With the expenses associated with higher learning—tuition, housing, books, clothing, food—most college students can’t afford to forgo work while attending school. Considering the time limitations that come with being a full-time student, you likely can’t afford to take on a full-time job, either. Fortunately, there are actually some part-time jobs that pay really well that may be the perfect fit for a college student already bearing a full workload. Here are 8 of them.
1. Social media assistant
Do you spend a big chunk of your free time checking out scrolling through Instagram and Twitter? If so, you’re not alone, and utilizing social media doesn’t just have to be something you do when you’re bored or procrastinating. Companies rely on social media to get the word out about their goods and services, and they need social media devotees to manage their accounts and cook up fresh content. If you’re a creative thinker and have a basic grasp of marketing, you could make as much as $21 an hour as a social media assistant.
2. Tutor
If you’re more the studious type than the social butterfly, you might consider one of the most tried-and-true after school jobs. Tutoring might involve helping students raise their grades in particular problem subjects or get top scores on standardized tests such as the SAT or GRE. Tutoring jobs generally pay anywhere from $30 to $100 an hour. Even the low end of that scale is good money for a part-time gig!
3. Dog walker
Say you don’t particularly like socializing online or dealing with one-on-one tutoring sessions—maybe you’re more of a dog person than a people person. Well, there are opportunities in the canine sector as well. Dog owners who are short on time or stuck in the office most of the day rely on professionals to keep their pets from making a mess at home. Cleaning up poop probably isn’t anyone’s idea of a party, but dog walkers work very short hours—perfect for ensuring plenty of study time. They also tend to earn $15 to $30 per walk, so students who can commit to walking multiple pooches more than once a day can really rake in the doggie dough.
4. Lyft driver
One potential downside to being a dog walker is that you need to be on call at particular times of the day, as dictated by the pet owners who need you. The big boon of being a driver for companies such as Lyft is that you can set your own hours. Since peak times are before classes start in the morning, as well as evenings and weekends, being a Lyft driver is ideal for the college student. With tips, the average Lyft driver earns about $18 per hour.
5. Freelance writer/editor
For creative types, there are a number of freelance opportunities that can be great sources of income. If you fancy yourself a wordsmith, you should consider seeking out freelance writing work, which can entail anything from blogging to creating study content for your fellow students.
If you are more comfortable tidying up text than creating it, you might also find work as a freelance editor. Writers often make as much as $55 an hour and editors earn up to $40—though you can make a lot more than that depending on how quickly you’re able to churn out high-quality work.
6. Freelance photographer
The basic features of the smartphones we all carry around have turned all of us into amateur photographers. If your snapping skills are better than the average person’s, you might find work as a freelance photographer. These positions require both the ability to take a superb pic and edit it. There are a multitude of photography fields, but the one that seems to draw the most income is product photography, which can make you around $20 an hour.
7. Freelance web designer
If your computer skills extend well beyond editing images, using social media, and blogging, you might have what it takes to be a web designer. Of all the jobs on this list, web designer demands the most specialized skills, but the pay is great—at up to $30 per hour.
8. Fundraiser
Walking dogs, transporting passengers, and generating online content can all be effective ways to make some cash, but do they really make the world a better place? If you have loftier goals, you can pursue them while also helping to pay for your education as a charity fundraiser. You’d be getting out the word about a worthy cause to expand awareness and attract potential supporters. If you have experience dealing with the public on a professional level and a knack for networking, you can be making up to $30 an hour during those hours away from your classroom and coursework.
