Online Jobs For College Students: 17 Best Ways To Make Money While In College

Online jobs for college students are neither new or rare these days. Everyone who is struggling to make money for a living while being in college can now work right from home and get a stable and even high income.

If you are wondering what options are open for you and how to start a career online, this article will be your guide. Read on to learn about some of the best online jobs for college students!

Work From Home Jobs For College Students: Pros And Cons

Freelance and online jobs have been trending recently. Every year, more and more people switch to working from the comfort of their home instead of sitting fixed hours at crowded offices.

Over the past 12 years, the growth in remote work constitutes 159%. And over the past five years, the popularity of such jobs grew by 44%. It is fair to assume that the constant growth in the number of people who work from home is due to the benefits offered by this type of job.

Indeed, finding an online job can have many advantages. But, at the same time, working remotely also has its cons. Thus, before we move on to the list of best work at home jobs for college students, let’s take a moment here to define the main pros and cons:

Pros:

• Time economy. First things first, compared to regular jobs, online ones give you a significant time economy. You don’t need to waste time getting ready before work. Also, you save time on transportation. Eventually, you can spend the saved time on other things that matter.
• Cost efficiency. Another significant benefit is the lack of extra expenses. When you have a regular job, you always have to spend extra on different things such as transportation, morning coffee, lunch, etc. But, when you work from home, you can save lots of money on these seemingly small things.
• Flexibility. Needless to say that combining work with studies is not easy. But, when it comes to remote jobs, things get a bit easier because you have the flexibility you can’t have at a regular job. By “flexibility” we mean a possibility to define your own workload, working hours, and weekends. And you will also have the ability to work anytime and from anywhere. This is a significant benefit, especially for college students!
• A great way to make some money. Whether you opt for a stable remote position or decide to stick to online part-time jobs for college students, it is still an excellent opportunity to make money for a living.
• A good head start for your future career. Finally, the last huge benefit of having a remote job while being in college is the possibility to start your career early. Even if you are not planning to work online in the future, you can at least use it as a chance to gain the necessary skills and experience to be a demanded specialist in the future!

Cons:

• Distractions. When you are at a traditional workplace, you typically have no or very few distractions, which cannot be said about your home. Working from home, you will face a wide range of distractions that are hard to ignore. Thus, if you lack self-discipline, it can be easy to fail.
• Hard to stay productive. At the same time, working from home, many people will find it hard to concentrate and be productive. As a result, come missed deadlines and poor performance, which can lead to failure. Thus, it will rather hard to get used to working from home if you don’t have strong time-management skills.
• Lack of networking. Finally, probably the biggest disadvantage of working from home rather than at the office is that you will miss out on plenty of networking opportunities. Some people may feel bored and lonely, not being able to communicate with colleagues.

These are only a few of the many pros and cons of freelance jobs for students. Yet, these should give you a good idea of whether working online is the right option for you. And, if it is, keep on reading to learn about the best available options.

Best Online Jobs For Students

If you are up for the challenge but don’t know where to start, here is a comprehensive guide on the best work from home college students jobs:

Online Tutor

One of the many available options is the job of an online tutor. An average salary for this position is between $13 and $25 per hour. This job implies conducting online teaching sessions to other people, so it requires having a solid knowledge of one or several subjects.

How to get a job? Either search for available options offered by educational platforms or offer your services as an independent tutor.

Resume Writer

Another interesting option is a freelance resume writer. Such specialists earn on average $40,000 a year. To get started, you need to possess strong writing and proofreading skills. Also, be sure to master effective resume writing techniques to make sure you can provide high-quality services.

Freelance Writer

Have you always been keen on writing? Then this is the right option for you! A freelance writer is one of the best online jobs for college students. Freelance writers typically make about $26 per hour. And the best part about it is that there is so many options out there, so everyone can find something that suits him. To get started, begin with searching for your first order on one of the freelance platforms like Fiverr or Upwork.

Freelance Editor

If you are not that much into writing but have an eye for detail, then you can try to become a freelance editor. According to ZipRecruiter, the average salary of a freelance editor is almost $70,000.

To get started, you can either search for orders on freelance platforms or send your resume to a specialized editing service.

Translator

If you know multiple languages, this is the right option for you. Online translators can make about $70,000 a year. The easiest way to get started is to send a CV to a translating agency or search for jobs at freelance. If you decide to stick with freelance, check out job entries at Fiverr, Upwork, Freelancer, and TheBalanceCareers.

Transcriptionist

A transcriptionist is one of the easy jobs for college students. All it takes is transcribing audio and video materials into a text. On average, you can earn about $15 as an entry-level transcriptionist, whereas advanced specialists can get between $25 and $30 an hour. Search for such jobs at freelance platforms.

Video Captioning

Video captioners make money for writing captions for videos. This is quite an easy job, which makes it great for college students. As a video captioner, you will likely get paid for minutes of video. The pay can range between $0.45 to $0.80 per minute.

Voiceover

Among all jobs for college students online, voiceover is one of the most exciting ones. It implies recording your voice for various videos. Not only it is fun, it can also bring you an income of $20 to hundreds of dollars per hour. To get started, search for jobs on Fiverr or Snap Recordings – these two platforms seem to offer the biggest number of projects for freelance voiceover artists.

