Money can be a source of stress among college students digging into their pockets only to find dust bunnies. 

Side jobs are the solution for college students to find cash on their own time and on their own terms. 

Several side jobs have fallen into the lap of Reilly Smidt, a freshman in pre-business. He was introduced to officiating intramurals, which is flexible with the opportunity to choose your own hours. The job consists of showing up 15 minutes ahead of game time and refereeing for a total of 45 minutes. All of this is for nine dollars a game with the possibility of a raise each year.

“If I am exercising and making money it is worth my while,” Smidt said. “It is a win-win situation instead of feeling guilty for exercising while I could be using this valuable time to study.”

Another side job Smidt does is shoveling and removing snow through the Ames buy and sell Facebook page.

Residents in Ames provide the salt and the shovel for Smidt on the job. After each service, Smidt is rewarded $25 for removing snow. The only downfall to the job is that it’s seasonal and he has to be on call whenever snow falls. However, Smidt has experience with seasonal jobs in the past by mowing lawns.

Smidt is not the only student at Iowa State removing snow in their free time. Snow removal is how Seth Geyer, a freshman in pre-business, saves money for his tuition.

Geyer removes snow through his uncle’s company out of Nevada, Iowa, which is 10 minutes away from campus. Whenever snow hits, he is out at night clearing the sidewalks and the streets for seven to eight hours. For his work Geyer receives $20 an hour.

By word of mouth Geyer discovered the opportunity to donate plasma twice a week. The first time he was paid $20 and the second time he was paid $50. For two hours out of the week, Geyer can scroll through his social media or study up on some terms for class while he donates plasma for cash.

“Personally, I recommend for other students to donate plasma,” Geyer said. “One, it is a good deed for something others need, and two, it is the easiest way to make fast cash for trivial things.”

Juan Barbosa, a freshman in engineering, makes money by cleaning and customizing all types of shoes right from his dorm room.

Throughout high school, Barbosa cleaned his own shoes so they would look sharp. When soccer season came around, all of his teammates had the same cleats. Barbosa wanted to stand out and change his up with a twist. In doing so, he took off the paint with alcohol rags and began drawing different designs. After a while he was motivated to invest in dye kits and start up his own service. His unique cleats sparked the attention of others who wanted the same thing done to their shoes.

Barbosa said he is inspired by YouTube to find distinctive ways to customize and clean the shoes. He experiments with various shoe cleaners to make his own effective product. The process of cleaning and customizing can take up to two or three hours.

Depending on the condition of the shoe, Barbosa sets the price based on how easy it will be to clean, starting around $10 to $15. Each week brings a different work load for Barbosa, but typically within a week and a half or less, the shoe will be in tip top shape.

“Do what makes you happy and inspires you,” Barbosa said. “For me, I enjoy shoes, fashion and drawing. So, I thought to myself why not combine them all and do something I love.”

With a foot already in the door thanks to her sister, Maura French, a sophomore in event management, makes extra cash as a Wing Girl for Red Bull. French and other girls market Red Bull’s products in their Red Bull mini coopers at campuses, work places, events and a variety of other places.

The Wing Girls inform people who may never have tried energy drinks before about the caffeine, sugar and other ingredients found in Red Bull. 

“Our goal is to put Red Bull in people’s hand,” French said. “We want to break the stereotype of energy drinks being bad for you because Red Bull is definitely not. We try to let them understand why Red Bull isn’t just any energy drink, we are premiere.”

French said she genuinely looks forward to attending her job and meeting amazing people while promoting a product they all believe in.

Madison Meyer, a sophomore in pre-business, makes money by advertising Smart Coffee products on social media. Meyer makes money based on the amount of purchases placed by people using her link.

“With this side job I can make money no matter where I am, which helps since I am a full-time college student,” Meyer said. “One quick picture a day on my Instagram story and I am done for the day until I receive a message from someone.”

Meyer said that before she joined the business, she was hesitant. However, after she was introduced to other women who sell their products, she was on board. After purchasing the product herself, Meyer saw the results, and knew it was not a scam.

Side jobs are an opportunity for students to make extra cash for those extra expenses that can pop up unexpectedly, while working on their own schedules. 

“Check out the student job board,” Smidt said. “There are a lot of different opportunities out there to make money besides the typical dining center job.”