It’s a common experience for many college students to struggle to balance extracurricular activities, homework, and classes. It may seem unsafe to take on a part-time job, but it’s a good way to supplement your income and gain skills you can list on your résumé once you graduate.
Thankfully, part-time work is no longer restricted to waitressing or in-store retail. Online jobs are prevalent these days, allowing you to work from home, create your schedule, and develop transferable skills to help you in your chosen field.
Top 15 Online JOBS
We’ll look at the top 15 online jobs in this post so you may supplement your income while pursuing a bachelor’s or doctoral degree.
Online Tutor
Teachers of all experience levels and backgrounds can find wonderful part-time work as remote tutors. Online tutoring can be an excellent way to get experience dealing with students from elementary school through high school if you’re majoring in teaching.
But remember, not all tutoring positions entail working with kids. Moreover, adult learners frequently employ tutors to teach them anything from website creation to banking. Even if you lack a bachelor’s degree or any prior teaching experience, you may still sign up to coach English to ESL students on websites like Cambly and Prepare. Whatever your area of expertise, offering online tutoring lessons is a great way to monetize your expertise and make additional cash.
Virtual Assistant
As a virtual assistant, you can use your skills in marketing, data entry, finance, or customer service. Remote assistants have a diverse range of skill sets and expertise, just like in-office assistants.
A customer may engage an entry-level virtual assistant to help with everything from data entry and research to customer service on LinkedIn or Amazon. Expert and intermediate virtual assistants can be employed for content production, lead generation, analysis, and marketing campaigns.
Also, job postings for virtual assistants can be found from companies seeking applicants with experience in a variety of industries, such as e-commerce or real estate. These changes might be a great opportunity to start building your professional network with industry professionals and to start your chosen career path early on.
On Upwork, virtual assistants can make an average of $18 to $35 per hour.
Social media manager
We’ve got some wonderful news if your parents ever chastised you for using social media excessively when you were in high school. If you aren’t an influencer, you can still make money on the side by using your understanding of social media sites like Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok.
The number of people using social media globally reached 4.95 billion in 2023, and by 2027, it was expected to reach about 6 billion. It is not surprising that companies across almost all industries are taking notice of these figures.
Social media management can be the ideal part-time employment for you if your degree is in marketing, graphic design, or communications. Social media management may include a variety of tasks like content creation and posting, engagement analysis, reader outreach, and more on a client’s social media accounts.
Starting with smaller companies and working your way up might be a terrific method to develop a strong résumé, even though every customer has different needs. On Upwork, the typical social media manager can make between $14 and $35 per hour.
Freelance writer
You’ll have lots of opportunities to apply your skills as a freelance writer if you’re majoring in English, journalism, or marketing. Content writers can work remotely on anything from screenplays for YouTube and TikTok to articles, sales copy, and blog entries.
Moreover, freelance writing positions can provide a lot of flexibility. You are allowed to finish tasks at your own pace as long as you adhere to your deadlines.
Along with networking with clients across several industries, you’ll get the chance to polish your resume. From $15 to $40 per hour, depending on their experience and area of expertise, freelance writers on Upwork typically make.
Video Editor
One of the most well-liked and quickly expanding marketing trends of the present is short-form video, according to a recent HubSpot report. There is a ton of remote work available for anyone with experience using popular editing programs like Adobe After Effects or Premiere Pro, regardless of whether they want to make video editing their full-time job.
Many different businesses are looking for video editors with the ability to produce everything from films or commercials to digital content. Make sure to look through Upwork’s job postings for video editing if you possess the necessary knowledge and technical abilities. Web designers on Upwork often earn between $15 and $30 per hour, depending on experience.
Voiceover artist
An occasional position as a voice actor could be ideal for you if you major in theater or communications. To create audio tracks for a variety of products, including video games, advertising, and social media videos, clients hire voice actors.
Even while it’s not necessary for every client, having your recording equipment could allow you to bill more. For prospective clients to gain a sense of your distinct voice and abilities, you should begin by putting up a demo reel with sample readings. On Upwork, voice actors determine their fees, which can differ significantly based on the type and extent of the work, the artist’s background, and other factors.
Graphic designer
What better way to kickstart your career than to gain experience with Canva or Adobe Creative Suite software like Photoshop and Illustrator if you’re a graphic design major?
Graphic designers are relied upon by clients in almost every industry for a wide range of needs, from logos and promotional materials to print work and digital content generation. While in college, working remotely is an excellent way to supplement your education with practical experience and make money. Never be afraid to begin with simpler tasks that you know you can complete.
