How To Make Extra Money: Top 10 Online Job Opportunities for College Students

By Patrick Banks

Posted 6 years agoGROWTH

In this day and age, no student wants to spend the best years of their life doing tedious office work. However, thanks to the internet, there are plenty opportunities for part-time jobs that will help you pay your bills and depend less on student loans. One of the biggest challenges a working student will face is finding a balance between academics and employment. Choosing a position where you can work from home and make your own hours can offer an ideal solution – if you know where to look. For a little job-hunting inspiration, take a look through this list of the best online job opportunities for college students.

1. Completing online surveys

There are a number of websites and apps that will allow you to collect points (that can then be traded in for PayPal payments, gift cards, and other rewards) by doing a variety of simple tasks. Most of these are filling out surveys or answering polls, like Ipsos i-Say but other sites like Swagbucks allow you to earn credits playing games or writing online reviews.

2. Freelancing

If you have a marketable skill, like writing or photography or even web design, set up an account on a site like iFreelance or Upwork and start looking for potential projects. It can sometimes take a while to build up a client base, so don’t get discouraged if you aren’t making money right away. Find more about freelancing at

3. Buying and selling

For thrifty types, finding deals on sites like eBay or Craigslist and then reselling the items at a profit is a great way to earn a little extra cash without putting in a lot of effort – especially if you’ve got the skills to do some minor cosmetic repairs.

4. Data Entry

There are tons of companies out there looking for people willing to do basic tasks like writing transcripts, entering data, or translating. They’ll provide you with the files they need to be addressed, and you’ll have to input the data using their software, transcribe the information from an audio file, or rewrite the information in a second language. Check for openings with HEA-Employment, Capital Typing, Virtual Bee, or TDEC.

5. Customer service

This might involve phone calls, as not all positions are entirely online, but it’s still a great way to earn some cash by working from home. You can find this kind of work with Uhaul Contact Centre, HEA-Employment, Exact Customer Service, The Connection, West at Home, Skyes Home, and more – and all you’ll need to do is provide customer service or sales support for various companies.

6. Blogging

Running a blog can be a fantastic source of income, but does take a bit of work to get started. Sites like WordPress can set you up with a beautiful homepage in no time at all. Most bloggers make money through hosting advertisements, promoting affiliate companies, or selling their own products and services. There are also YouTube bloggers like Every Frame a Painting who use crowdfunding platforms to create informative video essays. They rely on the support of their audience to produce content which can be monetized through YouTube.

7. Applying for scholarships

The first thing you should do is check out scholarship websites like scholarshipinstitute.org ;to see if there are scholarship opportunities you qualify for based on your grades or interests. You can also look into scholarship programs run by private organizations; these tend to be more specific than the larger scholarship programs. If you win scholarship money, you’ll need to stay in school and maintain some sort of academic standard. It’s not unheard of for scholarship winners to be asked to return scholarship money if they fail to meet the scholarship requirements (such as maintaining a certain GPA). Of course, keeping your scholarship once you have it isn’t just beneficial because of the money; scholarship-required internships are a great way to build up your resume.

8. Selling on Etsy or Amazon

If arts and crafts are more your things, you might consider opening an online Etsy shop. Here, you can sell handmade items like jewellery, scarves and mittens, bags, bath and body products, and even artwork. You can turn your hobby into a money-making venture and start building your brand as an artist.

Is it Profitable to Sell on Amazon in 2021?

Being an Amazon seller can be a very profitable thing indeed in 2020. Selling on Amazon is now the sole stream of revenue for the vast majority of sellers on Amazon’s Marketplace. This is largely due to the level of flexibility being an Amazon seller allows. Working from home, making additional money, choosing your own hours, and being your own boss certainly sounds appealing. You need good tools for earning money, so IO Scout discount will help you to save some money and become a profitable seller on Amazon. Added to this is the fact that it’s relatively easy to jump on the Amazon bandwagon and start selling products. But just how much money can you stand to make as an Amazon seller? This article aims to answer this question, and many more about the intricacies of selling on Amazon.

