Today I am finally talking some business!! I am so excited! (as you can tell haha). In today’s post, I will be exposing 15+ Creative and Genius Ways to make money as a student!
So many ask me how to make money as a teen or in college, and it isn’t that hard! We just gotta be creative.
This isn’t just going to be a list of those job ideas, but I will explain them and provide you with some ideas on how to get started.
If you have any questions about any of the jobs and ideas, please ask me any time per comment, contact form or email. I will answer every question!
Disclosure:This post may contain affiliate links. If you purchase via my link I may get a small commission at no additional cost to you. I only recommend things I use and love, but for any questions, refer to myfull disclosure here.
Related: 15 Ideas to Make Money from Home
Let’s start with the most basic ones, and then work towards more creative ideas!
1. Babysitting.
Yeah, this one is the most basic one you will probably read about every time, but I still need to mention it!
It’s how I made money mainly as a teen. I visited a babysitter course and also earned the first-aid certificate. That made it possible for me to earn more money!
Parents feel so much safer with you looking out for their kids if you know how to act in emergencies. At least in Switzerland (where I am from), I got a higher wage for that (My wage increased by +10.- just because I had that certificate. Of course, Swiss wages are higher, but maybe there is something like that in your country too!)
Where to look for it: If you took a course, the organization will probably recommend you to parents who ask that organization if they know qualified babysitters. If you don’t have that opportunity, you can make advertisem*nts and newsletters with your contact information to distribute in your neighborhood, town or city.
How much you earn: That fully depends on your country’s wage laws, your age, and your expertise with kids.
For me (just look at the increase, not at the amount itself, since that varies with currencies) I got 10.- per hour when I was 15. With 16, I got 15.-. and after I’ve done the course and first aid, I earned 25.- per hour!!
2. Tutoring.
Tutoring is also a good way to make money as a student since it’s directly in your school so it’s easy to find others to tutor.
I also like this one because study abroad and international students can do it too! There are so many limits on how you can earn money as an international student on a visa, and this isn’t one of them! Please still check with your school first to not get into trouble with the government!
If you would like a separate post about how to make money while studying abroad (very complex topic btw) please let me know in the comments!
You can tutor others in any subject that you are good at, which makes this job very diverse.
Where to look for it: That’s pretty clear; in your school! There are apps and websites where you can sign up, add your information and pay rate, and contact students or they contact you. I still find the local way to be easier, but it’s really up to you!
How much you earn: This depends on your knowledge and experience as a tutor, but in general I would say between 5 and 15 bucks per hour.
3. Event organization.
If you love events, why not offer to plan them yourself? You could offer kids’ birthday organization! For organizing events, you can set up a website that you can then use as a portfolio and contact way for parents to get in touch.
For those things, you don’t need a fancy blog. You can just create a website with a website builder, for example, wix.com, which is what I use for the services I offer. I’ll get to that later though.
4. Online Surveys.
Now guys, this is my jam!!
I love experimenting with how I can make money as a student. Taking online surveys is such a good way for busy students to get some money in, even if it’s not thousands of dollars.
I personally have done so many surveys. I started with 14, the age you usually need to be if you wanna do surveys until I was like 17. By that time I used my survey accounts mainly for other things though. I’ll get to that in a second.
How it works: You sign up for a survey site and get points for surveys you take, which you can then redeem into gift cards or cash (mostly through PayPal, but some do transfers too)
Honestly, there are so many sketchy sites where they pay like 10 cents for a 20-minute survey and you never get paid because the minimum payout is like $50. But luckily I filtered all those and ended up having 3 amazing platforms where you can make money as a student easily!
Swagbucks.com: My favorite international survey page and cashback site! Besides answering surveys, you can also shop through their website and get cashback! It’s super easy, and a perfect side hustle for busy students. You can sign up here!
YouGov: Another survey page I used a lot is YouGov. YouGov is only available in specific countries, but the US, UK, and Germany are part of their list. You can check that right here.
