What Jobs Can College Students Do Online?

Every college student needs a constant source of income to support the stream of expenses imposed by the nature of attending university. However, often times, what can be considered a “normal” job is not necessarily available. It can be hard to schedule these so-called normal jobs around class times and the bevy of extracurricular activities already handled by a typical college student. Thus, taking on an online job can be a worthwhile alternative to the traditional “punch the time clock” job, but working via the Internet has its drawbacks as well. 

The Benefits of Working Online From Home

First, there are several benefits to working online, the most notable of which is the scheduling. As mentioned, a typical college student has very little time to relax, what with school, work and hundreds of social organizations holding events. Thus, it can be almost impossible to maintain a traditional job that requires shifts of several hours at a time. 

Most online jobs allow extremely flexible scheduling; that is, a worker only works when he is available, and when he has the desire to do so. This can be especially useful for those who enjoy atypical schedules; an “early riser” can log time at work on the Internet at five in the morning, while a “night owl” may do the same into the wee hours of the night. There are no deadlines to meet, no requirements for number of hours worked, no bosses to kiss up to. An online worker labors on his schedule and answers only to himself when hours are concerned. 

Drawbacks of Online Jobs for College Students

However, the flexible scheduling comes with several drawbacks. It can be extremely difficult to find an online job that is legitimate. Many scam companies use the proposition of being paid to phish for personal information and run identity theft schemes. A lot of harm can be done by giving out private information, especially Social Security numbers, over the Internet. That being said, there are legitimate sources of income over the Internet. But the criticism of such sources is twofold. The pay is often too low to be worth it, falling well below the federal minimum wage. Workers might find that they have labored for several hours, only to realize they’ve earned just pennies on the dollar. Ambitious laborers can make enough spending money to get by, but it certainly won’t be enough to support many real-world responsibilities. 

Online Jobs Provide Opportunities But Pay Can Be Low

The second drawback of working exclusively online is the nature of the tasks completed. Because workers are paid generally according to the number of completed tasks, and the pay is often just pennies, laborers must complete hundreds or even thousands of tasks to make even a worthwhile amount of money, and the repetition of such tasks is taxing. Generally, the jobs done on the internet are menial at best; taking surveys, answering questions about a product, scanning advertisements, et cetera. Workers can get lost in the minutia of the task at hand and give up completely on making a reasonable income on the Web. 

Undoubtedly, working on the Internet has its pros and cons. If you can handle the drudgery of menial work and small pay, maybe an e-job is perfect for your lifestyle. And many college students could benefit if traditional job are not available because of an economic recession such as the current one.

Here's more advice about finding online jobs for college students.

Categories: College Life   Tags: work for college students online, online jobs for college students, jobs for college students online