College is expensive. After tuition, at the least, you still have to buy books. Once you consider the costs of alcohol, Ubers, covers, online shopping, and the little snacks you buy after you inevitably run out of flex points, you’ll be looking for some way to make extra money. One option is to get an on-campus job, with Campus Dining, RecSports, or at an office. These jobs are flexible, convenient, and some of the desk jobs let you do homework while you work. Although the commitment seems minimal, the level of commitment required for an on-campus, scheduled job always freaked me out and I instead turned to “side hustle” culture. In this article, you’ll find several side jobs that could help you earn a little extra cash.
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Psychology Test Subject
Psychology needs to find test subjects somehow, right? Last year, I was scrolling through the TheWeek@ND email and found a posting for a study that was seeking subjects. I signed up for that study and one more and ended up making about $40 between the two studies. The rate ended up being about $10/hr, but I found participating to be relatively interesting. If you’re looking for a quick, low commitment way to make a little cash, I’d recommend scouring the emails blasts.
2. Survey Subject
This is pretty low-reward but, if you have some Netflix time, you can watch The Office and take surveys at the same time and companies will pay you for your opinions. They are pretty slow to yield rewards, but if you take a decent amount of surveys over a break, you’ll have some extra money for the future. I’ve tried Opinion Outpost and Pinecone Research, but I know there are others.
3. Grocery Delivery
Over the summer, the schedule for my job was pretty irregular, so I signed up to shop for Shipt. It was a little stressful at first, but once you get the hang of it, you can get a decent amount of orders done in several hours. You shop for the groceries, checkout using a preloaded card, and then deliver the groceries to the member’s homes. You make a percentage on the order plus tips. If I had two days off from work, I could make $60-$100 if I did a few trips per day.
4. Mentor
This summer, I also started working in the mentorship division of a college prep startup, CollegeVine. I’m paired up with high school students; we work together to formulate a plan to help them realize their goals. As a mentor, you meet with your client once a week, sometimes briefly, other times for a longer call. It pays well and you work with your clients to set the schedule. This job is perfect for students and is truly rewarding.
I’m sure that I’m leaving countless side hustles off my list, but these are just a few that I’ve tried. I hope they help you fund your addiction, be it coffee or CJs.