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How to Make Money as a Student | Side Hustle Culture

By Becca Winkler.
Last Updated 04 Sep 2024
- minute read

Whether you’re saving money for your summer plans, trying to get out of your overdraft, or just want an extra bit of cash for your next night out, earning money whilst you study can help you achieve your goals. We’ve created this article to help you earn money alongside your studies. Easy jobs that you can do that don’t take much time or effort but still can earn you an income. 


Navigate our article on student side hustles


What is a side hustle 🤔

A side hustle is a way to earn an extra income alongside someone’s full-time job, or in this case, a university course. Side hustles can spring from your passions, and if you can turn your hobby into a business, why not do it? You can fit your side hustle around your other full-time commitments, like your uni work, and you can work from the comfort of your own home. You can also have more than one side hustle, resulting in multiple revenue streams 🤑

According to the 2023 Student Money Survey 36% of students stated that they had a side hustle or a business whilst studying. This shows that it is possible to make money whilst being a student, so read on to hear about our student side hustle suggestions…


Easy student side hustles

Become a cat sitter 🐱

If you’re missing your furry friend whilst you’re living away for Uni, then this one is for you! Catinaflat.com allows you to earn money whilst also spending time with cats! Cat sitting won’t affect your time at University as you can drop in on the cat’s home before and after your lectures. You can set the distance that you are willing to travel to look after cats and set your availability, and one of the best features is that you can set your own prices. This means you can earn as much as you want from one drop-in session, however, we suggest starting with around £7 for one visit a day, but once you start raking in those five-star reviews, up your prices ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Become a dog walker 🐶

Cats aren’t your favourite pet? Try dog walking instead! Granted you may have to wake up a little earlier to look after man’s best friend, and they may need more care than cats, but who cares when you can make money from looking after cute dogs? Care.com allows you to pick up and drop off dogs at an agreed time with the owner, meaning more flexibility to work around your studies. Plus going on that hot girl walk after writing that essay may do you the world of good🚶

If you want to be a cat sitter AND a dog walker then Rover.com is the site for you! Sign up for free and you can look after both pets with one account, but do note that they take a 15% fee from your earnings 💸

Create content online 💻

Why not turn your pet-sitting side hustle, into a side side hustle and create content about it online? Use your love of social media to create content and make money. From product reviews on YouTube to becoming a UGC creator on TikTok, companies are always looking for people to create content for their brand online. All you need is your phone, some confidence and creative flare, and a bit of determination. Once you have a portfolio of content, you can reach out to companies that you love and offer to create content for them in exchange for a small fee or a free product. Work your way up to the big bucks 💰

Online surveys 📒

If you love giving your opinion on topics, you might want to try making money from online surveys. You can complete surveys from the comfort of your own home, and most of the surveys will only take between 10 – 30 minutes. You can be compensated with gift cards or money, but some sites only allow you to take out the money from your account once you reach a certain threshold, so double-check these factors when signing up. Here are some online survey sites that we recommend are;  i-Say,  Swagbucks,  Curious Cat,  Branded Surveys

Sell unwanted clothes online 👗

This is a classic side hustle for anyone who is looking to make a bit of extra money. We know students love to stay on top of the latest fashion trends but need to do so on a budget, so why not create an ecosystem of buying and selling unwanted clothes on sites like Vinted and Depop. You can set your own prices but also be open to negotiating with customers. And if you’d prefer to try on second-hand clothes before you buy them, you can shop sustainably at charity shops. If you live in South London, read our blog post about the best charity shops, 👉 here 👈

Become a mystery shopper 🛍️

Whilst on the subject of buying clothes, if you love to shop till you drop, then becoming a mystery shopper is the way to go! You can be paid for buying certain items in certain shops, or you may be able to grab a cheeky free meal out! All you have to do is to create a free account on a mystery shopping site like Market Force or iShopFor Ipsos and then apply to the various tasks on the websites. You will need to keep hold of your receipts so that the company can reimburse you, but have fun with it! And if you refer your friends to sign up, you may also receive an extra bit of income too 💷

Amazon product reviewer 📦

If you want to get FREE products then you can become an Amazon product reviewer. Amazon Vine allows users to receive products for FREE in exchange for an insightful review. The way to make money from this is by then selling the product on Amazon Marketplace (or another second hand site like eBay). If you don’t want to keep the free product, sell it on, and make some money. It’s worth noting that Amazon Vine is an invite-only programme, so it may take some time for your account to be accepted. Some unofficial Amazon product review sites will pay you in exchange for a free product and a 5-star product review, but be careful with these companies, because if you post too many 5-star reviews, Amazon may catch on and ban you from writing any more ❌

Paying tax on your side hustle🏦

Now onto the boring but important stuff. It is possible to make quite a bit of money from your side hustles, and because of that, it is also important to understand that you may have to declare how much you are earning from it to HMRC. If you earn £1,000 or more, then you will have to declare this income and register as self-employed. You will then need to fill out a tax return form for the tax year (April – March), stating how much you have made from your side hustles. Learn more about this on the Gov.uk website


Finding the right side hustle for you can be a challenge, but try several out and we’re sure you’ll find the best one for you! For more tips and tricks on how to navigate your way through university, follow the Resooma socials📱


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