How to Work/Study as a Full-Time Student in Nigeria

Work/Study

Obviously, in a country like ours, it's rational to think of a side hustle as a student. Working while schooling is nothing new, especially to part-time students.

In fact, schools running part-time, distance learning and sandwich courses originally target the working class who still want to study and further their education.

However, with a full-time academic programme, it may be blank deciding whether to work while still studying in any country not to mention a country where getting jobs is a tug of war even as a graduate, a country where education is the synonym of stress.

And since we're not all born with silver spoons in our mouths, most of us will need to get jobs or run some kinds of businesses while still running full-time classes.

An average Nigerian student had devised means to achieve this financial independence while still on campus. He may not be rich, yet he is not poor as he can make some bucks on a daily or weekly basis to sustain himself (working or running a business) without lagging behind in his academics.

This post will be giving you a list of job and small business ideas you may want to consider even as a full-time undergraduate.  At the end of each recommendation, I'll be pointing out the level of difficulty.

Side-Hustle Job/Business Ideas Full-Time Students

Below is the list of practicable businesses and side hustles you can make money with while you're a full-time student in a university, polytechnic, or college.

1. Blogging

Blogging is at the top of the list because that's what I'm doing. Of course, I'm doing more than just that. I'm an education consultant for some years now. Joining the league of bloggers late made me cry after I realized I should have started while in school.

And if you've read, 5 Reasons To Start Business While Still in Nigeria Schools, I warned you to take advantage of the little chance, right on campus, to get yourself on track for true life. What they told you about unemployment after graduation was real. Life ahead is strict!

You see, it's hard for many experts to recommend blogging for you as a student not because it's difficult to write and publish or because you can't make money from it, but just because they're not sure you can walk the walk and endure enough to get to the riches of it.

Blogging is not a get-rich-quick scheme like your MMM and ESPN Global Investment.  And as a student, you may not want to wait that long. What if I promised you, blogging was the best investment you could have as a student. 

Recommended: Starting a Business? Pause, Learn, Succeed – Practical Way

If you start earlier, you should be earning your dollars before graduation. More riches of it may be after you'd left campus for practical life.

Had I started blogging in year one, on campus, I couldn't have looked for jobs a day after my graduation. 

Do you know why?

I started after NYSC and in just 3 years, I was earning $200 on average per month.

This money keeps growing every month with regular and sometimes, the usual fluctuations. 

All these with an average of one article per day. Something you can achieve as a student before going to bed or instead of watching movies or wasting time with idle talks and social/political arguments.

If you're the patient dog, earning from the blog is the fattest bone awaiting you.

If you've decided to start blogging, or you want to resume where you left off, consider taking it from the basics. Various posts on this blog have been dedicated to this on my subsidiary blog. You will also find several other posts on that blog as open books of knowledge.

Recommended: How to Cope with a Different Course Offered by a University

Blogging Level of Difficulty with a Full-Time Course

Literally, any student for any course whatsoever can blog. Your course (e.g. Medicine, Nursing, Banking, Management) can even be the right niche for you to start with. You only need a post per day to meet 365 articles a year. 

Each post may be as short as 700 words. You can achieve that within 1 hour if it's an area you can command off hand. If you will need some research, it's achievable within 3 hours. With this, you're not only working towards a money-making machine, but you're also building yourself vis a vis your studies.

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2. Crafts/Handworks

You're already blessed and prepared if you've got a craft from leaving home to school. 

Especially for the ladies, you can still sell crafts e.g. beadwork to friends and neighbors. These traditional outfits making only require your creativity and flexibility to keep trending and relevant.

If you can be consistent and creative enough, you can make a few works ahead of demand and make your money. 

And in case, you're thinking you will need hawking, hell No!. The world is closer than ever. Start with a few friends, and show you collections on your WhatsApp and Facebook. In time, people will ask. Just make sure you don't lose them when they come around. Then, you're business.

Craft/Handwork Level of Difficulty with a Full-Time Course

If you're just learning, this may take a pretty short time to know all you should. However, craftwork is known to be time-consuming. You have to be sure this will not take more than three hours a day from you if you're studying full-time. If however, you can get an apprentice to help you get some work done, you may not feel the punch.

Recommended: Parents' Guide to Helping Students Excel Academically

3. Petty Services

These may sound more than familiar. Tailoring, barbing and wiring, photography, and mobile phone repairs will go nowhere any time soon.

Your room, if you're not on campus, is your shop. With a few business cards, you can let your friends and neighbors know you can help with wiring, repairs, photoshoots (or limit it to 2-minute passports), etc.

As long as you don't make this a full-time service and remain small scale, it shouldn't take a deep from your classes and lectures.

These services may not immediately come to mind if you don't have their knowledge. What will bust your brain is that you can learn some of these within a few weeks or in less than a year if you get the charisma.

