Side Hustle Ideas For Students & Young People

Here’s how you can make money from side-hustles straight from your bedroom.

Being a student is tough and can come with a lot of unexpected costs. While student loans can help you to cover the cost of rent, most students find that it’s not enough to cover further costs that come with being in uni such as grocery shopping or social activities.

For students whose student loan isn’t enough to cover all of their monthly living expenses, there’s the option to find a part-time job, however, this isn’t always straight forward. While having a part-time job is a great additional source of income, as a student it can be hard to juggle a job and the hours your employer needs you to work with your uni work and lecture schedule and employers might not be sympathetic to this. It can also be harder to find a part-time job than you think (as there are a lot of students looking for one) and it can mean less time for you to balance your social life with your studying schedule.

Luckily, there’s another solution that can help you to earn a bit of money to help cover your monthly living expenses and this is where side-hustles come in.

What is a side-hustle?

A side-hustle is an additional way to make money, outside of having a job. Lots of students turn to side-hustles to help cover the living costs of being in uni instead of getting a traditional part-time job as it can be more flexible and you can work on your own schedule.

Side-hustles don’t necessarily have to be a job as such, but it is something that you’ll have to do on a regular basis in order to earn a significant income. The best part about side-hustles is they can normally be pretty fun and something you enjoy doing and a good way to get cash fast if you really need it.

While having a part time job might require you to work a couple of 8 hour shifts a week, a side-hustle might only be a few hours a week or less but you can still earn money from it and sometimes it can be super easy to do it. The majority of the time, side-hustles can be done from home too so it doesn’t take a huge amount of effort to do so it’s perfect for busy students.

How to make money from your side-hustle

Well, this depends on what your side-hustle is and how much time you’re willing to put into it. Think about how much time you have per week and how much time you have to dedicate to your side-hustle. The more time you spend on it and take it seriously as if it were a full-time job, the greater your chances are at succeeding and earning more.

So, enough about all that, here are some of the best side-hustles for students and how they can work.

Good side hustle ideas for students

1. Sell clothes on Depop or Vinted

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If you’re a bit of a hoarder, having a clear out can earn you a lot of money if you know all the right tips and tricks. Depop and Vinted are reselling apps which have a huge student following and if you haven’t sold something on one of them before, you’ve most likely bought something or had a browse at least once. Depop and Vinted are really good apps for sustainable shopping and finding bargains and as a seller you can potentially earn a steady cash flow if you’re committed to uploading items and being responsive to potential sellers.

Have a clear-out and find clothes, shoes and accessories that you really don’t wear anymore and are in a good condition and get listing them on your accounts. The golden rule of reselling is to make sure you’re being honest about the condition of the clothes and to reduce the prices and be willing to negotiate prices with prospective buyers- you’ll be far more likely to make a sale!

If your item is brand new with the tags and no longer available from the brand than you can charge the price you bought it for, but for the majority of items that have been worn mark the price down and expect to get offers from prospective buyers. Once you’ve started selling on Depop or Vinted you can build up a good reputation as buyers have the chance to leave reviews on your profile and the more 5-star reviews you have, the more people are likely to buy from you.

2. Tutor other students

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There will always be other students who might need help in subjects you’re particularly good at and there are plenty of ways you can advertise yourself as a tutor and charge for weekly sessions. Many uni students often tutor younger students at A-Level or GCSE level, as if you’ve recently been through the topics or exams that they’re sitting and performed really well in them, you’re probably still really knowledgable about the topic and can offer them good advice.

You can advertise yourself as a tutor either on Facebook groups or create your own website or hand out flyers to help get your name out there and build up a client base.

3. Sell textbooks to first year students

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If you’re in your second or third year of uni you probably have a stack of old textbooks that you no longer need that are collecting dust in your room. Textbooks are normally quite expensive to begin with, so many students look for second hand copies to save some money and as the majority of degree courses rely on core books that don’t change each year there will always be students in the years below who are looking for these books. You might even have GCSE or A-Level books you no longer need that you can sell to school or sixth form students. You can post your books in your uni Facebook groups or book swap groups or try selling them on Depop, Vinted or even eBay.

4. Take on freelance work

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If you’re a graphic designer, writer or social media fan you could use this to your advantage to earn an additional income. Freelance work is you working for you and taking on clients who need help with certain things. Whether that’s proofreading people’s essays, designing logos, writing articles for magazines or running social media pages for small brands.

Many companies often advertise when they’re looking for freelancers to help them out with tasks, but in order to build up a reputation as a reliable freelancer you should create a website or portfolio to display your work and start building up a regular client base.

5. Use social media as an income source

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It’s no secret that influencers and YouTubers earn a steady income and there’s no reason why you can’t do it too.

Taking the plunge and making a YouTube channel can be quite hard work as the standard is super high, you’ll need to have a good camera and a ring light and be committed to filming videos and uploading, but with dedication and hard work there’s no reason why your channel can’t take off.

An easier route could be TikTok or Instagram as it’s much easier to gain followers and pick up engagement and grow an account. By consistently making TikToks or Reels, posting on Instagram and using the right hashtags you can suss out the algorithm and organically grow your accounts. While it can take time, once you’e gained a small following there are loads of small brands that want exposure and will be willing to either send you things for free or pay you to advertise them and their products. Going viral on social media and gaining a following can take time and effort, but with some consistency and copying what your fave influencers do you can definitely earn money from social media and it can be a really fun side-hustle!

6. Sell things on Etsy

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If you have a creative side you can sell your creations on online marketplaces like Etsy. Whether you make earrings, coasters, birthday cards or handmade clothing Etsy is a great place for finding unique and handmade gifts and if you have time to spend on your hobbies and creating them, you can easily build out an online business via your Etsy shop.

7. Pet sit

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If you love animals, there are people out there that will pay you to look after their pets. Sometimes people need to go on holiday or don’t have time to take their dogs for a walk and will genuinely pay you to do it for them. Looking after other people’s pets and getting paid for it is definitely a win-win situation and something that’s pretty easy to do. There are loads of websites and apps you can sign yourself up for to try this out, or if you know people with pets you could offer to look after them and walk them for a small fee.

Need more money advice? Check out the average student budget and how to manage your money and make it go further.