Part-Time and Flexible Jobs for College Students

By Holly Reisem Hanna

When I went off to college, my parents agreed to cover my tuition. But if I wanted to live out on my own, I had to cover my rent, food, books, and bills. My parents, of course, gave me the option to live at home rent-free, but what college student wants to live at home when they can be out of their own?!

Needless to say, working was not an option for me. Even if I had decided to stay-at-home with my parents, I was still responsible for gas, car insurance, and college textbooks – which are expensive!

Luckily, I fell into waiting tables (I initially applied for a hostessing position, but was hired on as a waitress) which was great! I made good money, and my schedule was flexible. While I had my scheduled shifts, if I need to make more money, I could pick up a shift, and if I needed more time to study, I could try and give my shift away. I ended up waiting tables for nine years while I got my two degrees.

If you’re a college student and you’re looking for a flexible, part-time gig, there are a lot of options available to you, and you don’t have to wait tables, although it is a good option.

Here are ten flexible jobs for college students that allow you to have time for your classes and studying.

Chloe + Isabel. 

Chloe + Isabel, a direct sales company that sells jewelry and accessories, has a unique program for college students called, The G.E.M. Program. Through this program, college students can apply to be a Merchandiser at a discounted rate of $79. This program gives college students a way to make extra money and offers hands-on business and marketing training, as well as resume building experience.

Online Surveys. 

Only have a few minutes? Online surveys are the perfect way to make a little extra pocket cash when you have a few minutes of downtime. While you're not going to get rich completing surveys — you can do them anytime of the day or night. I often complete surveys when I'm waiting for an appointment or have a few minutes of downtime. A couple of my faves are Swagbucks and InboxDollars which both offer a $5 sign up bonus; sweet!

Blogging.

Obviously, I’m a huge advocate for starting your own blog. But let me tell you why blogging is such a great idea for college students.

• It’s an online resume of your writing, marketing, PR, and technical skills.
• You can adjust your work schedule to fit your school schedule.
• It introduces you to people and opportunities you would not have been privileged to before.
• It takes very little money to start and run.
• You can blog about ANYTHING!
• There are tons of different ways for you to make money with a blog.

In fact, Eva Baker started her blog, TeensGotCents as a high school student. Today she uses her blog as a source of income while she attends college. If blogging sounds like the perfect gig to you – this post explains how you can get started for $3.95 a month!

Agent Anything.

Agent Anything is an online portal where individuals can outsource small jobs to local college students. Each task is listed with details, and the price per task is negotiable. Some sample tasks that I saw were, invite all of your Facebook Friends to an event, with a payout of $10. Another request was to track down a dog breeder with a payout of $10. Payments are made via PayPal once the client confirms the task was completed.

While Agent Anything is specifically for college students, there are a bunch of short task sites that you can search for different types of on-demand tasks. This post has 14 other short task sites to check out.

Fancy Hands. 

Fancy Hands provides one-off virtual assistant services in the US to businesses and individuals. Because clients pay per task — workers for the company are paid per task as well. When you work for Fancy Hands, you can log in 24/7 and work as many administrative tasks that fit into your schedule. As a new assistant for Fancy Hands, you're paid anywhere from $2.50 to $7.00 per task and payments go up from there. Payments are made via Dwolla every other Tuesday.

Freelance Writer. 

As a college student, you're always writing papers. Which is good for a few of reasons. One, when you write a lot, you become quicker and better versed as a writer overall. Two, freelance writing gigs are plentiful, easy to find, and usually pay pretty well. Third, you may be able to repurpose your college content for paid writing gigs on the same topic. If you're interested in writing your way to some extra cash — here are 75+ paid writing gigs to check out.

QuadJobs. 

QuadJobs is an online platform for college students to find on-demand jobs like babysitting, dog walking, tutoring, delivery, cleaning, social media, graphic design, and more. The platform is free for college students to use, and employers pay students directly based on a mutually agreed upon rate. Once the job is done, the client evaluates the student's job performance which the information can be used to land a better job after graduation. QuadJobs has been featured on ABC, NBC, FoxNews, Money, and TechCo.

Sell Stuff Online. 

When you’re in college, you quickly learn about selling your textbooks back for cash, but did you know you can sell almost anything online for a quick buck? Old clothes, shoes, handbags, books, DVDs, electronics, and more. A couple of my favorites sites to use are ThredUp (clothes) and Gazelle (electronics).

Wondering what else you can sell online? This post has 111 different online platforms you can use to sell a wide variety of items.

Smartphone Apps. 

If you have a smartphone, there's no reason why you shouldn't download a few moneymaking apps. There are tons to choose from, and they're available for both iPhone and Android operating systems. My three favorite are ShopKick (earn gift cards), Receipt Hog (earn Amazon or PayPal gift cards), and Ibotta (earn cash via PayPal or Venmo or gift cards). It only takes a few minutes to use each one, and you can make enough to cover your Starbucks habit or to buy some new books on Amazon.

For more smartphone apps – check out this article!

Willa. 

Willa, a direct sales company that sells healthy beauty formulas for young girls and women, has a unique program for teens as young as 13 and for college students. The starter kit is $99 and consultants can earn up to 30% commission on every product sold. Besides the income component, Willa will match up to $2,500 when a consultant deposits their earnings into a 529 College Savings Account.

I hope these flexible money making ideas got your creative juices flowing! If you're still searching for more flexible jobs for college students — be sure to check out these articles:

• Flexible Jobs That Pay $19 or More Per Hour
• Flexible Home-Based Business Ideas for Women
• Leapforce a Flexible Work-at-Home Job – No Set Schedules

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