start a blog,” almost every article that comes up will have affiliate links in it.

Many sites you probably already visit make money through affiliate marketing. All you need is content, something to sell, and people to read your writing.

10. Be a TaskRabbit

Have some marketable skills? Then TaskRabbit could be the place to use them to make some extra money. TaskRabbit is a service that connects Taskers (people with skills) with customers that need them. Originally, the service focused on physical skills such as yard work, cleaning, or help with moving. Now, however, the platform also allows you to perform virtual tasks such as data entry or even graphic design.

TaskRabbit currently operates in major cities in the US and UK. To apply, you’ll need to first have one of the following skills:

• Delivery
• Cleaning
• Event Planning
• Event Staffing
• Personal Assistant
• Entertainment
• Furniture Assembly
• Heavy Lifting
• Minor Home Repairs
• Help Moving
• Organization
• Accounting
• Arts / Crafts
• Automotive
• Carpentry & Construction
• Computer Help
• Cooking / Baking
• Data Entry
• Decoration
• Deep Clean
• Electrician
• Errands
• Graphic Design
• Laundry and Ironing
• Marketing
• Mounting
• Office Administration
• Packing & Shipping
• Painting
• Pet Sitting
• Photography
• Plumbing
• Research
• Selling Online
• Sewing
• Shopping
• Usability Testing
• Videography
• Web Design & Development
• Wait In Line
• Window Cleaning
• Writing & Editing
• Yard Work & Removal

You’ll also need to be at least 21 (18 in the UK), pass a background check, and pay a non-refundable $20 registration fee. You get to set your own hourly rate and determine your own schedule, making this another appealing option for college students.

11. Deliver Things

Want to use your car, bike, or even your feet to make some extra money? Delivering things is an option to consider, especially with the proliferation of delivery apps these days. Options include DoorDash (deliver food from local restaurants), Postmates (deliver just about anything), Amazon Flex (deliver anything Amazon delivers), and Instacart (deliver groceries).

These services tend to have the same sorts of requirements, including a minimum age (generally between 18-21), necessary licenses and insurance (if using a vehicle), and the necessary method of transportation. In smaller cities, you’ll generally need a car to make deliveries. In larger cities, however, you can sometimes make deliveries on a bike or even on foot.

So how much can you make? It depends. Amazon Flex pays a minimum of $18 per hour, but the jobs are quite competitive, with most openings occurring during the holiday rush. Other delivery services don’t pay a set hourly rate—you get a percentage of the fee the customer pays, plus tips.

You also have to consider the expense of maintaining your vehicle and buying gas (if applicable). Still, it has way more flexibility than lots of other student jobs, so it could be worth it if you want to make some extra cash.

12. Try Freelance Writing

Journalism or English majors are obvious candidates for a freelance writing side hustle. But having your writing published online can help you build authority no matter what your field of study.

For example, if you’re a food and exercise science major, writing for a health and fitness website would show future employers that you have a passion for your work, and that you understand and can communicate difficult concepts to the lay person.

The same goes for anyone majoring in finance, law, medicine, or really any subject. If you want to become an authority and be known as an expert in your field, freelance writing can help build your credibility. Some niches, like personal finance, also pay very well.

13. Manage social media for businesses

Social media management is something you can offer as a part of your virtual assistant package. But if you’re interested in building a following on social media or working in the field after you graduate, you can build more authority by solely offering social media management services.

As a social media manager, you’ll be responsible for creating and executing a business’s social media marketing strategy. You can start broad by managing all types of social media accounts or hone in on a niche by focusing on a single platform like Instagram or Facebook.

Whichever you choose, your job will be to build the company’s brand and figure out how to use social media to reach new customers and sell more products or services. Be sure to track before and after metrics like followers, engagement, and sales so you can add them to your resume.

14. Bartend

If you’re in a college town, that means there’s likely a bar (or twenty) nearby. Instead of just spending your money there, why not make some? Bartending is a great way to increase your social skills while learning conflict resolution, customer service, and how to make drinks (a skill that comes in handy at parties). It can be a good student gig, as much of the work occurs in the evenings (though you’ll have to be comfortable with late nights).

