How I Made $20,000 With These College Side Hustles
Let's face it: college life can be hard.
Between the high cost of tuition, living expenses, textbooks, and the desire to still have a social life, having any breathing room in the budget can be incredibly difficult.
This was the position I was in for years. But the great news is that there are plenty of side hustles for college students that can help you get by. And today, I'm sharing my side hustle stack that made me over $20,000 while I finished my degree.
The Best Side Hustles For College Students
I covered my entire college tuition with side hustles. Below, you'll find some of my most effective ones as well as some other good side hustles for college students:
1. Flipping College Textbooks
In my opinion, textbook companies are absolute crooks. They create overpriced content, revise textbook editions annually with insignificant changes, and partner with professors so students are forced into buying hardcover books every year at extortionate prices.
This is where one of my first college side hustles was born: flipping college textbooks.
I'd buy PDF versions or used textbooks, use them for my courses, and then flip them for a nice profit. It was an easy way to get quick money each semester, and it also helped other students save money since I wasn't charging what textbook companies were charging.
This idea can be a bit dicey due to copyright claims and all that fun stuff. But I honestly don't care; textbook companies and colleges need to lower their prices.
2. Blogging
When I started WebMonkey in my third year of college, I had a goal of monetization.
Starting a blog is not easy money by any means. In fact, it took me about 6 months of hard work until I started to see regular $100 months of blogging revenue:
However, even $100-$200 a month can make a massive difference when you're a student. This is grocery or gas money, utility bills, or the chance to do something fun without feeling a nagging sense of guilt.
And I love this college side hustle because of the monetizable skills you learn. Blogging taught me about SEO, writing, digital marketing, and content creation.
PLUS, a blog has massive income potential. These days, WebMonkey makes $20,000 a month or more, and in 2022, it earned $272,000!
3. Passive Income Apps
Another one of my favorite side hustles for college students is to use passive income apps.
This was one of the first hustles I started. It began when I discovered phone farming in my second year of college and started running video reward apps on a few old phones.
Well, by a few, I mean 9 devices. Phone farming was a very niche hustle that earned about $30 to $50 a month in passive income:
Phone farming doesn't work too well these days. But there are still plenty of passive income apps you can use to easily make money in college.
MobileXpression and Dosh are two of my favorites. You can also use apps like Nielsen Panel and get paid for your data, or use Honeygain to sell your internet bandwidth.
The point is you have so many apps and ideas to try. And my post on the best passive income ideas for young adults has even more creative options.
4. Answer Surveys For Money
Alright: here's one simple hustle that's boring but effective: answering online surveys for money.
Survey websites are something I've dabbled with for years. And if you want to make a bit of side cash while relaxing around the house or commuting to campus, these sites can work quite well.
Some of my favorite sites to use include:
Between these sites, making $50 to $100 a month should be a realistic goal. And you can also explore my post on the top instant cash surveys for even more options.
5. SEO Consulting
The importance of SEO, content marketing, and overall more effective digital marketing practices is only growing as the world becomes a more competitive place.
So, in college, a friend and I began dabbling in SEO consulting and social media management. I also began a digital marketing side hustle by working for a local paid media agency that made clickbait.
In college, a friend and I started to dabble in SEO consulting, social media management, and the world of digital marketing.
This was by far my most lucrative category of college side hustles. And at our peak, we had two local businesses paying us a total of $3,000 a month. I was also making anywhere from $1,000 to $3,000 a month, or even more, from my commission-based media buying gig.
Digital marketing is just such a lucrative space if you can drive results for clients. And I think beginning as a hustle and then going full-time out of college is a great move.
You can start by looking for jobs on Upwork, Fiverr, or on remote job sites like FlexJobs. Check to see if your college campus has a job board or internship opportunities as well since this is how I got started.
6. Competitions & Scholarships
Did you know that a massive amount of scholarship and competition money goes unclaimed every year?
The simple fact is that most people are too busy, lazy, or distracted to apply to grants, scholarships, and competitions. But this is a side hustle with massive potential, and it can be easier than you think.
Here's a personal example: in my last year of college, one of my marketing professors told the class about the Canada's Next Top Ad Executive competition that was going on. The competition paid $1,000 if you made it through the first round, and the top 25% of teams make it through round one.
