5 Creative Ways for College Students to Make Money

Since I’ve been in college, I’ve always had at least two part-time jobs and more than one side hustle at a time. That includes my time in pharmacy school, which is crazy! I worked anywhere from 20 to 30 hours a week between my two part-time jobs and the hours spent on my side hustles varied between week to week. College is expensive and for me, I didn’t have a choice of not working through school.

But when you’re in college, time is precious, and you have to work smarter, not harder to get everything that you want. I have not done every side hustle on this list, but I have tried a few that have helped me make money on the side. Most of them also work around your schedule and you end up having a lot of freedom to do as you wish.

Sell Your Old Clothes on Poshmark

Poshmark is my tried and true way of making money in college. I get to clean out my closet and make some money off of the pieces that are collecting dust in my closet. What’s not to lose? Poshmark is an app that is used by millions of users in the US to buy or sell used or new clothing, shoes, and accessories. All that you have to do is sign up for an account, take pictures of the item that you want to sell, post the item to the app, and voila! You’re on your way to your first sale.

Now in reality, there’s a little more skill set involved to make a ton of money on Poshmark, which I outlined in more detail in this blog post. But the great thing about Poshmark is that it doesn’t take a lot of effort to get started or to maintain. So far, I’ve made over $2,000 on Poshmark with my guide, which is insane for a college student!

What I like to do is every few months, I try on everything in my closet and see what pieces that either no longer fit me or haven’t been worn in that time frame. Whatever doesn’t make the “keep” pile gets uploaded to Poshmark to hopefully sell for profit. This way I keep a clean closet and a steady supply of pieces to sell in my Poshmark closet. When you sign up for Poshmark, use the invite code “SNOWBALLIN” to earn $5 off your first order!

Dogsit or Dogwalk on Rover

My second favorite way to make money in college is by dog sitting and dog walking in my area. I used to use the Rover app a lot more often before I rescued my own dog in college, and it’s super simple to get started. I have another post that outlines in more detail how to get started so check it out. But basically, Rover is an app that is used by thousands of people in the US to buy and sell pet services. It’s basically way for people to find dog sitters and dog walkers in their neighborhood the modern way. You won’t need to make paper flyers and to pass them around to your neighbors for this gig!

To get started, simply make an account, complete a background check and an informational course, and boom! You’re ready to start walking. Now I do recommend getting friends and family to write testimonies, at the beginning, for you that way people can read about your abilities and skillsets before booking you for the first time.

In the Rover app or website, you get the option to choose your availability, your dog or cat preferences, and type of services that you’re going to be offering. You can offer more than one type of services and can choose your own rates for each service but make them competitive to be booked more regularly. Use the code “MAKAELA20” to get $20 off your first booking or first gig on Rover!

Start a Money-Making Blog

While starting a blog is definitely not a get-rich quick scheme, it’s a great way to make some extra money if you’re willing to put the time and effort into it. Most bloggers make the majority of their income from sponsored posts, affiliate links, and by selling their own products. For me, blogging has allowed me to cut back some of my hours at work and meet some really dope people in the field.

For those that are interested in learning more about how to start a blog and some other blogging tips, then check out these posts below for more details:

Become a Human Guinea Pig

You’d be surprised about how much money you can make by being a human guinea pig for a research project in your area. No seriously! I’ve only done low ball research studies for organizations on campus that paid $25-50 per study, but there are bigger studies out there that’ll pay you $500 and up for being a human guinea pig. One of my friends from pharmacy school got paid $600 to be a part of a sleep study, and she was able to sleep at home in her own bed!

At any given time, there are multiple medical research studies happening around the US, and they are always looking for participants to get involved. You do not have to be sick or have a specific illness to get started or to earn money from this gig. All research projects require a baseline group to use against the actual sick participants, which means anyone can get involved! The pay for the studies and the requirement levels depends on what type of research the company is doing, how invasive the study is, and the time commitment required.

These are the best resources to look for research opportunities in your area:

ClinicalTrials.gov
Local Clinics, Universities, or Research Hospitals
Covance Clinical Trails

Become a Virtual Assistant

If you are professional, organized, and have great time management skills, then becoming a virtual assistant would be the perfect side hustle for you! Virtual assistants help bloggers, artists, and other professional people with any tasks that they simply don’t have time for. It could be as simple as answering emails and making phone calls to more complex tasks, like graphic designs or writing blog posts.

When you’re looking up job opportunities, look for the ones that say remote location. This way you can find gigs that allow you to work from home. Some virtual assistant jobs will require you to be available at certain times of the day while others will let you work whenever you’re free. Before applying for a position, make sure you read the fine details to make sure you know what you’re getting yourself into and what the client is expecting from you before you begin your new gig as a VA.

Interested in becoming a Virtual Assistant? Check out these links to get started:

Do you have any tips on how to make money quickly as a college student? Leave them in the comments below so that we can all stop being “broke college students”!