Online Jobs for Students
I loved going to college but no one talks about all the downtime you have when you’re not in class.
For people like me who want to work for whatever reason, you’ve hit a gold mine, because I’m going to show you the best part-time online jobs for college students to earn money.
I wish I had this list when I was in college.
Thanks to the advancements in technology there are many online jobs for students to earn money that can be done in the comfort of your own dorm, apartment, or wherever you live and on your own schedule!
Holding a part-time job in college is great for many reasons. First, it will keep money in your pocket, help offset the high costs of school, and help keep you on the straight and narrow (hopefully).
I write a lot about stay at home mom jobs and ways you can make money from home and many of those same online jobs will work for students as well.
Everything I post works. Hence the name “Tried and True”.
This list is primarily for college students, but there are many online jobs for high school students that will work as well.
If you have a car and want to make some extra money delivering food or groceries, check out my article on the only delivery driving companies I recommend.
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This post contains affiliate links, which means I may receive a small commission, at no cost to you, if you make a purchase through a link.
Here are the Top Free Online Jobs for Students without Investment
Freelancing
Freelancing is one of the best jobs for students because you choose what service you want to provide, which clients you want to work with and you make your own schedule. Here is a list of freelance jobs for students that you can start today.
1. Social Media Manager
Are you on Social Media? You’d be amazed at how many small businesses in your area do not utilize this for their business.
They would love to have a young student who is active on Social Media to post on their behalf.
How much can you earn? You could make anywhere from $1,000-$10,000 per month depending on how many clients you have.
There are many Social Media schedulers out there that you can use so you’ll only need to work a couple of hours and can sit back and collect your check (while focusing on schoolwork of course).
How to get started: See how Annelise Pickett does it here and how you can too.
2. Virtual Assistant
I worked as an assistant for the Journalism department in college, but I could’ve easily done what I did from the comfort of my own dorm.
A virtual assistant is anyone that offers services virtually as a contractor or self-employed individual to clients.
Services can include everything from email management, content creation, bookkeeping, graphic design, social media and more!
How much can I make? You can earn $25-$100 an hour as a Virtual Assistant.
How do I get started? Gina Horkey, a Six-figure Virtual Assistant, I interviewed is offering her Virtual Assistant mini-course (priced at $99) for FREE during this time we’re in to help you learn how to become a Virtual Assistant while home.
Click here to access the free course and make sure you use the code: WEGOTTHIS
You will still need to put your credit card/PayPal information in the purchase section because this was the only way she could get it to work in this short time. They will NOT charge your account for anything.
3. Proofreader
Do you find yourself easily catching errors when reading? Do you cringe when you see grammar mistakes? If that’s you, you would make a great proofreader.
Proofreaders are NEEDED! I know, because I use one myself.
How much can I earn? Caitlin Pyle made $43,000 a year proofreading part-time in COLLEGE! You’ll have to check out her interview in my article on How to Become a Proofreader.
How to get started: If you want to learn the skills needed to start your own freelance proofreading hustle or see if this is the right career for you, check out this FREE introductory workshop.
4. Graphic Designer
Do you have an eye for design and experience in Adobe Creative Suite/Adobe Creative Cloud – including InDesign, Illustrator, or Photoshop, there is a profitable market out there for you.
If you don’t that’s fine all you need is a desire to learn. You can check out this highly recommended course Learn Photoshop, Web Design & Profitable Freelancing to teach you the ins and outs.
I know, not another class but this may allow you to make money sooner before you graduate.
How much can I make? You can charge $25-$300 per hour, depending on your experience.
How do I get started: Promote your services to your social network and create a website showcasing your services and work. The more people see your work the more they will be reminded of you when a project/need comes up.
5. Web Designer
I recommend starting a website now even if it’s just for fun because this is an excellent way to make A LOT of money and age does not matter. You just need to know what to do.
You could be a front-end developer like me, which basically means I buy a theme like this (this is the template of the website we’re on right now) and I customize it to my liking. I’m COMPLETELY self-taught aka I Google everything.
When it comes to building a website people think it’s really hard and they would rather pay someone else to do it than do it themselves, and that’s where you would come in.
I volunteered to do my church website because I wanted the experience. I knew nothing about starting a website or the complicated backend stuff, which is okay because all premium themes come with backend developer support so you won’t need to learn that AND you get to ask them for help on the front-end stuff.
Doing my church website was a huge learning curve but so valuable, I learned A LOT. After learning how to create my church website and also the website we’re on right now, I became really good at it.
