4 Ways to Make Your Side Hustle Pay Off as a Student

This is the age of the hustle. There’s been a BBC television series that ran for eight seasons called “Hustle,” there are numerous books with the goal of whipping you into shape with “Hustle” in the titles, and there are even movies that have featured “Hustle” as the main attraction. Hustle couldn’t be more necessary than for students, who are looking for extra income at every turn so that they don’t have to go back to their parents for help or face being broke.

Today’s students don’t want just any job, though. Rather, they’re looking for jobs that are fun and exciting as well, and preferably someplace where they can grow their skills in a meaningful way that advances their career objectives. No one wants to work at a fast-food joint if they don’t have to (not that there’s anything wrong with that). Some might say it’s a tall order; nevertheless, it’s possible to find a “real” job that can give students a valuable learning experience and good pay. Here are a few of them.

Sales Representatives

In sales, representatives are charged with convincing buyers of the merits of purchasing items both large and small, everything from green products to software to electrical components. For example, many companies make useful household consumer products and the like, and they hire students, among others, to sell them. As the direct sales arm of a kitchen cutlery manufacturer called Cutco, Vector Marketing provides opportunities for students to make their own hours and become independent contractors, bringing in some serious commission in return. Jobs like this are ideal for self-starters and enable students to bone up on their people skills and salesmanship techniques—valuable characteristics that any employer would want in an employee.

Tutors

When a student is accomplished in a specific area, they can make money off that talent as a tutor. Depending on their skills, they can earn an average of $17.28 per hour, and even more when their specialty is math or science, according to 2017 data from PayScale.com. Many people would love to have the tutoring services of a student who’s well-versed in a topic they’re weak in, for example, math or physics.

Especially in demand is knowing how to code, with Java and Python being two of the most highly desirable programming languages. It’s considered a red-hot career option now. Students who are great coders should capitalize on that knowledge by helping people who need someone to give them a Coding 101 lesson.

Students can advertise their tutoring services on their own, or they can look for local tutoring agencies to link up with to provide services to the community. They can make house calls, or they can render their services online only, whichever’s best.

Professional Bloggers

Blogging has become big business. The best blogs have been able to pull in a healthy number of visitors: people in the business break them out as “monthly active users” and “daily active users” and so forth. People who started with small-time blogs that they thought no one but their friends would check out have gone on to make names for themselves, pulling in large sums of money, and have been featured in mainstream magazines. Starting a blog is a great way for students to showcase their expertise and pitch different products on a part-time basis.

If done right—by budgeting a small amount for Google AdWords and other tools that can have a positive effect on traffic—the advertisers will come calling, and that can lead to a very profitable little business. With continued attention, the blog can grow to become a much bigger revenue generator that can be invaluable to a student even after college.

Writers

Some companies won’t hire a candidate who can’t demonstrate they have good writing skills. If a student can write well—perhaps they’re an English major—it can be their meal ticket. They can market their services as a writing coach, they can approach greeting card companies, or they can solicit publishing companies and get steady work proofreading books, for example. Some newer opportunities that are available and that pay well include being a web writer, writing eBay listings and helping other people write their blogs.

It’s never been a better time for students to find a job that uses their talents and teaches them valuable lessons about business that they can use throughout their careers. The internet has opened the world of possibilities and has made it easy for students the right job that can help them buy what they need and pay down their debt.

Bonus: Make Money with Facebook

It is not as easy as it sounds though. To make money on Facebook does not mean that you will gain money while you’re wasting time chatting with friends. You need to choose a niche and then to choose an affiliate product in that niche to promote. You can use paid ads on Facebook to promote your product, or post to groups whose members would be interested at what you’re selling.