If you are seeking out ways to make money at school, learn how you can make money at school even if you are in middle school, high school, or college.
When I was in school I would always find creative ways to earn some money on the side. For me, I flipped iPhones and would sell anything I could find on eBay. But that can only get you so far — and there are plenty of ways for students to make money outside of school. So why not use this time to earn some extra cash?
If you're an ambitious student looking for realistic ways to make money at school, check out these 32 ideas.
Who knows, one of these money making methods may lead to a new side hustle so you can start building multiple sources of income.
List of Best Ways to Make Money While at School
1. Get a free stock right now
We all heard the old saying “Make your money work for you” right? Investing can sound tough if you don't have a lot of money lying around. But investing can be for everyone — and you can even get a free stock.
For about 3 minutes of work, you can earn yourself a random stock (anything from Sprint to Apple) whose value is anywhere between $3.00 and $200 and the value fluctuates with market movements.
You can really get a free stock like Apple with an investing app called Robinhood. They are currently running a free stock bonus through this link — which will give you a completely random stock once you sign up. You don't even have to deposit any money to get the stock.
There are no obligations to actually invest your money once you sign up – so it truly is free money. Click here to get your free stock.
2. Earn money reading emails
You can make money at school by evaluating products and services. Get up to $50 for each completed survey, product and service reviews. Plus earn up to $.50 for every email you read.
This site is free to join — MindsPay compensates its members to test out products, services and give feedback on those tested. It's free to sign up and only requires a small amount of information. Click here for a registration bonus after confirming your email address.
3. Start a blog while at school
If you are looking for ways to make extra money at school then you should probably know about blogging. You probably already have a friend or two that blogs. But do you really know how much potential there is to make money with blogging?
I started blogging while in college and now I do it full-time. I earn over six figures per year working from home (mostly in my PJs), and it all started just by taking action and starting a blog. I had no idea what I was doing when I started and just learned along the way. It wasn't easy, but if you like the idea of creating an online business through blogging it is a great way to make money at school.
The best part? Starting a blog is easy. You can get the initial set up done in under 20 minutes.
4. Get paid to take surveys online
Taking online surveys to make extra money is a no-brainer!
You definitely won’t get rich or make hundreds of dollars per day with a survey alone, but you won’t waste much time, and you can start earning money while in school the easy way. Here is my favorite (and highest paying) survey site:
Survey Junkie: This is a free survey app for your phone that pays you to take online surveys, participate in focus groups, and try new products. And, I really mean free all around – free to join and they don’t charge anything to be a member (they will actually pay you in cash via PayPal). You can get a free registration bonus for free when you join through this link.
5. Get paid to lose weight in school
HealthyWage offers people the opportunity to earn cash for losing weight. Any student may be thinking…earn cash for losing weight?
Sounds too good to be true, but you read it right.
HealthyWage's mission is to provide ways to have a measurable impact on the growing obesity epidemic in the US. They do this by legitimately offering cash prizes to make weight loss and make fitness more fun and effective.
Since HealthyWage was founded they have been featured in literally hundreds of newspapers, magazines, TV shows, blogs, and websites since people are really earning cash prizes.
People essentially bet on themselves and how much weight they can lose. Since they are promoting ways to be healthy, your winnings depend on how much weight you lose and how much you bet. It's a great way to make money and be healthy at the same time.
If you wanted to see how much you can earn, check out HealthyWage's payout calculator here.
6. Earn residual income leaving shows playing on your phone
What if I told you that all you need to do is watch videos on your phone to make money at school?
Given how easy it is to lose yourself in a never-ending cycle of YouTube videos, this one couldn’t be easier.
The catch here? The videos include ads.
While they may annoy you while browsing YouTube, you also don’t get paid to watch them. At InboxDollars, you do. Who wouldn’t watch an ad or two if they were getting paid?
You can just leave this playing on your phone and collect money, this is referred to as phone farming and you can get started here with a $5 sign up bonus.
7. Deliver food with your car and earn money daily
If you’re free nights and weekends, you can earn extra money delivering food for fellow citizens around your city with gig economy apps.
