I love to find new and unique ways to “side hustle” and work in my spare time to make and save some extra cash, all while I am still in college! And with this long list of side hustles for college students, there is a lot of opportunities to make some extra money!
Making extra income is the best way to start paying off your debt, put more money towards savings, and work towards financial independence! All while doing simple tasks you may have never thought of or heard about!
As a college student, I know how hard it can be to make ends meet while trying to balance your school schedule with a work schedule. So, that is why I created a list of 40 awesome side hustles geared primarily towards full-time and part-time college students! It’s important to point out that a “side hustle” isn’t defined as a part-time job, but it is a side job that you can accomplish in your spare time!
There are so many reasons to find a “side hustle” and find new ways to earn money around your class schedule! Such as:
- Paying off credit card debt
- Saving money to put aside to pay off student loans
- Pay bills (phone, car, rent, etc.)
- Extra spending money (for food or gas)
- Save money for a car or future apartment/house
- And so much more!
Whether you are living on campus in a dorm or an apartment or living at home, finding extra ways to make money can change your life in some really big ways! I know it can be tough to find the time to side hustle when you’re focusing on school and your future career, but maybe you want some ideas on how to earn an extra $50 a month! Or, maybe you’re looking to make an extra $1,000 or more per month? Either way, you have come to the right place, my friend!
Making money does not have to consume all of your time because you can find simple side jobs that only require an hour of your time a week! Or, if you have a full-time already and you are willing to work 40 to 50 hours a week on top of that, there are even more options to choose from when it comes to earning extra money!
1. Walk Dogs In Your Spare Time
If you love dogs this one is for you! There are some amazing sites that allow you to sign up and get paid to walk dogs for people in your community!
Sites like Rover and Wag! are perfect if you want to earn a steady, consistent income simply by walking another person’s dog for 30 minutes. The longer you work for these sites, the more likely you are to establish relationships with frequently clients, who may end up needing you 3-5 times a week!
Rover is also an amazing way to earn money because you can sign up to pet sit as well! Simply do homework or work online while pet-sitting, if you love being around animals! If not, this one may not be for you.
The pay varies, but people who are on Rover or Wag claim to make anywhere between $20 – $60 per day! However, it really depends how much time you invest in this side hustle, and how much time you have in your daily schedule.
2. Babysit or Nanny on the Weekends or At Night
I began babysitting regularly when I was just 12 years old! My going rate was $10 an hour and that allowed me to gradually save money through the years.
When I was in high school I used to be a nanny for my middle school math teacher lol! I would work about 20 hours a week and make an extra $200 in spending, food, and gas money! Nonetheless, if you can offer other services along with babysitting or nannying that can potentially increase your pay rate!
Services such as housekeeping, tutoring or giving the child music lessons, or picking the child up from school or after-school activity, then I’m sure you will be making more than $10 an hour! Websites such as Care.com allow you to find multiple job listings in your area!
3. Sell Your Old Textbooks
Personally, I always rented my textbooks, but I do know people who have immediately sold their college textbooks as soon as the class was over to regain the money that they spent on them! If you spent $300 on a book but rarely used it, or it’s still in great looking shape, you could easily sell it for the same price or at least $50 less. Regardless, you still get money back that you wouldn’t have gotten if you decided to keep it.
You can sell your books by advertising to your peers, selling them on Facebook’s marketplace, eBay, and other websites that will buy your book such as BooksRun. Not to mention, most university bookstores have a buyback option!
4. Become a Pet Sitter
As mentioned above, you can use sites like Rover to sign up as a pet sitter and earn a decent amount of extra cash! In the past, I have personally told people that I dog sit on the side if they are ever in need of anybody! You could also post on social media as well! Telling your friends and family that you are looking for pet-sitting gigs.
As a pet owner myself, I know that it can be tough and daunting to leave your beloved pet a boarding physicality. Not to mention, extra vaccine costs are a must as well if you are looking to board your pet while you’re away.
So, after sharing the fact that I pet-sit on the side, I would have numerous people texting me and asking if I could watch their pet for a couple of days! This is perfect for the animal as well because they get to stay in the comfort of their own homes!
I have also made money by simply driving to people houses to let their dogs out for them while they are at work! I, personally, makeup to an extra $50 a week just letting a woman’s dogs out while she is at work! And it allows me to hang out at her house whiling getting paid to work on any homework assignments or blog posts!
5. Deliver Food
Make money delivering food to people’s houses, offices, schools, workplaces, and more! There are several apps that will pay you to pick up food that is ordered from restaurants in your area, and deliver them to people who order off the app!
