Abby B. Wondering what are some of the best side hustles for grad students and PhD students? Unsure what you can do with your knowledge? Here are 21 ideas!
My partner & I were university mates that never ventured into building a real side hustle while studying, as we were studious. However, it’s something we kind-of regretted not going into earlier. We were young and wild! If we knew of these opportunities before, we might have done it differently.
Today, we pursue different side hustles and continue trying a ton to find one that resonates to us most. If you’re a grad student, it’s normal to be confused in the beginning – because we were ourselves!
In this article, I’ll be sharing 21 side hustle jobs for graduate school students and recommendations of what you’ll need to start. At the end of the post, you can find more tailored options for making money on the side.
*This post may contain affiliate links. This means I may earn a small commission (at no cost to you) if you sign up for a program or make a purchase using my link!
21 Best Side Hustles For Grad Students
1. Become a local guide in your area
If you’re well-versed in what the local and surrounding neighborhood of your school offers, consider becoming a local guide. Leverage on the knowledge you have and think of what new students and/or parents would like to explore when visiting the school.
Working as a local guide usually requires you to spend 2-4 hours on the weekends. That’s the best time for students and parents anyway. It’s best if you have another friend as a partner to complement your skills and knowledge – plus they can keep you motivated!
| What do I need to start? | – Tour package details – Social media or basic website to promote your service – Join event sales platform or list on Airbnb experiences |
Some local businesses are short on staffs and hardly ever explores marketing their business on social media. You can approach a local business you like and offer part-time or a one-time service – for setting up or managing their social media accounts.
Start by building your own branded social media accounts to show what you can bring to the business if they hire you. Best if you’re able to visit the premise physically as most business owners have difficulty of taking photos. They’re too busy running the biz!
| What do I need to start? | – Basic photo-taking and editing skills – Copywriting skills – Basic social media management skills |
Check out: How to become a social media manager
Have a huge following on social media like Instagram, TikTok or Twitter? You can promote your affiliate links within your content and get paid when someone makes a purchase via your link.
Some affiliate marketplaces to check out are Amazon Associates, CJ affiliate, Clickbank, Share-a-sale and Rakuten Advertising. All you need to do is sign up for an account, get a link for a suitable product/service based on your audience and start promoting!
| What do I need to start? | – Affiliate products or services you can promote – Social media account with growing followers |
4. Create a YouTube channel for topics in your field
I believe that you can monetize any kind of beneficial information by sharing them on YouTube. It’s free to start as long as you are able to record your videos – I record my vlogs on an iPhone.
If you’re home-based, set up a nice desk as your studio and place cameras in fixed positions to start recording videos easily.
Interesting YouTube channels in the student learning & organization niche:
| What do I need to start? | – A camera to record – Portable microphone for better sound – A video editing software |
Read: What I spent for my vlogging gear in first 6 months
5. Build a podcast for college students
Love sharing helpful information to others but don’t want to show your face? You can create a podcast by recording audio files instead. All you need is an audio editing software and a good microphone to speak into.
I personally find podcasts easier to listen to compared to radio or music, especially when I’m doing another task like driving or cleaning the house. Podcasts are great for multitaskers!
| What do I need to start? | – Good desk microphone – Set of quality earphones – An audio editing software |
Check out: 40 best student podcasts in numerous fields
If you’re hesitant on creating YouTube videos or starting a podcast, you can become a blogger by sharing written content on your own website. Blogging in a niche you’re interested in and one others find useful is a great way of making passive income in the long run.
Just like YouTube and podcasts, it can take years before you are able to make a good income with blogging. If you’re not looking to make a quick buck, it’s one of the best side hustles to start today – start with this course right here.
Not looking to invest in anything yet? Check out my article for step-by-step guide on how to set up a blog.
| What do I need to start? | – A WordPress Website – Domain name & hosting – Passion to write for a specific niche |
Read: Why I invested in a blogging coach before doing anything else
7. Learn photography and sell photos online
Love taking photographs with your phone? Why not invest in a professional DSLR camera, pick up photography skills and sell your photos online?
Selling on stock websites is relatively easy compared to doing photograph gigs for events and clients. It may not make a lot in the beginning but it’s a passive source of income as your photos can be sold at any time even as you’re sleeping.
Big companies are always looking for trending photos hence depending on the niche you’re going, the demand for your photos can be seasonal. Some evergreen recommendations are generic street photography, landscapes and buildings with unique features.
Stock websites you can join to start:
| What do I need to start? | – A good camera – Photo editing skills – Consistency to upload photos frequently |
8. Offer repairing or cleaning services in your neighborhood
Have a knack for repairing things around the house or love cleaning your own space? Plumbing, mowing the lawn and cleaning homes are among the easiest to make money with as almost everyone tries to outsource these.
You can start offering door-to-door services around your area by sharing your contact details in community groups. Consider mastering a single aspect instead of doing everything – you’ll get paid more!
| What do I need to start? | – The right tools for your chosen expertise – Promote your service to your community |
Check out: 55 types of cleaning services to offer
A freelance writer can earn up to $100 per article and even more if they’re specialized in a topic or niche. Blog owners are always on the lookout for new writers to scale their websites faster. If you’re good at writing educational info, you can become a freelance writer in your primary field of study.
This beginner freelance writing course is the one I took myself to start my writing career. It’s basic but has everything you need to start tomorrow and earn from clients all over the world. Includes how to pitch to clients for topics they can’t resist!
| What do I need to start? | – Writing skills – Good command of English – Promote your freelance writing service |
10. Sell products online with an ecommerce store
A lot of people talk about dropshipping but the dropship market is huge so why not specialize? As a start, you can sell products for other brands to know what sells and what doesn’t. Once you’ve collected enough data, source products yourself and sell under your own brand name.
Small ecommerce businesses have a greater edge in marketing by focusing on selling one winning product instead of 1000 kinds. Pick a product, create an online sales funnel and run Google/Facebook ads to bring the right traffic to your site.
| What do I need to start? | – A winning product to sell online – A website or online store on Shopify – Skills to run Google/Facebook ads (or outsource) |
Check out: How to find a product you can sell online
11. Tutor your juniors or create paid online courses
Not everyone has the patience – I’ll admit, I don’t. But if I could, I would have ventured into tutoring. It pays well (by the hour) and you’re leveraging on knowledge you already have.
If you’re looking to make things more passive, consider selling paid online courses on learning platforms. The usual price points for a single payment short online course are $30, $47 and $67. This depends entirely on the course module and how much your clients can benefit from taking the course.
I love investing in knowledge and find courses a worthwhile expense.
Some sites you can host online courses on:
| What do I need to start? | – A niched course idea – Well thought out module – Tools to record your lessons e.g. screen record, microphone |
Creating courses is too much work for you? Here’s a list of digital products you can make to sell on easy platforms like Etsy. I’ve made a quick guide on how to make these products too!
As a finance student myself, I have hardly used any software for studies. However, it might be different for you. If you’re an engineer with experience using software like AutoCAD, you can monetize your skill by offering services on sites like CAD Crowd. Engineers can provide services like CAD drafting, 3D modelling, rendering, animation and design.
This advice is applicable for you regardless which field you’re coming from. If there’s relevant software everyone needs, you can monetize your skill!
Other ways to promote your services:
- Kolabtree
- Fiverr
- Upwork
- PeoplePerHour
- Indeed
- TikTok (because anything can go viral here)
- Build your own website
| What do I need to start? | – Skills for a specific software – The software you wish to work on installed – Your hourly rate charge |
Check out: 5 tips to get more clients as a freelancer CAD drafter
13. Pet sitting for friends and neighbors
Need a side hustle that allows you to stay home? Pet sitting for your friends and neighbors can make you real money.
Pet sitters typically make $15-20 per visit and usually take more than 10 visits in one day. That’s easily $400-600 in a single weekend!
As people travel over the weekend, they would need someone they trust to take care of their furry besties. Highly advisable for those with a bigger home and have their own pets so you’re pretty much used to it.
Services you can include with pet sitting:
- Walking
- Home boarding
- Sleepovers and night care
- Training
- Bring to vet
- Basic grooming & care
- Travel trips
| What do I need to start? | – Good skills with pets e.g. dogs, cats – Tools for the service you want to offer – Socializing to get clients |
14. Drive others with Uber or Lyft
I like to make things as simple as possible with my side hustle guides for others to worry less about starting. Start making money using what you already have, even if its a car.
If you’re looking for a side job that does not require much thinking and is pretty straightforward, driving with Uber or Lyft is a great option. However, not every student has a car, it’ll take up your time and won’t pay as much if you’re just doing it on weekends.
Don’t want to face people outside your full-time job? Deliver packages or food instead with Amazon Flex or Uber Eats.
| What do I need to start? | – A vehicle to drive – Smartphone to receive ride orders |
15. Buy & sell second hand items
As students, we like to thrift, keep things cheap and get the best deals possible. Consider going to flea markets or visiting Facebook Marketplace to buy unique underpriced items where there’s actually demand for. Then reselling them again at a higher price!
