Looking for an online job for college students?
These full time/side gigs pay well and have very flexible hours, so you can still focus on your education.
Best Online Jobs for College Students
Here are some of the best job ideas for college students:
1. User testing.
User-testing is a research conducted by firms to improve their customer experience.
Businesses are willing to shell out quite a few bucks to understand if their product/service effectively satisfies the customer demand before officially introducing it in the market.
You can register yourself as a user tester and pick up projects through these Web sites:
2. Online tutoring.
If you were the go-to person in college for doubt-clearing, you might have an excellent side-career as a tutor.
Due to the competition level, tutors are high in demand for STEM subjects.
Subject knowledge, a desire to teach and working internet connection is all you need to establish yourself as a tutor.
Here are a few sites that can help you set-up your online tutoring career:
3. Watching Videos.
Many of you have come here by searching “how to make extra money fast.” Well, here you go. This has got to be one of the fastest and most legitimate ways to make money online. You can actually get paid to watch movie previews, celebrity videos, news and all sorts of other videos.
You can sign up for sites like Swagbucks and Survey Junkie that will pay you to watch certain videos. They will tell you how many minutes you need to watch the video for and you might also be asked to like the video.
While you not going to make a career out of it, it’s very easy money for pressing a few buttons on your phone in your free time. There really is no limit when it comes to the question of how to make money online. You can make around $500 a month by spending 15 minutes a day on surveys.
4. Translator.
The current market size of the global languages industry is around $40 billion and it is expected to keep growing cumulatively every year.
The best part is, although there are various translation-related applications, automated translation is not considered to be completely reliable by publishers. There is a continued demand for translators especially in the areas of website translation, transcripts, and foreign language education.
Here is a list of the most in-demand translation languages:
- Chinese
- Spanish
- Japanese
- Portuguese
- German
- Arabic
- French
- Russian
- Korean
- Swedish best side hustles
Here are a few resources that can help you transition into a translator:
5. Referral Programs.
According to research by the referral site ReferralWallet.com, people are 4 times more likely to buy a product/service when it is referred by a friend.
Now, that is a statistic that companies like and this is precisely why companies across all sectors and sizes have been implementing referral programs.
From an organization’s perspective, the ROI of referral programs is lucrative and hence they are willing to invest in a decent incentive plan for the referring sources.
Here are a few resources that will help you to make money out of referral programs:
6. Stock Photography.
The growth of E-commerce and E-learning industries has been a catalyst in the transition of photography from a hobby occupation to an off-beat profession.
Almost every company has an account on stock photography sites like shutter-stock, Getty images, etc. to fulfill their imaging needs. There is a high demand for HD images to support E-commerce products, blog posts, articles, and E-learning modules.
If you have always pursued photography as a hobby, maybe it is time to start thinking about it commercially. best side hustles
Here are a few sites where you can sell your photos online:
- Stock Photography Sites To Sell Your Photos
- Sell Your Photos Online
- 13 Places To Sell Your Photos Online
In case you are thinking about how to go about it, these resources might help you:
7. Online Editor.
Believe it or not, companies and people are willing to pay huge bucks for proof-reading and editing reports, proposals, advertising copies, and other such documents.
In fact, certain freelance proof-reading is known to pay $17 per hour!
If you happen to have a background in human resources, you have an added leverage.
You can take up resume and cover-letter editing projects as there is a huge job-seekers’ market out there.
8. Affiliate Marketing.
If you already have a blog or website you probably have heard about affiliate marketing. You can make money by referring website your visitors and readers to buy products online and earn a small commission on each sale.
This can make you rich, as some bloggers make over $5,000 monthly just through affiliate marketing.
If you wanted to take a stab at affiliate marketing for your website/blog I would recommend the MaxBounty Affiliate Program and Share a Sale.
A perfect way to add affiliate links to your blog or website that doesn't look spammy.
6. Write Articles.
We know that content is king. Companies are investing in the production industry-specific content. Writing is one of the easiest ways to make money online from the comfort of your own home.
You won’t even need to change out of your PJ’s for this one!
Heck, you don’t even need to be a published author or experienced journalist. As long as you can write clearly and concisely, then there’ll be a writing gig for you.
But what should you be writing about? And who will pay for you? Good questions. Give these sites a look:
7. Online Freelancing.
Odds are that you have some sort of talent, from programming, writing, designing, or great customer service skills.
Websites like UpWork allow you to find rewarding projects that pay! You have the freedom to work on idea projects from a wide variety and pay highly.
The more projects you work on, the more money you will gain and it is a great side hustle. Search here to see all job categories and find available projects.
You should also utilize social media to find gigs, which can play an important role in your online marketing strategy to find jobs.
8. Flipping Items.
Do you have old textbooks from college lying around? You should consider selling them on Amazon or check out our post on the best places to sell textbooks.
In addition to textbooks, you can probably sell old books, DVDs, cell phones, or other electronics you may have lying around. You would be surprised how much you can get for your unwanted items.
9. File Top Class Actions.
If you use a product that’s involved in a top class-action lawsuit, a little online legwork could get you a cash payout.
The rules of each settlement are different, but in most cases, you’ll have to provide proof of purchase or product use, like a serial number or a receipt.
Once you fill out your online claim form, you may have to wait a few weeks or months before receiving your payment.
