You’ve paid your fees, bought your books and now you’re broke. How’re you going to manage on a day-to-day basis while you’re studying? Once settled on campus, waste no time, get to searching for viable income earning options before you’re too late. There are many out there, you just have to be persistent and a little creative.
Here are a few suggestions:
On campus jobs – they sometimes offer tuition discounts and a wage for your service. At the larger universities a career and placement service exists in order to help in this regard. Generally these jobs are flexible, considering your class schedule and other needs.
Off campus jobs which can be either weekend, evening or seasonal jobs. Some examples are: participating in research studies, being a Call Centre agent, or acting as assistants or waiters/ bartenders in hotels and fast foods or even as a temp in an office in the evenings.
Seasonal jobs include participating in the electoral process, and the Census process or even doing jobs like becoming retail assistants in the Christmas season.
Use Your Skills to Make Money. Here are a few ideas:
o Babysitting services
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o Typing and Proofreading Services – remember, typing and proofreading
someone’s paper is fine, but if you start doing major edits and doing someone
else’s homework, this constitutes academic dishonesty.
Tutoring/Teaching – use your strength in a subject to make money on and off
campus in spare time, weekends and holidays.
Sell the things you no longer need such as old text books, clothes and possibly used
electronics, such as Ipods, and Video games.
If you’re good in cosmetology, offer a “nails and hair” service to ladies – and even
men – on campus.
Word processing and graphic arts services
Be a promoter for a company – this is generally weekends and can be flexible. There
are many companies which recruit promoters, keep them on file and call them as and
when required for a promotion.
Sign up with a talent agency and earn money by appearing in an advertisement.
Offer your writing skills as a freelance writer/editor to the press or a publishing
company.
Join a network marketing company which might earn you cash immediately and also
set you up for residual income in the future.
The trick is to be as creative as possible. The more unique the idea the greater the chance of
success. Be mindful though that as a student on campus, your income earning idea should
never interfere with campus rules relating to personal business ventures.
So, with tuition costs and living expenses on campus rising every year, here’s hoping that
we provided some creative and easy ways to make some extra money, to help make your
“living on campus” experience a smooth and financially painless one.
CHOICES Career & Education Advice.