Being a college student often means getting creative with Ramen noodles.
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Maybe you don’t mind, but wouldn’t it be nice to have a bit of extra cash flow?
Not everyone has the time or transportation to get to a part-time job, but luckily, it’s the 21st century and online jobs are a thing now!
Today, let’s look at some online jobs for college students to help you earn something extra so those Ramen noodle days become fewer and farther between.
10 Easy Ways for College Students to Make Money Online
How well these options will work for you depends on how much time you have on your hands between classes and studying.
But the list below contains different types of online jobs that require different levels of commitment and still pay enough that you might be able to afford that expensive textbook this semester.
1. Participate in research studies
You’re already at a place of study, furthering your knowledge and researching various topics.
So why not make use of that studious atmosphere and take part in some research studies to make a little extra cash on the side?
Many universities have their own paid research studies and you can certainly check if you can participate.
The easiest way to find them is to Google the name of your school + “research study” and you’ll find your schools clinical trials department.
To make your search a little easier, I’ve compiled a handy list of 20+ research studies you can take part in right now.
They’re all online and pay pretty well.
You won’t be able to live off of what you earn from them, of course, but it’s still a great way for college students to make money part-time.
2. Try your hand at search engine evaluation
For most students, using search engines like Google is second nature by now.
You could probably do it in your sleep.
Fortunately, there are companies that pay for people to use search engines.
Search engines are marvels at quickly finding what we want to know, but they don’t always show perfect search results.
This is why search evaluators are hired—to use certain search terms and evaluate the results or sometimes the ads that show up (because these ads use search keywords as well).
Being a search evaluator is probably one of the best online jobs for college students there are.
It doesn’t take up much time and doesn’t require too much brainpower that it distracts from schoolwork and exams.
Companies usually hire search evaluators and send them guidelines and search terms on a per-project basis. But you won’t have to work more than a couple of hours a week at most, though some companies allow up to 30 hours a week on big projects.
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To find online search evaluator jobs, look at companies like Appen.
Check our full list of search engine evaluator jobs here.
3. Earn side cash by answering questions
If you’ve been at college for any amount of time, then you’ve probably already filled out a survey or two.
Knowledge is power, as they say, but you don’t have to give up your precious time for nothing in return.
Plenty of at-home jobs for college students involve answering surveys as it’s an easy way to make some cash on the side.
There are lots of companies out there that want people to answer surveys on a range of topics, and they’re not hard to find.
In fact, here are a few companies willing to pay for your answers right now.
Just make sure of one thing: that you fit the demographic they need before answering a survey, or it’s likely you won’t get paid or even get blacklisted from the site.
4. Fit in a microjob between classes
Sometimes there’s just no time to fit in a part-time job into your already-busy schedule.
Microjobs, however, can fit nicely into even the busiest of schedules, making it the perfect option for the student who doesn’t have any time.
The great thing about microjobs is that you can usually do them anytime, from anywhere.
If you have some time to spare between classes or during lunch, then you can just log in with your phone and get a few microjobs done.
Companies like Amazon MTurk hire people for jobs like transcribing short texts or audio files, identifying figures in photos, and taking surveys, amongst other things.
You probably won’t earn much in the beginning, but you can work your way up on the website or app you chose and start earning more for more complicated jobs. Or you can stick to the less taxing ones if that’s all you have time and energy for.
It’s an extremely flexible way of making extra income.
5. Become a call reviewer
If you’ve ever had to call customer service or received a phone call from a call center, then you’re familiar with that ‘this call is being recorded’ line.
You might be surprised to hear that companies are serious about that statement and they do take the time to go through recorded calls and review them.
Humanatic is one of the companies that hire people like college students to listen to and review calls.
The job is pretty simple, and all you need to do is listen to a call and tag it according to the criteria they set out.
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There’s also the opportunity to grow and take on more work (and more pay!) if you do well.
6. Proofread other’s work
As a student, you’ve no doubt become extremely proficient in proofreading your own work.
You’ve probably read a friend’s paper to two as well.
Well, online proofreading jobs are plentiful and all you have to do is apply.
Here are 47 different online proofreading jobs ready to go for you.
7. Put your research skills to use
You aren’t wasting time by building up your academic skills.
They can come in handy for earning an income, even if it doesn’t seem apparent when you’re busy raiding the library or deep diving on the internet for info on some obscure data.
Companies like Wonder are hiring analysts to research various topics for them.
Lots of the projects you get to work on will be for brands who need to find out more about whichever industry they are in. But there are fun projects too, like looking up locations and setting up an itinerary for a group outing or finding the best product in a certain category.
You’ll get to work with statistics, market research, and lots of data on current trends.
This is a great way to use the skills you have picked up in college and develop them even further while getting paid for it.
Here are a few companies currently hiring online researchers.
8. Work for Apple
If you’re a huge fan of Apple products, enrolled in classes at a participating university, and have a cumulative GPA of 2.7 or higher, working for Apple may be a dream come true for you.
Apple Support College Advisors help Apple customers by answering questions about Apple products and services, troubleshooting their devices, and connecting them to further help if it can’t be resolved in one phone, chat, or text session.
You’ll undergo nine weeks of paid training, be given your own iMac and headset to be used exclusively for your work as an Advisor, and get to work from home while accommodating your class schedule and academic load.
Unfortunately, students living in college dormitories are not currently eligible to participate, as your working environment has to be private, quiet, and as free of ambient noise as possible.
This might be one of the best online jobs for college students; not only do they accommodate your class schedule but you now have a jumping-off point for a job after graduation and possibly even a career beyond that.
9. Transcribe audio or video into text
As a college student, your spelling and grammar, as well as your typing skills, should be a cut above the general population.
Generally, transcription companies look for part-time to full-time workers, but there are others where you don’t have a schedule; simply log in and work whenever you have time.
Check out our list of online transcription jobs and see which ones may be a good fit for you.
10. Be social
You’re probably already on social media during your downtime (or, let’s face it, during a boring class or two).
Why not channel this social media time into something productive?
Because their consumers are almost definitely on social media, businesses are always looking to reach this audience and are therefore willing to hire social media managers who know how to engage their target audience on social media.
You might not be eligible to be a social media manager (you’d normally have to already have your bachelor’s degree), but you can run social media marketing campaigns for local businesses and organizations.
Go over these social media jobs to have an idea of what’s expected from someone who works with social media.
The Bottom Line
The lure of making extra cash on the side is strong, but don’t rush into anything.
Take your time to find the right fit for you. Worrying about exams and group projects is hard enough without adding a taxing job into the mix.
If none of the jobs on this list fits your time or skills, then don’t worry. There are still plenty of easy online jobs for college students out there.
In fact, one of the easiest online jobs for college students isn’t really a job at all. A person doesn’t have to do any major hard work with the internet only a click away. Some companies will pay you to simply download an app or shop online.
Granted, these are usually once-off payments.
But if you string enough of them together, then you can make a good bit of cash in a short amount of time.
If you’re looking for a side hustle that’s more long-term, though, then have a look at these 100 ways to make money online.
