7 Best Side Hustles For College Students (No Experience Required)

I am always on the look out for some extra income because I love to travel and sometimes you just need that extra money to make your dreams come true.

College is expensive and you will have loans to pay off once graduation day comes. Therefore, I would recommend finding a few side hustles that will help you earn an extra buck or two.

Here are a few ideas that should help you with your financial needs while in school.

1. Online Tutoring

Online tutoring is one of the best online side hustle for college students. There are a lot of reasons why online tutoring is so great for students and it’s also great for people who want to work from home.

Online tutoring can bring in anywhere between $10 to $30 per hour, depending on how many hours you want to put in and what subject you want to tutor.

Online tutoring allows the tutor to set their own hours and days that they want to tutor. A lot of times, parents will hire someone to help their child with homework after school or during specific times, but other times they can book a tutor around their child’s schedule.

For example, if your child has a lot of homework every day after school, you can hire an online tutor at 11 pm when your kid needs help with homework or even on weekends if you have time during the week.

If a parent hires someone locally, they would have to meet up at whatever time or day it was scheduled for which wouldn’t be as flexible as working online since both parties don’t have to meet up physically.

This flexibility makes online tutoring perfect for helping kids with homework or even regular subjects that they need some extra help with. Working online gives them more freedom about when or where they learn or teach.

After completing an hour of tutoring, you immediately get paid! This is one of the great things about working online in general… and getting paid quick is always nice especially if you work more hours than expected.

Most people who hire an online tutor usually pay within 24-48 hours which means teachers could potentially make good money if they do multiple sessions per week.

The only thing that changes this really quick payment time frame is if someone pays using PayPal instead of a direct transfer into your bank account.

Even though PayPal takes a few days because the money goes into your account instantly and then gets transferred into your actual bank account later on, essentially making it seem like it takes longer than usual, this isn’t too bad since a lot of people still use PayPal anyways which makes it easier on both parties involved.

Besides that though, getting paid quick every single time no matter what method you accept payment through is amazing.

2. Freelance Writing

If you’re like me, and you’re always looking for ways to make a few extra bucks, I suggest you give freelance writing a try.

Unlike other side-hustles you can get started fairly quickly and often start raking in the cash within weeks rather than months.

Writing is a skillset that allows you to work part-time hours while still making really good money. Depending on what kind of content your writing and how many hours per week you put in, you could make between $100 - $2000+ per week.

This doesn’t even factor in any potential bonuses or incentives your employer may offer if they also happen to sell something that requires marketing copy as well.

Here are some examples of typical payouts:

• $50-$150 for catalog copywriting (1-2 paragraphs)
• $250-$500 for blog posts (300 words)
• $200-$400 for eBooks (1,000 words)
• $400-$800 for white papers (3,000 words)

And those are just average payouts!

Some companies may pay even more if they have an urgent project assigned with tight deadlines but I don’t recommend trying out this type of job unless you have significant experience under your belt already since these jobs usually carry an hourly rate as opposed to flat rate payment meaning if the job takes longer than expected despite your best efforts, not only will you not be paid extra but potentially risk getting fired if unable meet expectations.

The first step towards becoming a full time freelance writer is finding reliable online content marketplaces where businesses can post their writing jobs directly without having to go through third parties such as Upwork or Guru. The two best sites I’ve come across are Content Ignition & WriterBay

On both these websites , businesses looking for writers post their job listings directly making them easy to find no matter what country or state you live in.

As far as WriterBay goes, it also contains an active community forum where members can ask questions about anything related to being a writer ranging from recommendations on which content marketplace is best suited towards specific topics.

3. Bartending

A bartender makes good money and they don’t have to work full-time hours. This makes it an ideal job for college students because this provides them with flexibility in their schedule while making money.

There are various reasons why being a bartender is the best side hustle for college students.

College students have a lot of assignments that they need to finish and assessments that they need to pass in order to move forward with their studies.

Working as a bartender allows the student flexible hours because all they need to do is get up, go to work, return home after completing their shift, and then continue with their life.

There isn’t any expectation of being on time or being present at one place all day long which can be hard at times when one works in an office or an establishment where there are managerial duties involved as well.

