“I am a broke college student” – said almost every student ever.
Being a college student can come with financial adversities that may leave you eating ramen and pasta more often than you want. On top of tuition, students also have to worry about the cost of textbooks, clickers, housing, and other living expenses. Furthermore, homework takes up large chunks of time, making it more difficult to survive college and be financially stable. So, how can college students make some extra cash, while still staying on top of school? Here are a few ways you can make that happen:
- Become a Tutor
Are you proud of your math skills or is there another subject that you feel you excel at? Then apply to become a tutor. Universities like Independence University are always in search for part-time tutors who are willing to help struggling students. Not only will you be able to make money, but this experience will also be great to add to your resume. Being a tutor proves that you are intelligent, patient, organized and able to explain hard concepts understandably
- Apply To Be a Campus Tour Guide
If you enjoy socializing and meeting new people, being a campus tour guide could be the ideal job for you. What could be better than showing people around, while having pleasant conversations with them and helping to ease their fears and answer their questions about the school? Some other perks of being a college tour guide are learning the history behind every building, setting an example for potential students, making connections with alumni, and more!
- Become a Teacher’s Assistant
Being a teacher’s assistant can be one of the most rewarding experiences of your college life. It will help you become a better team player, as you continuously help students succeed in the class. Moreover, you get to be your professor’s right hand and help with grading papers and projects. The only caveat is that many universities reserve teaching assistant jobs for graduate students, but there are some that offer these positions to undergraduate students in their junior or senior year.
- Apply To Be a Research Assistant
Being a college professor comes with lots of responsibilities. Some of these duties are preparing course materials, lecturing, and conducting research. Because of their busy schedules, professors look for smart and diligent students who can help them with their laborious projects. As a research assistant, you will not only help your professor with performing research and writing scholarly articles, but you will also obtain some valuable skills like using Stata – a statistical software package, and accurately reporting research results. If you are still not sold on this, here are a few other ways being a research assistant can benefit you even in your post-graduate life:
- If you are interested in continuing your education and getting into graduate programs, this experience will make you a stronger applicant, as it can showcase the quality of your thinking and writing.
- As an undergraduate research assistant, you will most likely get excellent letters of recommendation because of your frequent interactions with faculty.
- Not everyone is chosen to be a research assistant. If you are one, your professor has seen your standards of high achievement and your diligent personality. This experience can positively impact your self-confidence, as you start feeling more sure about your own abilities and skills through your experience in this job.
You may think that the life of a college student is not easy and there are certainly challenging aspects. Obstacles like student loans and lack of time and money make it hard to believe that despite its difficulty, the college experience prepares you for real-life difficulties. But it truly does. You’ll gain experience with how to handle stress, spend money wisely, be better at time management, and many other important skills. Use these tips to help you discover new opportunities to make money in college, while also making the most of your college experience.