If you have a car, jobs like DoorDash are a perfect way to make a good amount of extra cash at school whenever it’s convenient for you.
A lot of people do this full time, so you can imagine that’s it definitely possible to do this on the side and make extra money by delivering groceries, and be on your own schedule.
8. Sell stuff while in school
Are you wondering what to sell at school to make money? Do you have old textbooks from old classes lying around?
You should consider selling them on Amazon. In addition to textbooks, you can probably sell old books, DVDs, cell phones, or other electronics you may have lying around.
You would be surprised how much you can get for your unwanted items. You can check out Amazon's Trade-In Page to see how much they'll pay you for your items.
9. Teach English online from home
Still wondering, how to make extra money at school?
Well, have you considered teaching English online (pick your own hours too)? All that is required is that you are fluent in English, have a bachelor's degree, and have some tutoring experience.
This a great way to earn money from home and already 30,000+ use VIPKID to teach English from home. You can see a more detailed VIPKID review here.
10. Rent out your car
If you're like me I had no idea that I could make money by renting out my car that's just sitting in the parking lot. Did you know that you can rent out your car when you're not using it? And that you can bring in a lot of extra cash in your wallet by doing so?
Renting out your car while you're not using it could be an easy way to make passive income. A well-known company, Getaround, lets you do just that.
Listing your car is quick and easy and takes less than 10 minutes to set up. Oh, and they also protect your car against physical damage, so you're fully covered.
You can sign up here and start making money with your car.
11. Get a $75 bonus just for opening a free account at SoFi
Using SoFi Money is simple and you can get a $75 welcome bonus when you sign up for SoFi Money and make two direct deposits of at least $500 each—plus, you can get ATM fees reimbursed and spend on a debit card with no account fees.
Sign up for SoFi Money today and pay no account fees or ATM fees worldwide– and get $75 when you fund your account with at least $500 two times.
12. Get paid to save and collect $5 right now
The Cleo messenger bot can help you budget, save and track your spending. You can literally sign up on Facebook Messenger in a few minutes.
Ask Cleo anything from ‘what’s my balance’ to ‘can I afford a coffee’, and she’ll do the calculations instantly. Let Cleo do the work, as she puts your spare change aside automatically, sets you a budget, and helps you stick to it.
Use this Cleo Promo Link for $5 free and after creating a Cleo Wallet which takes 5 minutes tops. You can also instantly withdraw to your bank account.
13. Start a podcast and make money through sponsorships
If you can build an audience for your podcast, then you can make some money through sponsorships, affiliate advertising, and other offerings.
Companies regularly pay $250 to $500 for a 30-second advertisement on podcasts.
Pssst.. We also have a guide for that: Guide to Starting Your Podcast.
There is money to be made in school with this side hustle. Alternatively, you can also use our guide to start your own blog (in 30 min or less).
14. Teaching courses online
If you can market or identify yourself as a developer, designer, or online marketer, then chances are you can teach a course to others and get paid while in school.
You can test this side hustle by heading on to Udemy or Skillshare, where you can market your skills.
As you build your brand and become more successful, I would recommend teaching for higher-visibility online platforms like CreativeLive.
15. Start a low-risk drop shipping business online
Oberlo allows you to easily import products from AliExpress directly into your Shopify store and ship directly to your customers – in only a few clicks. It's very simple to open a shop by using Shopify integrations and drop ship items in order to create a business without too much risk.
You can literally start and set up a dropshipping business without any type of product in one afternoon with minimal risk as Shopify has a 14-day free trial and Oberlo is completely free through.
16. Sell your old phone online
Do you have an old phone lying around? You can try listing them on eBay or Craigslist, but this can prove to be quite the hassle.
Or you can easily sell it on Gazelle for cash. This is the easiest way to sell it quickly and make money while at school.
Amazon also has a trade-in program for consumer electronics. You can access the Amazon trade-in program by clicking here.
Another option is to bring your old phone to Best Buy, Walmart, or your wireless provider, to see what kind of trade-in value they will give you toward a new phone.
17. Take a shot of making money with cryptocurrency
Do you own Bitcoin yet? If you wanted to get in on the action, you can do it with the Coinbase app, which is one of the best places to buy Bitcoin.
