Making the Most Out of Working From Home as a Student
Education requires a lot of time and resources to finish. Most students experience financial struggles, especially in getting their college degrees. According to research by Georgetown University Center on Education, about 25% of all working learners are working full-time while still in college – with 40% of undergraduate students and 76% of graduate students working at least 30 hours per week.
A good way to balance work and schooling is to opt for remote work opportunities instead.
Studies show that remote work opportunities continue to increase dramatically, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the analysis of Indeed and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in 20 countries, remote work is here to stay as it nearly tripled from an average of 2.5% of job postings in January 2020 to an average of 7.5% of job postings in September 2021. Thus, one can deduce that more work-from-home jobs are available for working students.
Moreover, according to Global Workplace Analytics, there is an estimated 25-30% of the workforce who are working remotely as of December 2022!
With just a laptop/PC/mobile phone connected to the internet, there are a lot of opportunities for freelancing and work-from-home jobs online. If you want to venture on this path, here’s a guide on making the most out of working from home as a student.
Reasons Why Students Take Online Jobs
Most students take up online jobs to help finance their tuition fees and living expenses while still in school. However, aside from financial reasons, here are some of the reasons why you should take online jobs:
Get valuable job experience. After graduation, most employers look for workers who have work experience. Especially if your online job is related to the career you want to pursue, it can help you train and gain the necessary experience for your long-time career.
Develop professional skills. Although classrooms provide the theoretical knowledge you may need for a job, classrooms are limited venues to learn professional skills, such as leadership, proper time management, effective collaboration, and proper verbal communication. But by working while still studying, you can develop these skills as you deal with your supervisor or clients.
Build professional network relationships. By exposing yourself to the professional environment, you can build a professional network that can help you once you seek a career in the future. You can either create connections with your teammates, supervisors,
Enhance skills you want to improve. As a student, you might want to improve your skills, such as speaking, writing, and designing. One of the best ways to learn is to take a job that’s related to the skills you want to improve. That way, you are pushed to your limits.
Learn money management. With an online job, you can earn while still studying. So, you can now appreciate how to spend your hard-earned money and learn effective money management skills that will surely come in handy in the future.
Online Job For Students
After reading about the reasons why students take online jobs, it may have convinced you to take on the challenge and earn while still studying. For your guidance, here are some of the work-from-home opportunities for students, which you can take on:
Typing/Writing
Online typing jobs for students are one of the most in-demand opportunities. Some typing jobs are pretty straightforward, such as typing words from PDF files or printed copies into word documents. Other online typing jobs for students include data entry, video captioning, and audio on making the most out of working from home as a student.
Writing is also an online typing job for students with applied skills in content creation. Student writers can create blogs, service pages, how-to articles, and other content to help the SEO of their clients.
Graphic Designer
For those who are into graphic design, another in-demand online job is graphic design artist. Different brands need visuals to attract potential customers. Graphic designers are responsible for developing design layouts and graphics for reports, advertisements, brochures, and magazines that may inform, attract and engage consumers.
Virtual Assistant
Through the help of computers, students can become work-from-home assistants who provide administrative services, such as responding to customer inquiries, making phone calls, scheduling appointments, and organizing digital files.
Virtual assistant jobs require a comprehensive range of computer skills and proficiency in different business management programs and software.
Online Tutoring
If you excel in your academics, you can also be an online tutor for kids, teens, and even adults. Through online video conferencing platforms, such as Zoom, MS Teams, and Google Meet, you can meet your own students and help them learn about their topics in school.
English tutoring has been one of the most requested tutoring services by non-English speakers all over the world. Online math tutors are also in demand, especially for basic and secondary learners.
Video Editor
Video creation continues to be an effective form of marketing for different brands. So, if you are knowledgeable in video editing software, such as Adobe Premiere and Final Cut, you can work as a part-time or full-time video editor.
This online job requires creativity, attention to detail, focus, and patience. Most video editing assignments include creating and editing clips for social media sites (YouTube and Facebook), producing commercial advertisements, and editing special events videos, such as weddings, birthdays, and anniversaries.