How much money on average do Amazon sellers make?

By and large, most Amazon sellers opt to go down the FBA route (Fulfilled by Amazon). Using FBA is a stress-free approach to handling all the administration and shipping required in your Amazon business. Enlisting FBA’s service means you don’t have to worry about customer orders, or customer returns, or customer complaints, or customer questions – anything to do with customers at all, really! FBA ensure that your orders are fulfilled quickly, and delivered quickly too. All adding up to very happy customers.

Amazon sellers – what are the typical earnings per year?

49% of Amazon vendors make under $100k, 36% of Amazon vendors make $100k-$1m, 13% make between $1m-$10m, and only 2% of Amazon vendors enjoy more than $10m!

And which products sell the best on Amazon?

  • Home and Kitchen – 18%
  • Toys and Games – 11%
  • Books – 9%
  • Health – 8%
  • Beauty – 8%
  • Electronics – 7%
  • Clothing – 7%
  • Sports and Outdoors – 6%

And which products earn the most profits on Amazon?

The most profitable items on Amazon can be categorised like so:
  1. Books
  2. Child and Baby Products
  3. Jewellery
  4. Active Wear, or Exercise Clothing
  5. Electronic Goods and Accessories

Top Amazon Selling Categories in 2020

  • Toys and Games
  • Cameras and Photos
  • Electronics
  • Video Games
  • Cosmetics
  • Books
  • Kitchen Equipment
  • Health and Fitness

What about average profits for Amazon sellers?

Across the board, and speaking generally, the vast majority of Amazon sellers enjoy fairly elevated profit margins.
  • Profit margins greater than 10% – (67% of Amazon sellers)
  • Profit margins greater than 20% – (36% of Amazon sellers)

How long can you expect to wait before becoming profitable on Amazon?

Happily, the answer to this question is not too long. 67% of Amazon sellers report that they turned a profit within their first year as a seller. And the average new Amazon seller makes a profit of around $26k annually.

How much does it cost to start as an Amazon Seller?

In order to gain complete perspective of your costs, you need to know how much it will cost you to get started in the first place. There are some interesting statistics on sellers who commenced their Amazon selling career with $500, compared to those who began with more than $10,000. Surprisingly, 33% of sellers that started with approx. $500 are still selling on Amazon’s Marketplace five years later (or more). This is compared to 13% of those who started at the upper end of the scale. It appears that in general, it takes longer to earn a substantial, and regular, profit selling on Amazon when you start out with a bigger cashflow.

How much should you invest in initial Amazon inventory?

Recommendations come in at least 400 to 500 units of your product. This figure allows enough stock to launch your product well, start ranking on Amazon’s Marketplace, and potentially start offering giveaways and discounts to boost your initial product sales. And, as you can imagine, starting your Amazon business with a relatively low price point product enables you to invest in enough stock to get started, without a)breaking the bank, and b) not running out of stock.

How much time and effort does it take as an Amazon Seller?

Like any business, you need to put the work and effort in to see results. If, like the vast majority of Amazon sellers, you are seeing this as a new business venture as your sole income, then time will need to be spent on your new business. In the beginning, it’s likely a lot of time will be required as you research new products, check they’re viable, find suppliers, check product niches and categories, create listings, and so on. And then, after a while, it’ll settle and you’ll find your groove. The average amount of time spent on Amazon selling businesses is reportedly 11-20 hours a week. That’s not too bad!

Strategies to Successfully Sell on Amazon FBA

Research your intended products using a site like IO Scout to determine the likelihood of them selling, and selling well.