Entscheiderclub: Now, this is unfortunately limited to Germany, Switzerland, and Austria, but this site has been my very favorite. They pay well, between $0.50-$10 per survey, and $1 for each person you recommend it to! I loved sending it to all my friends and we made some money altogether! So if you live in one of those 3 countries, you can sign up here for Switzerland, here for Germany, and here for Austria.
So, I have just mentioned that I don’t actively do surveys anymore, but still get money from it. You’re probably asking: how? Well here is the tea.
If you have a YouTube channel, a Website or just a lot of friends, you also get points for referrals! I once had a video (in German though) about making money go pretty viral, and I still get sign-ups, even though the video is 2 years old!
Referring people to products or services you already use, is also called Affiliate Marketing.
Earning money from others signing up somewhere or purchasing something through your referral is an amazing way to make a pretty decent amount of money every month.
Here are some other programs that offer those referrals:
- ShareASale (they have many shops within their program that you can promote on your social media or your friends)
- Awin (another program like ShareASale)
- Booking.com
- Amazon
5. Take Graduation Pictures.
Okay, I don’t mean only that particular offer. You can offer anything you’re good in!
You’re good at photography? Build a portfolio (ask your friends if they would like a free photoshoot in exchange for you using the pictures!) and always link to it whenever anyone mentions their senior pictures or Christmas card pictures.
If you’re not enjoying photography or just don’t have an eye for it (many people don’t and that’s okay!), just be creative! Figure out what you’re good in and offer your help!
Where to look for it: This time, you don’t’ actually look for a job, you offer your services and make others need it!
You can do that by creating an Instagram account as a portfolio and start taking it as a business, or build a professional portfolio for minimal money with a website builder (again, I can recommend wix.com!
I built my photography portfolio with Wix. If you wanna take a look, you can give it a quick visit here: www.zees-photo.com
How much you can earn: This depends on who you take pictures for and how good your pictures are/ how much experience you have. Students often don’t have hundreds to spend for their senior pictures when they pay for it themselves. So you can’t charge too much! (of course, you CAN. But you will have to find the golden middle where you get most bookings).
I would recommend starting with $20-$50 per 1-hour session. How many pictures you give them in the package is up to you. You can take a look at mine, but I don’t do it on a student-level AND I’m based in Switzerland (everything here costs more..)
6. Easy office jobs.
Ask your mom and dad if they have tasks for you. You could help them with organizing or cleaning their office, or get errands done they really don’t want to do. A good way to take off some work from them but get a little compensation.
But every parent is different, so it really depends on your parents if they support you with extra money. My parents liked to give us tasks to complete because it teaches us how to handle money and they have less work to do!
7. Makeup Artist.
That may sound too professional, but it’s pretty simple.
There are always events people need their makeup done! Homecoming, Prom, Graduation, and other parties are perfect occasions for you to offer makeup artist services.
Where to look for it: How about hanging up a little note in your school? You might wanna ask the director or another authority first though. You can also publish your idea on Instagram, or create a separate website for it.
How much you can earn: I haven’t tried this one, but I would suggest you start low and see how people react! If you’re booked super fast, you can try to raise your prices! I would start with $20 for a basic, not too fancy makeup.
8. Sell your old clothes and other stuff.
Girls, we have sooo much stuff we don’t even use! How about making some money by getting rid of them? There are various online platforms where you can sell clothes, books, and more.
All you need to do is take some good pictures from it, write a description and pick a reasonable price.
Where to look for it: It is super easy to sell your stuff these days! I always used Ebay when I sold my stuff (Now, I live with my favorite things and try to have as fewer items in my room as I can and I’m comfortable with). You can also sell through Facebook and even Instagram!
How much you can earn: Totally depends on your clothing, quantity, etc, etc. I can’t tell you how much to charge, but maybe think about how much you bought it for and how long you have it.