I charged $800 for doing a friend’s website, and now any other site I do will be $1,000 or more. I could do a website in a day or two if I know what the client wants on the site.
I wrote a step-by-step guide on how to start a WordPress website that can help you get started.
6. Start a Blog
Blogging is a GREAT online job for students to make money because a lot of it is passive income. I make money just for people reading my articles from ads.
I can assure you, I did not write this article today and yet it’s making me money.
When you get a nice amount of people reading your articles it brings in a nice income. Here’s a screenshot of my earnings from the other day.
I made $400 in one day just from ads, and I also make a lot of money in Affiliate sales. You can see how I make money blogging.
You DO NOT need to be an excellent writer to become a blogger, you just write like you talk.
To make money blogging you’ll need to be able to help someone and give valuable information that people are looking for, I talk a lot about how it all works in this article.
I spent a lot of time working on my blog the first year while pregnant with a full-time job, busy toddler and husband. So if I can do it, you definitely can.
Now I work VERY part-time on my blog (Currently 15 months in) and I’m making more money than when I was at my corporate job.
If you want to start a blog, I’ve detailed all the steps in my How to Start a WordPress Blog article from scratch! I also mention the most popular niches that make the most money and get the most traffic.
7. Freelance Writer
Not interested in starting a blog but like to write? You should consider becoming a Freelance Writer.
You can make a lot of money as a writer, I know because I interviewed Holly Johnson who makes OVER $200,000 a year as a Freelance Writer.
Holly Johnson found the secret sauce when it comes to writing and charging the right rate for your work. She created a free introductory training on how to build a six-figure writing career if you want to check it out.
How to get started: I highly recommend taking her course if you want to work from home writing and follow her path to success. I also have a number of ways to get writing gigs at the end of this article.
8. Video Editor
Do you like to make videos? Have you played around and edited some Youtube or Instagram videos before? If this is something you enjoy you could make an excellent income as a Video Editor.
EVERYTHING has gone digital and yet there are still so many people who have no clue how to edit videos, including me.
I’m in a lot of Facebook Blogging groups and people are always asking if anyone knows anyone who can edit videos for them and they are willing to pay a hefty price. Especially if you can create cool engaging videos and graphics for YouTube videos.
How Much Can You Earn? You could easily charge $75-$150 per hour.
How to Get Started? Practice is really the best way to get started and taking a course to learn the ins and outs. Here’s the #1 best-selling Video Editing course on Udemy and it’s affordable!
9. Start a YouTube Channel
I normally wouldn’t offer this advice but I recently interviewed Nate O’Brien who started his YouTube channel in college and earns 5-figures PER MONTH!!!
You can check out the full interview here and how to start a YouTube channel for beginners.
This article details everything you’ll need to know to get started.
10. Transcribe
Type what you hear (recordings), that’s what a transcriber does. If you can type fast, this may be an ideal job for you.
How much can you earn? You can make $7-$21 per hour with the companies hiring here or more if you build your own business.
How to get started: Consider a side hustle in Transcription with this Free Mini-Course
Sell Products Online
11. Create Printables and Sell on Etsy
This is a good job for college students because you make a printable ONCE and can earn money from it over and over and over again.
It’s a great form of passive income that will allow you to make money while you focus on school work.
How much can I earn? Expect to earn $500-$1,000+ per month doing this PASSIVELY.
How to get started: Check out my interview with two women who do this successfully and how we can do it in my article How to Make Money Selling Printables on Etsy.
12. Sell on Amazon (FBA program)
If you like shopping and searching for a good deal, you should definitely consider Amazon’s FBA program.
You find good deals on products at brick and mortar stores or online and resell them on Amazon for a higher price. You profit off of the difference.
Amazon’s FBA program makes it possible for you to do this while in school because they take care of shipping it to the customer and any customer service issues.
How much can I earn? This varies significantly but I interviewed Jessica who earns $5,000/mo. working only 10 hours a week.
How to get started: I recommend taking this FREE 7 Day Email Course Jessica created and our interview on How to Sell on Amazon
My sister took her course and earns over $2,000 per month on the side while working a full-time job. So I know this is real.
13. Flip Items from Flea Markets and Thrift Shops
Rob from the Flea Market Flipper is the MASTER flipper. He made over $130,000 flipping items from Flea Markets and thrift stores PART-TIME mostly on eBay.
And, you don’t need to have a lot of money to start either. Rob recommends his students to start with a budget of $20-$50 to find items. Based on that, they should be able to make $100-$300 (mostly reselling on eBay) and then take some of the profit and do it again.
