Make Money While in College - Part I

Being in college typically means that you are most likely financially strapped or flat out broke.  But you are okay with it, because you believe that, with your education, there will be a high paying job waiting for you.  Wouldn’t that be nice?  However, a lot of times this is far from reality.  Now your degree will significantly increase your chances of getting a better job.  But, this is not always a guarantee, especially depending on the competitiveness of your field.  When comparing candidates, most companies will give the competitive edge to the individual with the most experience.  Therefore, you must constantly look for ways to increase your value.  One of the ways you can do this, and get money at the same time, is get real work experience now.   This can be accomplished many different ways, but here are three:

1)  Get an Internship.  An internship is an on the job training program for college course credit.  Not only will this be experience to add to your resume, but the credits will help you graduate slightly sooner (typically from 3 – 9 credits), you will gain another reference or contact to use when you apply for another job; and you may potentially get a little income if it is a paid internship.

2)  Get a Summer or Part-Time Job.   Even if you do not do an internship, you still should strongly consider getting a job, whether in your field or not.  Not only will this provide you with income, but when you graduate, you will find that companies will most likely hire you if they see that someone else was willing to hire you, especially if that employment worked out great.  This is due to the fact that they know that “general” work experience (following directions, working with others, dealing with customers…etc.) is just as valuable as specific job training.

3)  Start a Business!  Okay this initially sounds very hard to do.  However, with the internet and the many available and free social media platforms, this can be easier than you think.  We all know the story of Facebook, and how one college student’s idea turned into billions of dollars.  But did you know that there are hundreds of successful examples of students who started their own business while in college?  Inc. Magazine (www.inc.com) just recently released their 2011 “America’s Coolest College Start-Ups” report (http://www.inc.com/coolest-college-start-ups-2011/index.html).  With host services and packaged sites such as, Hostgator, GoDaddy, Social Engine, Rsitez, Wix, and Blogger, you could have your own company up in running within 30 days and for a cost of anywhere from $0 - $5,000.  That’s right $0.00!  So why wait?  If your business fails, you at least have another thing to put on your resume, plus a story to tell.  If it succeeds, you may just become a millionaire.  If you do become a millionaire, just remember to thank Flinkey for the motivation.

Next Topic:    Make Money While in College (Part II)

So You Made it to College, Now What?

You spent an enormous amount of time filling out applications, visiting schools, studying for and completing your SAT’s, and taking pre-exams.  You got accepted.  You are all moved in…now what do you do?  Well you already know that you should go to class, study, and have fun, right?  This sounds good, but you still need a strategy or game plan for the entire 4+ years if you are going to succeed.  At any college or university you will find a lot of activities, organizations, and free time.  Without some measure of planning or structure, you might find yourself learning a little of everything, or leaving school early for not learning anything at all.  In order to avoid this, make sure you do the following:

1.)   Set goals before each semester and year.  You hear this all the time, and know it works, but only a few do this on a regular basis.  Think of it as setting your GPS before going on that long trip.  Even though you might make some stops or hit some detours on the way, you will most likely end at your proper destination.

2.)   Limit non-educational activities during your freshman year.  Being involved in extra-curricular activities can be very beneficial and fun.  However, your education should always come first.  For the majority of students, attending college for the first time requires some adjustment.  Being heavily involved in an organization, participating in too many activities, or spending too much time with friends, can help you lose focus on the primary goal of getting an education and graduating on time.

3.)   Don’t wait too long to choose your major.  Declaring a major is a strong sign to you and others of having direction in life, even if that direction changes.  If you are “undecided”, still choose a focus of study that might become your major.  If it does become your major, you will be ahead of the game with qualifying credits.  If not, you will at least find out what you “don’t” want to do, which a lot of times is more important in this stage of your life.

4.)   Push yourself to be, at least, slightly different than your normal high school self.  The old saying is, “If you continue to think what you have always thought, you will continue to do what you have always done.  If you continue to do what you have always done, you will continue to get what you have always gotten.”  College is not only about academic learning; but it is also about self-learning, which is more important?  Getting that “A” in Biochemistry will be very rewarding.  However, knowing that you pushed yourself to overcome some of your fears, reservations, or limitations that you always had will be just as, or even more, rewarding.   

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Support and Social Networking

About a year ago, I decided that I wanted to build a social networking site.  The piece that would set mine apart from other networks would be the fact that it is geared toward College Students and their Family and Friends, incorporated with a donation feature directly from the site via PayPal.  I was also able to recently upgrade my site; and it now has many more features including Facebook Connect. 

I wanted my site to be a place where Family and Friends can stay connected and support their college students.  When your child goes away to college, you most likely will only speak to them occasionally.  And if you do speak with them, most of the conversation is geared around money!!  Here, you would be able to click the “Donate to Student” button and transfer money instantly into their PayPal account.  The PayPal account is connected to their personal bank account.  You don’t have to worry about running to their bank or sending them money through the mail, just a click the Donate to Student button.

My little sister will not “friend” my mom on Facebook.  Now, my mom has a place to stay connected with her and send some quick cash or a quick supportive note.  Recently, she made the Dean's List and informed us of this through a Flinkey post.  For her, posting that on any other social networking site is not something she would normally do.   We have used the site numerous times to send money to my sister and many of our other family and friends that are in college.  In addition, we are running a $100.00 monthly drawing for college students.  Last month, we sent our first monthly winner $100.00 through our Flinkey site.  How exciting!!  Now that you know about us lets get to the college resource blogs and tips.  It is our hope to provide assistance and support to future and current students.  Check us out!  http://www.flinkey.com/

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