Are you a student who wants to earn money part-time during your free time? Whether you need it for your tuition, for extra pocket money, or to contribute to your household, know that there is an opportunity for you online.
Even if you have no experience yet, you can land work. What’s different about online jobs is that many online clients prefer a “Show, Not Tell” approach when they hire help. You can get hired by just showing a portfolio of what you can do for them.
And if you don’t have a portfolio, you can always start one now. If you have the drive to succeed and the stomach to take rejection, you have the potential to earn big by making a career of one of the online jobs for students in the Philippines listed below.
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What Kinds of Online Jobs Are Suitable for Students?
Not all online jobs are suitable for you as a student. Your studies are still your priority. Just think of it as upskilling and gaining experience for your future career.
That said, here are some criteria for the jobs you should pick:
- Flexible Time – as a student, you have to balance your work and studies. So, preferably you should only apply to online part-time jobs where you can do the work on your own time. If you can, you should avoid the night shift setup which is very difficult to balance with schoolwork.
- Job Growth – depending on your current situation, you might be tempted to take any kind of work as long as you get paid. That’s fine but, if possible, prioritize jobs where you can grow your skills and portfolio. Online freelancing is not stable. When the job ends, all you are left with are your skills. But, with a solid portfolio, you can find more work in the future.
- No Heavy Investment Needed – meaning, you should limit spending on equipment or software before you earn anything. If you don’t have a laptop, know that you can always start by working on a mobile phone. Or if you do graphic design, just use the free version of Canva first. Once you’ve earned enough money, that’s now an excellent time to upgrade your tools.
9 Best Online Jobs for Students in the Philippines
1. Social Media Content Creator
A social media content creator makes graphics, copy, and other kinds of content for various social media platforms. These include Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, among others.
Your clients are typically businesses that want to promote their products, services, and content through social media. However, making quality designs regularly takes time and skill. So, they hire people to do that task for them.
To find these clients, you can go to the usual job platforms like Onlinejobs.ph and Upwork. But checking the status of these businesses’ social media pages and cold contacting them may prove more effective.
To land this job, you need to show that you can make social media content that fits their brand. A portfolio of Facebook or Instagram posts would do more wonders than a resume here.
Here’s a few samples of what we’ve personally made for social media content creation:
There is also a premium version that unlocks thousands of templates, pictures, and features. It’s definitely worth the investment once you’ve landed your first client.
Requirements: Basic Graphic Design Skills, Social Media Know-How
Time Needed: 2-4 Hours per Day
Career Growth: Yes, there are many possible ways to grow your online career by starting as a social media content creator. You can upskill later and become a social media manager or further hone your design skills as a professional graphic artist.
Doable on Mobile: Yes, there are numerous graphic design apps on mobile but for this particular job, Canva is very powerful and effective.
Investment Needed: None in terms of money but you may need to invest time to build your skills and portfolio if you are a beginner. You should learn how to create branded social media content from free videos you can find on YouTube. After earning your first paycheck, you might want to subscribe to Canva Pro as it makes your work much easier.
2. First Line Writer
A first line writer is basically tasked to write the subject part of emails. The hard part here is that the subject must appeal enough to the recipient that they feel the need to open the email.
The job is a combination of copywriting and lead generation. You need to find prospective clients, do research on them, and write a first line or email subject that would want to make them want to read the email.
It might sound intimidating but you can learn the skills you need for this job by doing your research on YouTube and copywriting blogs. You can think of it as entry-level copywriting so its definitely one of the online jobs for students you can upskill and do right now.
As a first line writer, your clients or employers are typically businesses who want to promote their services or products by cold-emailing people. Success in cold-emailing is a numbers game. They want to contact as many people as possible to increase their chances of success, but a generic email subject won’t work. So, a first line writer is necessary.
To find clients as a first line writer, you can search for the position on job platforms like Upwork and Onlinejobs.ph.
Requirements: English Writing, Basic Copywriting, Online Research
Time Needed: 1-2 Hours per Day
Career Growth: None if you stick to just first line writing. But if you grow your English writing and copywriting skills, then you could become a technical writer or an ad copywriter. But what’s really important to learn in this job is the skill to find prospective clients and write appealing copy for them. You can use this skill to find direct clients for whatever job you might want to do in the future.
