This page may contain affiliate or referral links meaning I may get a commission if you use certain links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more information.
Being a student is tough. You get thrust into the world of bills, shopping for your own groceries, and paying paying rent. Plus you have to pay for tuition and housing, find time for friends and family and you have to go to class, do homework, you get the point. Maybe you don’t have time for a regular part time job, or maybe you just don’t want one. But most students need to be earning some sort of income, whether it’s to pay those bills, afford groceries, pay tuition, or just to have a night out with their friends. Here are 13 of the best ways to make money online.
Ways to Make Money Online:
- MTurk – Also known as Amazon Mechanical Turk, this is a site where workers can complete tasks (HITS) for money. I am a current MTurk worker and I did it in college as well. I have to be honest, this one takes a little bit of work to start up to be worth it. You have to become qualified for most of the higher paying HITS. Some HITS you have to request approval for, but once I reached a high enough approval rating I instantly became approved for better work. I usually take the surveys but you can separate receipt info, listen to recordings and much more.
- Sell Textbooks – Technology may be taking over the need for physical copies of textbooks, but they are still required for some classes. There are a ton of sites out there where you can sell your old text books to make some extra cash. Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and so many more sites exist that will take your old books off your hands for a little extra income.
- Virtual Assistant – Virtual Assistant jobs are on the rise, and they are not all full time, full availability jobs. Some companies just need a little extra part time help, and some just need someone to do a temporary task. If you find the right position, you can easily fit it in around your class schedule. Upwork is a great site to find these jobs on, and if you want to set up your own profile and create your own wages, check out Fiverr.
- Take Surveys– To be honest, no one makes good money taking surveys. However, surveys can be simple, interesting, and can be done whenever and wherever. Sites like Survey Junkie and Swagbucks are used by millions of people to make a little extra cash each month.
- Data Entry – Check out Flex Jobs and Indeed for data entry work. A lot of companies are hiring for this remotely. There are thousands of these jobs out there. Most people do not want to complete what is considered a menial task with low pay. It is a great way to earn some income as a student.
- Freelance Writing – Are you a good writer? Freelance writing is a great way to make money as a student, and beyond.
- Sell Product Online – There are many different ways to do this one. Do you have a cool design? Or are you good at making jewelry? Can you convert an old dresser to a new one? You can sell tons of unique products on Etsy and Facebook Marketplace. Ever heard of drop shipping? Check out Gelato and Prinitify to sell products without ever having to store it yourself.
- Mock Juror – Research companies and legal teams occasionally run mock trials to find flaws in their cases or try to determine an outcome. Sites like eJury and Online Verdict make signing up easy, and then notify you if there is a case in the area.
- Invest – While this option may not make you much money while you’re a student, it has to be mentioned. Investing is one of the best long term solutions to earning wealth, but you can still make a little money off of the dividends if you invest properly, and you are building toward your future wealth. Robinhood is great for investing in many different types of stock. Acorns is a great site for rounding up your spare change to mindlessly invest. Fundrise is known for its ease of use for investing virtually in real estate. And Vanguard is a top site to invest in the regular market. Figure out how you want to invest and check out these sites.
- Transcribe – Are you a fast, accurate typer? You can make okay money on transcribing sites, converting speech to text. Usually, the faster and more efficient you are, the more money you make. Check out Rev and Transcribe Me to create an account and check out the work you can do.
- Sell Stock Photos – Have you ever looked at one of your photos and thought wow, that looks amazing. You can sell it online as a stock photo! Stock photos are licensed photos often used for marketing, magazines and pamphlets. You can sell your photo at sites such as Alamy or Getty Images. As long as your photos meet the qualifications, you can find your way to some easy passive income.
- Sell Your Old Stuff – Have you outgrown old toys or games? Send them on to the next generation by posting them online. EBay is the perfect site for these types of sales, or if you don’t want to have to ship, try posting on Craigslist. Make sure you take good, clear photos, and do a little research for what the product is actually worth.
- Translate – Are you multilingual? Companies usually pay higher rates for workers who speak more than one language. You could transcribe like listed above, or you could check out sites like Upwork and Freelancer.
Are you ready to start earning? Take a little time and research to find the right gig for you, and then get to it! As a student, you can fit most of these online gigs around your already existing schedule, as long as you are willing to sacrifice a little bit of free time. You’ll be amazed at the extra income you can earn when you spend a small amount of time doing online work.
