6 Ways to Make Money While Studying Abroad

Studying abroad is expensive, especially if there’s a big difference between the currencies of your native country and your current location.

And working a full-time job as an international student is not only illegal in many countries but also practically impossible.

Even if you do somehow take up a full-time job, you’ll compromise your university education. This will hurt you in the long run and keep you away from a successful professional career.

So in this article, we’ll take a look at 6 ways you can make money abroad without missing out on your education.

Let’s begin!

1. Make Use of the Gig Economy

More and more companies have started hiring freelancers for a variety of jobs via reputable freelancing platforms like Upwork and Fiverr.

Freelance employees are low-maintenance, easy to work with, and often very talented.

Plus, ever since the world went into lockdown and work-from-home came into vogue, the gig economy has become even more popular.

This is why one of the easiest (and most efficient) ways to make money as a student is to offer your services on one of these platforms.

You’ll find there’s a demand for almost everything you can think of. Some of the more popular niches include:

Content writing
Copywriting
Data collection
Personal assistance
Website designing
Logo designing
Video/photo editing
Search engine optimization
Programming-related services

You don’t need to have formal education to offer any of these services, which make them ideal for students.

There’s a very low risk of getting scammed if you work on a reputable platform. That’s because big freelancing platforms mediate the payment between you and your clients and resolve any disputes that may arise.

Keep in mind that freelancing platforms are extremely competitive and there’s a good chance that you get zero clients within the first few months of your journey.

But you should keep pitching your services and you will get your breakthrough soon. Here’s some information on how to write good Upwork cover letters.

You can also cold-email independent companies to see if they can use your services. If you can find a client outside of a freelancing platform, you’ll make even more money. That’s because you won’t have to pay a cut to a platform for getting a client through it.

2. Offer Tutoring Services

As a university student, the one thing that you have in excess is knowledge in your field. And you can use this to your advantage by tutoring students who are at a less advanced level.

While freelancing platforms can be used to find tutoring clients, it’s better to visit a dedicated online tutoring website. This is because dedicated tutoring platforms go beyond just connecting you to a student. They help you:

Create a suitable schedule, keeping in view your class timings, assignments, and exams
Prepare your lessons
Focus on the actual teaching by taking care of admin tasks
Find stable, consistent work, which is very important when you’re in a foreign country

What you teach depends on what you know. But generally speaking, if you are a native English-speaker studying in a non-English country, you should know that teaching the English language has considerable demand.

You can also help students who are looking to get into the college where you study. You’ll be able to teach them for admission tests and guide them through other aspects of the admission process.

Many universities also hire their own students to help out their peers and juniors. See if your university has such a program and make use of it.

3. Maintain Your Textbooks and Sell Them

While this isn’t a permanent way to make money, it can be life-saving when you’re dangerously low on cash.

Textbooks are expensive and many students prefer second-hand books to save money. Before leaving your native country, evaluate all the books you have and pick out the most pristine ones.

You can take these books abroad and sell them to make quick money. But be aware that sometimes, it is illegal to sell a book in a particular region.

Similarly, you can sell your university textbooks to juniors once you’re done with them. But you’ll need to be mindful of this right from the beginning, so you don’t spoil your books. Try to keep them as clean as possible to get the best price.

4. Start a Blog

Blogs take months to start generating revenue. But once they do, they are an excellent source of passive income.

Blogging is a good option for a foreign student because:

You can do it from your hostel/dorm
There are plenty of online tools that make it insanely easy

Since blogging requires excellent writing skills, you can do it alongside freelance writing. Freelance writing will help you sustain yourself on a day-to-day basis while blogging will help you in the long run.

You can blog about anything you want but as an international student, you should consider helping other students from your country who want to pursue the same academic path as you.

Travel blogging is another good idea since you’ll probably be exploring the country you’re in.

Just make sure to keep your blog professional and high-quality.

5. Do Part-Time or Odd Jobs

If you’re not a fan of digital work, you can always resort to conventional jobs. Depending on how much time you have (and how much money you need), you can explore part-time or odd jobs.

One good part-time job for students is waiting tables, where you can make a considerable amount of money through tips.

Plus, you get to learn more about the country’s culture and language by interacting with so many people daily.

Just make sure to check out the local rules and regulations before taking up a part-time job because many countries prohibit them. Other countries allow international students to take up only certain types of part-time jobs.