Video editing

If you have a video editing skill or are willing to acquire it, then this job is for you! Video editing can be a rather creative and fun thing to do for a living. Besides, it pays well. On average, freelance video editors can make about $50,000 a year.

Photography

If you are looking for a fun job for college student, this may be the right option. There are plenty of opportunities for photographers online. You can fulfill specific orders or just sell your favorite pictures on stock websites. The average pay for online photography jobs is $65,760. To get started you will need a camera and some inspiration to create your portfolio.

Niche blogger

Blogging is a rather large and well-paid industry today. Thus, if you feel like you have something to share with a wide audience, try launching your own blog. Start by creating a free blog with WordPress, and if you’ll be consistent and hardworking you can start monetizing your blog and making about $3-$4K a month or even more!

Social Media Marketer

If you are wondering how to make money online as a college student, start with the obvious! We bet that each of you spends lots of time on social media and most know pretty well the principles of their work. Use this knowledge to your benefit and become a social media marketer. The average salary for such jobs is between $50,000 and $70,000.

Data Entry Clerk

Data entry clerk is among good jobs for college students due to its pretty high demand, solid compensation, and simplicity. In a nutshell, the main responsibility of a data entry clerk is to maintain the assigned database by entering the needed data into it. Quite simple, right? At the same time, the average pay for such an easy job is $13.52, which is not too bad. 

Freelance Graphic Designer

If you are a creative person, try becoming a graphic designer. This job is pretty demanded today. Aspiring graphic designers can earn about $43,317 a year. However, unlike many other jobs on this list, becoming a graphic designer requires larger investments of time and money. To get started, you will need to learn the basics of graphic design and also buy all the necessary equipment, which can be rather expensive.

Virtual Assistant

Virtual assistants can perform a variety of different tasks and make between $3 to $60 an hour. This is also a nice option for young people. However, we recommend considering this option as one of the online summer jobs for college students. Being a virtual assistant pays well, but can take too much time and leave you no time for studying.

Freelance Web Developer

The average salary of a freelance web developer is $75,430. This is a very high-paying and creative job that can be an excellent start of your career. To get such a job you must master web development and create a solid portfolio. Then, you can either join an online agency or search for independent orders on freelance websites.

Influencer

Influencers can earn as much as $100,000 a year and get plenty of other benefits, which makes it a good online job for students. To get started you need to make your social media accounts noticed and popular. Then, having many subscribers you can monetize your accounts by selling advertising services to businesses.

Online Part-Time Jobs For Students Vs. Full-Time

When you have a complete list of options, the last thing to decide on is whether you want to work full-time or part-time.

Although it can feel like full-time positions are more stable and well-paid, that’s not always true. When making this decision, keep in mind that online jobs for college students part-time offer many more benefits than full-time positions. Here are the key reasons to opt for a part-time online job:

• Wider job opportunities. Whereas not every company is ready to higher a full-time remote employee, quite many of them are willing to hire a part-time executor. This is mostly because companies have fewer expenses related to their part-time workers.
• Entry-level opportunities. While you are still at college and don’t have previous working experience, it can be rather hard to land a good full-time job. However, part-time positions and one-time projects often include plenty of easy online jobs for college students. This makes it easier to land your first job and gain experience.
• Increased free time for studying, rest, and other activities. Online part-time jobs are either result-oriented (meaning that you can work however and wherever you like as long as you perform tasks and meet deadlines) or require you to work only a few hours a day. This can be very convenient for college students. This way you can have plenty of time for studies and other things.
• Lower stress levels and overall better health. Lower responsibility and fewer working hours reduce stress. Thus, your first working experience can be more relaxed and free of extra pressure. Respectively, this will have a positive effect on your overall health.
• More earning opportunities. Finally, when you decide to opt for part-time online jobs for college students, you also get the possibility to combine two or more jobs and make more money. 

The Effects Of COVID-19 On Remote Working

We’ve already mentioned that the popularity of remote work has been growing rapidly over the past decade. Apart from this, it is worth noting that the percentage of people working from home has grown even more over this year due to the global outbreak of COVID-19.

2020 can officially be called a global-wide work-from-home experiment. Facing toughened pandemic measures, companies across the world were left with a bleak set of options. Businesses could either shut down and face a complete collapse, continue operating but put the entire staff at risk, or switch to remote working. This situation led to unprecedented growth in online working.

The global pandemic expanded the market of online jobs. Currently, the number of options is high as never, which makes the range of available online jobs from home for students even broader.

At the same time, COVID-19 reshaped the entire industry of remote working, making it not only more widespread, but also more accessible, comfortable, and stable than ever.

Finally, speaking about the effects of COVID-19 at online jobs, it is worth noting that more and more people are changing their attitude towards working from home. Specialists predict that remote working is already becoming a new norm.

How To Combine Studies With Work Effectively?

The 21st century and the Internet offer young people a variety of exciting opportunities. Today, every college student can start a career and make money, while still studying. And the best part of it is that you can do this without leaving the comfort of your own home!

But, there is no need to sugarcoat it – combining studies with online student jobs is easier compared to regular work, but is still hard. Striving to make money for a living, many students lack time for studying. As a result, they end up with poor academic performance and a huge knowledge gap compared to their peers. Yet, there is a way to make things easier. If you missed out on a part of the academic program, hire a professional tutor from our service and we will help you fill in the gap and boost your performance!