Apps such as:
Head over to one of these sites to sign up! You can be making anywhere between $18-$25 an hour plus tips! This side hustle is perfect for college students because you can set your own hours and deliver food in your spare time! Why not make some money driving to and from class or if you have a break in class schedule?!
6. Drive For Uber or Lyft
There are always going to be people in college towns needing you to be a designated driver lol! Especially on Friday or weekend nights when college students go out to bars, clubs, etc.
Just like the food-delivery apps, you can make and your own work schedule and make some big money with apps such as Uber or Lyft!
I know of so many drivers who work all kinds of different time shifts, whether it’s working during morning or evening rush hour, happy hour or in the evenings! So, the weekends are not the only valuable time to make money from apps such as Uber or Lyft! Did you know that Uber also offers extra incentives and bonuses to their drivers all of the time?! And some drivers have even gone to driving for Uber full time because the pay is so nice!
7. Bake Food to Sell
People love food! Especially desserts, sweets, and baked goods!
Perhaps you are good at baking cakes, cupcakes, muffins, cookies, etc. and want to make a little bit of cash on the side selling your baked goods!
It may be a little tough if you are living in a dorm and do not have access to an oven, but if you live at home or in an apartment and commute to school you could sell your baked goods to other peers in your class. Especially if you have a morning class and can provide people with a delicious breakfast!
Make yourself even more profitable and provide students or faculty with healthy baked goods or sell products that are perhaps gluten-free, vegan, nut-free, or dairy-free! The list goes on and it is an amazing way to make money doing what you love while providing college students with healthy food alternatives! Win-win for everyone!
8. Become a Personal Trainer or Instructor at Your School’s Fitness Center
I bet you may have never considered this!
If you are into fitness and health, and general knowledge of specific exercises and the equipment in your gym, why not get a cheap certification to instruct classes or personally train other students during their workouts for money! As long as you have knowledge and experience, there is definitely something you can offer to others at your school’s fitness center or even the local community center!
Teach classes such as yoga, Zumba, Tabata, H.I.I.T (high-intensity interval training) classes, TRX, and so many others! Or create workout plans and sell them for other students, whether you are there to personal train them or if they want to complete them on their own!
There are so many online certifications that you can choose from! Become an ASFA certified personal trainer or group fitness instructor today! However, I only recommend doing this if this is something are wanting to pursue as a career and not something you are going to put half-ass work into!
Related Post: “How To Begin Loving Your Workouts with these 7 Easy Ways!”
9. Teach English Online
Do want a great paying job that supports flexibility and location independence and allows you to work from home or while traveling? I thought so! I mean, who would say no?!
VIPKID is an awesome company that allows you to create your schedule, set your own hours, work from home, and earn up to $14-$22 an hour! And many online teachers are making up to $1,000 per month all in the comfort of their own homes!
You do not need a teaching degree, but it is required that you have a 4-year degree in any major. Making this the perfect side hustle for anybody who loves to teach but also loves to wear sweatpants and work from home! You can get started on VIPKID by signing up here!
10. Teach Another Language Online
Are you fluent in another language and want to make money teaching it to others? Check out this post by Gabby Wallace and learn how you can get started today! She will step-by-step instruct you on how you can make money by teaching a certain language(s) and most importantly, on how you can make a major, positive impact on somebody’s life!
11. Tutor Other Students on Campus, Online, or at a Community Center
Put your education and skills to good use by helping other students learn content in a convenient one-on-one setting! You can simply go to your school’s library or tutoring center and apply for a position there! Or you could set your own hourly rate at a local community center and tutor students of all ages!
Another easy way to earn money by tutoring others is online at Wyzant and make money by never having to leave your dorm room or house! In this post, by Side Hustle Nation you can learn how Matt Fuentes earns $1000 a week just from tutoring in his spare time!
12. Waitress or Bartend on the Weekends
Although you don’t always need bartending experience, it is better to have some experience under your belt to apply for weekend shifts. But, if you have worked as a bartender before, then you may be able to find a bartending job at a bar, restaurant, catering company, and more.
Since the hours for this are usually later at night and on the weekends, you will probably be able to find a bartending position that works well with a normal school schedule or a regular 9-5 job schedule!
As a waitress, you can potentially make some great tips depending on where and when you work! You may also be able to eat delicious food and receive a discount/ free food when eating at the restaurant you work at!
13. Assist Others in Writing/Improving Resumes
As a college student, I know so many people who would be willing to pay good money in order for someone to write them a clear, concise, and well-written resume or improve a current resume!
If you are skilled in writing resumes and have the spare time to put effort into each person’s resume then I would definitely recommend this as a side hustle for any college student! There is a massive opportunity to help job seekers with their resumes, and even cover letters as well! Since the payoff of landing a job is so high, it can be very valuable for applicants to seek professional assistance on their resumes!
