We all have crossed the same journey called college life and know how it goes. No matter how carefully you’ve budgeted, halfway through the semester, you need some extra cash. Whether it’s for some books, partying with friends or for a small trip, something always comes up.
I’ve also been at the same place and tried almost every advice out there to make money using the internet, though most of them turned out to be scams.
Did you just get an email about making some quick cash by clicking some ads or by taking a survey? Don’t click on it, just don’t. You’ll end up wasting your time.
If not this then what works better to make some extra cash while in college? Well, I’ve listed 10 ways that either I or anyone from my circle have a first-hand experience with to make money while in college, and nope, we didn’t invest a rupee.
1. Blogging
Why I’ve ranked blogging at the top is that I’m doing it for a long time and it did wonders for me. I started The Startup Journal and couple other blogs when I was in college. Little I knew that I would leave my job to pursue this full time. I left my job in December last year to focus on my blogging network. I make a decent income from all websites combined.
2. Freelance Writing
When I started writing I had no idea that I can make money from it. Once my own blogs were in place and I gained some experience, I started writing for company blogs. I was a regular writer for a VoIP company back in 2014. As you can see the below screenshot I was charging $4 per article which has increased to 25-30x now. Being in college $4 (approx. INR 200) per article was not bad. I used to write 6-8 articles a week. You can signup at Contentmart and start accepting offers right away.
3. Virtual Internships
You can make good money amount by doing virtual internships, where you don’t need to go to an office or do any field tasks. On an average, a month long internship pays a stipend of around INR 3000 to INR 5000, and can be higher depending on the company you’re interning for.
There are many websites like LetsIntern, Twenty19 where you can find these virtual internship opportunities.
4. Create An App
If you know how to code Android or iPhone apps, you can create and publish them on app stores. The money comes from advertisements shown in the app, you can also have premium features for which users need to pay a fee.
Alternatively, you can sell the app source codes on websites like Flippa or Codecanyon.
5. Make Money From YouTube
You enjoy watching YouTube in leisure time. Don’t you? But did you know that you can make money from YouTube? YouTube pays a portion of ad revenue to its creators. So if you’re into videos, use your talent to produce content about anything, let it be about tech, finance, pranks, funny videos, your daily life and upload it on YouTube.
6. Sell Stuff On OLX/Quikr
If you have stuff that is just lying around in your house which isn’t needed anymore, then OLX & Quikr should be your go-to places. I even bought stuff for cheap from these websites and flipped it for a higher amount on these very websites while I was in college.
7. Rent Your Stuff
Instead of selling, you can also rent your stuff that you rarely use. I’ve a DSLR camera which I rent out on OLX and make a couple of thousand rupees per month. If you’ve anything that you think can be rented out then list it on the website and enjoy some extra pocket money.
8. Rent Your Place On AirBnB
I’ve a friend who lives in a 2 BHK apartment in Bangalore and rents his room on AirBnB for few hundred rupees a night. He mostly rents it to solo travellers who need cheap accommodation for a day or two.
If you have an apartment or flat then renting it out on AirBnB, GoIbibo or MMT (as a homestay) is not a bad idea.
9. Graphic Design
If you have knowledge about graphic design and use tools like photoshop or illustrator to produce some elegant designs, you could do online design work for companies. This could be anything from making small graphics for advertisements to full site redesigns. Some good places to started are websites like Fiverr or 99designs.
10. Drop Shipping
I know a couple of college students who sell t-shirts online and make good money from it. They don’t maintain any inventory. They have partnered with some third party vendors in their areas. Once they get an order, it gets forwarded to the vendor and the vendor then ships the item to the buyer with custom branding.
Here I’ve only listed only 10 of them which you can easily start off with. There are hundreds of ways to make money while you’re in college.
Shoot a comment below and let everyone know how you make some extra cash while being a college student.
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