Earning extra income?

[maelia8]

What kind of work can you do for eBay or Amazon from home? I'm curious.

[ProfLorax]

I noticed that most of this is tailored towards PhD's, but I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions for Master's students. Any options that we could take to get some side money other than waiting tables?

Any part-time job should do! As an MA student, I worked one year at an after school program, and the next year at the tutoring center on campus. It's great if you can find a part-time job that aligns well with your field. 

 

I'd also suggest checking in with the department. My PhD institution doesn't fully fund MA's, but a few MA students have gotten assistantships just by advocating for themselves. 

[spunky]

What kind of work can you do for eBay or Amazon from home? I'm curious.

 

 

well... selling stuff, of course. i've got an eBay account and an Amazon account. i started off selling some extra stuff (like a garage sale) when i was moving and was surprised at how quickly everything sold (used furniture, books, etc. nothing fancy). then a friend of mine got me in touch with another person who gets overstock CDs from places like Wal-Mart or Virgin Music and I re-sell those. 

 

add that a few years (and some diligent work on my part) and i was able to save enough for the first down payment of my current apartment. the good thing about online retail is that basically the only thing you do is (a) reply to emails from costumers and ( b ) list products online. i reply to emails 2 hours every day and list new products every Saturday so you work like maybe 10h/week? that leaves me enough time to pursue a PhD.

 

because i'm good at programming/statistics, i also advertise on freelancer.com and bid on projects people post on there. i'm gonna sound mean for a minute here but i've come to realize that people are so numerically/computationally illiterate that they're willing to pay good cash for a task that maybe takes an afternoon to be completed? all in all, there's plenty of decent-paying websites out there for people who wanna make some extra cash quickly.

 

i think if i were to dedicate all of my time to the online business side of things i could potentially earn more than what any academic position i will ever get. the problem is most of it is just mindless, repetitive work so i keep the business to feed me and graduate school to keep me happy

Edited May 8, 2014 by spunky

[hugthepenguin]

If you're in the northeast, ETS hires graduate students to grade general GRE essays.

 

In addition, my roommate is an SAT and GRE instructor + tutor at the Princeton Review. It's a decent hourly rate and not a lot of work. Consider tutoring with a company or on your own. You can advertise around your school or register on a website like wyzant.com. The more clients you get, the more you can charge per hour.

 

PS - I'd advise against mturk. On average people make about $5 an hour filling out surveys full time. There are way better options that you have as a grad student.

Edited May 9, 2014 by hugthepenguin

[soylatte5]

if you're planning on tutoring independently, i would highly NOT recommend wyzant! they start with taking 40% of what you charge and read every single correspondence between you and potential tutees - they will immediately flag you if you provide your email (they only want you to use their internal mailing system) and close your account if you try to arrange direct payment from tutees (yes, this was stupid of me to do it online but i wasn't aware that all my exchanges were being read line by line (i googled them after my account was closed and this method was disclosed by a former employee))

 

i haven't used this website but plan to since they don't take a percentage of what you make: http://www.universitytutor.com/faq/how-does-this-work-2

 

wherever you decide to advertise yourself for tutoring, i recommend looking up reviews of the company first to avoid getting shortchanged...

[WriteAndKnit]

I did about half a dozen surveys (over the course of an hour and a half) this afternoon on mturk (while watching Doctor Who), which should contribute to my weekly beer fund. Not a lot, but certainly better than nothing! I've noticed that academic research surveys are good and interesting, and there's a good bunch in the $1 category.

 

I'm also going to get an etsy shop set up -- I make some nicer jewelry and some quick and easy things (like those rainbow loom bracelets) and get some tutoring established. Hopefully I won't have to add an additional part-time job.

[RunnerGrad]

Canadians can also get in on the surveys-for-cash thing over here: https://legerweb.com/VOQK2

You could also find work on campus in the library (shelving books is a great way to relax after a cognitively heavy day) or even through the Office of Students with Disabilities (some schools pay grad students to take notes, proctor exams, or tutor). On campus work is great because there's usually more flexibility/understanding when it comes to your own time constraints.

 

In addition to Leger: https://legerweb.com/home.asp?AFF=BM8DQ there is also Angus Reid: https://t.co/yTGb0e7mb7

 

Personally, I teach group fitness classes (spin, Zumba, step, stability ball, etc.) to earn extra income.  I'd be at the gym exercising even if I didn't teach, and while I don't get as good a workout when I teach as I do when I take a class (since I'm focused on making sure the class gets their workout, so I do a lot more coaching, etc.) it is still a workout. 

[St Andrews Lynx]

I do freelance writing for websites to earn a bit extra on the side. This is a continuation of work I did before starting my PhD - if you're in a "writing" field or have written for your student newspaper, etc, then you're qualified. 

[alaskagirl]

I do freelance editing for companies to earn extra money. I've been doing it for a few years now, but it makes a decent pay for the time I put into it. Bonus! - It's directly related to the program I'm going into!

[bhr]

Mind sharing where you've found editing work? I've taken a few gigs through Guru, but they've not ended well for me.

[alaskagirl]

Mind sharing where you've found editing work? I've taken a few gigs through Guru, but they've not ended well for me.

I have a word-of-mouth business, as well as contracted work with a few companies (one's a technical edit, the other's literary). I've found that the best thing to do when trying to find work is to put yourself out there, talk it up with friends and family, there's always someone who need something edited.