And with the internet, Youtube has been flooded with videos on how to do anything. With a dedication to a few channels and practice, you can't imagine what you're cable of learning without being under a master or mistress.

Whether you already learned or are about to learn, you can convert your knowledge to its monetary equivalence in no time and laugh your way to the bank.

Petty Services Level of Difficulty with a Full-Time Course

Luckily for most students, they'd learned computer, barbing, tailoring, wiring, and the like before gaining admissions in the first place. It shouldn't be difficult for this set of students to run full-time courses and still be able to spend 3 hours or less to render these services. 

Where you must just learn to do that now, you should be careful with your choice. Be sure the training won't take you off your regular classes and you can still have time for studies without regular hospitalization.

Recommended: Delete Admission: Switching to Preferred School on JAMB Portal

4. Teaching/Tutoring

Teaching is probably the easiest means of making money as a full-time undergraduate. You have all that needs to be used - your knowledge.

Luckily, your being in the university, polytechnic, or college is the first resume. After all, if you don't have the knowledge that takes people here, you should be at home by now. 

Parents, guardians, and sponsors around are ready to pay you if you can spare a few hours per week to impact your knowledge into their ward. If you can pass your knowledge to others, all that remains is telling a few neighbors you can take their children after school.

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Teaching/Tutoring Level of Difficulty with a Full-Time Course

You can easily take a few students at your own pace. If there is a need to skip a schedule, you may not worry about being sanctioned by a boss if you're an afternoon teacher. If you're not a natural teacher though, going this lane may be challenging. 

It takes professional teachers years of classes and practice before they can impact. If you think taking students for SSCE, UTME, or Post UTME will be tasking, you should be able to do well for the primary pupils.

Recommended: When Will Schools Start Selling Post UTME Forms?

5. Businesses

Just like crafting, you can start a series of petty businesses around. All you need is the ability to buy trending items at prices a bit lower and sell a bit higher.

You see, lots of your friends are on social media selling clothes, watches, creams, organic, perfumes, and oil. They're still in school and on full-time basis. Aren't they?

Interestingly, most of them didn't start with a penny down. Their approach was to have deals with a few shops around. They get their prices and sell those items online to their friends, families, and followers.

Businesses Level of Difficulty with a Full-Time Course

Capital may be the most difficult part of this choice. Also, if care is not taken, trying to make it big in this business may take you off your primary assignment (studies). Care must be taken to be sure you don't derail. 

As an alternative to buying items yourself, if people order, you can pick at the other shops and ship them to your clients. Then, you keep the profit or commission.

Recommended: 10 Campus Businesses for Students' Income

6. Part-Time Attendant

If you can maintain consistent schedules, you can opt for a part-time attendant position at a nearby grocery store, boutique, restaurant, etc.

These shops are usually shops of attendants and they may need you on a part-time basis while you're a full-time student.

You can approach a few around you and see how you guys can work things out.

Part-Time Attendant Level of Difficulty with a Full-Time Course

This may be the best choice if you don't have any capital to start a mini business of your own. It's ideal if you don't want to deal with calls and orders. However, students with inconsistent class schedules may not do well at this.

7. On-Campus Education Consultant

This is not in direct competition with cafes and business centers on your campus or its surroundings. You're NOT to open a shop with a signpost where you can help admission seekers to obtain forms. You're NOT to pay for rent, fuel, and maintenance costs. 

You're already in school and hundreds of admission seekers in your town are seeking opportunities to be where you are. It won't take you more than talking to a few parents and students they can seek admission into your school in order to be in business. You will convince them you already know how admissions are being offered and you have the real connection for sure admissions (if you truly do).

Though your business time will be seasonal - only when admission forms are out, with more forms to be sold lately by different schools (e.g. post-UTME, daily part-time, regular part-time, JUPEB, IJMB, Diploma, pre-degree, etc.), you're likely to be in business across the year.

Your approach should be obtaining and filling out forms for your candidates online and helping them to follow through till they're offered admissions. 

You can help also secure extra moral lessons, in preparation for the post-UTME (if any). You can arrange for the rental of accommodation for candidates coming for post-UTME or physical screenings.

Part-Time Attendant Level of Difficulty with a Full-Time Course

This consulting service is more fun than business in the real sense. A few students will do this for free and never mind the time spent in helping the aspirants. You don't have to be stressed up doing this. Your classes and schedules don't have to suffer any blow. However, you should be careful about the number of students you're targeting. Or else, you may lose focus in no time.

Conclusion

This post will continually be updated to give you new insights. However, these should be the best set of ideas to look at if you're a full-time student who still wants to work or do business. Knowing fully well you have some sacrifices to make will guide you in making the best choice of all.

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