The paycheck received from working as a bartender depends on the tips received from customers but generally speaking, bartenders make between $50-$500 per shift depending on how busy it is at the establishment where they are working at the moment and how much alcohol people buy during that shift.

For college students who like math, this means $20K-$250K per year which is not bad considering you only have to work three or four shifts weekly maximum if you want extra income.

4. Web Development

All it takes is a laptop or computer with internet connection. With that, you can start building your website.

Web development allows you to work whenever and wherever it’s convenient for you. Whether it’s late at night or early in the morning; as long as there is an internet connection, you are good to go.

As long as you have your laptop with internet access and a cup of coffee, you can put in as many hours as possible without having to commute anywhere and without having someone look over your shoulder.

With web development opportunity lies everywhere. There are plenty of sites where people post their job openings so that they can get their websites built.

There are also plenty of freelance sites where people are seeking out freelancers like yourself to build them a website. Or if you aren’t interested in working through other peoples websites, create your own blog instead. Blogging requires lots of writing which means more opportunities available for jobs.

Depending on how much time and effort into building your website, the potential income potential is virtually limitless. You don’t have to worry about hitting some type of plateau because there is always room for improvement in web design.

Website owners are constantly looking for ways improve their user experience or aesthetics which means more work for the web developers themselves.

5. Personal Trainer

A great side hustle for college students who are looking to make some money without leaving their dorm room.

A personal trainer’s main job is helping people reach their health and fitness goals.

When you become a personal trainer, you will have to create an online presence so that potential clients can find you easily. You will also have to build a portfolio so that your potential clients know how qualified you are, and can see your experience.

Once you’ve built up your portfolio, it’s time to start seeking out clients. There are many different ways to do this such as social media ads, reaching out to local gyms or putting up flyers at the gym or in student centers on campus.

Another option is reaching out to your friends and family and offering them free sessions if they want one. If all else fails, consider starting a blog where you advise people on how to get fit and then offer your services as a personal trainer.

Now that potential clients have found you, it’s time for the hard part: working with them! The best way to learn what your client wants from training with you is by meeting with them in person at first. This helps ensure that both parties understand each other’s expectations for the sessions.

After those initial meetings in person, most potential clients will work with you via Skype since it can be done from anywhere at any time of day.

6. Dog Walking

Many college students are aware of the fact that they can make extra money with a dog walking business. And there are even more students who are not aware of it.

First of all, working as a dog walker is a great fit for students because it only requires temporary commitment.

Most dogs need to be walked once or twice per day and some owners are satisfied with just one full walk per day.

Students don’t need to quit school, postpone their career plans or give up on other opportunities in order to start working as a dog walker.

They can easily sign up and start working immediately after submitting their application forms online.

This way they can earn some cash until they find another job or internship opportunity that would last longer than just several weeks or months.

Another reason why being a part-time dog walker is such a good idea is because it allows you to set your own schedule depending on your availability and free time during the week or month.

Working as a full-time employee means following your employer’s schedule, but when you are working as dog walker, you have the freedom to organize your day according to how many clients you have, how far from each other their houses are located and how long do dogs normally take for walks.

This allows you to balance school, work and personal affairs much easier than when you work full-time for someone else.

Dog walking also does not require any special certificate or license and most customers don’t mind if their four-legged friends get some exercise during rain or snowstorm because they understand that weather conditions don’t favor walking sessions.

7. House Sitting

You can make money with house sitting or pet sitting. But what is house sitting?

House sitting is a type of income opportunity in which people get paid to live in someone else’s home while its owner is away. Many people prefer this method over traditional forms of property management as it provides them with a live-in housekeeper and security guard at no cost to them.

If you are interested in house sitting, you should create a profile on one of the many websites dedicated to this field such as HouseCarers or Sittercity.

You can also use social media such as LinkedIn to find house sitting opportunities. In most cases, applicants must provide relevant information such as their address and phone number, as well as some personal details about themselves including their interests and academic background.

Generally, there is no fee for creating an account on these websites but some websites require users to pay membership fees.

Final Thoughts

With the non-stop rise of tuition fees, the need to earn extra money has become a pressing reality. Many college students are looking for ways to boost their income but with little spare time on their hands.

Hopefully you found at least one side hustle on this list that you can start working on.