Freelancing in College: A Way to Kickstart Your Future Career

Congratulations, you have been accepted to a college at which you wanted to study. You have achieved one of your ambitious goals, but will you stop there? We see that you won’t. It is now time to think about your future career or on one of the ways to make money while combining study and work.

Freelancing is probably the most convenient way to start earning. You may also have heard of gig workers, who are hired to complete a particular assignment, task, or part of the project. Gig workers are paid for the work they have done, and they are mostly not officially employed. At the same time, gig workers gain the necessary work experience.

Freelancing frees from daily work routine (e.g., you don’t need to be in the office all the time). Basically, your task will be to meet the deadlines with quality work. Hence, you can decide whether the timing suits you right now or not.

What else can you consider? Well…

First of all, you probably, already know what you want to do as a student-freelancer. If not, do not get disappointed. Just step aside for a moment and think about what you are good at. Are you good at drawing? For example, Tumblr and Patreon will be an excellent place to show your works and receive and complete different requests. Are you interested in web design? Different companies need websites and ads, so you will always find what to do. Is handicraft your hobby? People are in love with handicraft items this day. Do you know that you are good at writing content? You will be amazed at how many students type “write my essay” in their search when they understand that they have no time to cope with all assignments. Hence, your writing skills can save someone’s life at this point. 

What should be the next step, you may ask? Portfolio. For a freelancer, a portfolio is very important in looking for a part-time job. You can find different tips on making your portfolio professional and lucrative for employers, but the primary one will be focusing on your work samples. If you have no experience and no previous works to include, spend some time on creating a website design sample or writing a small argumentative essay, for example. Take good photos of your handicraft works or digitize drawings, if you prefer drawing traditionally (e.g., sketchbooks). You will need to show yourself, but your portfolio will take the lion’s share in this part.

You can find many websites offering you their assistance in finding a platform for a freelancer to work. You need to stock up on all the skepticism and patience to choose a platform (or platforms) that will suit you well. You will need to read the descriptions and conditions on the official sites. You will need to conduct additional research and look through the reviews from freelancers who have used these platforms. If possible, ask your friends. But never, never start working on the first platform you have seen without previous analysis. 

Another crucial part is the customer base. If you have decided to work on content writing for platforms like EssayPro, you might not notice an essential struggle in receiving assignments because this platform cares about giving work to all people they are hiring after checking the quality of their employees. Handicrafts and web designing might be a whole ‘nother story, especially when freelancing platforms do not work for you. “Word of mouth” method can help a lot: do a favor to a friend or an acquaintance for them to tell other friends and acquaintances about you. Arrange your social media to help hand in finding customers: Instagram and Facebook can be useful in demonstrating what you can do, though finding followers might be a task for a freelancer specializing in promotions. Still, do not miss your chance to gather a good customer base.

So, you have decided what you want to do, found a platform, gathered customer base, completed a couple of orders, and received your first payment. What else should you keep in mind while freelancing in college? Your study, of course. It is undoubtedly important to think about your career in the early stages, but it should not overshadow your education. Here come some tips:

• What-to-do lists. It will be much easier for you to focus on work when you plan it. Keep in mind your work and study deadlines. If they end on the same day, consider starting doing what is harder as the first option in your list. 
• Remember that you can’t earn all money. If you start too much freelancing projects and try to focus on your study simultaneously, you will probably get overworked and stressed. Take care of yourself.
• If your work is too important, but your studying does not wait, you may consider asking for help from fellow freelancers for a moderate price and an excellent quality. 

Good luck in your endeavors!