Working part-time, while going to school, is a great way to fund your education. There are countless stories out there of folks who balanced studies with a part-time job, in order to pay off their tuition bill as they went. Sure, it’s a considerable sacrifice and comes with it’s own challenges. But for those that are focused, motivated, determined and resilient, it is a key ingredient in the recipe for a priceless post-graduation debt-free life.
Here are a few ways to pick up side income to cut down on tuition:
- federal work-study programs
- get a fast food or retail job
- start blogging/vlogging/social media account
- tuition reimbursement from work (Chipotle, Starbucks, etc..)
- scholarships from work (Taco Bell’s Live Mas Scholarship)
- find a paid internship
- look online for side jobs in your local community
- on-campus teaching assistant jobs
- delivery jobs (uber eats, door dash, etc..)
- freelance jobs (Fiverr)
- tutoring
- babysitting, dog-walking, etc..
- flipping furniture, electronics, etc..
While side jobs are a great way to burn down the tuition bill, it is worth noting that how much you make on the side can potentially have an impact on any federal aid you receive for college. When you fill out and submit the FAFSA form, you’re required to state any income you make – if that income goes over the Estimate Family Contribution (EFC) salary threshold, it could reduce the amount of federal aid you receive. For the 2020-2021 year, families making under about $27,000 annually and students making under about $7000 annually qualified for automatic federal aid (sometimes called “auto zero EFC”). So, if you make under that amount, you’re fine and you’ll get all the federal aid available to you. However, if you end up making more than that, you’re aid will be reduced.
One way to get around this is to get a job on or off-campus, as part of the Federal Work-Study Program. When you earn income as part of your work-study program, it’s actually viewed as financial aid! Instead of being taxed on your income, you will get to make money that isn’t taxed and that doesn’t affect your Estimated Family Contribution.
Look for side jobs that contribute to your college major
When looking for a side job, try to find opportunities that coincide with your future. The easy win is to take anything that pays money, but it would be a good use of your time to put your energy towards a job that adds skills and experience to your resume. That way, when you do finish college and move on to the work world, you’ll have already gained some valuable knowledge that you can speak to before starting your career – it will definitely help with interviews.