When I found out that only 200 teams applied on average, I took the afternoon to write a two page marketing brief. I wrote it without a team member or even that much work. Weeks later, I got a phone call saying I had made it to the next round and had earned $1,000.
Unfortunately, my final marketing proposal didn’t make the cut for top 15, but overall, the competition was enjoyable. And it was basically $1,000 in a day of work, or even less.
Plus, I got paid in free gift cards to Canadian, so I could actually furnish my apartment and not subsist in squalor like some Neanderthal. Talk about a nice payday!
You can do the same thing with other scholarships or competitions going on. Trust me, people don't apply to enough of these things.
7. Freelance Writing
I started freelance writing back in college when I was working at an internship at that digital marketing agency I mentioned above.
At the time, it was a nice way to cover groceries. I earned about $20 to $50 an article, which was a lot of money at the time.
These days, freelance writing is how I earn a lot of my income. And writing is how I began traveling the world, making money with my laptop while enjoying complete location independence.
Anyone can do the same thing. Content writing as a niche expert is still a lucrative way to make money online. And you can always start your own blog or begin writing on Medium or similar platforms to gain experience and build your portfolio.
Pro Tip: Checkout my new eBook, Freelance Writing For Freedom, to learn how I went from $0 to $100,000+ in writing income.
8. Gig Economy Jobs
One more side hustle for college students my friends and I have tried is to use various side gig apps.
The gig economy is a flexible way to make extra money each month. And this is great news since you can balance your hustling between classes, assignments, and exam season.
There are also so many apps and hustles you can check out, including:
- Food delivery gigs like using Uber Eats or DoorDash
- Rideshare gigs like Uber and Lyft
- Using apps like Steady to find new gigs
- Walking dogs with Rover
- Delivering groceries for money with gigs like Instacart
My friend Grant made great money with Uber Eats and DoorDash on his bike. And again, there are plenty of local cash gigs or massive gig apps out there that you can get started with.
9. Get A Campus Job
Sometimes, a part-time job is the easiest way to make more money in college. And this is what I did in my second year when I began working 10 to 20 hours a week at a campus Starbucks:
This provided a steadier paycheck, which is useful if you're struggling with money. Plus, it helped me meet a lot of awesome students, friends, and learn how to whip up a mean flat white.
Extra Reading – How To Make An Extra $1,000 A Month.
Other College Side Hustles To Try
There is a world of opportunity out there. I made money using the 9 methods I outlined, but there are plenty of other ways to make money as a college student.
Some other excellent in-person and online side hustles for college students you can try include:
- Start babysitting or pet sitting
- Sell notes and study guides
- Start a landscaping hustle
- Do homework for money (just be sneaky since universities and colleges don't like this, of course)
- Clean people's houses
- Make money with college tutoring gigs
- Start a YouTube channel
- Sell stock photos
- Make money with affiliate marketing
- Give tours in your city
- Use reward apps to earn cash back
- Make money with microtask gigs online
- Edit resumes for people
- Use play to earn apps
- Become a teacher's assistant
- Start streaming on Twitch
- Make money by delivering packages
- Haul junk for people
- Earn passive income by renting out things
- Start a dropshipping business
- Becoming a lifeguard or swim instructor
- Make money selling print on demand products on Etsy
- Edit essays for other students
- Become a resident assistant or staff member (this is a great way to score free housing)
- Use apps that pay you to drive
- Help people move
- Proctor tests and exams
- Paint houses
- Try retail arbitrage with Amazon FBA or other online marketplaces
- House sit for people
- Build websites for people
- Start a photography side hustle
- Make money by testing websites
- Take part in focus groups or research studies (I use User Interviews for this)
- Find an event staffing gig
- Make money by downloading apps
Final Thoughts
I hope my list of the best side hustles for college students helps you make some extra cash this semester and as you finish your degree.
As I mentioned, money is often tight during college. And figuring out how to make or save more money can be a real challenge. But this doesn't mean you're out of options.
Think about the skills you already have and the skills you're learning from your degree. Then, leverage these skills or your willingness to hustle to make some extra cash.
Thanks for reading, and good luck with your studies and your hustling!
Want even more ideas to make money? Checkout:
