[CyberOperator]

Hey other Americans or college students with large amounts of debt, What would you recommend as a side/odd job during college?

Computer gigs?
P.I. work?
etc.

[mothered]

I'm not an American, but do know what It's like (In my younger days) to fulfill debts.

I always say "If you've ever spent 8 hours of your day working, you should spend 8 hours of your day looking for work". Simply stated, If you really want a job In any capacity, apply for anything and everything within your capabilities.

Apply yourself, and you will land a job sooner than later.

[insidious]

Right now i'm working as a freelance web developer/blogger/do odd programming jobs, and it pulls in enough money for me to enjoy myself and save up for bigger things (like traveling to Europe this summer + building myself a gaming computer).

There are a few reasons I recommend freelance as the goto side-job as a college student.

1. The work you put in is the money you get out.
Sure, you can go apply to your local grocery store, be a zombie for a few weeks over summer break, and pull in minimum wage and blow it off on weed and alcohol once the school year comes around. But in my opinion it's a total waste. A minimum wage job is the 'instant gratification method' of working. IE: you apply, you're hired, and you get a paycheck in a few weeks. It's easy to see the work you put in, and the money you get out. On the other hand, freelance work is different. There's more risk involved ( a potential negative), and so you don't always have a set date for your next paycheck. At the same time, your effectively your own boss, make your own hours, and can work according to how much money you need/want.

2. A Flexible schedule.
Your in college. It's probably your first time on your own, and you have a shitton of stuff to do, stuff you aspire to do, and new things to balance. It gets to be overwhelming. In this situation, having a job with flexible hours/schedule is of utmost importance. You don't want to have to go into work on Friday because your dumb ass boss is making you, when all of your friends are posting parties and all the fun they are having on their SnapChat story. Plus, you want to focus on your studies NOT a temporary job. Ultimately, your studies will (hopefully) grant you a better job in the future.

3. It can be a resume builder.
What's a potential recruiter/company going to look more favorably at: A shitty job at the local radio store, or a freelance job where you tackled a programming project and maybe even managed a few outsourced resources? (considering you're a comp sci or related major, if your not, it can be a writing project/marketing project/whatever). This ones easy, obviously the programming project. It adds to your experience, and you're learning on the job, giving you an edge over the students once the next semester rolls around, and keeps your skills sharp during the semester.

That's sums up my reasoning and recommendation

[CyberOperator]

Thanks for the advice insidious15!

[insidious]

Thanks for the advice insidious15!

No problem man!

[Bish0pQ]

I'm in college too, personally I just work whatever work I can found. Being a student is very expensive, so I take what I can get. I work at a supermarket (behind the counter) in the weekends. I do freelance work for a company and I do freelance work myself (meaning fixing pc's, security scans, promotions etc.)

If you combine that all together I have a pretty descent amount of cash I can spent each month.

[Blacksmith]

Insidious is definitely onto something; freelance work is oftentimes where it's at. The best thing about it is that you can fit it into your schedule wherever you can, and you can take some time off if classes and other commitments get too heavy. A regular, 9-to-5 job would perhaps fire you the moment you miss a couple days, but since freelance work is often on a job-by-job basis, you can stop taking jobs for a few weeks and come back when you have more time.

It's a good choice, especially if you're doing it for disposable income, and especially during the school year.

That said, I advise you to do some research beforehand, so you can avoid the common pitfalls in freelance work. Underpaid work is a particular issue - some major brokers of freelance work are practically slave labour. I used to do freelance writing through services like Textbroker, and you'd get paid less than two cents a word. At the time, I hardly knew better, but that was definitely much less than what some of my work was worth. (I think that's more common in writing than programming, though. Correct me if I'm wrong.)

That said, even my work for Textbroker eventually paid off. I got a lot of experience and a solid portfolio worth of work done that helped me land better jobs later on. Still, just be careful not to get ripped off if you can. People can and do live full-time off freelance work, so it's not like there aren't well-paying jobs out there. Just need to do your research, and know what you're willing to accept. (And what you're not, by extension.)

[insidious]

That said, I advise you to do some research beforehand, so you can avoid the common pitfalls in freelance work. Underpaid work is a particular issue - some major brokers of freelance work are practically slave labour. I used to do freelance writing through services like Textbroker, and you'd get paid less than two cents a word. At the time, I hardly knew better, but that was definitely much less than what some of my work was worth. (I think that's more common in writing than programming, though. Correct me if I'm wrong.)

That said, even my work for Textbroker eventually paid off. I got a lot of experience and a solid portfolio worth of work done that helped me land better jobs later on. Still, just be careful not to get ripped off if you can. People can and do live full-time off freelance work, so it's not like there aren't well-paying jobs out there. Just need to do your research, and know what you're willing to accept. (And what you're not, by extension.)

Blacksmith is right, definitely do the research.

Another thing to be weary of doing freelance work is finding the motivation to do it. Since you are the boss, it can be difficult at times to just do. Without a 9-5 boss hovering over your shoulder and making your palms sweat, it's difficult for many trying to break into the freelance world.

IF I were to recommend you one thing, it would be to make a psuedo-schedule for the week, where you take into account absolutely all of your responsibilities for that week. Try to estimate the time it will take you to do each task, and note it down.
Make a calendar of your 'fixed responsibilities' which MUST be done at so-and-so time (IE: classes, underwater basket-weaving practice, etc) . Then, for the tasks and the time allotments you have left over, put them into a todo list.

At some time every day (preferably in the morning) take the variable tasks that you need to accomplish and allot time to do them in that day. Obviously, there is flexibility in this.

But make absolutely sure you try your hardest to do that task at the time you alloted. DO NOT procrastinate. Procrastination may be the bane of your existance depending on your personality (I know it's the bane of my existance).

This may not work for everyone, but part of this is discovering what works for you. Try out different productivity strategies, build, test, etc. Soon enough, you will find what works for you and be making the big $

[Feras]

I don't think this is the best idea.

[MasterAndTeacher]

Someone needs a Spanish teacher in their College? just asking for a friend ...