Freelancing is one of the best jobs for students because you choose what service you want to provide, which clients you want to work with and you make your own schedule. Here is a list of freelance jobs for college students that you can start today.
1. Social Media Manager
Are you on Social Media? You’d be amazed at how many small businesses in your area do not utilize this for their business.They would love to have a young student who is active on Social Media to post on their behalf.
How much can you earn? You could make anywhere from $1,000-$10,000 per month depending on how many clients you have.
There are many Social Media schedulers out there that you can use so you’ll only need to work a couple of hours and can sit back and collect your check (while focusing on schoolwork of course).
How to get started: See how Annelise Pickett manages social media accounts here and how you can too.
2. Virtual Assistant
I worked as an assistant for the Journalism department in college, but I could’ve easily done what I did from the comfort of my own dorm.A virtual assistant is anyone that offers services virtually as a contractor or self-employed individual to clients.
Services can include email management, content creation, bookkeeping, graphic design, social media, and more!
How much can I make? You can earn $25-$100 an hour as a Virtual Assistant.
How do I get started? I interviewed Gina Horkey who is a six-figure Virtual Assistant and she shares exactly how you can get started as a Virtual Assistant. You can check out my interview with Gina here.
3. Proofreader
Do you find yourself easily catching errors when reading? Do you cringe when you see grammar mistakes? If that’s you, you would make a great proofreader.Proofreaders are NEEDED! I know, because I use one myself.
How much can I earn? Caitlin Pyle made $43,000 a year proofreading part-time in COLLEGE! You’ll have to check out her interview in my article on How to Become a Proofreader.
How to get started: If you want to learn the skills needed to start your own freelance proofreading hustle or see if this is the right career for you, check out this FREE introductory workshop.
4. Graphic Designer
Do you have an eye for design and experience in Adobe Creative Suite/Adobe Creative Cloud – including InDesign, Illustrator, or Photoshop? If you do, there is a profitable market out there for you.If you don’t, all you need is a desire to learn. You can check out this highly recommended course Learn Photoshop, Web Design & Profitable Freelancing to teach you the ins and outs.
I know, not another class but this may allow you to make money sooner before you graduate.
How much can I make? You can charge $25-$300 per hour, depending on your experience.
How do I get started: Promote your services to your social network and create a website showcasing your services and work. The more people see your work the more they will be reminded of you when a project/need comes up.
Related: How to Make Money Fast as A Kid
5. Web Designer
I recommend starting a website now even if it’s just for fun because this is an excellent way to make A LOT of money and age does not matter. You just need to know what to do.You could be a front-end developer like I, which basically means I buy a theme like this website template (this is the template of the website we’re on right now) and I customize it to my liking. I’m COMPLETELY self-taught aka I Google everything.
When it comes to building a website people think it’s really hard and they would rather pay someone else to do it than do it themselves, and that’s where you would come in.
I volunteered to do my church website because I wanted the experience. I knew nothing about starting a website or the complicated backend stuff, which is okay because all premium themes come with backend developer support so you won’t need to learn that AND you get to ask them for help on the front-end stuff.
Doing my church website was a huge learning curve but so valuable, I learned A LOT. After learning how to create my church website and also the website we’re on right now, I became really good at it.
I charged $800 for doing a friend’s website, and now any other site I do will be $1,000 or more. I could do a website in a day or two if I know what the client wants on the site.
I wrote a step-by-step guide on how to start a WordPress website that can help you get started.
Related: 15 Best Paying Jobs for Teens
6. Start a Blog
Blogging is a GREAT online job for students to make money because a lot of it is passive income. I make money from ads that come up when people are reading my posts.I can assure you, I did not write this article today and yet it’s making me money.
When you get a nice amount of people reading your articles it brings in a nice income. Here’s a screenshot of my earnings from the other day.
I made $400 in one day just from ads, and I also make a lot of money in Affiliate sales. You can see how I make money blogging.
You DO NOT need to be an excellent writer to become a blogger, you just write like you talk.
To make money blogging you’ll need to be able to help someone and give valuable information that people are looking for, I talk a lot about how it all works in this article about consistent income from blogging.
I spent a lot of time working on my blog the first year while pregnant with a full-time job, busy toddler, and husband. So if I can do it, you definitely can.