10. Sell on eBay.
Selling your unwanted items around your household on eBay is a good way to declutter and earn side income.
I've been using eBay for about 7 years now and it is very easy to sell things around your home that you no longer use or find items that you can purchase for cheap and then flip them on eBay for a profit.
One man actually made $1,1379.79 one month by flipping iPhones. Just make sure that you keep the fees into consideration.
11. Flipping Domains/Websites.
I recently read an interview with a man who makes his money by investing in websites. Here's a snippet from the interview when they asked him “How can you make money investing in websites rather than build your own?”
“Why not save the initial capital investment, and just build your own from scratch? One word: Time. Our most valuable resource, which many of us seemingly don’t show it the respect it deserves.
Skip the dull process of waiting months to earn your first dollar building up a website from scratch. Throw yourself in the deep end, lay down an initial investment, show your commitment to the journey, and watch the learning curve reduce exponentially.”
You can find reputable sites to buy on Flippa and Empire Flippers.
12. E-Book Publishing.
The digital revolution has arrived and with it the ability to self-publish your own book.
Sure, we all lament the loss of the physical book, but Amazon’s Kindle bookstore makes it easy for just about anyone to publish their very own e-Book. Whether it’s a work of fiction, nonfiction, or science fiction. Maybe even just a helpful guide on a topic you’re familiar with?
With Amazon’s Direct Publishing platform, you no longer need a publisher. Simply get yourself up to speed on the process, write something unique on an interesting topic, throw an enticing cover on the front and hit Publish.
With the power of one of the world’s largest online retailers behind you, there’s no reason why you can’t succeed!
13. Get Paid To Browse Web.
You already browse the web, right? So why not get paid to do so! In fact, this is one of the easiest ways to make a dime online.
Simply install the Qmee browser add-on, and you’re set!
When you search online, you’ll notice the odd sponsored result featured alongside regular search results. Each of these will offer a cash reward that you simply have to click to collect.
Told you it was easy to make money from home without any investment!
14. Become a Click Worker.
Sites like Amazon’s Mechanical Turk and Clickworker take mindless clicking and incentivize it with, you guessed it, cold hard cash.
These sites work like any other crowd-sourcing site, only instead of raising funds they ask you to take up jobs from businesses in need of a whole lot of people to complete a task, and quick!
Sure, the tasks aren’t all that glamorous. But if you’re happy to enter some data, fill in a few forms, or carry out web searches, there’s good money to be made for the work you do.
15. Rate Music.
Money, money, money…must be funny…or sad, or serious, or just plain bad.
ABBA puns aside, if you enjoy talking about music as you do listening to it, then there’s a place out there that’s willing to pay you for them.
SliceThePie is the name and paying you to review unsigned bands or live acts is their game. The more reviews you leave, the higher your reputation will grow, and the more money you’ll stand to make. You’ll have more than $20 in your pocket in no time.
16. Technical Online Worker.
Are you the tech expert in the family? People always bugging you to help them ‘Fix their computer’ or ‘Check their emails’? With Experts Exchange, you can finally get paid for all that unpaid labor you’ve been providing over the years!
Covering anything from software to hardware, you simply help resolve users’ technical issues and get paid in the process.
17. Sell for Avon.
Like a door-to-door salesperson only with far less leg-work, hosting sales “parties” at your home on behalf of the likes of Avon and Pampered Chef is a great way to meet new people and make some money.
18. Earn Money on Youtube.
Print is far from dead, but to say YouTube is on the rise would be an understatement!
While becoming an overnight sensation may be a *little* out of your reach, YouTube’s Partner Program now lets you make a profit from videos you make and upload depending on the number of views they receive.
How much do YouTuber's make? Well, it depends on how many views they get.
So get that camera out and start shooting.
Be original, find a unique angle, and make videos that people want to watch and the views – and funds – will follow.
19. Get Paid for Politics.
Do you have politics on your mind?
Let’s be honest, it’s hard not to!
If you’re feeling in the need to stand up and take action to beat student loans, and earn a few dollars as you do, then consider Next Wave Advocacy, LLC.
Sites like this aim to raise awareness and push for law reform, and they pay people like you to call up constituents and press them to open up a dialogue with members of Congress.
20. At Home Service Rep.
We know outsourcing is all the rage these days, which is why businesses are eager to get you involved in their customer service operation.
Outsourcing companies like Alpine Access and Working Solutions both specialize in this field, offering work to part-time or, better still, home-based workers.
Oh hey, that’s you!
21. Review Software Online.
If you get the ins and outs of software and software development, then this opportunity may interest you.
The guys over at SoftwareJudge need you!
In exchange for your diligent, well-written review of their software, they’ll reward you with cold hard cash. The more reviews you write, and the more trusted you are? The more reviews you’ll land, and the more money you’ll make.
22. Get Paid for Tweets.
Do you pride yourself on your social media following? Have a bunch of followers that groan at your puns and memes?
Well, you’re in luck. PaidPerTweet are here, and they’re offering to pay you to tweet messages from their group of advertisers. How much you earn depends on various metrics like how many followers you have and the tweet’s reach.
The more followers you have, the more you’ll earn.
Additional resources:
- Indeed is a great career site for finding side gig jobs, just search for “online jobs for college students”.
- Use Glassdoor to find how much companies pay, employer reviews, and other information.
- Monster.com is another top site for finding top online jobs.