How to Make Money in College Without Burning Out

Going to college and need a bit of extra money? Sure, you could go the old fashioned way and wait tables. But why not take advantage of the new opportunities out there? After all, we’re living in the age of the gig economy, where anybody with a bit of skill can work online when it suits them. And, since you’re a college student, that means you’ve got heaps of skills. You just have to learn which ones to go for.

Here are some of the best freelance opportunities for you to try out. In this way, you’ll be making some extra money and you might even have a viable career by the time you leave university. And that’s better than most can say in this day and age.

Here are some of the best options for you to go for.

Graphic designer

Do you know how to use Photoshop and Lightroom? Then you’re in a great position to make good money. The reason? It’s easy to showcase what you can do. All you need to do is put up a portfolio online of what you can do with these programs and if it’s good enough, you’ll be able to wow clients. No degrees or diplomas required.

Even better, because getting past that initial hump and learning those programs is a bit of a struggle for many people, you can make decent money. They call that a barrier to entry. And it’s essential if you don’t want to get stuck in the trenches duking it out with a huge amount of competition.

Build websites

If you’ve got any kind of programming skill and an eye for what makes a good website, then build websites for people. Admittedly, there are a lot of people already in this market so it can be a bit tough. Still, there are plenty of opportunities.

Your best bet is to find businesses who have either incredibly bad sites already up or who haven’t yet made the jump online. After all, everybody knows they should have an online presence. Many people just haven’t gone through the effort of putting it up. If you can find a few businesses like that and impress them, then word will get around and you’ll be golden.

Writer

There are a lot of different kinds of writing you can do. Probably the easiest to get into is online blogging. Here I’m not talking about starting your own blog. That can make you money somewhere down the line, but it isn’t easy. A much better idea is writing content for other people’s blogs. Yes, you can get paid for that!

Of course, you do need a bit of a talent with the written word. So make sure you got plenty of compliments from your teachers and your professors before you choose this route. It ensures you’re able to provide your clients with best writing services and helps to make your first deals.

The best way to get into this line of work is to have pieces you can showcase in your writing portfolio. So, start there. Write up some pieces for the student newspaper and such, as you can then leverage these into more writing gigs.

Translate

Have a knack for languages? Then why not translate? I mean, the world is becoming ever more connected which means there are always people looking for texts and speeches to be set over to another language. If you can do either of those, then you’re going to be able to make a decent bit of money.

There are tons of websites that are looking for people to do translation work for them. So, if don’t know how to get a job as a translator you can start there. Then, once you’ve learned the ropes, you can always strike out on your own.

Teach online

Are you learning at a top-level university? Then already, there will be plenty of people from other corners of the world who will pay you serious money to learn what you’re learning. So why not turn that into a money making opportunity?

As an extra bonus, you get to review and revisit what you’ve been learning and make sure you remember it for longer than you otherwise would have. In this way, your education isn’t just making you money, even as you’re actually going through it. You’re also making sure that you’re getting as much value for money while you’re going through it.

To find students, it might be necessary to go to the forums and websites of students in other countries. You should probably also pay attention to what kind of salaries people get paid. Otherwise, you might struggle to find people who can actually afford your fees.

Last words

And really, that’s just the tip of the iceberg. There are a lot more options out there. You can become a programmer. You can counsel. You can help students write essays. You can even work as a virtual assistant where you help people with a whole range of skills.

Basically, if you can do it on a computer, then it’s very likely you can get a job doing it somewhere. The more creative you are, the more likely there is big money to be made because nobody else has thought of it yet. So go on, give it a try. 34% of the economy is already part of the gig economy, so you’ll be able to find something.