Now I work VERY part-time on my blog (Currently 15 months in) and I’m making more money than when I was at my corporate job.
If you want to start a blog, I’ve detailed all the steps in my How to Start a WordPress Blog article from scratch! I also mention the most popular niches that make the most money and get the most traffic.
7. Freelance Writer
Not interested in starting a blog but like to write? You should consider becoming a Freelance Writer.You can make a lot of money as a writer, I know because I interviewed Holly Johnson who makes OVER $200,000 a year as a Freelance Writer.
Holly Johnson found the secret sauce when it comes to writing and charging the right rate for your work. She created a free introductory training on how to build a six-figure writing career if you want to check it out.
How to get started: I highly recommend taking Holly’s course if you want to work from home writing and follow her path to success. I also have a number of ways to get writing gigs at the end of this article.
8. Video Editor
Do you like to make videos? Have you played around and edited some Youtube or Instagram videos before? If this is something you enjoy you could make an excellent income as a Video Editor.EVERYTHING has gone digital and yet there are still so many people who have no clue how to edit videos, including me.
I’m in a lot of Facebook Blogging groups and people are always asking if anyone knows anyone who can edit videos for them and they are willing to pay a hefty price, especially if you can create cool engaging videos and graphics for YouTube videos.
How Much Can You Earn? You could easily charge $75-$150 per hour.
How to Get Started? Practice is really the best way to get started and taking a course to learn the ins and outs. Here’s the #1 best-selling Video Editing course on Udemy and it’s affordable!
Related: 19 Part-Time Jobs from Home
9. Start a YouTube Channel
I normally wouldn’t offer this advice but I recently interviewed Nate O’Brien who started his YouTube channel in college and earns 5-figures PER MONTH!!!You can check out the full interview with Nate here and how to start a YouTube channel for beginners.
This article details everything you’ll need to know to get started.
10. Transcribe
Type what you hear (recordings), that’s what a transcriber does. If you can type fast, this may be an ideal job for you.How much can you earn? You can make $7-$21 per hour with the companies hiring for transcribing here or more if you build your own business.
How to get started: Consider a side hustle in Transcription with this Free Mini-Course
11. Sell Products Online
12. Create Printables and Sell on Etsy
This is a good job for college students because you make a printable ONCE and can earn money from it over and over and over again.It’s a great form of passive income that will allow you to make money while you focus on school work.
How much can I earn? Expect to earn $500-$1,000+ per month doing this PASSIVELY.
How to get started: Check out my interview with two women who do this successfully and how we can do it in my article How to Make Money Selling Printables on Etsy.
13. Sell on Amazon (FBA program)
If you like shopping and searching for a good deal, you should definitely consider Amazon’s FBA program.You find good deals on products at brick and mortar stores or online and resell them on Amazon for a higher price. You profit off of the difference.
Amazon’s FBA program makes it possible for you to sell on the platform while in school because they take care of shipping it to the customer and any customer service issues.
How much can I earn? This varies significantly but I interviewed Jessica who earns $5,000/mo. working only 10 hours a week.
How to get started: I recommend taking this FREE 7 Day Email Course Jessica created and our interview on How to Sell on Amazon
My sister took her course and earns over $2,000 per month on the side while working a full-time job, so I know this is real.
14. Flip Items from Flea Markets and Thrift Shops
Rob from the Flea Market Flipper is the MASTER flipper. He made over $130,000 flipping items from Flea Markets and thrift stores PART-TIME, mostly on eBay.And, you don’t need to have a lot of money to start either. Rob recommends his students start with a budget of $20-$50 to find items. Based on that, they should be able to make $100-$300 (mostly reselling on eBay) and then take some of the profit and do it again.
How do I get started? Rob created a free workshop to turn your passion for visiting thrift stores, yard sales, & flea markets into a profitable reselling business – in as little as 14 days. You can click here to sign up for his free workshop.
15. Create an Online Store with Drop Shipping
Drop shipping is a method where you can sell third-party products from a Drop Shipping Company without ever seeing or shipping the item. When you make a sale, the product is shipped directly to the customer from the drop shipper.Your profit is the difference between what you charge your customers and what the drop shipping company charges you.
Theo McArthur has great success with drop shipping and created a drop shipping course that teaches you how to launch your first profitable Dropship Website in 14 Days or less and grow your Income to $10,000 per month in profits.