To apply, you’ll generally need to undergo training on how to properly serve alcohol. You’ll also need to be 21 in most cases. In many US states, you can technically serve alcohol at age 18, but most bars won’t hire anyone under 21 for liability reasons. If you’re outside the US, then you’re probably good to go at 18 (though you should always check local laws).

15. Bookkeeping

If you know some basic accounting (or are willing to learn it), then you could help local business out with bookkeeping. It’s easier than you think, but almost every business would love to outsource it if possible. You can set your own hourly rate and do most of the work remotely, easily managing enough clients for a nice side income.

You shouldn’t need any special certifications, but it can help if you’ve taken a class in accounting at your university. To get experience, start with bookkeeping for a friend or family member’s business.

16. Design and sell T-shirts (or leggings, phone cases, backpacks, and more)

In the past, if you wanted to sell T-shirts, you would’ve had to create the design, find a printer, have the printed, advertise them, and deal with the hassle of fulfilling orders. Now there are websites like Teespring that do all the back-end work for you, so all you have to do is create a design and choose your selling price.

With Teespring, you use their software to create a design. Once you’re finished, you’ll Teespring will tell you the base cost for your product. You choose how much profit you want to make on each item, which determines the selling price.

Teespring offers marketing tools to help you make sales, but you can boost your earnings in a couple ways:

1. Be creative with your design. Choose something that appeals to a specific person. For example, you can make funny T-shirts that only people in your major would understand relate to.
2. Do your own advertising. Share your designs with friends and family on social media. If you have a following online (Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, TikTok, a blog, etc.), then share with your audience.

When someone buys your design, Teespring takes care of order fulfillment and customer service. You can request your payout within 24 to 48 hours after your order is sent to the buyer.

17. Paint Houses

If you’re not afraid of heights and getting a bit dirty, then you could work as a house painter. This can be a great summer gig, though you can do it year round provided it isn’t raining or snowing. You can work on your own as a freelance painter, or you can get a gig with a painting company.

As long as you do good work, you can charge pretty premium rates without difficulty. For a power combination, you can combine house painting with other services such as yard work or driveway cleaning.

18. Door-to-Door Sales

This gig is certainly not for everyone. In fact, most people who try it fail. But if you have the right hustle and sales skills, you can make serious bank selling things door-to-door. This could be books, magazines, knives, or anything that people will buy. You’ll definitely learn to deal with rejection in this job, so be prepared for people to yell or even slam the door in your face.

We’ll warn you also that there are a lot of scams in this business. Avoid companies that make you buy their inventory up front, as these are often pyramid schemes. You want a company where you do the sales and someone else supplies the products.

19. Buy Back Textbooks

Whenever the semester draws to a close, you’ll likely see flyers advertising companies that will buy back your books…supposedly at a higher rate than the bookstore.

We can’t vouch for any of these services from the perspective of a seller, but you can make money as the person who buys the books. You’re generally paid a base hourly rate plus commission (the more books you buy back, the more you make).

You’ll need to have people skills, understand the psychology of sales, and be willing to face lots of rejection. Applying is usually as simple as visiting the website of the book buying company.

20. Sell your photos

Unless you’re a cinema or photography major, then selling photos might not sound like much of a resume builder. However, employers like to see hobbies and interests on your resume, especially for undergraduates. It can also give you some good talking points for your interview.

As long as you have a smartphone with a high-quality camera, you can start this side hustle without investing in any expensive equipment. If you want, you can order lenses for your phone on Amazon for less than $100. Practice taking pictures of landscapes, people (with their permission), or buildings.

Then submit them to one of the many sites that pay for original photography, like Shutterstock or Getty Images. You can also turn your images into art and sell them on Etsy. This probably won’t be your biggest money maker, but it can be a fun way to monetize an existing hobby.

21. Start a YouTube channel

Similar to blogging, making money with a YouTube channel isn’t typically a quick thing. You’ll need to create and publish videos consistently. But if you’re a cinematography or video production major, then creating YouTube videos could be a great way to practice your craft.