14. Make Money as a Transcriptionist
After reading that, you may be wondering what a transcriptionist does?! Transcriptionists simply listen to audio such as youtube videos, podcasts, or any other type of speech, and converting that speech into written text!
Transcribing requires great skill to translate your clients’ words into proper text with the correct grammar and the correct punctuation. You can read more on how to become a transcriptionist by reading this post by realwaystoearnmoneyonline.com!!
And potentially earn up to an average of $10-$20 an hour! However, I have seen people who have earned even more than that!
15. Clean and Organize Houses
Cleaning is definitely something that many people dread! However, if you are good at cleaning or organizing and enjoy it, then you may be able to find clients who will pay you to come to their house to clean or straighten up for them.
Just like any other service, you can check service apps and websites such as Indeed.com or you can simply just post that you are looking for clients to clean their homes on Facebook! I’m sure you will get so many people willing to pay you up to $10-20 an hour to clean or organize for them!
16. Become a Personal Shopper
The ultimate side hustle for those looking for a flexible schedule where you can choose the hours you want to work and take time off when you need it! As a personal shopper, you buy and deliver fresh groceries and products to customers. If you decide to make this your own personal business you can of course charge whatever price, and charge an additional 5-10% delivery fee!
However, another simple way that you become a personal shopper is through Instacart.com!
Instacart is kind of like food delivery apps where the website connects shoppers (you) to paying customers who want fresh groceries delivered to their door! Also, many local grocery stores tend to hire personal shoppers on an hourly contract basis. You can apply for a side job working there that will pay up to $25 an hour!
17. Wash or Clean Out Cars
How many people do you know that have their cars on campus but never have the time to get it cleaned and vacuumed out?
Or your neighbors who would rather pay money for you to come to their house to clean out their car, rather than driving somewhere and giving up their own time to do it themselves?
This is a perfect side job that you advertise around campus or on social media and charge people $5-20 depending on the extra services you provide when washing their car!
Services you can possibly provide:
- Washing
- Detailing
- Organizing
- Vacuuming
- Filling up the tires
- Driving it to get the oil changed
- and more!
18. Give Music Lessons
If you are good at an instrument such as guitar, piano, violin, drums, etc. then why not earn money by teaching children or adults all of the knowledge that you have learned over the years of mastering your musical skill?!
Giving voice/singing lessons are also a brilliant way to make money!
19. Sell Your Services with the TAKL app
TAKL is a service-based app that allows you to sign up and perform services for people around your area!
The payment is processed online, and your earnings are determined by the going rates in your area all from the app. This is so that you don’t have to exchange money or cash with the customer you’re working for!
Sign up for TAKL here!
Services on TAKL include:
- Yard work and lawn care
- House cleaning
- Pet care
- Helping those who are moving
- Hauling debris
- Washing vehicles
- Assembling or building furniture
- Hanging decor on the walls
- Mounting TV’s and shelves
- And a lot more!
20. Work As a Brand Ambassador
One of my co-workers works as a brand ambassador promoting alcohol companies such as Titos for a company called DBC America.
If you live in Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania you can sign up to be a brand ambassador on dbcamerica.com and make $18-$21 an hour passing out samples of alcohol at events, promos, stores, etc.
My friend loves this job, and since she is a teacher full-time, she does most of her promos on Friday and Weekend nights. So this is a perfect side hustle for a college student!!
Basically, as a brand ambassador, you promote a brand or business usually by giving away free things (alcohol samples, shirts, etc.) to bring brand awareness. If you don’t live in Michigan, Ohio, or Pennsylvania there are still so many opportunities to get a part-time brand ambassador jobs for numerous different brands!
Here’s a link to Ziprecruiter.com where you can find several different brand ambassador jobs in your area!
21. Donate/Sell plasma, eggs, blood, etc.
I know it doesn’t sound the most appealing, but it’s crazy how much you can get paid to by selling these services.
It’s even crazier to think that women can make anywhere between $1,000-$10,000 by selling her eggs, depending on their characteristics. Egg donors are also around college age, most are 30 years of age or less, and are most importantly, healthy!
Before you consider this, however, know that this is not easy money. Numerous doctor visits are involved beforehand, and extracting the eggs requires a medical procedure.
I would recommend doing more research on this subject beforehand! You can also read the two testimonials of women who have donated their eggs and what their experience was like.
https://www.verywellfamily.com/egg-donor-tells-her-story-1960204
http://www.weareeggdonors.com/blog/2015/11/13/what-i-wish-i-knew-before-i-donated-my-eggs
However, for donating plasma, compensation can be anywhere $20 or $25 each visit and is typically loaded onto a pre-paid Visa card that you can use anywhere and in any way that you wish!