You’ll need a good eye to spot something worth buying. Best if the items are popular among students or if you want a higher sale price, look away from selling to students.
I personally made more than $2000 in a year reselling my old unused stuffs!
| What do I need to start? | – An eye to spot underpriced valued goods – Skills and platform to sell online or offline – A small budget to purchase your first second hand item |
Check out: How to start reselling things as a side hustle
16. Become a part-time research assistant
Depending on the faculty you’re with, there may be openings or need for research assistants. There may not be any advertisement on this but if you ask around, you might find something.
Research assistants are usually needed for 20-30 hours per week hence a part-time arrangement is more doable for grad students. If there’s a requirement for a final year project, seniors may also be willing to give you allowance in return for part-time help.
| What do I need to start? | – Research skills – Field that works with substantial academic research |
17. Offer designing services for small businesses
I mentioned software-related services before and while Photoshop skills fall under that category, basic designing does not. Many tend to over-estimate what it takes to make money with designing. But from my experience, it does not always require professional skills.
You can offer designing services for logo, pamphlets and social media posts for small businesses – by just using Canva. It’s much easier to learn as a beginner before you upskill to Photoshop!
| What do I need to start? | – Eye for good design – Basic designing skills – Platform to market your services |
18. Translate professional papers in your field
If you have a high proficiency for a second or third language, consider offering translation services. The pay varies depending on the scope of work but your hourly rate should increase as you gain more experience.
A friend of mine quit her corporate job to become a freelance translator and now makes over $5000 per month translating movies.
Start small by translating short professional papers in your field. You won’t know what the opportunity entails!
| What do I need to start? | – Great written and spoken command of primary & secondary language – Attention to details |
19. Proofread and/or copyedit papers and submissions
Don’t have the skills for a second or third language but have great proficiency in your primary language? Offer proofreading services instead for others in your faculty, especially your juniors.
If you have extra time on hand, try to upsell copyediting services as well. Basic proofreading does not involve editing any paperwork as your clients will be fixing their work themselves – you will only highlight mistakes.
| What do I need to start? | – Great written and spoken command of primary language – Attention to details |
20. Build a food or baking side gig online
As someone who has worked in the food industry, I personally believe it’s a lucrative field to join – but it’s not the easiest. Aside from having the skills to cook or bake, you’ll need great marketing skills to get your business seen!
Nevertheless, if it’s your passion to bake, I’ll tell you to do it! There’s no better way to make money than to do something you enjoy. You can collect bookings ahead of time and just bake on the weekends.
| What do I need to start? | – Skills and tools to bake and decorate – Platform to market, sell and collect orders |
21. Start a print on demand business
Want to start an ecommerce business with minimal handling of day-to-day operations? Print on demand is a great dropshipping option that focuses primarily on merchandise such as t-shirts, phone cases, tote bags etc.
You’ll just need to create designs on sites like Canva or Kittl then later upload your designs to products on sites like Printify or Printful. You don’t have to sync the products to your ecommerce store (Etsy or Shopify) until you’re ready to sell.
If you’re artistic and have an eye for good design, POD works well. Even if you don’t, you can buy ready designs on creative marketplaces like Creative Fabrica or Envato Elements.
| What do I need to start? | – Basic designing skills – A laptop to work with – An initial niche and product |
Can’t decide what product to design and sell? Check out my product guides before deciding!
- Tote bags for print on demand
- Tumblers for print on demand
- Phone cases for print on demand
- Posters for print on demand
- Leggings for print on demand
- Jewelry for print on demand
- Candles for print on demand
- Doormats for print on demand
- Hoodies for print on demand
- Pet products for print on demand
- Socks for print on demand
- Pajamas for print on demand
- Blankets for print on demand
- Baby clothes for print on demand
- Wrapping paper for print on demand
- Puzzles for print on demand
- Stickers for print on demand
- Athletic wear for print on demand
- Hats for print on demand
- Journals for print on demand
- Greeting cards for print on demand
- Mugs for print on demand
How To Make Money While In Grad School
Here’s a step-by-step process on how you can start making money while in grad school:
- Identify your interests and strengths
- List the type of part time jobs or side hustles you’re able to go into for each interest
- Rank the list by how much you think you’ll like the job e.g. 1 to 10
- Give an estimation of how much money you can make for each job in a month
- Decide which ranks the best when combined – how much you like it + how much money it gives
- Search online for available part time jobs near you or offer the services remotely
- Join forums and Facebook groups to market your services
- Try it out for 3 to 6 months to see if you actually like it
- Scale up the part time gig to a business, even if you only commit to it on weekends
9 Best Jobs For Graduate Student
Based on current job market, here are 9 best jobs for graduate students:
- Programmer
- Data analyst
- Web & app developer
- Social media manager
- Video editor
- UI/UX designer
- Online writer
- Paid ads specialist
- Online marketer
The list is non-exhaustive and truly dependent on the line of work you do. I am in the online marketing field and these are jobs I find in high demand at the moment – which I believe anyone can pivot to!