If you sign up through this link and invest $100 then Coinbase will deposit $10 in your account – that’s 10% right there!
Remember only invest what you can afford to lose.
18. Become a freelancer and sell your services
Fiverr is one of the best sites in the world. The basic premise is “what would you do for $5?” You’ll find everything from hilariously weird and useless gags to legitimate and genuinely helpful micro-business tasks.
Lately, I’ve been experimenting as a seller on Fiverr, and have found it a pretty successful avenue for selling website optimization services, article writing, and proofreading services.
Fiverr can work for you as both a seller and a buyer. It is a great way to make money and also you can find millions of services.
If you want to try Fiverr, sign up through here for 20% off your first order at Fiverr.
19. Publish an eBook and earn residual income
Are you a good writer? You could write an eBook on your topic of choice and sell it on Amazon, Payhip, Lulu, Smashwords, Kobo Writing Life, PubIt! and many other websites that start you out in your side hustle as a published eBook author.
20. Make Extra Money Driving
If you’re free nights and weekends, you can earn extra cash driving your fellow citizens around. You can earn money by driving with Uber – if you have a car, it’s a perfect way to earn extra cash whenever it’s convenient for you. A lot of people do this full time, so you can imagine that it’s possible to do this on the side and make extra money and be able to save it.
Once you’re a driver with Uber, you can choose to turn the app on or off and drive whenever you have some time to spare. They also have a feature that allows you to select your destination, so if you are leaving work (or any other long commute), you could pick up a ride that was going in the same direction. You can do this 2-4 times a week on your commute and can easily make extra money.
If you have a car but don’t want to drive people around, your other option is to deliver food with Uber Eats.
21. Deliver Food with Uber Eats
If you’re free nights and weekends, you can earn extra money delivering food for fellow citizens around your city. It’s easy to deliver food with Uber Eats – if you have a car, it’s the perfect way to earn extra cash whenever it’s convenient for you.
A lot of people do this full time, so it’s definitely possible to do this to make money on the side by delivering food with Uber. Plus, you can work according to your own schedule. If you're interested you can see how much you can make here.
22. Submit claims for open class action rebates
If you use a product that’s involved in a class action lawsuits, a little online legwork could get you a cash payout. The rules of each settlement are different, but in most cases, you’ll have to provide proof of purchase or product use, like a serial number or a receipt.
Once you fill out your online claim form, you may have to wait a few weeks or months before receiving your payment.
23. Flip items on eBay to rake in cash
I would always buy and resell whatever I could get my hands on while in high school and college. To chalk it up, selling your unwanted items around your household on eBay is a good way to declutter and earn side income.
I've been using eBay for about a decade now and it is very easy to sell things around your home that you no longer use or find items that you can purchase for cheap and then flip them on eBay for a profit.
Someone made $1,1379.79 in one month by flipping iPhones. Just make sure that you keep the fees into consideration.
24. Join a delivery and errand service
With all of the on-demand apps out there today this one is an easy one. All you need to have is a car or bike, in most cases.
Apps like Lyft, Uber Eats, PostMates, etc are easy to sign up for and start making money. There are always people that are looking for a ride or looking to get something delivered.
Another great part about doing this is that you can pick your hours. If you have 30 minutes between classes you can do a ride or two. If you are only available 8-11 at night then you can work then. It is extremely flexible and you can make good money doing it.
25. Become a coach or consultant
Becoming an online coach or consultant for others is becoming more valuable as are in the information age.
If you are very savvy at social media or are a fitness expert then selling your time and hopping on a Skype call or Google hangouts is a great hustle.
You don't even have to start your own website at first, you can list your services on Fiverr.
26. Start a resume writing company online
What is one thing that every college student will need towards the end of their college career? A kick-ass resume. Resumes are difficult for many people to write. They are, however, very easy once you know how to write a great one.
Spend some time learning how to write a great resume.
There are a ton of great resources online from very reputable sites. I went from having NO CLUE how to write a resume to be awesome at it. How do I know I was awesome at it? Every human resource or hiring manager that saw my resume commented on it. They asked how a college student with no experience could have such a great resume.