22. Sell Your Old or Gently Used Halloween Costumes
Perfect for back to school season because selling you old costumes are most profitable in August, September and beginning of October! If you wear a costume once, keep the packaging and then sell it online or on social media! This site: Costumesforless.com allows you to sell your gently used Halloween costume for at a decent to a great price!
Interestingly enough, you can also sell your dog’s Halloween costume for nearly the same price as the retail price you spent on it almost instantly!
23. Sell High School Dance Dresses
Do you have an old Homecoming or Prom dress hanging up in your closet that you only wore once collecting dust? If so, you can easily sell it online or on Facebook using multiple Facebook groups dedicated to people looking to buy a beautiful, less expensive dance dress!
Sites such a Depop, Mercari, and Poshmark are great places to sell your prom, homecoming, winter formal, etc. dresses for cash that you will most likely never wear again!
24. Get a Part-Time Seasonal Retail Job
For most college students, winter break starts beginning to mid-December, so why not apply for a job over the holiday break when retailers need you the most!
This is also perfect if you have summers off from your full-time career or college classes! Jobs such as bartending, clothing stores, waitressing positions, restaurants, etc. are all great ways to make some extra cash while you have some time off!
25. Sell Your Old Clothes, Accessories, and Funiture
If you moving into a dorm or moving out of your current apartment why not sell the things you will not use?!
You can use sites such as Mercari, Depop, Craigslist, eBay, Facebook, etc. to sell the household items, appliances, furniture, etc. that you will not be taking with you. Also, clothes, shoes, desks, dressers, decor, and anything else you can think of that you have lying around!
Channel your inner Marie Kondo and sell whatever doesn’t bring you joy!
26. Dog Grooming
With a mobile pet grooming business, you can go directly to the dogs rather than needing to find, rent/buy, and set up a permanent business location! This is a terrific way to build up clients and turn this little side hustle into a well-played part-time or maybe even a full-time business!
27. Rent Out Your Car
Apps like Turo allow you to get paid by people needing to rent out your car! This is perfect if you don’t use your car too often, or even better if you went away to college and left your car at home! Use this a perfect tool to eventually pay off your car payment as well!!
You can sign up to start using Turo here!
It is best to provide specific details about your car and try to anticipate any questions travelers may have within your description.
Also, you can set your own price which is awesome, but it’s important to set FAIR prices. Don’t overcharge and you’ll likely get more offers! If you are uncertain about a decent price to set, Turo does have a link where you can have automatic pricing; but you can always manually change that as well!
Tip: If you’re willing or able to, try to offer the convenience of delivery! This option is what sets Turo apart from all other rental companies, and it makes your listing look even better and customers will be more appealed to rent from you!
28. Test Websites
A site called UserTesting.com that actually pays you to test out websites! You can get paid $10 for every website you test and review and $15 for every website that you mobile test!
This is perfect for a busy college student just looking to make some easy extra cash! You do not need to know the technical aspects of a website to test it since this website wants real people who would go on the website in their free time to test it for them!
29. Become a Virtual Assistant
If you have good digital media skills, you can find numerous jobs as a virtual assistant! Tasks of a virtual assistant include:
- Social media management
- Editing, and formatting blog posts
- Scheduling appointments or travel appointments
- Email management
- And so much more!
They will pay you to do pretty much any service needed for a business they can’t or don’t have time do to themselves. You can also set your own hourly rate! You can learn more about it here in Michelle’s post on how to make money as a virtual assistant!
30. Pick Up Trash
Don’t believe that you can make $30-50 picking up trash? Well, for Brian Winch, it has become a $650,000 business for him! Now he’s teaching others how you can as well!
Read more about it on Michelle Schroeder-Gardner’s (Making Sense of Cents) post and learn how Brian began this major money-making business by picking up trash!
31. Pick Up Dog Poop
I was stunned when my brother told me that he pays somebody $50 to pick up all of the dog poop in his backyard every week! I didn’t know that was even a thing, but apparently these young boys’ who do this every week are making a killing! They charge by the dog, and since my brother pays $50, and has 5 dogs, I’m assuming they charge $10 a dog! That’s a steal for pet owners!
Because who wouldn’t want to give up the role of picking up poop in their yard?? You could advertise your services through indeed.com, social media, or hand out flyers!
Depending on where you live, you can create your own hourly rate or you could choose your rate by a certain amount square feet/size of yard?! Even though this may not be the most appealing job in the world, either way, you will definitely have clients wanting your service if that means they don’t have to do the task themselves!