IO Scout Amazon Sales Estimator

Located within the Products area of IO Scout, you’ll come across a free tool within the IO Scout platform to aid your Amazon selling business. The benefits of IO Scout Amazon Sales Estimator:
  • Calculation of Number of Sales
  • Product BSR
Sales estimates for each product can be examined either on IO Scout’s App, or in IO Scout Google Chrome Extension. Each product indicates a total tally of sales against it, so you can make an informed decision as to whether to sell this particular item on Amazon, and if it’s worth including it in your itinerary of Amazon products for your online business.
  1. Consider sales rankings of existing similar products on Amazon’s inventory. This can have an impact on your FBA storage fees, if your products are hanging around in Amazon Fulfilment Centre’s shelves!
  2. Bundle! Bundle products together that share similarities to reduce competition.
  3. Get to grips with selling on Amazon by starting small to test the water, and not investing too much initially.

Key Takeaways to be profitable on Amazon

Selling on Amazon’s Marketplace is a time-consuming business. And you won’t always get it right every time, and choose the perfect product to sell every time. But that’s part of the process. So, experiment – enjoy the process, and learn from errors. Soon you’ll pick up on trends in the Marketplace, and gain a really clear understanding of what your customers want – so you can give it to them! Wishing you the very best of luck with your Amazon selling venture!

8. Scanning your groceries

Since you’re probably already buying groceries, why not make a little extra cash while you’re doing it? Sign up with the National Consumer Panel and scan barcodes as you shop. You’ll help provide information to retailers and manufacturers about where they can improve while collecting points that can then be redeemed for cash.

9. Testing websites

Once you’re accepted into the User testing program, you can start browsing websites and answering specific questions about the quality of the site – and getting paid for each test. Companies work extensively to ensure their websites are clear, well designed, and user-friendly. Sites like StartUpLift, Enroll, or UserZoom will pay money for a good objective review.

10. Writing essays

As an essay writer, you’ll be working with a top rated online essay writing service to help other students complete their assignments. This is the perfect choice for an experienced student who is skilled at writing essays, and who has a solid comprehension of a range of topics within their field of study.

How an Online Writing Company Works

Writing process is a nerve-wracking task. It requires us to consider many things and consume a lot more time. Due to this, students dislike writing task. They avoid writing college assignments because creating academic assignments need extra efforts to put in. Students complain that they don’t get free time to spend with friends. They assigned with several assignments on a daily basis. Sometimes they fail to complete them on time due to which they lose their grades. Studies pressure overwhelm students that they choose to quit studies. According to students, the college hours are enough for them to study. When teachers assign them homework, it overburdened them. On the other hand, some students lack writing skills they need extra time and effort to produce marks gaining assignments. Writing a custom assignment is different from creative writing; it requires good research, excellent writing skills, and command on grammar. Most students lack these necessary skills and find custom writing challenge. Having poor skills is not the fault of students; it is because they spoon-fed by their school’s teachers. When they start their college journey, they find it hard to meet the writing requirements. They spend their day on a college campus, and most of them have part-time jobs and don’t find to improve their writing. After noticing this tension among students nowadays, several writing companies are hiring expert and professional writers to create quality work to help students to improve their final grades. Below are some points to introduce students to how an online writing service work.

1. How Online Writing Companies Work

Nowadays writing services are active they hire expert and professional native writers for all subjects. From business people to students hire them for writing purposes. These companies especially offer to write my custom paper services to students at affordable prices. Students pay them to buy their required assignments, papers, and essays.

2. They Help Students to Score High Marks

Scoring good marks require excellently written content. It should be informative and discussed all the points to make your work worth reading. Online writing companies hire professional and experienced writers who can write on various topics. These organisations hire highly skilled writers who can conduct good research and produce a worth reading assignment or research paper. Most students fail to create an excellent assignment due to this, they invest in writing services.

3. Say Bye to Late Submission

Online writing companies make it possible to deliver documents to their clients on time. These organisations know the rules and regulations students have to follow. Students are not allowed to late submissions when they have to complete their assignment in a short time they end up with poorly written content. Sometimes they fail to complete before the deadline and end up with zero. When a student invests in online writing service, he/she receives his/her work by the time.

