The Best Online Jobs for Students (With Salaries and Duties)

Indeed Editorial Team

Updated 17 March 2023

The Indeed Editorial Team comprises a diverse and talented team of writers, researchers and subject matter experts equipped with Indeed's data and insights to deliver useful tips to help guide your career journey.

As students have a busy life with all the time spent in studies, there is often not much time for working. Many students require flexible jobs that give them the option to work according to their own schedule. Online jobs provide students with extra money to spend and use to manage college expenses, while also helping them gain experience, which enhances their resume. In this article, we list the best online job for students, along with the expected salary they offer, which may range from entry-level to those that require a degree.

The top 15 best online jobs for students

As a student, you can earn money online by doing different types of jobs according to your skills and interest. Here is a list of the top 15 online jobs you may do:

1. Transcriber

National average salary: ₹3,32,061 per year

Primary duties: Transcribers listen to recordings from doctors, lawyers, teachers and other professionals and transcribe the recordings into formatted documents. You can also become a specialised translator in a particular field like medical or legal. The transcribed documents can be hard copies, but nowadays mostly the copies are digital. For doing transcription, you may need the company's equipment like foot pedal and laptop or computer installed with specific software. Transcription requires good listening skills, high concentration power, fast and accurate typing skills.

2. Data entry clerk

National average salary: ₹2,49,014 per year

Primary duties: Data entry clerks perform a number of typing jobs. This can include making lists of addresses or email addresses or typing letters. These individuals also file documents physically and through an online system that the employer uses. Data entry clerks may also do some transcribing, depending on the industry in which they work.

3. Blogger

National average salary: ₹2,76,159 per year

Primary duties: Bloggers write independently on their own website and get paid per visitor they have or blog for another company. If you are blogging for a company, you may receive a specific topic to blog about, but sometimes they allow you to write your own content. Blogging can be a fun career if you have something interesting happening in your life, like frequent travelling, cooking or any hobby people would want to know more about.

Video blogging can also be a great money-making opportunity. Vlogging gives you the opportunity to produce informative videos showing how to do something, whether it be a crafting skill, cooking skill or math tutorial.

Related: What Is the Best Job in the World? 15 Career Options

4. Virtual assistant

National average salary: ₹3,30,482 per year

Primary duties: Virtual assistants are typically online customer service workers. Your duties could include sending emails, email marketing, handling customer complaints and answering telephone calls. Sometimes virtual assistants are required to attend meetings via video chat as well. Virtual assistants have the flexibility to work according to their schedule as long as they meet deadlines.

Read More: Work From Home Jobs That Pay Well

5. Graphic designer

National average salary: ₹2,43,861 per year

Primary duties: Graphic designers create, design and produce business cards, logos, T-shirts and other materials for companies. You can work independently or freelance or for a larger company in-house. If you choose to work independently, you can sell your designs online using online shops or contact local businesses with some of your samples and price lists to let them know the type of work you do.

6. Online tutor

National average salary: ₹52,721 per month

Primary duties: Online tutors instruct and teach people via video chat, instant message or email. You can be a tutor in any area where you excel and have measurable skills. You can also teach people English as a second language. There are companies that offer tutoring services, typically to children who are struggling with understanding a certain topic. If you have patience and are good at teaching a skill, online tutoring might be a good fit for you.

Related: How To Become an Online Tutor (With Job Duties and Skills)

7. Website designer

National average salary: ₹2,53,988 per year

Primary duties: Website designers create websites for companies and organisations. If you have experience in HTML coding, website design could be a perfect online career opportunity. This can be done on your own schedule and does not require a dedicated workspace; rather, a computer and internet connection is typically all you need to excel in this role. Web designers meet with clients to understand their needs and design a webpage that meets goals.

Read More: 35 Web Designer Interview Questions (With Sample Answers)

8. Social media manager

National average salary: ₹3,02,058 per year

Primary duties: Social media managers represent their company on online platforms. Their role is to answer customer queries, maintain their social media pages with the latest updates and maintain the relationship with their existing clients and establish connections with potential clients. They may create marketing campaigns, produce advertisements, share deals and discounts or promote another part of the business.

9. Freelance writer

National average salary: ₹2,40,377 per year

Primary duties: Freelance writers write documents, stories, articles and many other items. They can offer to write the content for the companies or can also write their original content and offer to the companies who are looking for a similar type of content. Companies who work with freelance writers usually give them a topic and freelancers have to share the articles within deadlines. If you love to write and have good grammar, you can opt for this career.

10. Influencer

National average salary: ₹3,23,775 per year

Primary duties: Influencers prompt people to buy the products by sharing their own experience with that product. Established influencers have a huge following on different social media platforms and also create video blogs to rate the products. A large following can help to earn a good amount of money and you may also receive free products to use in exchange for an online review aimed at your audience. If you have great communication skills and like to share your experience, becoming an influencer can be a career path for you.

11. Website tester

National average salary: ₹2,88,245 per year

Primary duties: Website testers test websites for different companies and rate their websites on parameters like usability and user interface. The website testers visit all the pages of the websites, click on the call to action buttons and share their overall experience. If you continuously get work, this field is a good money-making opportunity.

Read more: Web Developer Skills: Definition and Examples

12. Application developer

National average salary: ₹3,23,437 per year

Primary duties: Application developers create, design and develop the apps for gaming platforms or mobile phones. They often work with clients to learn of their needs and then test and troubleshoot any issues in their own creations. If you know to code, like to write programs, have knowledge of UX/UI and have a creative mind, you can make your career as an application developer.

13. Translator

National average salary: ₹2,50,078 per year

Primary duties: A translator translates papers, voice mails and other documents in different languages. You can make connections with different translation agencies or also get freelancing jobs. If you do majors in any language, you can get an added advantage and can get high-paying jobs. Also, as a translator, it is common to receive payment on a per word basis rather than a complete assignment. If you know multiple languages, you can work as a translator and can earn while studying.

Related: A Guide On Resume Skills For A Translator (With Examples)

14. Video editor

National average salary: ₹2,34,714 per year

Primary duties: Video editors work to edit videos to make them more interesting. As a video editor, you can work for different industries like television, advertising, parties and many other events. As a student, if you have creative skills and have knowledge of video editing software, you can take work for small events and then progress in your career as you gain experience.

15. Game tester

National average salary: ₹2,62,219 per year

Primary duties: A game tester plays games online, usually for a company that is hosting a broadcast for others who are interested in gaming. They also test games and share your online gaming experience in terms of quality and user experience. Gaming companies work on the reviews and try to improve their games accordingly.

Related: Common Game Tester Interview Questions With Sample Answers

The list of jobs and salaries mentioned in the article are as per the time of writing.

Explore more articles