How to Make Money in Grad School: 7 Realistic Options

The most useful job in grad school is one that covers a real financial gap and fits around your research. Teaching, research assistance and campus employment are sensible places to start. Consulting can work for people with existing expertise and permission to do it. Surveys and a new blog are much less dependable ways to pay next month’s rent.

Before applying, establish how much you need, how much time you can spare, and what your funding and immigration conditions allow. A high advertised hourly rate is less impressive once you count preparation, travel, administration and unpaid gaps.

Arianna’s experience of working alongside a degree

In the original version of this article, Arianna described working in campus jobs and as a paid research assistant during her undergraduate degree, then consulting during her master’s and the first year of her PhD. She also described becoming burnt out and feeling relieved when that consulting work ended during COVID. Both parts of that experience matter: earning alongside a degree can help, but a schedule that fits on paper can still become too much.

Before you take a job: check these three things

Your funding agreement and department expectations

Ask whether outside work needs approval, whether teaching is already part of your award, and how additional work interacts with required research hours. Do not assume that every funded doctorate has the same rules or stipend. UKRI’s student-support guidance applies to its funded students; your own award letter and university are the starting point for your particular arrangement. If you are still choosing a programme, see how to find a funded PhD.

Your right to do the proposed work

For international students, eligibility comes before choosing a side job. GOV.UK’s Student visa guidance says work permission depends on the course and term-time status, and that Student visa holders cannot be self-employed. Freelancing, online consulting and running a monetised business can therefore be unsuitable. Ask your university’s international-student adviser about your exact status, all your jobs combined and how term time is defined for research students. Rules elsewhere differ.

Your actual monthly shortfall

Separate reliable income from hoped-for income. List essential costs, subtract dependable funding, and work out the gap. If the shortfall is large, also ask about hardship assistance, bursaries and funding problems. An extra job is not the only possible response to an unaffordable programme.

Seven ways to make money in grad school

Option	Why it can fit	What to check
Teaching or marking	Related to academic work	Paid preparation and marking time
Research assistance	Uses research skills	Defined duties and hours
Campus employment	May reduce travel	Shift flexibility and busy periods
Tutoring	Uses subject knowledge	Employment status and cancellations
Consulting or freelance work	Can use existing expertise	Permission, contracts and unpaid work
Retail or hospitality	Can provide predictable shifts	Travel, late finishes and exams
Paid research participation	Occasional supplementary income	Eligibility, consent and availability

1. Teaching, demonstrating and marking

Look for teaching-assistant, laboratory-demonstrator, seminar and marking roles through your department. Ask for the full job description rather than judging the opportunity by classroom hours. A one-hour tutorial may also need preparation, student emails, meetings and assessment.

Before accepting, confirm which tasks are paid, how hours are recorded, when payment arrives, and whether training is included. Check when marking peaks: a job can be manageable for most of term and clash badly with your own submission deadline.

2. Research-assistant work

Short projects can involve data cleaning, coding, literature searches, transcription or participant administration. Ask the project lead to define the deliverable, supervision, security arrangements and maximum hours. Clarify whether the work is employment separate from your doctorate or part of your existing funded responsibilities.

Do not accept vague promises that a project will be “good exposure” in place of agreed pay. If publication or authorship is mentioned, discuss expectations separately from wages; neither is a substitute for the other.

3. Campus jobs

Library, administrative, student-ambassador and events roles may be worth checking on the university’s jobs board. Being near your normal workplace can reduce travel time. However, a campus address does not guarantee flexibility. Ask about required shifts, holiday availability and whether you can reduce hours during examinations or fieldwork.

4. Tutoring

Tutoring can suit students who know a subject well and enjoy explaining it. Begin with material you can teach confidently. Find out whether you would be an employee or self-employed, and include lesson planning, communication and travel in your workload calculation.

Use clear cancellation and payment arrangements. Keep academic-integrity boundaries explicit: help a student understand a concept or practise a skill; do not write assessed work for them.

5. Consulting or freelance work, where permitted

This is most realistic when you already have a marketable skill and a trusted professional network. Arianna’s original account involved an existing company relationship, which is a very different starting point from building a client base from scratch.

Agree the scope, payment timetable, revision limits and ownership of the work. Check conflicts of interest and never use confidential university research or participant data for a client without proper authorisation. If you cannot legally be self-employed, this option is not available simply because the work happens online.

6. Retail, hospitality or another scheduled job

A job outside your field can offer a welcome change of activity and more predictable paid hours. Compare the whole shift, including travel and recovery after late finishes, against your timetable. Tell the employer about immovable academic commitments before accepting. Prestige matters less than whether the arrangement is sustainable for you.

7. Paid research participation

University participant pools and platforms such as Prolific can provide occasional income, but study availability and eligibility vary. Check the information sheet, consent process and payment terms. Do not build essential spending around work that may never be offered, and do not judge a medical study primarily by its payment.

Calculate the effective hourly return

Illustrative example: a tutoring booking pays £30. It takes one hour to teach, 30 minutes to prepare and another 30 minutes to travel and handle messages. Your gross return is £30 ÷ 2 = £15 per hour before expenses and any tax. The same £30 online session with 15 minutes of preparation would be £24 per hour before expenses and tax. These are examples, not promised market rates.

For a £240 monthly gap, £15 per total hour would require 16 hours a month before deductions. Check whether those hours actually exist around your research, caring responsibilities and rest. The PhD time-management guide can help you map the trade-offs.

Start small and review the arrangement

Agree a modest initial commitment where possible. After a few weeks, compare expected pay and hours with reality. Are you missing research milestones? Are unpaid tasks expanding? Does the employer respect your availability? Take those observations to your supervisor or student adviser early rather than waiting for a crisis.

Blogging, content creation and selling digital products may become businesses, but they usually require unpaid setup and uncertain returns. They are not reliable emergency-income plans and may count as self-employment. For a broader picture of the competing demands, read what to know before starting a PhD.

Can you work during a full-time PhD?

Sometimes, depending on your award, university, employment arrangement and immigration status. Permission and practical capacity are separate questions. Even permitted hours can be too much alongside a demanding research stage.

What is the best job for a graduate student?

There is no universal winner. Compare reliable pay, total time, flexibility and eligibility. A nearby employed role with clearly paid hours may suit you better than a higher advertised freelance rate with uncertain bookings.