Alternative Money Sources in College: Freelancing

Tuesday, April 8th, 2008

College can be fun, enlightening and expensive. To help with that expensive part many students get part-time jobs or learn to love Ramen. But for the few that have the skills, talent and drive, freelancing can definitely be a great alternative to sleeping on your friend’s couch. A freelancer is defined as a person who works as a writer, designer, performer, or the like, selling work or services by the hour, day, job, etc., rather than working on a regular salary for one employer. If you’re talented enough, paid attend in class and have the drive, you to can become a college freelancer.

College kids represent an incredibly useful, and underutilized, talent pool, says the FreelanceSwitch.com article, College Students Drink, Eat Ramen Noodles… and Freelance? More and more students realize that instead of making lattes at the local Starbucks, they can be making logos for local businesses, writing for the local newspaper or a myriad of other tasks perfectly suited for most students studying design, art, computers, photography, writing and even accounting.

There are multiple benefits to being a student freelancer. First, student freelancers get a taste of what it’s like to be part of the workforce and still be able to fall back into their comfort net of professors and mentors to siphon help from if needed. Also the work that they do in college will give them a leg up when it comes to those first job interviews. Another great advantage is all the contacts and referrals you can obtain while doing work for numerous people and businesses. This network can help immensely when looking for a job.

Do not let this become an excuse: “But I don’t know anyone who needs work done.” This is where the drive that I mentioned earlier comes in. Ask around, post flyers, go to your school for help. Friends and acquaintances are always the biggest source of work for a freelancer. Word of mouth is the best advertiser; so do a small job for a friend, maybe a professor knows someone who has work. Those first people will refer more people to you, then those people will refer more. That’s called a network.

Another resource to find jobs is the website StudentFl.com or StudentFreelance.

StudentFL.com is a marketplace between service buyers and student service providers. Our main purpose is to make it easy for these parties to connect and efficiently get work done.

A wealth of opportunity exists out there so you must be willing to take it. Some final advice: don’t miss a deadline, act like a professional but be up front that you are a student and always have fun. Hey, its better than flipping burgers.