Studying at a university is a brilliant opportunity, and many college-goers claim that they are some of the best years of their lives, which will surely never come back again. You have given a lot of free time to gain unforgettable experiences, mingle with fellow students, and even explore.
However, you can enjoy this time when you have some money to spend. Along with that, student life requires you to know how to stretch a buck, and small budgets are popular among most who attend college, and extra money is always good for any emergency. Luckily, there are ways to make money as a student, providing extra spending cash and a sense of financial independence.
With that being said, you still need to concentrate your efforts on studying rather than working as studying is the important thing. Finding a money-making opportunity that accommodates this is exceptionally challenging and stressful too. Well, there’s no need to fear because mentioned below are some of the best ways for college students to make money online without having to pull their attention away from studies, giving them the freedom to earn and study simultaneously.
These money-making opportunities need to come with a disclaimer precisely. You should not expect to earn a bucket-load of money from these money-making schemes, which is most of the time scam. There are some exceptions on this list, but generally speaking, this is just reasonable money for very little effort or with little less trouble. It’s not a ‘salary’ amount. Rather these are stipends.
How Can I Earn Money While Studying?
Unlike most articles about ways to make money as a student, here is some specifically gathered information on opportunities that can be done without distracting you from your studies. We understand that most students want to earn money without sacrificing their work, which is important in today’s fast-moving world.
This makes getting a typical job that needs dedication and effort out of the question list. You are asking, “How can I earn money while studying?” Well, below are mentioned a variety of ways for college students to make money online that are not technically classified as a ‘job’.
1. Participate in online surveys
Filling out online surveys has become an increasingly popular way for students to make money in their spare time and free time. Research companies are continually looking for new members globally to test new products and answer surveys from them. This is an excellent opportunity to make money while studying, which will not even hamper the studies.
Spending a few minutes filling out a survey can earn you a few dollars with less trouble. This can either be paid out as rewards or cash, and you may be lucky enough to come across surveys that offer five dollars and even more at times. A good website to earn money through surveys is called Swag bucks.
Pros: Easy money or quick money. Cons: Higher-paying surveys are sparsely available and are not easily available.
2. Search the web
This seems impossible and difficult, right? How can you earn money from searching and surfing the internet? Well, it’s possible and one of the best ways for college students to make money online without hampering their studies. You do not need to commit any time to this money-making opportunity, and you get paid for doing what you already do in your spare time. So, how does it work, and how does one get paid?
Qmee.com created this innovative idea, and all you need to do to get earnings is install an add-on to your browser. Now you can carry on with your searches and make money while studying and searching and surfing online. You may find that there are a few results that are sponsored along with your regular search results and history.
This is a great money-making platform as you are paid in cash (no rewards), and there is no minimum cash-out amount while working with this website. Whenever you want to cash out, no matter what amount you are owed is wired into your PayPal account, and no questions are asked.
Pros: No minimum cash-out does not take time away from your work or leisure time.
Cons: Sponsored search results appear.
3. Review apps and websites
If you are pretty nifty around a web browser, which most college students are, then this is one of the best ways to make money as a student in your spare time. All you are required to do is browse and review different websites available.
This is all possible only through UserTesting.com. Reviewing a website usually takes 20 minutes and gives you $10 paid through a PayPal wallet. It is easy money if you ask us, and it fits any student’s schedule as it is less time-consuming.
Pros: Ability to earn $10 in 20 minutes only.
Cons: Can disrupt schedule if wanting to make a large sum of money as it can be time-consuming too.
4. Use “Get Paid To” sites
‘Get Paid To’ sites is another answer to the question, ‘how can I earn money while studying?’ A GPT site is similar to doing online surveys and form fill-ups. However, the difference is that you get rewarded in vouchers, or cash for completing a variety of activities, and offers online are asked to be done.
It is not limited to only completing surveys precisely, and you can also get paid for playing a game, downloading an app, and many more. The money earned through these sites is straightforward and pretty decent too for students to earn in their initial days.
Considering that you are not doing anything to earn this money, it can be regarded as one of the easiest ways for college students to make money online without hampering their studies. You are merely completing tasks you already do; why not get paid for it! Toluna is an excellent GTP site to try out at the initial step.
Pros: Easy money earned.
Cons: It takes time to accumulate decent cash from this source.
5. Sell your notes
One of the great ways to make money while studying is to sell your notes which are no longer needed. If you are one of those students who do not mind sharing their notes, this could be one of many excellent ways to make money as a student, and easy too.
Some sites provide a platform to sell your notes to the needy. All you need to do is upload your summaries and the desired price. You get paid when another student downloads it automatically.
Many sites, like Nexus Notes, are free for anyone and are genuine. However, these sites take a percentage of the money you earn from your notes’ sales as they also need to make money, and this is to cover costs such as marketing and other expenses.
You need to upload PDF, but these notes can be handwritten too. Nonetheless, you are more likely to gain an increase in downloads if you type the letters out instead, as it looks more professional.
Pros: You can make money off of work you have already done.
