College is freaking expensive and the costs continue to rise year after year. Students are taking on mountains of debt only to graduate and encounter a difficult job market, sometimes even facing interactions with a debt collection agency. They are receiving entry level jobs with entry level pay. This makes it difficult to pay down student loans, let alone live a semi-comfortable life.
One of the best things a college student can do is work while in school to help pay off the debt, but it’s not ideal. It takes away from studies and finding a job that pays more than minimum wage and will work around a school schedule is a challenge.
What if I told you there were some part-time jobs that paid very well and gave some flexibility? There are and I am going to share four of them with you in this blog.
1. Ghost Writing
Students that have writing skills can take advantage of a market that is in desperate need of quality content. Grammar and writing skills are in the toilet all around, mainly due to our text message communication – I can’t tell you how many times I have seen “ur” on a blog rather than “your” or “you’re” – how crazy is that?
With so many companies publishing a lot of content online they are in need and if you have the skills you can pay the bills. I know some students that are making anywhere from $300 to $500 per blog post they write. They squeeze 10 of them in a month and they are making an extra $3,000 to $5,000.
Take a little off the top for basic living expenses and then pour the majority into college tuition and it’s possible to finish without suffocating in debt.
2. Tutor High School Students
A tutor is a very popular way for college kids to make money working part-time, as they can generally do it in the evening or on weekends. If they specialize in one high demand subject they can also charge a premium.
Savvy college kids will network in the right areas to meet the well-off families that are willing to open the checkbook in order to help their children succeed.
3. Language Translator
This is something you can do from a laptop anywhere in the world and market the service to anyone in the world as well. There are no ceilings to the earning potential.
You could offer French translation services, for example, and charge per word count. While there are many online translators, most of them create broken-language translations that native speakers would even have a hard time understanding.
While referrals locally might be challenging, it would be very easy to setup a simple website and run Facebook ads to market the service. There are several content types you can offer as well. Written translation, audio translation, written to audio, and audio to written.
Get creative and think of what some industries are that need the service and who can potentially pay the most.
4. Social Media Management
Who needs social media management?
Every business.
Who doesn’t understand social media?
Most businesses.
Who does?
Most college kids.
There are so many local businesses that could do so much better if they just understood how social media worked and how to run a campaign. If social media is your jam then you can make a lot of money.
In fact, there are students pulling in six-figures a year doing social media consulting in their spare time. It requires you have a deep understanding as well as the ability to deliver results, but the smart students will work out performance deals that pay them very well if they deliver.