11 Good Jobs To Have While Attending Graduate School
Depending on your line of work, these are 11 good jobs to have while attending graduate school:
- Field-relevant internships
- Administrative assistant
- Book-keeping assistant
- Proofreader
- Volunteer work
- Online content manager
- Social media manager
- Online ads manager
- Ecommerce seller
- Telemarketer
- Project manager
My brother was paid about $1,000 per month just to fill in a temporary bookkeeping job role while waiting to start his degree. Nothing is impossible!
9 Good Side Hustles For PhD students
Here are 9 good side hustle ideas for PhD students:
- Research assistant
- Tutoring
- Online focus groups
- Copywriting
- Proofreading
- Pet-sitting
- Home cleaning
- Fitness or yoga instructor
- Affiliate marketing
In my opinion, the side hustles I’ve listed above doesn’t truly consume PhD students in terms of energy or time. If you’re working with clients, try taking up 2-3 jobs in a month. Otherwise, you can choose how much time you’re willing to spend on these side hustles.
Don’t overstretch!
12 Ways To Build Passive Income For Grad Students
The best side hustles are one that gives passive income! Here are 12 ways for grad students:
- Blog about useful topics
- Affiliate marketing via social media
- Sell stock photography
- Build a YouTube channel
- Start a podcast on topics of interest
- Sell pre-recorded online courses
- Create useful printables for sales
- Sell social media templates
- Create photo-editing app templates
- Sell fonts online
- Build an email list to market to
- Sell low content books on Amazon KDP
Which Side Hustle Should I Choose?
Unsure which side hustles for grad students you should go for? Here are the top 6 things to consider when deciding which is best for you.
- How much time can you commit to it?
- Consider how much time you can set aside for your side hustle for weekdays and weekends
- What type of income are you looking for?
- Do you want to make income actively or passively while you sleep?
- What sparks interest & passion in you?
- Choose a side hustle that aligns to your personal goals and interests as it keeps you motivated
- Are you an extrovert or an introvert?
- Different side hustles requires different level of communication with the outside world, are you comfortable meeting new people every day?
- What is your current partner or friend up to that you can leverage on?
- Doing something with a friend or partner makes things easier and more manageable
- How soon do you need to make extra money?
- Not all side hustles make the same amount of money in the same pace, do you need money today or in a year’s time?
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Making money as a grad student isn’t all too difficult. Make a list of part-time jobs or side hustles you’re interested in and rank them based on the income you can make. Choose one that gives the best enjoyment and try it out for at least three to six months before quitting.
Grad students can take up additional side hustles to make extra income. Focus on achieving a higher hourly pay for every hour you put into something. The best way is to create an online business where it does not require much time or attention.
Bottom Line
I know, imposter syndrome can make it difficult for you to start anything but the key is to discover yourself little by little. You may explore one of the side hustles I’ve listed above and find yourself loving another – that has worked for me and my partner!
You will never know if you like something until you truly immerse yourself into it and even if you don’t, it’s okay. Take your time.
Here are 21 best side hustles for grad students:
- Become a local guide in your area
- Manage social media accounts for local businesses
- Promote affiliate links on your socials
- Create a YouTube channel for topics in your field
- Build a podcast for college students
- Share your knowledge with an informational blog
- Learn photography and sell photos online
- Offer repairing or cleaning services in your neighborhood
- Become a freelance writer for student-related topics
- Sell products online with an ecommerce store
- Tutor your juniors or create paid online courses
- Provide software-related services
- Pet sitting for friends and neighbors
- Drive others with Uber or Lyft
- Buy & sell second hand items
- Become a part-time research assistant
- Offer designing services for small businesses
- Translate professional papers in your field
- Proofread and/or copyedit papers and submissions
- Build a food or baking side gig online
- Start a print on demand business
I’m not one to brag, but blogging has changed my life. I’ve been able to earn an income passively while on a coffee date and traveling with my family. With everything, it takes time to learn and not an overnight success – to speed things up, get yourself a blogging coach before starting.
These are my blogging resources to help you out:
- Step-by-step guide how to start blogging in your free time
- Why you need a blogging coach right from the start
- Worried of exposing yourself? You can blog anonymously
Photo by olia danilevich
