5 ms·

Ask HN: How did you generate income during college?

4 points by quizbiz 17y ago

What entrepreneurial pursuits did you maneuver during college?

tjr 17y ago
I was too clueless about such things during college to do my own business. Most of my income during college came from working at a grocery store, and as a computer tape librarian.
joe_bleau 17y ago
Bought and resold used textbooks, undercutting the campus bookstore. Bought electronics parts and test gear at hamfests, dead freight sales, and from profs; resold what I didn't need to local surplus dealers (really have to know what stuff will sell). Had a total blast as an experimental subject (economics and biology). Teaching/lab assistant during the school term, research assistant during summer. Repaired, upgraded, modified, and installed home and car audio systems for classmates and profs. A classmate cut hair (which was almost certainly illegal, in retrospect...). Easy gig, and he had all the business he wanted right there in the dorms. Heard rumors that someone would buy a car at each break, drive it out to school, and flip for a profit. His angle was that the cars were salvage titled imports that had been rebuilt, and his home state allowed title washing, or something like that. I think the DOT closed the loophole that he was exploiting.
ja27 17y ago
I worked a tech support job on campus, which eventually paid enough that I nearly dropped out of school. Many of my coworkers did. I did put out three pieces of shareware, but never saw a dime from them. The biggest move I saw were my Pakistani roommates. They and all their friends brought back one duty-free "prayer" rug every time they went home. They could make about $2,000 on each rug. I did know one student who used a cash-back credit card to pay other student's tuitions. He'd split the cash-back with you, but his real benefit was bumping up his credit rating.
mmphosis 17y ago
I was employed as a monitor helping people with the computers in the lab and keeping the line printer running smoothly. On the side, I sold 5 inch floppy disks for $4 each which was a dollar less than the college store. On summer break, I made money coding Apple II software on contract.
mattlanger 17y ago
None to speak of personally (I quit my campus job writing C++ for the college's scheduling system at $10/hr to go wait tables at a fine dining restaurant for $50/hr), but if you're looking for a classic story there's always Josh and Ricky and Zach, the guys behind College Humor and Busted Tees (profiled at http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/24/fashion/sundaystyles/24COLLEGE.html http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/24/fashion/sundaystyles/24COL... and http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2005/01/24/050124fa_fact2 http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2005/01/24/050124fa_fact2)

4 points by quizbiz 17y ago

What entrepreneurial pursuits did you maneuver during college?

tjr 17y ago

I was too clueless about such things during college to do my own business. Most of my income during college came from working at a grocery store, and as a computer tape librarian.

joe_bleau 17y ago

Bought and resold used textbooks, undercutting the campus bookstore. Bought electronics parts and test gear at hamfests, dead freight sales, and from profs; resold what I didn't need to local surplus dealers (really have to know what stuff will sell). Had a total blast as an experimental subject (economics and biology). Teaching/lab assistant during the school term, research assistant during summer. Repaired, upgraded, modified, and installed home and car audio systems for classmates and profs. A classmate cut hair (which was almost certainly illegal, in retrospect...). Easy gig, and he had all the business he wanted right there in the dorms. Heard rumors that someone would buy a car at each break, drive it out to school, and flip for a profit. His angle was that the cars were salvage titled imports that had been rebuilt, and his home state allowed title washing, or something like that. I think the DOT closed the loophole that he was exploiting.

ja27 17y ago

I worked a tech support job on campus, which eventually paid enough that I nearly dropped out of school. Many of my coworkers did. I did put out three pieces of shareware, but never saw a dime from them. The biggest move I saw were my Pakistani roommates. They and all their friends brought back one duty-free "prayer" rug every time they went home. They could make about $2,000 on each rug. I did know one student who used a cash-back credit card to pay other student's tuitions. He'd split the cash-back with you, but his real benefit was bumping up his credit rating.

mmphosis 17y ago

I was employed as a monitor helping people with the computers in the lab and keeping the line printer running smoothly. On the side, I sold 5 inch floppy disks for $4 each which was a dollar less than the college store. On summer break, I made money coding Apple II software on contract.

mattlanger 17y ago

None to speak of personally (I quit my campus job writing C++ for the college's scheduling system at $10/hr to go wait tables at a fine dining restaurant for $50/hr), but if you're looking for a classic story there's always Josh and Ricky and Zach, the guys behind College Humor and Busted Tees (profiled at http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/24/fashion/sundaystyles/24COLLEGE.html http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/24/fashion/sundaystyles/24COL... and http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2005/01/24/050124fa_fact2 http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2005/01/24/050124fa_fact2)