Cons: Not guaranteed that people will download your notes, which is important to keep in mind.
6. Sell course books
Another of the best ways to make money as a student is to buy other students’ textbooks when they are finished with them at the end of the year or session. Keep them for the new students to come and advertise these books too. Students are more inclined to buy second-hand books than new ones because new course books have a reputation for being very expensive, and not everyone can afford them.
This is a way to make money while studying, as all you need to do is advertise these books around your university, on Amazon Marketplace, or another similar place. However, it’s important to note that Amazon takes a commission on book sales as they too have expenses.
7. Rent your car parking space
A lot of student accommodation comes with a parking space too. If you do not use this parking space and live in a busy area, it’s a great chance to make money while studying and secure. Many people probably have to drive to the city center to work and pay a daily fortune for parking, which is sometimes a hefty amount too. You then have a market to rent out your parking space and earn simultaneously.
Although this may seem very strange, it is quite common, and a variety of people do it and earn quite well. You can advertise your parking space on many platforms, such as Just Park.
Pros: Passive income that does not require any work.
Cons: No guarantee that people will use the parking; hence payment is not guaranteed.
8. Become a freelance model
If you are comfortable in your body and do not mind taking off your clothes, doing life modeling may be an option for making money while studying, which is very common. All that is required of you is to sit there and let artists draw, sculpt, or paint pictures of you only. Many sites are available all over the internet which specialize in this kind of exchange.
This is a very different way to make money as a student but is a bit time-consuming too. Nonetheless, it can also be a great experience. You are in college and making many memories; this could be one of them. It could also be a great story one day and can even help you achieve great heights. You may enjoy doing life modeling, and you get to meet some cool people simultaneously and explore more.
Participating in clinical trials is also one of many great ways to make money as a student. However, be sure to understand the risks that are involved with each test and make the decision to see if the money is worthwhile or not. These can be great ways to make money while studying.
However, it’s imperative to remember that you should not do anything you are not comfortable with just for some extra cash, even if you are desperate to earn.
Pros: Very good money that’s easy to come across the way.
Cons: It May is not be something you are comfortable with doing.
9. Watch videos
This is another way to make money from doing something you already do in your normal day-to-day life and in your spare time. A variety of sites allow you to sit back, relax, and watch videos that are trying to go viral and are to hike.
Doing this can make money while studying without hampering your studies. You can put these videos on, mute them, and continue learning. Let the money roll in while you remain doing what you would already be doing, which is important too. It’s a win-win situation in every way.
Some of these videos you can watch include adverts, music videos, tutorials, and many more.
Pros: Can continue to study while earning money.
Cons: A limit is usually set on how much you can watch daily.
10. Entering contests
This comes without saying, but we are mentioning it anyway contests do not come with any guarantee of winning and earning. However, this is still a pretty good way of getting some money. If you win and are somewhat of a lucky person, then why not try luck?
What contests are worthwhile entering? The Autonomous Friend Referral Contest is an excellent one to enter and gain experience if not money.
Pros: Chance of winning a large sum of money.
Cons: There is no guarantee for money.
Making money in your college years especially living in India, is one way that enables exposure to social awareness and knowledge about working in society whilst building a street-smart personality. Being able to pay the bills with your earnings builds self-confidence and the essence of authority and financial independence. Students in this age group can be directly related to the ceramicist’s wet pottery, it gets the shape he gives, and time acts like a baking kiln which makes the changes abiding by the personal attributes of the youngster, respectively. Speaking of India, a person does not have various opportunities to make money. However, there are many ways to earn money for college in India that have not been made aware to the young generations.
Living in India, one finds earning money difficult because there’s critical pressure on one career and curriculum and hectic schedules. My personal experience holds a similar story of a hectic schedule while carving my way to earn my pocket money and managing graduation studies simultaneously. It all depends on one’s priorities and the kind of work they can do, whether the choices positively affect their living or not precisely. There are numerous questions from youngsters regarding how to earn money in college life, and there have been various written and write up regarding the same previously yet, the same does not fit in with the Indian students. So here are 9 best and proven ways for an Indian student to earn money in college life mentioned below:
Blogging and Freelancing:
One of the most commonly explained and followed ways, but usually never made properly comprehensive to the reader and the audience. When we talk about blogging, it’s acquiring a domain and writing on a specific niche only. If you can pen down your thoughts in one particular genre, this is your thing, and advertisements like Google Ad Sense can be a good way of earning money through blogging, whilst if you are just a new registration with nil followers and viewers, this will bring no help and no money. In India, most people make a mistake by considering writing articles after going through different website content regarding that topic as blogging. It takes hard work and is time-consuming for anyone to take references from far-famed websites, give a new explanation to the points they explained, and after all this, await Ad Sense approval and other similar procedures.
This usually does not work well and is declined by Google, which makes the writer quit sooner than one can think, and this is the saddest part. To have your content be treated as a quality source of information by Google, one needs to maintain ingenuity and quality. There are many things in India that other bloggers do not discuss; one can write about those issues using a personalized point of view and research in college and stand out. Talking about current matters, genuine problems of student life, a specialized research topic, and whatnot can be written about and spoken to. There is a way of expressing, wielding a phrase, and choosing the topic that interests the reader and audience. It requires patience to generate followers and viewers, respectively.
