As most of our parents would say, values and education are the only things they can pass on to us that cannot be stolen. Values can be taught at home; however, college education needs to be acquired in school. Unlike in the US or a number of European countries, student loans in the Philippines are almost unheard of. While there are ways for you or your parents to apply for a loan, paying it back cannot be delayed. You can’t wait until you graduate before you pay back that loan; so with many Filipinos lacking funds for their household needs, some just set the need for college education aside. Young men and women who could have had a brighter future with a degree now settle for low-paying full time jobs to support themselves and their family.
If you’re a college student looking for ways to earn money while studying, it is good to know that there are many opportunities available for you. With proper planning, awareness and enough determination, you can get through college even if your parents cannot afford it and without having to take that loan. Before we even begin telling you about these opportunities, you need to determine your needs first. Try answering the following questions:
- Are your parents providing you with tuition and allowance and you're doing this just for extra money?
- Is your tuition fee already paid for by your parents or through scholarship and you just need cash for allowance?
- Do you need tuition fee and cash for your allowance?
- Do you need tuition fee, allowance and money to support your family at the same time?
Things to consider before applying for a job or setting up an earning opportunity:
Location
If you will be applying for a part-time job, it has to be in a place that’s close to your school and your home. You don’t want to be spending hours in school, hours at work and hours in traffic.
Schedule
You have to check whether the schedule will work for you. Remember that school should be your priority; however, you can try choosing classes on specific hours so you can handle having a job for the rest of the day.
Required Skills
Depending on the type of income opportunity you will be choosing, you need a set of skills. You can’t choose to be a part-time graphic artist if you don’t know anything about Photoshop or Illustrator. You can’t be an encoder or data entry specialist if you don’t know how to use Excel.
Now that the factors above have already been considered, you can start taking a look into earning opportunities. You can visit websites for job advertisements or get a copy of the Sunday newspaper and you might just find a huge number of job opportunities for college students. On top of that, there are more ways to earn that you can also check out.
Assistant or Secretary
Don’t look down on this job because once you are granted an assistant or secretary position of someone who’s preferably in the field you’re also studying about, you can actually consider this as a mentorship program. While some OJT’s take only 2 or 3 months to complete, you can have your OJT throughout your college years. For example, you’re a journalism student and you managed to get a part-time job as the secretary of an acclaimed newspaper writer or a magazine Editor-in-Chief. Not only will you be earning money, you will also gain knowledge and experience that’s way ahead of other students in your batch. This opens a bigger career opportunity for you as soon as you graduate.
Part-time Job in a Restaurant, Cafe, Computer Shop, etc.
Part-time jobs in these types of establishments are always available—you simply have to ask. It is best if you can choose a company that’s located close to your school so that you won’t have to spend time and money to travel to a different location.
Sell Items You Can Make On Your Own
This could be anything from cookies to brownies, lunch meals, accessories and a whole lot more that you can make on your own. Find your specialty and your expertise; when you make really great products, your friends and teachers will buy it!
Buy and Sell
Did you know that even if you’re not a registered broker, you can earn from selling or leasing real estate properties? Find a company that’s willing to take in part-time sales agents. You don’t even have to go to the office—you can simply refer clients to the real estate company and once they make a payment, they’ll give you your commission. If you do really well, it is very possible for you to earn your first million even while you’re still in college. You can also do the same with cars and other types of properties. You can also look for wholesalers and retailers willing to give you goods for consignment. These could be clothes, shoes, etc. You don’t have to pay for the goods until you sell them and you will be given a time period until you can return unsold items. You can sell to your friends, relatives, neighbors or even online!
Sell Prepaid Credits
The income from selling prepaid credits isn’t that large; however, you just need a working mobile phone and a SIM Card for this and you can already start earning. It’s definitely a good source for extra income.
Find Online Jobs
If you go on websites like onlinejobs.ph, Freelancer, Upwork, etc., you will find jobs that are suitable for college students. If you have a laptop so you can work even during your break time in school, then this will work for you. You can be a writer, graphic artist, encoder, transcriptionist, translator, virtual assistant, social media manager and a whole lot more. You can spend as little as a couple of hours per day working on online jobs and still earn decent pay. Opportunities are just limitless!
Find Passive Income Opportunities
Passive income is money you can earn while you’re asleep or while you’re in your classroom. When you have saved enough funds from the job opportunities above, you can start looking into investing on mutual funds. Check insurance companies, banks and financial institutions for a good deal. Investing in mutual funds is an easier way to deal with stock market exchange than having to invest yourself. You basically have to trust your bank to invest for you and just wait for your income. You can start with a capital for as low as PhP 5,000 and you will be amazed how your money can start working for you. You can also look into investing on small franchises such as payment centers or a food stand. With little money and effort, you can earn without having to break your back from working. These opportunities though require knowledge so it’s better to find a mentor who can teach you or you can try learning more about this by doing your own extensive research.
This article was published at The Lycean Times - the official school publication of Lyceum of Alabang.