32. Become a Coach or Referee/Umpire
Another great side hustle idea for college students over the summer or over breaks is coaching! A lot of the times high schools or middle schools are looking for people to coach their teams, but you could also coach one-on-one and set your own rate and hours!
I know people who are private pitching coaches for baseball or softball and make $20-$30 for only half an hour of their time! With that, I was once offered $1,000 to coach a middle school softball team for only 6-weeks! So there are many jobs and ideas out there!
If you’re good at a sport and have a certain set of skills that you can teach to others, why not get paid for something you’re good at?!
Working as a referee or umpire for a little league team can possibly bring you in an extra $50 a night every time you work! If you were to get a job as a referee or umpire 5 nights a week, you could easily make up to $250 a week working only 5 hours! A perfect, easy side hustle for some extra spending cash!
33. Create Your Own Side Hustle on Etsy
I’ve seen so many people sell their homemade products on Etsy!Products such as homemade sugar scrubs and bath bombs, headbands, blankets, jewelry, pottery, clothing and so much more!
It such a simple way to sell your products to a huge audience! Link your Etsy store on every single one of your social media sites, tell your friends and family, and start spreading the word about your new, awesome business!
34. Substitute Teach
You don’t need a teaching degree to substitute teach! In most states, you only need 60-90 college credits! Substitute teaching is a great way to earn anywhere between $90-$120 a day depending on the school!!
A friend of mine’s dad is retired and he works 5 days a week as a substitute teacher. He makes roughly $2,000 a month! And he never had a teaching degree either! However, the schedule can be a little tricky sometimes as you may be called at the last moment or the night before, but other times you may even end up securing a long-term position with a certain school!
35. Teach Part-Time at a Preschool
I do this part-time currently, and although the money isn’t as great as some people have it since I work at a Catholic preschool, it is still and an easy job making about $70 a day.
Most preschools pay about $12 an hour (that’s the average) but if you look around and do your research, you may be able to find better offers! Nonetheless, this a good job for experience and earning a little extra cash if you are going to school to be an educator!
36. Work at a Day Care
A daycare job is a great way to make cash while you have some free time over summer break! The summertime is just as busy as the school season for daycares since children are out of school, but parents are still working full-time!
If you are going to school for early or elementary education, I would definitely recommend looking into jobs at your local daycares! My friend works at a local daycare about 4-5 days out of the week, and she makes around $600 a paycheck (after taxes)! So, I would definitely look into a fun, lighthearted job as a daycare worker!
37. Teach for a Summer School Program
If you are a teacher or have a teaching degree, then spending part of your summer teaching summer school is a great way to make extra money!
Some states/schools may even allow you to work at a summer school program if you are working towards your degree, but not yet have your full degree. Check-in area if you have the credentials and possibly make $1,000 a month over the summer!
38. Meal Prep Healthy Food for People
This one is such a great opportunity, but usually overlooked, way to make extra cash!
I have meal prepped for people in the past and it was an excellent way to make money!! I would still be doing it right now, but with my very busy schedule, there would be no way for me to fit in and that would be unfair to all my clients. However, if you have the time, I highly suggest starting small with just a few people and slowly building up your client list as your small business grows!
Not only does healthy meal prepping benefit others, but it benefits you as well! Meal prepping for others is a great way to eat healthily and keep yourself accountable! While making some extra cash in the process!
Ask your friends and family to see if they would be interested or hang up some flyers at your school or community center! Post on Facebook as well in groups or as your status for all of your friends to see! This is a great and easy way to have potential clients start messaging you!
39. Work at a Golf Club Over the Summer
My sister-in-law is a teacher and she has worked at a golf course/club for years now over the summer to make a great deal of extra money!
This is the perfect summer job for college students because the summertime is an insanely busy time with golf outings, weddings, and general fine dining that you’ll be working as much as you want to. You also get to spend a lot of time outside in the beautiful weather whether you’re bartending on the actual golf course during outings or passing out hors d’oeuvres on the outside patio area. The tips are also great as well!!
If this job interests you, you can read more about the benefits of working at a golf course as a college student in this post by thetab.com!
40. Become a Photographer
If you love photography and you know how to work a camera, why not get paid to do what you love?
There are so many job opportunities that you can choose from if you do some research in your area! You might be able to make money as a portrait photographer, wedding photographer, event photographer, and more! I know many people who have a beloved passion for photography who commute to school and take senior pictures for students who are still in high school!
This is such a great way to make some side money while fulfilling your passion and love for photography!
Any other ideas that you can think of?
I would love to know them!
xo, Cydney
comments