Freelancing
Freelancing is not all about writing, it includes freelancing writing as one profession. Freelancer.com is one renowned site that connects freelancers to the marketplace, where their services are required and desired. A freelancer is a self-employed worker in consulting, journalism, writing, proofreading, event planning, software designing and debugging, copywriting, photography, etc. Various online platforms support freelancing whilst one can always look for freelancing jobs in the vicinity places precisely. Elance.com is one freelancer website, and you can easily earn money from this website in India without hampering your studies.
Online Ways of Earning Money- Though earning through the internet is misunderstood by most Indian students as lame, many students have garnered hard cold cash through that legally. This can be a gig in one’s free time for some extra money in the wallet and a sense of financial independence. The Internet is the most flexible way which offers opportunities of making money that too in one’s comfort zone and free time. Following are the most common ways to earn money by merely sitting on the internet, whether on a smartphone or personal computer:
Fiverr: Fiverr is a website that pays for people to sing, write, do video making, or do any of these tasks which suit a person, and the person would be paid in the form of gigs, respectively.
Bing: Change your search engine from Google to Bing, and it will pay you for this. Surf what you wish to do just with a new search engine respectively.
eBay: eBay has been a far-famed online platform that helps its users make money by selling their junk online. One can also apply to ePN, which is similar to affiliate marketing.
Virtual assistant– Providing technical, social, administrative, and professional assistance to customers via electronic media example, mobile phones, electronic mail, and so on, is known to be virtual assistance, and one can earn a pretty good amount through this.
There are countless online ways for anyone to make money, yet they are still undiscovered and not much known in India. Neither people wish to explore.
Help the Juniors: Not just via your old notes; you can help your juniors by providing them with tutoring sessions and making money. Also, choose the online tutoring option like Preply for earning money on a subject with the number of views and downloads one gets on the videos and notes. You can give tutoring lessons on some musical instruments or dance forms. Coaching is for anyone who holds cognition about something people would be keen to learn. This is the best way to earn money. For every person, there comes a different way of coaching. One can also become a home tutor.
Part-Time Jobs: Part-time job, as already known to most, carries fewer work hours than a full-time job, so it is feasible for students. Opting for one is critical; the job one is looking for may be available in fewer options. Many college campuses are away from the city area, and hence finding an appropriate part-time job can be challenging in this case.
The shifts in a part-time job are lucid, working in shifts whilst using electronic media when they cannot be present. This is one major way of getting work experience. Many call centers appoint employees part-time, and even one can go for being a radio jockey or anything that suits his qualification and personality.
An associate used to work for a call center at night and earned 12,000 INR a month with that job. This enabled him to clear cash for himself, help his family with a little sum, and even save for an emergency.
Network Marketing: Network Marketing is somehow related to affiliate and digital marketing, a flexible way of earning money by getting more and more attention and people involved in the same field. This type of business requires a network between various people involved in the same work and profession. The low upfront investment is engaged for registration or buying certain product samples and other similar things. The criterion is to make contacts and sell the product, but some people compensate more participants to the network and get paid for it. Most of the revenue comes from recruiting new participants as well. But before joining any Referral Marketing Company, check its legal papers and working process because there are many people running fraud companies under the shed of Referral Marketing as well.
Buy something and Sell it for More: Well, this is a business itself. The student can buy and sell something with a profit margin to others. The thing can be stationary (books, pen, pencil, notebook, etc.), which is much required by the students in a hostel or campus; a food item (especially Maggi at midnight) or some en-clothe and many other things that you might feel required for the vicinity population respectively. This can be a mini business and earn a good amount if intelligently and thoughtfully persuaded and planned.
This kind of work is executed in almost every city, and we call them ‘retail shops’ in simple language.
Make Money by Helping Services: One can start Manicure and Pedicure services for the hostel mates, doing it at cheaper rates than the parlors with higher charges. This is done in mostly all hostels, especially those away from the main city, and accommodating the bulk of students respectively. Various other things can be done like laundry services for the vicinity people. If it’s not a closed campus, a person can help many people living in the locality with such services, like hauling and cab services, cleaning services, and so on. Some tasks can be done; all you need is to think of the one that suits you best and help to gain some extra money.
Begin a Start up-. This is for students who have a strong desire to enter the entrepreneurial world. One can begin a start-up of their own with a group of people or alone as well. Many students started their businesses in college and have prospered too. Depending on many factors, this can be a success or a lifetime experience. Developing an Android application is the best form that has even made people millionaires precisely. You can also begin with website development, or various programs are being held in colleges which involve interaction betwixt students and people in business, who aspire to learn about idea students, have and do pay for a good business idea whilst investing the same respectively.
The above-mentioned were various ways a student can earn while studying without hampering their education. Being financially independent is the utmost need of everyone today and is also important; therefore, everyone should look for some side income and earn a minimum amount.