Graphic designers on Upwork can anticipate earning between $40 and $75 per hour on average, depending on their level of experience.
Transcriptionist
If you have a fast hand at typing, you might want to look into remote transcribing positions. To put it simply, transcription is the process of converting an audio file into a written document.
Typing down meeting minutes for a company or closed captioning subtitles for media production are two types of transcription jobs that beginners could encounter. You can even think about being certified to work as a legal or medical transcriptionist if you discover that you enjoy transcribing.
Although qualification is frequently needed for these specialized transcription tasks, the pay rates are typically greater. They can also be a great method to become more acquainted with a field you intend to pursue. The typical hourly wage for transcriptionists on Upwork is between $17 and $22.
Web designer
Nowadays, almost every business owner knows that their company needs a top-notch website. Finding freelance work that will allow you to use your skill set should be easy if you are proficient in the field of web design.
Professionals in the vast and diverse field of web design employ tools such as HTML5 and the Adobe Creative Suite. While some web developers use their expertise to create WordPress pages or responsive websites, others focus on UI/UX design or coding. Web designers on Upwork often earn between $15 and $30 per hour, depending on experience.
Proofreader
For professionals in a wide range of industries, typos are the stuff of nightmares, from print and journalism to product copy. For this reason, there is a constant need among them to find proofreaders who can ensure that spelling and grammar errors do not find their way into the final version.
If you have excellent attention to detail and are majoring in English, freelancing as a proofreader can be a fantastic side gig. The need for trustworthy proofreaders who can identify any mistakes that compromise readability is growing along with the adoption of AI-generated content. Professionals who proofread on Upwork may expect to make, on average, between $18 and $35 per hour.
Photo Editor
Although an image can convey a thousand words, a well-edited photo is invaluable to many professionals. Photo editors can do a wide range of tasks using their expertise, from little adjustments to full-scale transformations to meet the demands of their clients.
To blend and modify images for social media, marketing campaigns, or other ads, many people also use programs like Photoshop. Freelance picture editing could be an excellent part-time job for you if you’re majoring in fine arts, photography, or graphic design. You may anticipate making between $10 and $25 per hour while working flexible hours.
Translator
An internet connection is all you need to transform your skills into a part-time career, regardless of whether you’re studying language studies or just happen to speak two or more languages. The need for translators with a strong track record of accurately translating English into a wide range of other languages has increased due to the modern global economy.
Upwork has many well-paying translation clients, regardless of your language proficiency—Spanish, Chinese, Russian, or any of the hundreds of other languages. You’ll have lots of opportunities to work remotely on your schedule as long as you make sure to only apply for jobs requiring languages you speak fluently. On Upwork, translators typically earn between $15 and $30 per hour on average.
Photographer
Remote photography could be a fantastic part-time career for you if you have access to high-quality camera equipment, or if you can rent it from your school’s photography department. Some photographers focus exclusively on in-person local events, such as weddings and graduations.
Others get paid to photograph things for listings on Amazon or Shopify or to take pictures of food for restaurant menus. You might even think about forming a partnership to launch your own internet company if any of your buddies are studying marketing, graphic design, or copywriting. Photographers on Upwork often make between $25 and $45 per hour, while the exact amount depends greatly on the project.
Affiliate marketer
Referring an internet audience to different items or services to earn a commission is known as affiliate marketing. Influencers who share links to products they endorse frequently employ this strategy. An influencer’s share of the revenues is earned each time one of their followers clicks on the link and buys the goods.
Consider experimenting with affiliate marketing yourself if you have a sizable internet following. If not, you could want to look for a job as an affiliate marketing consultant from home.
Depending on their level of experience and talent, affiliate marketers on Upwork charge a variety of prices. While intermediate to experienced affiliate marketers can charge anywhere from $60 to $115 per hour, beginners typically make about $25 per hour.
Data entry jobs entail entering information into a management system or computer. One example could be to retype several scanned JPG documents into editable Word files. Or you can receive a request from a client to compile specific survey data from several forms and enter it into an Excel spreadsheet. Many data entry tasks don’t call for a lot of specific knowledge, but they do demand a high level of accuracy and speed.
Take a look at the numerous remote data entry job postings on Upwork if you have an interest in computers and are comfortable with standard web applications like Google Docs and Microsoft Suite. On Upwork, data entry jobs typically pay between $10 and $20 per hour on average.