Learning to write a resume is not difficult, it just takes a little bit of time to learn. Once you learn it then you can repeat the same process for each individual resume your write. Then you can start charging for your resume and cover letter writing services on Fiverr.
27. Get sign up bonuses
This has to be the easiest way to make money online. Sign up for a website or app, and collect a sign-up bonus.
My favorite sign up bonuses include:
- SurveyJunkie: Makeup to $50 per survey in your spare time from home to take online surveys, participating in focus groups and trying new products. Join SurveyJunkie Now
- Swagbucks: Watch videos, take surveys, shop and more to earn real money. Join Swagbucks Now to Get $10 Free
- InboxDollars: Has so far paid its members over $40 Million. Watch videos, take surveys, shop and more. Join InboxDollars Now and Get Free $5
- Nielsen: Will pay you $50 a year to keep their app on your favorite internet-browsing device. Click Here to Get Started and Earn $50
This is a limited time offer… so act fast.
28. Download an app and claim $50
Nielsen Mobile has been around for several years and is trusted as a research leader.
Nielsen Mobile designed an app to help understand how mobile customers use their devices.
You can profit by downloading and installing the app on your devices (mobile phone, laptop, tablet) and earn $50 per device, per year.
All you do is download the app and earn $50 a year per device. If you need to make money at school fast, here’s an opportunity for you that literally requires zero effort.
29. Get Spotted $250 Right Now
- Get spotted up to $250 without fees
- Join 10+ million people using the finance super app
- Banking with instant discounts on gas, food delivery, groceries and more
- Start investing, saving, and budgeting for free
Want to get spotted a free $250 without having to take out a personal loan?
Simply sign up for Albert, and the free banking app will lend you cash for free, you just relax while it will spot you up to $250 any time. There’s no catch.
With no interest and no fees, Albert offers cash advances of up to $250 with no credit check required. And the best part? You don't even have to switch your direct deposit.
But that's not all! With a suite of tools to help you manage your finances, you can track your spending, create a budget, and hit your savings goals with ease.
Plus, unlike other financial apps that rely solely on algorithms, Albert connects you with real human financial experts who can provide you with personalized advice and guidance.
Say goodbye to the stress of financial uncertainty and hello to the peace of mind that comes with the Albert app. Sign up for Albert for free and see how it can help you achieve your financial goals!
30. Download a lock screen app and earn $10 per month
S’more is a lock screen rewards app that allows you to earn points in exchange for placing ads and content on your lock screen.
Every day this app will give you points in exchange for having the S’more lock screen installed, and regardless of how many times you see it, you’ll have points added to your account.
31. Download passive income apps that really pay
You’re not going to get rich by downloading mobile apps that pay you, but you can use these to earn a passive income every month. Money making apps can be a simple way to pad your bank account in your free time.
You probably know these apps aren’t my favorite way to make extra money, but I make an exception for it when you’re just hanging out — e.g. watching T.V., riding the metro, during your break at work, or in the back of an Uber. Might as well click a few buttons and make some money while you’re at it.
Here is our list of the best money making apps if you wanted to give them a shot.
32. Earn money by stop paying high-interest debt
If you’re serious about saving money to make extra money, then you should know about balance transfers. If you’re paying only the monthly minimum each month then you’re subject to paying money in interest alone and not even the principal balance.
An example is: If you have $2,000 on your VISA card, and it has an 18% APR, then you’ll be paying $400/year in interest alone if you only pay off the monthly minimum each month. That’s $400 down the drain.
You can avoid this by signing up for American Express Blue Cash Everyday. AMEX Blue Cash Cash Everyday is a card with no annual fee, and you can transfer your current debt from any type of credit card (all with no fees), and pay 0% interest for 12 months on your current debt amount.
With no interest for 12 months, you can steadily pay down your balance with your savings from the other steps, which will save you a great deal of money in most cases
Ready to Make Money at School?
If you went through this list then you should have found a way to make money at school that you could probably earn fast cash with.
Thank me later.
Enjoyed these ways to make money at school? Then be sure to come back as I will continue to update this post often.