Doable on Mobile: Yes, you only need a browser and common office software like email, document, and spreadsheet apps.
Investment Needed: None in terms of money. But you should also take the time to make an appealing writing portfolio so you can get the job over your competitors.
3. Online English Tutor
If you have an excellent handle on the English language, you can become an online English tutor. The profession is in demand for people living in non-English speaking countries such as South Korea and Japan. There are even online platforms, such as Engoo, dedicated to matching English tutors to students.
However, these platforms are very strict in their requirements. They may require you to take a practical exam before they allow you to teach on their platform. But they are not the only way for you to find clients as an online English tutor.
You can also promote your services in places such as Reddit and Facebook groups. You are on your own using this method so you need to be able to convince people that your tutoring is worth the time and money. So, a video portfolio of you doing sample English lessons would work wonders in persuading interested students.
Requirements: Strong English language skills
Time Needed: 2-4 Hours per Day
Career Growth: Unlike other jobs, you can’t exactly grow your portfolio as an online English tutor. Instead, you need to grow your reputation through testimonials, online reviews, or a YouTube channel. Alternatively, you can branch out to other related careers such as an education writer or a designer for teaching aids.
Doable on Mobile: It depends on the tutoring platform if it’s compatible with mobile. But if you are tutoring independently, then yes you can do it through a smartphone using video call apps like Google Meets or Zoom.
Investment Needed: None in terms of money but you need to take the time to make a lesson plan and the corresponding teaching aids.
4. Data Entry
If you search “data entry” on a job platform like OLJ, you’ll see that there’s a wide variety of job titles related to this field. There are accounting assistants, compliance officers, virtual assistants, and lead generation specialists, among others.
Make no mistake though, data entry is a purely administrative type of task. Sometimes the employer might require you to do some research online but ultimately your job is to compile all that data into a file, usually into a spreadsheet program like Excel.
Some types of data entry work may require you to have knowledge about a certain field which may be difficult for a student with no experience. So, keep a lookout for online jobs that provide training instead.
Requirements: Proficient in using spreadsheet programs
Time Needed: 4-8 Hours per Day
Career Growth: None if you don’t upskill. But it’s not a bad starting point for eventually landing a general virtual assistant role as long as you continue to grow your administrative skills. Alternatively, if find that you like to work with data then you can also start learning about data visualization or data science which are in demand among tech startups.
Doable on Mobile: Cumbersome but not impossible. You can use either the Google Sheets or MS Excel app to do your data entry work but the small screen is the biggest hurdle. Meanwhile, you can solve any speed issues by purchasing an external keyboard and mouse for your phone.
Investment Needed: Nothing monetary. You can invest some time to study some advanced spreadsheet shortcuts and commands that could potentially make your work easier.
5. Cold Caller
Cold calling is a job that is not for the faint-hearted. This job is a mix of lead generation and call center type work. You’ll be tasked to call people who might be interested in a business’s services or products. So, you might be able to imagine the reaction of people who don’t like receiving calls from people they don’t know.
However, there’s a low barrier to entry for this job so it’s one of the top online jobs for beginners with no experience. As long as you are able to speak English proficiently, then it’s definitely a job you can do. You can find job postings for this on Onlinejobs.ph and Upwork.
Requirements: Must be confident in your English speaking skills
Time Needed: 6-8 Hours per Day
Career Growth: The experience can lead to a call-center job in the future. But there’s not much growth in terms of an online career.
Doable on Mobile: It depends on what software the employer would require you to use to do cold calls.
Investment Needed: If you are in an environment conducive to voice calls, then no particular equipment is necessary. But if you live in a noisy area, then you might need to shop for noise reduction equipment.
Personally, we use the ASUS AI Noise-Canceling Mic Adapter for important calls, such as interviews or client meetings. So far, we’ve avoided any embarrassing noise-related situations because of it.
You need an existing headset for this gadget to work though. If you don’t have any, there are plenty of other noise-cancelling headsets available from well-known brands that you can try.
It’s also totally understandable if you don’t have the budget for this yet, you can use Krisp, a noise reduction software, which has a free trial available.
But remember to invest in your work-from-home equipment once you start earning. Treat it like investing into your business to make it grow and become more stable.
