Earning during college days has become more of necessity now than pastime. The cost of education is rising.
Additionally, general inflation and increased cost of living often renders it impossible for parents to meet growing needs of college students, particularly those studying for very specialized courses. Often, college education plans do not adequately cover expenses related to food, accommodation and additional courses you may wish to study.
However, these factors need not deter you from fulfilling your academic goals. Also, paucity of funds need not deter you from buying that expensive smart-phone or dress or prevent going on a summer camp. Adequate online works are available nowadays for college students willing to spare some time daily to earn a fairly decent sum of money.
Also read: The 9 Ways to Make Money from Home
Importance of Earn-and-Learn
A college student who takes online jobs also learns several vital skills. These include ability to handle personal finances, knowledge about savings and schemes. They prepare you well to handle any financial crises in later life, if such eventuality ever arises. To help you make better choice in taking an online job, we provide some suggestions in this article. These online jobs help you earn at least US$ 15 per hour or more, depending upon your location and time devoted.
10 Best Online Jobs for College Students:
Online jobs for college students are generally part-time. This means, you can spare an hour or more, depending upon your requirement and need to earn. These jobs are simple to perform and continue to remain in high demand.
Social Media Manager
Small and medium businesses have social media and networking pages including Facebook Business and LinkedIn. They look for part-time social media managers who can manage these pages. As social media manager, you will be paid US$ 15 or more per hour. Tasks include posting content provided by your employer and answering comments posted by followers. In cases where problems are reported by users, you have to forward the query to the concerned department of the employing company for further action. You may also be required to search and post content that directly impacts the employer’s industry.
Online Tutor
Like every student, you too would be proficient or expert in at least one field of study. This entitles you to work as online tutor for your favorite subject. The scope for online tutoring is very high since there are hundreds of students in your college and elsewhere who look for additional coaching in specific subjects. Other than video-based lectures, you will also have to provide downloadable lessons and test to your students. This job fetches you more than US$ 15 per hour.
E-Mail Assistant
Companies small and large are too busy to handle the flood of emails they receive daily from customers and business associates. While there are automatic email response systems available in the market, several companies shun them. Instead, they prefer to add a personalized touch to their response. Further, companies also need to send queries and other information, product brochures and other information through email. Working as E-Mail Assistant with a company fetches over US$ 15 per hour.
Virtual Secretary
This job is similar to a regular secretary. Only, you will be working online rather than at some brick-and-mortar office. As online secretary, you will be in charge of fixing appointments for your employer, receiving and responding to emails, maintaining records, creating reminders for meetings and scheduling travel, among other tasks. Virtual Secretaries are in great demand. You can earn as high as US$ 25 per hour with this online job, depending upon the company and location.
Micro Tasking
Micro Tasking is a rather simple online job. Your employer will send data such as advertisements, announcements, news articles and features or other content that is meant for publishing online or in print. Your task is to check the content provided for spelling errors, grammatical mistakes, proper punctuation and other errors and mistakes. These have to be corrected and sent to the employer, along with the original copies. Tasks may also include correcting invitation and business cards and other documents. Law students can earn more by checking and correcting legal documents for errors. Micro tasking online earns between US$ 15 to US$ 20 per hour.
Online Translator
This online job is particularly well suited for foreign students as well as those who possess expert level fluency in foreign and English languages. Companies having business interests abroad look for part time online translators. Tasks involve translating business communications and sending emails in a foreign language or to English. Additionally, you can earn extra money by providing real-time translations during teleconferences held on Skype and other platforms with foreign associates. This job can fetch you as high as US$ 50 per hour, depending upon the range of online translation services you can offer.
Cyber Marshal
With an exponential increase in the number of websites offering objectionable content related to terrorism and pedophilia, law enforcers and pressure groups look for cyber marshals. As cyber marshal, your task includes detection and reporting objectionable websites to Internet service providers, law enforcers and other agencies who then take the required action to block them or initiate legal action. Your work and identity are maintained secret. The job can be pretty engrossing since it involves playing the cat-and-mouse game online. Objectionable websites have their ways of circumventing sophisticated detection software. However, they cannot override human intelligence. For those with passion for sleuthing, online cyber marshal is a great job that fetches you at least US$ 25 per hour.
Medical Transcription
This is the most common job that any college student can perform online. Medical transcriptionist listen to audio and video feeds that consist of talks between patients and doctors, surgeons and crew in operation theatres and radio chatter between emergency medical service providers. The objective of these transcriptions is to create a digital database of information that can be stored easily and is readily available. It is used for a plethora of purposes such as tracking a patient’s medical history to improving healthcare and emergency medical services. Medical transcriptionists earn US$ 20 per hour or more, depending upon which company or clinic you enroll.
CCTV Surveillance
Plush residential areas and non-sensitive industrial installations are monitored round-the-clock by Close Circuit TV (CCTV) cameras. However, companies are often at loss to have images from these cameras monitored 24/7 since it involves huge manpower and adds to payroll expenses. Instead, they depend upon individuals including college students who can watch live video feeds on their computer or smart-phone for a fixed time during the day. In case of any untoward or suspicious event, you have to alert the security agency or law enforcers such as police, to take the required action. This online job pays over US$ 20 per hour.
Content Writer
Blogs, online stores, news agencies and host of other businesses want high quality and interesting content on myriad subjects for posting on their websites. They pay on a ‘per-word’ basis- meaning, you get paid for every word you write. However, your writing has to be concise and informative while being presented in a style that keeps readers engrossed. College students with a passion for writing can take this part time job and earn over US$ 15 per hour.
In Conclusion
To begin part-time and online work as college student, the first step is to register with a reputed website. You will need a valid email ID to register. Online registration process is very simple. Once completed, you will receive several emails of jobs that best suit the profile you have posted online. Opt for the one that best suits your requirements and skills. Often, online work by college students opens great vistas for future careers since companies are willing to hire you as fresher because you already know a few details about their business. Other than earning you some good money part time, taking an online job as college student makes great career sense as well.