So you are in college now & want to do something different from your average college Joe but are confused how to go about it ? Read on to know how can you make your college life more fun, and how you can also start to earn while you learn. If you follow these simple steps you are surely going to gain more knowledge & money than your peers.
1) Set your goals & network people with same interests
First things first, mark your goals. What do you want to do that will give you satisfaction. You want to be theoretical physicist or a hardcore professional gamer ? Once you set your goals right, start searching for people who have similar interests such as you. These people can be your batchmates, your seniors, your juniors or even your professors. The key is to mingle with such people and gain more insight about the path you want to follow.
2) Take up small time jobs /projects in your field of interest
You can always find good part-time jobs, projects, internships in the area of your interest. If required offer to help for free and get your foot inside the door. If you are really passionate in something don’t bother about money initially, just focus on gaining more & more knowledge. As your experience grows you will surely start making more money. If you don’t want to work then you can lookout for events/seminars/conferences/competitions that keep on happening at various levels. Preparing for these in itself is a nice way to gain knowledge and offcourse there are always great perks in winning that prestigious competition.
3) Become a free lancer
The world is full of possibilities. If you are good at something then start selling your services. Companies are always looking for ways to minimize costs, and often outsource roles that are of short duration. Be a free lancer and take up such small time jobs. You work as per your convenience and also earn those extra bucks while juggling with your regular studies.
4) Take calculated risks
Prepare for your opportunities and lap them up if they come. If you are a liberal arts students start a blog, if you are learning animation, put on your animation videos on youtube. If you are an engineer build something that everyone on the campus uses. If you are an aspiring chef start selling small snacks in the hostel during odd hours. Take those small calculated entrepreneurial risks. If you succeed you know how to grow rich and if you fail you know what not to do. Both the ways you gain more knowledge and more money. Have a passion to do something and the courage to follow it.
5) Make the most of internet
The biggest perk of living in these times is the availability of internet. While in college most of us use internet mostly for the purpose entertainment but make the right use of internet and you can strike gold early in life. Stop downloading those tv series immediately and start downloading the content that is useful for you to grow in your profession. Watch TED talks from experts in various fields. Watch tutorial videos on youtube. Login to MOOC’s like Coursera, Udemy and learn new skills to progress as a professional. Learn to code, or how to edit videos. Follow the blogs of companies that you want to work for. Watch different entrepreneurs talk about their journeys if you want to be a successfull entrepreneur yourself. Start your blog and build your audience. Create a linkedin profile and see what people are talking about on quora. The material for entertainment can always wait but you and your career can’t.
Try the above mentioned tips and you will have a really cool college time.
Featured image courtesy : Pixabay
Jitu is Co-Founder of Mantras2Success. He has Engineering & MBA degrees to his name, along with 10+ years of corporate work experience in fortune 500 companies. Jitu is passionate about improving the careers of the modern day professional. He would be reading books or watching documentaries if not fulfilling his dreams at Mantras2Success.