How do I get started? Rob created a free workshop to turn your passion for visiting thrift stores, yard sales, & flea markets into a profitable reselling business – in as little as 14 days. You can click here to sign up.
14. Create an Online Store with Drop Shipping
Drop shipping is a method where you can sell third-party products from a Drop Shipping Company without ever seeing or shipping the item. When you make a sale, the product is shipped directly to the customer from the drop shipper.
Your profit is the difference between what you charge your customers and what the drop shipping company charges you.
Here is a great infographic to show how it works:
Theo McArthur has great success with drop shipping and created a course that teaches you how to launch your first profitable Dropship Website in 14 Days or less and grow your Income to $10,000 per month in profits.
Online Jobs for College Students Without Investment
15. Search Engine Evaluator
Want to get paid to help Google clean up their mistakes? Consider becoming a Search Engine Evaluator.
Google doesn’t get it all right when it comes to the results that come up in search and they need your help.
As a search engine evaluator you’ll rate social media ads and search engines results for relevancy. That’s it! You work completely on your own schedule with a maximum of 20 hours per week and that’s why this is one of the best online jobs for college students.
How much can you earn? $12.50 – $14 per hour
How to get started: Check out the only two companies I recommend here.
16. Sign up for Research Studies – Up to $400 per study
This is a great online job for students because you can make quick easy money by participating in research studies. Below are the best-paid companies to sign up for
- Respondent – $50-$400
- User Interviews – $50-$100 per hour
17. Get Paid from Online Surveys
Share your opinion on your phone or computer to help brands deliver better products and services and get paid in the form of gift cards or cash. These are very common online jobs from home.
I only recommend signing up for Survey Junkie, Swagbucks, and PrizeRebel. The more survey sites you sign up for, the more you’ll make!
Tip: Open a separate email account solely for surveys. You’ll start to get inundated with emails and it will be more manageable in a different account.
18. Get Paid to Test Apps and Websites
You already take tests all the time, why not get paid for some? This is a great online job for students because companies need feedback on the user experience of their websites and they’ll pay you to get it. This is one of the easiest ways and quickest to make money online.
Here are two companies to work with that will give you $10 per test and they take around 15-20 minutes. You can make up to $60 with User Testing.
Bonus Tips!
Start Investing (In Change!) – FREE for College Students!
Acorns is a neat way to start micro-investing. It rounds up your purchases to the nearest dollar and invests the difference on your behalf.
You can link as many credit or debit cards as you like and put your “change” to work for you in a low-cost ETF. The service costs $1 a month BUT for College students it’s FREE!
Acorns monitor your bank account and automatically invests the change from your daily purchases. For example, if you buy a coffee for $1.75, Acorns will round up to $2.00 and automatically invest $.25 in “smart portfolios”.
I can’t wait to see how much I’ve earned with this; I’ll definitely report back.
Bonus: Sign up with my link and get $5 to invest and plant an oak tree to help the world around us grow.
Ebates
If you shop online, you are doing yourself a disservice if you are not using Ebates.
Your online shopping experience will be the same except you just log-in through Ebates first to earn cash back rewards.
I really rack my points up in December around Christmas time because I do a lot of shopping online.
$43 isn’t a whole lot of money, but it’s certainly better than nothing for something I was already going to purchase.
Check it out here and earn $10 if you spend at least $25.
Have you ever heard of Honey? You’ll no longer need to search for coupon codes and sales again! Click on the Honey button during checkout and Honey will automatically apply coupon codes to your shopping cart
Great way to save money and find deals without doing the work yourself. It’s FREE, and you can check it out here.
Get FREE Food, Car Repairs, etc. as A Secret Shopper
I recently had a GREAT experience as a secret shopper at a restaurant with my family where I had to rate the food, staff, and cleanliness of the restaurant in secret.
They actually required that I order coffee, two entrees, and Pie! I’m like, okay :-).
I did the survey on my phone while I was there so I wouldn’t forget anything.
I took a picture of my receipt, and they reimbursed me! A full brunch for my family and I for FREE!
I’ll do this any day of the week and I know mystery shopping can have some cool online jobs for college students as well. You can sign up here and see what opportunities are available in your area.
I’d love it if you used my referral id as the person who recommended you, it’s IN35543. Thanks in advance 
Final Thoughts
I hope this list has given you some insight on how to make money online as most of these are online jobs for college students with no experience.
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