6. Mobile Content Video Editor
Video editing is a competitive field and as a student with no experience, you won’t be able to beat pros with the best equipment and software. But you can always specialize in a niche where expensive tools are not required.
Nowadays, a very large portion of video content is consumed on mobile. There are content creators and businesses who need help in creating quality videos for social platforms such as TikTok and Instagram. They are in it to make money and if you can provide what they need, then they’ll pay you for it.
But job posts related to this kind of work are rare. It might be better for you to personally reach out to these content creators and businesses to see if you can help them. However, you’d need a pretty solid sample of your work to convince them to work with you.
Requirements: Knowledge of video editing for the mobile format
Time Needed: 2-4 Hours per Day
Career Growth: After you’ve earned enough, you can always invest in better equipment and professional software so you can take on bigger clients. You can also expand to full-scale video production in the future.
Doable on Mobile: Yes, and in some cases, editing videos for mobile on a smartphone is actually preferred. You should use apps like CapCut and InShot. Both of which are popular among content creators.
Investment Needed: Typically, you want a phone that has a large screen, sizable storage, and fast RAM. But before buying a phone, test it out first and see if you can produce quality output. There are budget phones suitable for video editors available in case you need to upgrade.
7. Chat Support
Chat support or chatters are people who engage with a business’s or content creator’s community through a chat program such as Messenger, Discord, or Telegram. Usually, the job requires you to be able to answer questions, promote a product or service, or liven up the community.
But be warned that some chat support jobs are controversial in nature, particularly those in the gambling, cryptocurrency, and sex industries. That’s definitely something to avoid if you are a minor or if you are not comfortable working with businesses in those fields.
Instead, you might want to focus on gaming, software, real estate, and other more common types of businesses.
Requirements: Customer support experience is a plus but not required
Time Needed: 4-6 Hours per Day
Career Growth: By studying how to use social media to grow a business, you can aim to become a professional social media manager in the future. Chat support is just one tiny aspect of that role though so there’s a lot for you to learn. Also, a job called a community manager where you handle public relations and marketing is also a possible career path.
Doable on Mobile: Yes, since most people use smartphones for chatting. So, you’d probably be required to use a phone anyway.
Investment Needed: None if you already have a phone.
8. Online Article Writer
Ever tried to find an answer to your question using Google? The search engine will show you results of websites with articles that answer your question. As an online article writer, it would be your job to write content that would answer people’s search queries on Google.
These websites earn money by getting people to visit their pages, buy a product from their page, or subscribe to a service. That’s why these businesses are willing to hire online article writers to grow their websites.
You can find jobs for article writing on online job platforms and social media pages. Note that there are some jobs that may require you to write a sample article first. There’s a chance that those are scams but regardless, since you are still building your portfolio, anything you write will be useful for your next application.
Requirements: Strong English writing skills
Time Needed: 4-8 Hours per Day
Career Growth: After earning experience and building your portfolio, your next step is to learn about writing with search engine optimization (SEO) in mind. This is a skill that helps you write articles that go to the top of a Google search result page. You should also niche down to a topic where you can earn a lot of money such as SaaS, technology, and finance, among others.
Doable on Mobile: Yes, and quite easy with an external mouse and keyboard.
Investment Needed: None in terms of money, but as usual, you need to build a writing portfolio to land a job. As a beginner, you should look for jobs that don’t require you to learn the SEO side of things just yet.
9. General Virtual Assistant
General virtual assistant work is one of the most popular online jobs for beginners where the people found success. A lot of the things you do in school as a student, from typing to researching, is very useful for this kind of work.
Virtual assistants (VA) are usually classified into two types. A specialized VA is proficient in either a skill or an industry. For example, a real estate VA knows enough about the industry to help brokers with their business.
Meanwhile, a general VA is a jack of all trades who knows how to handle most aspects of administrative work. As a student who probably went through online classes due to the pandemic, this kind of job should be within your ability since a lot of the online tools you’ll use will be familiar.
Calendar, time-tracking, spreadsheet, document, video call, and other common office apps are the essential tools of a virtual assistant. For anything that you don’t know, you can always find a way to learn how to use it.
You can find general VA job openings through local VA agencies but they usually only have full-time openings. For students, it’s best to go direct to client using job platforms like Onlinejobs.ph and Upwork. Also, don’t underestimate finding a VA job through Reddit or Facebook.
