This post is all about side hustles for students.
13 Effective Side Hustles for Students
- Tutoring
- Freelancing
- Deliver Food
- Cook Meals for Students
- Re-Sell Books
- Run Errands
- Babysit
- Cleaning
- Data Entry
- Pet Sitting/Dog Walking
- Selling Clothing
- Manage Social Medical Accounts
- Sell Handmade Goods
Scouring the internet for side hustles for students? If you’re a college student, you know that it can be tough to make ends meet. When I was a student, tuition, rent, and other living expenses added up quickly, and it left little room in my budget for anything else.
You are probably already aware of some of the more traditional jobs you can get, like working in the retail or food industry, but let’s cover some other options that you can squeeze into your downtime and give you some extra spending money.
In this blog post, we will discuss 13 different side hustles for students. So, whether you’re looking to make a little extra money or save up for a big purchase, there’s sure to be a side hustle here that’s right for you!
Top 13 Side Hustle Ideas
1) Tutoring:
If you’re good at a particular subject, tutoring can be a great way to make some extra money. Not only will you make money, but it’ll also give you a chance to refresh yourself on the material that you learned.
For instance, if you’re a premed student, then it’s a great idea to tutor 1st-year sciences, that way you’ll be simultaneously making money and studying for the MCAT. Two birds one stone!
To find these gigs check out if your school has a tutoring centre. Alternatives are posting to student groups online, or even going old school and posting up flyers with your contact info.
Typical rates:
25-60$/hour
2) Freelance Writing:
Are you a competent writer? If so, then you’re in luck! With the amount of content that’s online these days, writing is constantly being outsourced. You can make money writing articles for blogs or other websites. You can find these jobs on sites like Upwork where people will post their needs and then search through the freelancers who have applied for the job. Alternatively, on Fivver you can list your services and people can reach out directly to you.
If you’re looking to take writing a bit more seriously, then starting a blog is a great option. The one caveat is that it’ll require a huge upfront investment of time before you start to make a single dollar. But if hard work doesn’t scare you then this option could be the most lucrative, as long as you’re willing to be consistent.
This college student was able to make 5 figures per month with her blog by the time she finished her undergraduate degree. If you’re interested in checking out her blogging course you can do so here.
If this is a tempting thought, then make sure you set up a self-hosted site, because that is what will allow you to monetize it in the future through advertisem*nts. Bluehost is the company I used to host this website, and it’s definitely one of the most budget-friendly options available.
Typical Rates:
50$/article (more with experience),
unlimited with a personal blog
3) Deliver Food:
There’s a food delivery service for just about everything these days, and as a college student, you can take advantage of that! Most college towns have a high volume of food deliveries which makes this one of the perfect side hustles for students. Don’t have a car? Not a problem, chances are if you live in a big city (or college town) these companies accept people to deliver on their bikes or by walking!
The great thing about this option is you can build the hours around your schedule!
Some options include:
Typical Rates: $12-17/ hour depending on the city and # of deliveries you complete.
4) Cook Meals for Students
Alternatively, do you love to meal prep?! You’d be surprised how many college students leave for school and don’t know how to cook. So, they end up getting an overpriced meal plan or eating simple (and unhealthy) foods like ramen or KD every day. If you’ve already got meal prepping worked out then you’re ahead of the curve. Simply calculate if making bigger batches and selling them would be profitable for you!
As long as you’re a reasonable cook you should have an abundance of interested customers. Plus, this will give you the incentive to try out some new recipes! If you’re looking to cut down on waste, consider implementing a small discount for repeat customers that bring back their containers.
Typical Rates: You decide! Your hourly rate will depend on your time investment, cost of ingredients and how much you end up charging per meal.
5) Re-sell Books
If you have any old books lying around, consider re-selling them. You can advertise on school student forums or use platforms like Amazon or Kijiji.
I had one friend that took this a step further. He would just go to thrift stores on the weekend and go to the used books section. He would look to see which books were in reasonable condition, then look them up online to see their resale value using a website like Biblio.
If he could resale the books for a reasonable profit, he would buy them and list them on Amazon, with the customer paying for shipping.
Something like this is great because the time commitment is so flexible. However, it’s a lot easier to invest more time than you realize, so I’d recommend keeping track of your hours and profit margin for a month to see if this is a sustainable option for you.
Typical Rates:
2-20$/book
6) Run Errands
Whether it’s picking up groceries or running to the post office, many people need help with their errands. As a college student, you could offer this service and make some extra money on the side!
The most common application for this type of work is TaskRabbit and let me tell you there are some incredibly easy ways to make money on this platform. You can literally make money waiting in line for someone! This article also talks about 13 other applications like Task Rabbit.
Typical Rates:
20-150$ per task
7) Babysit:
Do you really enjoy being around kids? Then babysitting may be the perfect side hustle for you! You can find clients through word-of-mouth or by posting flyers around town announcing your availability for babysitting gigs! The rates will depend on the area that you live in, and it’s typical to charge more of the more children that you take care of at one time.
This is also some great job experience if you’re hoping to land a summer job as a camp counsellor.
Typical Rates
15-20$ per hour
8) Cleaning
People are always looking to pawn off tasks that they hate, and cleaning is no different! If you’re a clean freak, then this could be an easy way to earn some extra money on the side.
You can pitch your services to homeowners or businesses via flyers, e-mail or even set up a website if you’re looking to start your own business!
Alternatively, you could sign up for a gig platform like TaskRabbit which has a category for cleaning.
Typical Rates
15-25$ per hour
9) Data Entry:
Doing data entry from home is probably one of the most flexible side hustles because you can literally do it from your dorm room as long as you have a stable internet connection! To make good money it’ll require accurate and fast typing. Typically, you be paid per project rather than per hour, so the quicker you can complete the job, the more your hourly wage will be.
If this sounds like you, then here are 25 different platforms to make money online with data entry.
Typical Rates
8-30$/ hour
10) Pet Sitting or Dog Walking
This is the perfect side hustle for students that love animals.
You can find clients by using your networking skills and asking friends/family if they need help taking care of their pets, or alternatively, you can consider an application like Rover. On Rover you can offer services like:
- Dog walking: taking animals on a 30 minute-1 hour walk
- Dog daycare: caring for animals during the day while the owner is at work
- Boarding: keeping pets at your home overnight
Plus, you’ll get to spend some time with adorable furry friends which is a great way to de-stress right before those exams!
Typical Rates
15-20$ per walk
20-40$ per day boarding or doggy daycare
11) Sell Old Clothes:
If you have any clothes that are in good condition, consider selling them on sites like Poshmark or Facebook Marketplace for some extra cash! These online marketplaces make it easy to list your items and find buyers without having to worry about shipping costs and other expenses that come with running a physical store. Consider a 1-in-1 out policy, where if you buy a new item then you have to sell something you own. It’ll keep costs down and streamline your wardrobe!
12) Manage Social Media Accounts:
Do you tend to spend a ton of time on social media? How about turning that experience into a way to make money! A lot of businesses need someone to manage their social media accounts, and as a college student, you may be the perfect candidate for the job!
You can find work through sites like Upwork, Fiverr or Indeed, and it’s a great way to learn about online marketing.
Typical Rates
15-25$ per hour
13) Sell Handmade Goods:
If you’re crafty, consider selling your handmade goods online or at local craft fairs. You can find buyers on sites like Etsy and eBay, or by setting up a table at your school’s next arts and crafts fair.
RELATED POST {5 Genius Ways to Make Passive Income on Etsy}
Alternatively, if you don’t want to make physical products you can create digital assets like printables and open up an online shop.
This post was all about side hustles for students!
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