Whether we like it or not, college students are always dealing with unforeseen expenses. You could be saving up to pay the loans you took out just to get to where you are or just want some pocket change to buy a beer with your friends. Whatever your expenses may be, having a healthy bank account is important.
In college, I would legitimately look for any honest way to make money, including online jobs. I turned to, what ended up being, extremely time consuming jobs because I thought they would be easy. I didn’t realize I was essentially wasting my time. Looking back, I wish I knew the benefits of freelancing while in college. The gig economy would have furthered my professional aspirations, something I didn’t get from online jobs.
What are online jobs?
What a good question. I wasn’t even sure what constituted an online job. Sure, it’s remote and can be done from anywhere in the world, and freelancing has the same benefits. So, what makes them different?
An online job typically consists of casual, short term engagements. In some cases, it doesn’t require you to report to a boss every day and there are no strict hours. You almost get to decide when you want to make money, even if it’s just for five minutes a day.
According to The Balance Careers, three examples of online jobs that typically require little to no experience:
- Online surveys
- Crowd sourcing
- Website and application testing
Sure, this may sound great in theory, but there is a tradeoff. As someone who has actually done two of the three tasks (online surveys and website testing), the money is minimal. I would spend hours taking surveys just to make a few dollars a day. I was wasting my time and I didn’t even realize it because I felt like I had the “freedom” to decide where and when I worked.
Enter --> Freelancing
The beautiful thing about freelancing is that you’re able to gain professional experience and still set your boundaries. You have control over your schedule, deciding when you’ll need time for yourself, your studies, and your career. That sounds a lot like being your own boss.
Of course, how you freelance depends on what you want from your engagement. It typically requires you to be more communicative than an online job, but is that really a bad thing? No. communicating is a skill that should be worked on while we’re young professionals so we can blossom into fantastic team players and contribute to a transparent workplace.
Besides, freelancing while in college is something you can proudly put on your resume. Employers or clients, yes they’re different, will see a young and enthusiastic self-starter who will fiercely take on anything. It’s intimidating to jump into the freelance economy, but showing that you can – and you can – is something that will make you stand apart from other applicants.
And the best thing about freelancing over online jobs is that you'll be making real money. None of this "give us ten minutes to take this survey and we'll give you ten cents" junk. No, you'll be making real money to pay your very real bills.
So, what are you waiting for? We’re done making as little as pennies an hour. Head to Pangea.app today and unlock the world of freelancing.