4. Proofreading and Editing

If students are somehow able to complete the writing task, the next step they have to take is proofreading and editing to make their work error-free. Sometimes students find it challenging because they are unsure about their written content that is why they need an expert to proofread and make their work perfect. Online writing services writers use different writing tools to remove errors or mistakes in written content. They use plagiarism tools to check the originality of work. After this, they deliver a mistake-free document to their clients. BONUS TIP: Make your CV irrejectable. No matter which position you are applying for, you should stick to for successful employment is a well-written CV or résumé is an essential beginning of any job. It is your self-presentation to your future employer. Remember, there would be no additional chance to make a first impression. So the main aim of a résumé is to show the applicant in the best light and to evoke the interest in the eyes of the reader. Considering the most common mistakes in compiling CVs, it can be figured out the following tips on how to make your résumé ideal.
  • Keep it simple
Be laconic. Mention only relevant and important information about your key skills, outstanding accomplishments, experience etc. CV is not a descriptive essay, it is a brief summary of you as a specialist. No employer will have the time (or patience) to read long paragraphs of text. Make sure to use bullet points and laconic sentences to describe the experience, education and professional objectives. Make your résumé precise and readable. Show the employer the best of yourself and don’t hide behind the gaudy phases and pretentious design. The last point smoothly leads to the next advice.
  • Choose the appealing CV design
The potential employer should feel only positive emotions while reading your résumé. Forget about irritating ornaments or catchy colours. Nothing should draw away the reader’s attention from the text. Choose the design that will profitably emphasize the content. The minimalistic muted features are the best choice.
  • Research the company and its info
Forewarned is forearmed. Try to know maximum information on company’s corporate culture. Monitor the company’s site and try to know more about the sphere of its activity. Subsequently, adapt your CV content according to these facts. For example, if you are applying to an ad agency it is very likely to use creativity and some humour. But every single case demandes individual approach.
  • Customize the résumé
Taylor the CV to every position you apply for. Mention only relevant experience and don’t tell the whole story of your life. The same rule is applied considering skills and accomplishments. By sorting the information for your résumé you show that you treat every job offer with respect and attentiveness. This will create a positive impression of you in the eyes of an employer. Another important point is to describe your objectives. Indicate the direction you want to develop in — it will improve the chances of getting the job. All employers are looking for a motivated and purposeful employee. Indicating your clear direction speaks of you as of a person exactly like this.
  • Stick to the rules
Do not despise the accepted norms of writing a CV. The list of degrees should be presented in reverse chronological order. The experience has to be obligatory mentioned with the dates of every position. The personal language (pronouns “I,” “we”, “my”) are not likely to be used. Moreover, treat the formatting seriously. Use only standard font styles and medium letter size — the consistent and clear formatting makes a document easily readable. Start bullet points about the experience with action verbs. And remember that the most recent experience goes first. The final version of the CV should not be more than 2 sheets A4 in volume.
  • Don’t forget about a photo
Unless the main criteria of successful recruitment is not the appearance of the applicant, the appropriate photo is still one of the important points in your CV. Choose a light photo on which you look neat. Reading your résumé is like the first talk of your potential employer with you. So he should have a clear view of the interlocutor. Moreover, for some positions, like a receptionist the appearance matters. The receptionist is the «face» of the company, so while applying for the posts like this choose the photo for the CV thoroughly.
  • Proofread
Read the text closely for spelling and grammar mistakes. It is recommended to proofread the CV several times for the maximum effectiveness. Freely edit the written to achieve the best result. So, creating a résumé is a many-stage process which requires some efforts and attentiveness. Want to become a member of a dream team? Start with a CV of dreams!
About the author Patrick Banks

Patrick is a Berlin-based dating advisor, motivational speaker, a huge fitness and vegan diet enthusiast and the main editor at Wingman Magazine, specialised in men's health. His ultimate goal is to share with men around the world his passion for self-development and to help them to become the greatest version of themselves. He believes a healthy body and successful social interactions are two main keys to happiness.

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