Also, consider how well it looks quality-wise. Definitely pick a lower price than the original price though. And lastly, keep in mind any fees you need to pay for selling your things on some websites.
9. Bake cakes and sell them.
This is so much fun! I used to do that as a kid/teen with my siblings. We baked a few different cakes, and stood with our own little table next to the street in the neighborhood and sold our cakes. (We made $50 btw!)
If not in your neighborhood, you could bring baked goods to graduation parties for a little compensation (talk that out first to avoid misunderstandings!)
10. Sell Homemade Crafts
Related to the idea above, but still so different!
You can sell all kinds of stuff. Anything you love making you can sell!
How about making your own soap bars, makeup products (I once made lipsticks for a class project, and moms bought them from me at my presentation!!) or paintings?
Where to sell: You can start in your neighborhood, promote it on Facebook and Instagram, and if it sells well and you’re serious about your business (yes that’s your first own business!!!!! woohoo!!) you can create an online shop. You can create one with various sites, such as Jimdo, Simplesite, Wix, or Shopify.
Other places to sell your handmade products is Etsy, Amazon or Ebay.
11. Bake and sell Bread
To be honest with you, this is by far my favorite right now. We have so much good bread in Europe, but in the US it’s sooo hard to find ACTUAL, REAL, GOOD bread!
So how about you make the start, and I’ll buy my bread from you every day when I’m there for college okay?? Deal!
12. Sell handmade gifts
Now, anything you crafted, baked, and made earlier, you can also sell as gifts! Wrap it up, add a few bucks to the price, and ready!
People love buying gifts the easy way. For them to figure out what to give their family and friends for Christmas usually takes forever, just as buying the right gifts. You will have it all ready for them!
Your mission is to solve their problems. That’s how you’ll make sales.
13. Start a Youtube Channel
Ever thought about starting Youtube? Same! And I’ve done it. I didn’t really go crazy, neither did my subscriber number, but I still made a few hundred bucks with my views.
So if you can be dedicated, consistent, and relevant with your channel, it’s a really good way to make money as a student!
How to do it: Set up your account, pick a good name (I know that’s easier said than done, but take your time with it. Also, don’t submit your URL name yet. If you do, you can’t change it if you decide to change your account name!
After that, you will need to produce good and relevant videos, use tags and keywords in the description, and consistently upload new videos.
As soon as you’ve reached 1000 subscribers and 4000 hours watch time within the last 12 months, you can apply for Google Adsense.
If you aren’t 18 yet, you can easily add a guardian’s information and still get paid until you turn 18, after which you can just change the information to your own.
If you’d like me to write a separate and more detailed post about how you can make money with Youtube, let me know in the comments.
14. Offer online courses.
If you’re really good at something, why not sell your knowledge packed in an online course?
Whether that is photography techniques, how you grew your Youtube channel or Instagram account, how to keep your plants alive, or anything else you think people need.
Selling online courses is an amazing way to start building your passive income. After you’ve done the work creating it, all you have to do it marketing and getting it out there.
How to do it: Just like there are online shop builder sites, there are online course builder sites! I bought several online courses, like the Pinterest Course from EllDuclos, or the Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing course from Michelle. I loved how the courses were set up and how they looked. So professional! I can totally recommend both of the courses by the way!!
Michelle makes over $50,000 per MONTH only from Affiliate Marketing! If I caught your interest, you can check her out here.
And Ell generates insane traffic from Pinterest to her blog. Her course is so simple yet has sooo much information! And it’s totally affordable too. You can check her out here.
These are the platforms that I’ve seen others use for creating online courses. I absolutely love Teachable already and can’t wait to use it for my first online course too!
- Skillshare
- Teachable
- Elopage
15. Write an Ebook
Writing an ebook often isn’t seen as something young people could do, but it’s actually one of the best ways to make money as a student!
I am actually in the process of writing one too!