Check out “How to Become a Virtual Assistant in the Philippines” for a complete step-by-step guide.
Requirements: Knowledgeable with most office apps, ability to adapt and adjust to situations, and willingness to learn anything you are lacking.
Time Needed: 6-8 Hours per Day
Career Growth: None if you don’t niche down. A general VA is good at most things, but you need to be a specialist to be competitive in the future. In all honesty, “virtual assistants” are a buzzword coined for the usual jobs except work is done primarily online. An executive assistant is a general VA. A social media VA is pretty much a social media manager. So, find a niche you are interested in and upskill.
Doable on Mobile: As a general VA, you won’t know what kind of task your boss will need you to do the next and if it can be done on your phone. So, working only through a smartphone is not recommended.
Investment Needed: You should probably invest in a laptop if you want to become a general VA. You can check our guide for laptops for virtual assistants for an idea of how much it might cost you.
Related Video: 18 Online Jobs for Beginners Ranked
Frequently Asked Questions
Where can I find clients or online jobs for beginners and students with no experience?
You can find online jobs for Filipino students on Onlinejobs.ph, Upwork, and other job platforms. You might be surprised but social media channels, like Facebook groups and Reddit also have excellent opportunities available. But remember not to limit yourselves to just these platforms.
Be as creative as you can in finding an online job. For example, if you want to become a social media content creator, then find social media pages that you think lack content. Contact the owner and see if you can sell your services to them.
Just know that you’ll get a lot of rejections or worse, you might not even get a reply. This is normal in cold emailing. But if you are able to land a client this way then it’s up to you to set the work process and to demand a fair price.
How can I tell if an online job posting for students can be trusted?
It’s the right attitude to be diligent before taking an online job as a student. There are various kinds of online job scams across all platforms. Here are some tips to verify if an online job is legit or not:
- There is information available online about the company. These can usually be found on their official website and social media pages.
- There are reviews available online about the company through review websites or social media pages.
- On the platform Onlinejobs.ph, you can check if a company is legit or not through OLJ’s employer search page.
- Lastly, you can join remote work communities like r/buhaydigital on Reddit or Online Filipino Freelancers on Facebook. Feel free to ask the people there if they have any information about your target company.
Due diligence is required if you want to earn money through online jobs. You have to be the one to do the research on the company to ensure that they can be trusted. Remember to never skip this step.
Are there online jobs for students available for those who are aged 18 and below?
Typically, we don’t recommend students aged below 18 to do online work just yet. There are scams out there that might be difficult for you to spot if you don’t have enough life experience.
However, if you are confident in your judgment and skills, nothing can stop you from getting an online job. For jobs where your portfolio (and not a resume) will be the basis of you getting hired or not, then age would not matter.
Just tread lightly and consult with more experienced remote Filipino workers if there are things you are unsure of.
Which online jobs for students can I do using only a mobile phone?
Social media content creation, writing, tutoring, and admin work are all excellent examples of online jobs you can do on your phone. While working on a laptop will usually be faster, if you only have a smartphone available for work then know that you can use it to produce quality output.
The article “How to Work from Home Using Mobile Phones” was written and uploaded to this very website using only a phone. So, yes you can do professional quality work using only a smartphone. But it will take a bit of trial and error.
That’s why it’s important to practice by creating a portfolio. Not only can you improve your skills in using a phone for online work, but you’ll also have proof of quality output that you can show to your prospective clients.
For more ideas on what work you can do with just a mobile phone, please see “Best Online Jobs Without a Laptop or Desktop (Just Mobile).”
I don’t have a laptop, nor a mobile phone. Is it still possible to do online jobs?
That’s honestly difficult but not impossible. You can be resourceful about it by borrowing or renting a phone or laptop, but it’s best to invest in equipment for your online job as soon as you can.
You can also start by working at a computer shop at first but make sure to log everything out after working. Your credentials in job platforms and online payment channels are very important. Getting hacked means losing your credibility or even your hard-earned income.
So, as soon as your first payment, you should at the very least buy a budget phone for working online. A decent phone for online work starts from around Php 3,000. Check our recommendations at “Best Budget Phones for Working Online”.