In 1975, the total cost of tuition at a private non-profit college was just over $10,000. With the cost of tuition rising with each passing year, it is becoming more and more difficult for students to pay for their education. If you are worried about the cost of your own tuition, you may be considering taking a part-time job while you are in school. Traditional jobs come with set hours, however, which can be difficult to work in around your class schedule. One option you might consider is an online job – there are plenty of online jobs for students that pay $18 an hour or more!
Online Jobs for Students to Earn Tuition Money
Several decades ago when college tuition was still fairly affordable, it was possible for students to earn enough money with a summer job to pay their tuition during the school year. Today, however, this is not the case. More and more, students are graduating from four-year universities with a crippling amount of debt and many of them never make their way out from under it. Attending a community college for part or all of your education can save you a lot of money, but the cost is still significant. To help cover their tuition costs, many students are taking online jobs both during and outside of the school year. Below you will find an overview of some of the top online jobs that could help you to earn some extra money to cover your costs for tuition:
Online Tutoring – If you are particularly gifted in a specific subject you can put your skill to work as an online tutor. Online tutoring can earn you anywhere from $20 to $40 an hour and you don’t have to travel to do it! You could also tutor nontraditional subjects like art or provide private music lessons.
Social Media Manager – If you have a knack for social media and you want to put those skills to use while making a few extra bucks, you could earn as much as $15 to $40 per hour managing the social media sites for a company. Start asking around at businesses you frequent or post your availability on a job board.
This video explains what a social media manager does.
Data Entry – This kind of job doesn’t require much in the way of skills or experience – all you really need is a computer and an internet connection. Try finding jobs online through a site like Clickworker. You can also advertise your availability on a job board. This type of job generally pays between $9 and $15 an hour.
Resume Writer – What better way to practice working on your own resume than to get paid to write them for other people? If your college offers a resume-writing course or seminar you can learn this skill quickly and then get paid to use it! Resume writers earn anywhere from $15 to $25 an hour and you can find jobs online through sites like WriterBay and ResumeEdge.
This video explains what a resume writer does.
Freelance Writer/Editor – If you are a gifted writer you may be able to make a lot of extra money online as a freelance writer – you can also put your proofreading skills to work as an editor. There are plenty of websites out there that offer contract jobs for freelancers and you can also advertise your services on a job board. You could even advertise at school, getting paid to edit research papers for your fellow students.
Virtual Recruiter – If you are looking for a job that can be done remotely in your free time, consider working as a virtual recruiter. This job will require you to post available jobs, screen resumes, and conduct preliminary interviews. You can earn anywhere from $20 to $30 per hour and you may also make a commission if you find the right employee for a company.
Virtual Assistant – If you have strong organizational and communication skills you could earn some extra money as a virtual assistant. Virtual assistants do things like social media management, website maintenance, research, data entry, and customer service. You could earn anywhere from $10 to $20 per hour with this kind of job and there are plenty of websites online where you can advertise your services or find someone who is looking for an assistant.
Transcriptionist – If you have strong typing skills and good memory you could make decent money as a transcriptionist. All you have to do is listen to an audio file and type up what you hear – it sounds easy but it can be challenging and you need strong attention to detail. These jobs usually pay by the minute or per job, but you can expect to make anywhere from $15 to $25 an hour.
Genealogist – This online job is a little out of the ordinary but it can earn you some major cash –anywhere from $70 to $700 per project. All you have to do is research and put together someone’s family tree and you can get paid! This job is particularly good for people with strong research skills, especially if you’ve taken a genealogy class in school.
PowerPoint Designer – Do you have a knack for creating informative and interesting PowerPoint presentations? If so, you could make as much as $10 to $20 per slide as a PowerPoint presentation designer. Businesses and keynote speakers often hire others to create their presentations and you can advertise your services on a job board.
Tips for Saving Money While in School
In addition to raising money for tuition by working online, you should also take some simple steps to save money while you are in school. One of the best ways to save money is to create and follow a budget. Do not simply assign random limits for your spending, however – if your budget is unrealistic it will be difficult to follow. The best thing to do is to keep track of your spending for a whole month then divide your costs into categories for things like food, transportation, and entertainment. Once you have an idea of how much you are spending in those categories you can set a practical limit. After you’ve created your budget, all you have to do is follow it! You may find it helpful to pay for things with cash rather than a card because you can keep track of cash and once you run out of cash for a certain category, you simply don’t spend any more until the next month.
If you attend a community college, you may or may not have on-campus housing available. Even if this option exists, you should seriously consider living off-campus to save money. Living with your parents may not be an ideal situation, but it is a great way to save money. Another option is to find an apartment and to share the rent with several roommates. You can save thousands of dollars a year by avoiding the cost of room and board. You can also save money by renting or sharing your textbooks. It is not uncommon for a textbook to cost several hundred dollars and, once you’ve finished the course, it is no good to you. See if you can share the cost with some of your classmates or do some research to see if there is a rental option available.
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