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Sure…you could go get a normal part-time job like your other college buddies, but maybe that’s not for you, maybe you’ve got an itching for something a little outside of the box. There are plenty of other, not-so-traditional ways of earning some extra cash while you’re in college. We make it our goal here at GigCollege to bring you the best ideas (or at least some crazy ones…that just might work!) Every month we will continue to add more and more unique money-making ideas.

Here are a couple to get your brain juices flowing…you can use the Christmas break to get your game plan together!

• Computer Tech | Are you pretty tech savvy? You could be the go-to guy for computer tech needs. Make a name for yourself by always being available to troubleshoot students’ computer problems for a cheap price.
• Guinea Pig | Find out if there are any medical studies being conducted at your school or city, and volunteer to be apart of the study. Most studies will pay pretty decent for what is usually a fairly short ordeal!
• Resumé Writer | If you are good at putting information together in an appealing way, you might consider offering your services to other students (especially juniors/seniors) by writing a resumé for them.
• Tutoring | If you are good at your major or concentration…or anything really, you could be a tutor. A lot of colleges offer positions as tutors, this is nice because you get paid whether anyone shows up or not. You could rent yourself out to desperate students, but that would require getting the student to fork over the cash.
• Create a Website | If you are passionate about something, and it could be anything, why not make a website and write about it! If you continue to publish great content that other people are interested in too, you can make some good money with Google Adsense, serving content related ads on your site. (We’ll be covering this in more detail in another post)
• Sell Your Cells | Your blood plasma cells to be exact. While there are time limits on how often you can donate plasma, it can bank you from $20 to $30 a visit!
• Dissertation Assistant | Know any  graduate students that are stressing about their dissertation? Offer yourself as an assistant, proofreading, editing, or researching!
• Campus Food | Get a job with an on-campus food location. You can earn money and more than likely eat for cheap or free!

Look for more unique jobs soon! Make sure to leave feedback on your thoughts about these jobs. Do you have any other unique ideas for making money in college? Leave a comment or send us a message!

For those looking to make a little money without leaving the house, Amazon provides a way to earn some cash with their Mechanical Turk program ( a.k.a Mturk). While this gig is definitely not going to bring you the big money, it can be one source of a few extra bucks here and there.

So what exactly is Mechanical Turk?

Mechanical Turk allows various companies to post certain tasks that they need done that are not easy for machines to do. That’s where you come in. You choose an assignment that you think you like, complete it, and get credited to your Amazon account. Once you reach a measly $10 in your account, you can cash out!

The payout for tasks (or HITs as Mechanical Turk calls them) ranges from just cents up to $7. While this may seem like a low number, most of the jobs are really simple to do and unlike some Survey sites, you can qualify for hundreds of jobs. Rainy weekend? The moolah will add up pretty fast!

However, if you’re the type of person that doesn’t have a lot of free or gets bored pretty easily, then this is probably not for you. But my advice to you is to just give it a shot, and if after 6 hours of hard work you are going crazy and have only made one buck, give up and try something else!

Check out Mturk now!

E-books are big business online – especially if they teach other people how to do things. How to earn more money, how to sell on e-Bay, how to write a bestseller… the possibilities are endless if you have the knowledge and the perseverance to actually write a book and then get out there and sell it.

What’s more, you can apply exactly the same principle to creating a course too. By splitting it up into sections you are creating more value – and you can charge more as a result.

If it’s done properly it can be a real money spinner.

You don’t need to be an expert on e-books to know they sell extremely well if you pick the right subject. “How to…” e-books and courses are particularly good at shifting lots of virtual copies, since they reveal the answers to things that people want to know.

The first thing to remember is that you need to pick a topic that isn’t going to suddenly become unpopular. The topics are obvious here – money, sex or health. Those are the three biggest selling topics around. If you look at all the e-books and courses online, you’ll see that they all revolve around one of those topics in some way. The successful ones do, anyway.

But it’s not just a case of picking a good topic. You need to pick a great title and get the best information to go in it as well. If you want to write a whole course then you need to ensure you’ve got plenty of material and you can divide it naturally into separate sections.

It helps if you already have some knowledge of the subject you are writing about. One of the keys to success is to find your own unique angle, as this is what will sell copies. Don’t try and tread over the same old material that is already out there. It will only be a waste of time. If you have tried something yourself or come up with your own foolproof method of doing something, and other people you know have tried it and got the same results… now that is something worth writing about.

Along with writing the product itself, you’ll also need to write the sales page to go with it. If you’re no good at writing you can always hire a ghostwriter to do it for you; this will cost money but if it’s ghostwritten you can still put your name to it at the end.

Now you need to decide how much to charge for it. The more value it has the more you can charge, and it’s important not to price it too low otherwise it won’t be taken seriously. When it comes to pricing the course you can charge more; it’s up to you whether you supply the whole thing for a flat fee, or set up a payment model where you dispatch one part every month (perhaps via email) in exchange for a monthly payment. This can sometimes result in more people taking you up on the offer, since a smaller monthly amount is easier to pay than one large fee up front.

While you can and should do plenty of research and plan your book or course carefully before you even start to write it, there is still a degree of risk involved. Even ideas that you think will be guaranteed winners might flop, whereas other ones you’re not so sure about could sell massive amounts.

But you will learn plenty from your first effort, and you can use that knowledge to launch your second e-book. And your third, and your fourth…

Written by: 101WaysToMakeMoney.com

Work Study
By far, work study jobs are the some of the best options for college students. These positions are typically figured into your financial aid package by your school’s admissions office. You can work in food service, in a certain department office or in groundskeeping. Work assignments are normally on (or close to) campus and are built around your school and study schedules. Employers are much more lenient with your hours in general, because they know you are attending school and are participating in work study.

High School Tutor
Find a local high school near your college campus to earn extra money as a tutor. You can help students with just about anything, and can often earn upwards of $20 to $30 an hour or more in large cities. Some universities also have peer tutoring programs designed for upperclassmen to work with underclassmen within the same school. You can also contact your school’s athletics department to inquire about athlete tutoring programs.

Resident Assistant
An RA position is ideal for students who are in their sophomore year or above. You will be responsible for the safety of students on your floor in your dorm, enforcing dorm rules and organizing social events. Your duties are often performed in exchange for free room and board, in addition to a small stipend at many schools. Perhaps the best perk, though, is the larger room you’ll likely get in your dorm, as well as a budget for social gatherings and monthly meetings.

Focus Groups / Research Studies
For an hour or two of your time, you can earn quick cash (typically $20 to $100 or more) by participating in product focus groups or research studies. Sites like CollegeHelpers.com often post local opportunities near universities. You can also earn money participating in medical research studies.

Internships
Although they often don’t pay as well (if at all!) internships are superb jobs for college students interested in specific industries such as business, journalism, fashion, cooking and finance. In these positions, you can earn college credit as well as obtain valuable experience in your chosen career path. In some cases, internships can often lead to full-time positions with companies post-graduation, particularly if you return to summer internships year after year. These jobs can be very impressive on resumes and can help you stand out among other recent graduates during the job hunt after school. You can also apply for fast-track internship programs from companies like Proctor & Gamble that look to invest in young college students to help groom them into long-term employees.

Written by: MainStreet.com Staff Writers