Social Media Manager
Millennials and GenZers have a greater understanding of social media platforms, so it is more effective for brands if they let younger generations, such as students, be their social media managers.
Social media managers are responsible for communicating with potential clients and customer inquiries, analyzing social media engagement, and strategizing and creating promotions. This job requires great communication and customer service skills.
Become A Chat Writer
This option is relatively easier compared to the other options mentioned above. No advanced technical skills are required to work as a chat operator for dating sites! And what’s more you can get paid per message that you send, while working part time or full time as you choose. Learn more about this opportunity here.
Benefits of Working From Home
More often than not, students prefer working from home for their part-time or full-time job instead of going to an office and listed below are some of the reasons why:
Flexible Hours. In contrast to full-time workers, students need to be more in control of their time since they work and study at the same time. The scheme of work from home for students means flexible working hours where they can decide the best time to work for their online job and study for their school.
Ability to balance work and study well. In relation to flexible work hours, students who take online jobs have a better balance between their work and study compared to those who work in an office/establishment.
With a computer or mobile phone for their work and study, students can easily shift their focus from work to study and vice versa with just a few clicks.
Take jobs from anywhere. With many available jobs online for students, students won’t need to commute from one place to another. They can even take jobs from different parts of the world and earn a higher value of currencies.
Ways to Achieve Good Work-Life Balance For Working Students
Balancing work and study is not an easy task, especially if the work also requires a lot of your time. Sometimes, you even have to sacrifice your personal time and social life to finish your work and study requirements.
So, to help you, here are some ways to follow so you can achieve a good work-life balance as a working student:
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In taking job assignments, take a manageable workload.
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Don’t forget to take a rest from time to time. Maybe you can take at least a day off every week to relax or do some of your hobbies.
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Plan out when to study and when to work and make sure to stick to the schedule.
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Know your priorities and start with the most important tasks.
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Treat yourself from time to time with your hard-earned money.
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If you are struggling, whether work-related or school-related, don’t hesitate to ask for help from the people around you.
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Set healthy boundaries and manage your time well.
Tips to Find Reliable Employers For Work-From-Home Students
With the vast opportunities online for work-from-home jobs, you might find it hard to distinguish legit and reliable employers from others. So here are some of the tips you can follow to find trusted employers online:
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Read the job description details comprehensively and do proper research about the company.
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Maximize the use of online job sites, such as LinkedIn, Upwork, Fiverr, Freelancers, and We Work Remotely – some of the leading sites for part-time or full-time work hunting.
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If possible, find the company’s social media sites, reviews, and discussion threads to look into their work ethics and legitimacy.
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During communication, observe for cues that may tell the company’s professionalism.
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Doubt the employers who require payment for questionable fees.
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Don’t hesitate to trust your instinct and reject job offers that feel sketchy and illegitimate.
Take the Advantage and Be a Work-From-Home Working Student
Most students struggle financially. Education is never affordable and living expenses continue to increase. In order to help finance their tuition fees and get living allowances, most students take online jobs.
There is a wide variety of job opportunities online for students, such as online typing/writing, graphic design, virtual assistant, online tutoring, video editing, and social media management, as discussed in this article.
Aside from financial reasons, students also take online jobs to get valuable job experience, develop personal skills, build professional network relationships, enhance skills for personal improvement, and learn money management.
If you want to take the advantage of taking online jobs while still being a student, you can also apply to work as a chat operator:
Chatwriters: Be a Chat Operator Even While Studying
Chatwriters is a company that hires chat operators who will answer messages from other users about any topic under the sun. If you are a student of legal age, you can work as a chat operator at Chatwriters and get paid for every message that you send!
As a chat operator, there are no required minimum hours. You can decide to work part time or full time. And most importantly, this opportunity is open to everyone. All you need is a laptop/mobile phone and a good internet connection.
So what are you waiting for? Be a chat operator at Chatwriters now even if you are still studying.