Edit: My Ebook is live and selling! I decided to write it in German first since that market needs it most. But I am already writing my second one in an English version. So stay tuned! (if you happen to speak German, check it out here if you like)
Of course, you can write a physical book, but there are more costs and other parties included in that process than creating an online book and selling it on your own!
Whatever your skill or message is, you can write about it for money!
How to sell it: After finishing the writing, designing and everything around that, it’s time to market it.
You can list it on Amazon, and/or sell it on your own through your social media, blog or online shop.
To sell a digital product on your own, you need a website because terms and conditions and privacy policy pages are required by law as soon as you earn money with your product or website in general.
16. Create a Blog.
We have finally come to my favorite idea: Creating a money-making blog!!
Starting an own business at a young age has so many advantages, I can’t even list them all. Here is my How to Start a Blog Step-by-Step Guide!
You can also sign up for my FREE 5-day email course to learn more about how to grow your blog and make money with it!
Whatever you are passionate about, you can write about it and tell the world! But let’s get into how to monetize it.
how it works- the quick intro
First, you can earn money by placing ads on your site. The more traffic you get, the more money you earn.
Another way is with affiliate links. By promoting other people’s products and services, you can get a small compensation for recommending it, just like I link products in my posts to recommend something!
Some are unpaid, some I get compensation for. But that is what keeps the blog running, so thank you for that.
But let’s get back to your business. Affiliate marketing is one of the best ways to monetize your blog because you just talk about things you love and pass them on to your audience while making money.
Of course, it isn’t as easy as just dropping affiliate links into your posts. You will need to figure out strategies on what works best for you. If you’re ready to learn from someone who does that for a living, I can recommend you to look into the course from Michelle!
Learn here how Michelle went from $0 in affiliate income to over $50,000 per month!
Another way to make money as a student with a blog is to do sponsored posts. You either get to try something for free and give a review to it, or you get paid to mention it/write a complete post about it on your blog.
For the company, that’s niched marketing if your blog is focused on a topic and has a receiving and trusting audience. Win-win!
But let me tell you just a few things that it takes and how you can start TODAY. Okay?
First, you need a host. If you wanna make money with your blog, you need to be self-hosted. Website providers that are free or need a monthly/yearly payment limit your customization options.
By being self-hosted, your blog isn’t dependent on those companies. For that, you will need a so-called “host”, which will take care of your data and store your blog so it’s available online.
Bluehost does exactly that and is the most common host for blogs, not only because its costs are minimal, but their support is good too. You can run a blog for just $3.95 per month! That is $48 for a year.
And how much money can you make with it? If you do it right, thousands! A host is about the only thing you’ll need to pay for when starting a blog.
You can start your blog TODAY for only $3.95 HERE.
Of course, there are other things you can invest in, when starting a blog and on your journey, like a pretty theme. A theme is the design of your blog. When people get to your site, the look and organization of your blog is super important, and decides in seconds if they’re gonna stay or not!
I love the website Creative Market for that. They have beautifully designed themes, fonts, and other templates for your website. They are very cheap too! You can check out Creative Market here and look for a theme right away!
Now, you’ll just have to find a niche, figure out your branding, and start blogging! 10,000 Page Views per month aren’t gonna come overnight! Stay focused and determined. You will get there!
For the remaining steps you need for starting a profitable blog, read my guide here and sign up for my free email course!
These were my 15+ Ways of how to Make Money as a Student! I know, it’s ridiculously long, but if you’re still here, you’re da bomb!! Leave the comment “go bloggers!” below if you’ve stayed with me through the whole post!
I hope I could give you some creative ideas on how you can start making money, even as a student.
If you need some advice on starting a business or you have any questions, feel free to contact me at any time. I am here to grow together with you!
RELATED POSTS:
- 12 Websites that pay over $20/hr to Students
- Ideas to Make Money from Home
- How to Save Money as a Student
- How to Start a Profitable Blog as a Student
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Until soon,
