If you’re a college student who’s planning to head home over the holidays, you may be wondering what you can do to earn a little spending money while you’re there. Most in-person holiday jobs (like those in retail) will already be taken.
Our Addition Financial members who are college students often ask us what they can do to earn a little money during the holiday break. One thing we suggest is looking for online jobs for college students. With that in mind, here are six online jobs to consider during the holidays.
Tutoring online is one of the best and easiest ways to make money as a college student. You can look for general tutoring helping an ESL student by checking the grammar and spelling on their papers and giving them writing tips. Or you may want to seek out people who need tutoring in your major. Either way, tutoring can be a good source of income.
You can start by checking out your college website to see if there are tutoring opportunities. You may also want to check out these two resources: Tutor.com, a site that’s dedicated to tutoring jobs, and Wyzant, a competing website where you can find online tutoring opportunities.
The world of freelance writing is very competitive, but you may want to check out opportunities if your writing skills are strong and you have the time to dedicate to writing. You can check out sites like Freelancer for quick jobs.
An alternative is to look for sites that pay for articles and essays. There’s a big list here of companies that will pay $50 or more for articles and essays. Some, like Cosmopolitan, have writing opportunities that are specifically for college students.
Big companies spend a ton of money on social media marketing and advertising. Getting a job with one of them might prove difficult for a college student, but that doesn’t mean you can’t put your social media skills to work for you in the coming holiday season.
Check out some of the small businesses in your hometown and see which ones don’t have a social media presence. Then, approach the owners and ask if they’d be willing to pay you to set up their accounts (or make their existing accounts more active and profitable) and get to work. The benefit of this type of work is that it’s something you can do from school, too!
User testing is something that companies pay for to ensure that their websites and eCommerce stores are user-friendly and working properly. It’s the kind of work you can do from home, your dorm room, or even your local coffee shop.
Basically, your job will be to make sure that the site (or app, or game) works the way it’s supposed to work. There are two sites you may want to try if the idea of user testing appeals to you. The first is UserTesting, which has opportunities to test websites, computer games, and apps. The second is UserZoom, which isn’t as well established but has plenty of opportunities available.
Data entry might not be the most interesting work in the world, but there’s always a need for it and some companies pay very well for people who can be quick and accurate while doing it. Many data entry jobs offer flexible hours, so you can fit in the work around your holiday schedule.
One of the best places to find data entry work online is a website called Clickworker. They offer the flexibility you’ll need as a student in return for decent pay. Another option is DioData Solutions. Either site may be a good option if data entry appeals to you.
Transcribing audio and video files involves watching or listening to the file, and simply typing everything that’s said into a document. This job requires excellent typing skills because it can be difficult to keep up with the speed of human speech. You’ll also need decent spelling and grammar skills.
There’s a site called TranscribeMe that will pay up to $20 per audio hour for transcriptionists. There’s a bit of a learning curve, but once you’ve done a few files, you’ll get the hang of it. Another option is Scribie, which also lists transcription jobs.
Finding online work can be an excellent way to earn a little extra money over the holiday season while still enjoying time with your family and friends. You can start by making a list of your marketable skills and using it to narrow down your choices and find some employment opportunities.
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