In order to make money with this side hustle, you’ll need to do your research on hashtags and how to optimize your videos for search so people find them organically. Once you have enough views and followers, you can start monetizing your channel with ads.

Other monetization options are similar to blogging: add affiliate links to your video descriptions, create and sell your own products, or reach out to companies to see if they’d like to sponsor your content for a mention in your videos.

22. Clean Offices Part-Time for Breather

Breather is a service that allows companies to rent office space for meetings and events. These spaces need to be spotless before a company comes in to use them, and this is where you can come in. Breather employs people part-time to clean their spaces in the markets where they operate.

Hours can be flexible, so it’s a good opportunity as a student. Requirements will vary, but most students should be able to meet them.

23. Fix Cars and Bikes

Know how to fix cars, bikes, or other forms of personal transportation? You could have a nice side income on your hands. Having your transportation break is frustrating, even having the potential to jeopardize your job. Therefore, people will pay well for anyone who can fix it promptly and professionally.

Naturally, you should know what you’re doing before you try this, as it can be dangerous to do it wrong.

24. Test Software

If you don’t have the technical skills needed to find bugs, no problem. App companies also need people to use their software as it was intended. This can be to uncover bugs or just to evaluate new features. I did this with an app that I already used and made $20 per hour. All I had to do was use the app and participate in a couple calls with a member of the development team to ask me about my experience.

These opportunities aren’t the easiest to find, but the best approach is to visit the website of apps that you already use and see if they have opportunities for user testing.

25. Translate Foreign-Language Documents

People need things translated, and there aren’t enough full-time employees to do it (especially if the language is obscure or has a small number of speakers). This is where websites like Translatorscafe, Gengo, and VerbalizeIt come in. They provide translations services to businesses using freelance translators.

If you have the right translation skills, you could work for them as well. Note that you won’t just need to be fully fluent in both of the languages you’re working with. You’ll also need to understand how to do translation, which is an entirely different skill.

Depending on the marketplace, you may or may not need certifications (though they always help).

26. Teach People How to Use Computers

Taking things one step further from fixing computers, there are plenty of people (especially older people), who need help learning how to use computers, smartphones, and tablets. You can use this to make money, charging a flat rate for group classes or an hourly rate for private coaching.

27. Private Chef

Once again, we turn to busy people who have more money than time. These people will pay someone to cook their meals, as their time is so valuable that cooking would be a waste of it (at least from their perspective). You can be this person. You don’t have to have gone to culinary school. You just need to know how to cook good food and be willing to cater to whatever dietary preferences the person has.

Another variation you can try on this is meal prep services. You don’t actually cook the food, you just prepare it in advance, freeze it, and then deliver it to the person on a weekly basis. Busy parents will gladly pay for this service, as it means they can just stick the food in the crockpot or heat it up when they and their kids get home.

28. Rent Your Space on Airbnb

Airbnb is a website that allows people to rent out all or part of their home or apartment to travelers. You can make a nice side income doing this if you have the time and commitment to detail. You’ll need to provide the utmost in customer service, as well as communicate promptly with guests and we willing to handle any issues that arise.

Also, be careful about renting out rooms in an apartment or house that you don’t own. Always check with your landlord and get their permission first—you don’t want to get evicted for violating your lease.

29. Become a Ghostwriter

There are lots of people with great ideas that they want to share in the form of a book or blog, but who don’t have the writing skills (or time) to write it themselves. This is where ghostwriters come in.

If you have good writing skills and understand how to imitate the voice of an individual or brand, you can make money as a ghostwriter.

You can post these services on Upwork or Fiverr, or you can reach out directly to offering them.

Conclusion

Whether you need the money for living expenses or just want some extra spending cash for the weekend, there’s no shortage of options for making money in college.

Don’t be afraid to try things you never imagined doing. College is a great time to explore different jobs and side hustles to find what you like. If you’re going to school for finance but you’ve always had an interest in writing, then try your hand at creating a blog or writing for websites. You may learn new skills and interests that will aid in your future career, or find something that changes your career path altogether.

Even if your side hustle doesn’t turn into a full-time gig, the lessons learned, connections made, and skills gained will be well worth the experience.