My current state of experience as a college student

[DaisukeHanashi]

Heyya~

I'm a college student who currently studies Bachelor of Science in Information Technology... and also suffers in financial crisis as I only have a shitty low-end laptop and zero budget while I would be pursuing Multimedia Development in the next school year. And if you don't know what that means, I just need to buy a better, high-end laptop (with i7 Octa-core processor and GTX 1650) for me to pursue on multimedia (and game) development more efficiently and compatibly...WITHOUT using my parents' money (because their wages aren't enough to plan a budget).

But in order for me to buy it, I need to earn some money, and by earning... I just need to know... how?

So I plan to just publish my story right away and hopefully build some audience, then I'll launch my Patreon (or any third-party funding app) to earn my money through donations as soon as my work might achieve into a certain level of popularity. Like I regret being indecisive... and a little bit too late for me to act on, but that's because I also spend a lot of time practicing my programming skills (and also some other languages) and building some basic-level projects. Well, not a really good experience as I'm using a low-end laptop.

And when it comes to doing some other things that I have to do (other than writing), I also have to deal with stresses that will surely give me a creative burnout... and hence, killing my state of productivity.

Besides, I'm living in a third-world country wherein prices are slowly going to be much higher in the next year while wages are going to be lower. Cost of living here as a native citizen is surely an ultimate pain in the ass. Also got jealous of one of my college friends who earned a lot of money through making an art and selling it as NFT commission and just bought a custom high-end PC, while I'm currently suffering in financial crisis.


Thus, my life rn is full of shitty regrets... and conveniences.

Note: Just sharing for the sake of somebody who can give me help.

 

[SailusGebel]

 

[Corty]

I'm not an expert on this, but if you want money relatively quickly, then writing isn't it. Any other odd job, part-time job, etc, would do it better. The market is greatly saturated. To frankly put, you and many others (including me) are late to the party if you expect to receive money in the short term.

 

[DaisukeHanashi]

I'm not an expert on this, but if you want money relatively quickly, then writing isn't it. Any other odd job, part-time job, etc, would do it better. The market is greatly saturated. To frankly put, you and many others (including me) are late to the party if you expect to receive money in the short term.

If I would've worked on a part-time job, it would just take 3-4 years for me to afford a high-end PC because each full-time duty will grant me an average earnings of half-a-dollar (or specifically, about 500 Philippine pesos per DAY). And high-end PC/laptop will cost around 100K Philippine Pesos.

I also plan to pursue copywriting business, but the competition there is oversaturated, making it hard for me to get a single client.

 

[NotaNuffian]

Good luck to your endeavors.

But seriously, if you want to write for money, be a ghost writer and take commission. Something that is difficult in SH unless you plan to write GL porn. for 100 ++ chapters,

 

[TheEldritchGod]

Ummm... not waste your life on a worthless 4 year degree and go to a 2 year college instead where they have employers lined up to give you a job? If you wanna make money, it usually involves doing shit you hate. So, Bill collector, trash collector, apply to work at a group home as staff. Uber driver, uber eats...

What state you in? I'm assuming US.

 

[Lorelliad]

College sounds scary

 

[Deleted member 54065]

If I would've worked on a part-time job, it would just take 3-4 years for me to afford a high-end PC because each full-time duty will grant me an average earnings of half-a-dollar (or specifically, about 500 Philippine pesos per DAY). And high-end PC/laptop will cost around 100K Philippine Pesos.

@TheEldritchGod he said Phlippines.

 

[Iamnotabot]

College sounds scary

yes. Yes it is

 

[Scaver]

Heyya~

I'm a college student who currently studies Bachelor of Science in Information Technology... and also suffers in financial crisis as I only have a shitty low-end laptop and zero budget while I would be pursuing Multimedia Development in the next school year. And if you don't know what that means, I just need to buy a better, high-end laptop (with i7 Octa-core processor and GTX 1650) for me to pursue on multimedia (and game) development more efficiently and compatibly...WITHOUT using my parents' money (because their wages aren't enough to plan a budget).

But in order for me to buy it, I need to earn some money, and by earning... I just need to know... how?

So I plan to just publish my story right away and hopefully build some audience, then I'll launch my Patreon (or any third-party funding app) to earn my money through donations as soon as my work might achieve into a certain level of popularity. Like I regret being indecisive... and a little bit too late for me to act on, but that's because I also spend a lot of time practicing my programming skills (and also some other languages) and building some basic-level projects. Well, not a really good experience as I'm using a low-end laptop.

And when it comes to doing some other things that I have to do (other than writing), I also have to deal with stresses that will surely give me a creative burnout... and hence, killing my state of productivity.

Besides, I'm living in a third-world country wherein prices are slowly going to be much higher in the next year while wages are going to be lower. Cost of living here as a native citizen is surely an ultimate pain in the ass. Also got jealous of one of my college friends who earned a lot of money through making an art and selling it as NFT commission and just bought a custom high-end PC, while I'm currently suffering in financial crisis.


Thus, my life rn is full of shitty regrets... and conveniences.

Note: Just sharing for the sake of somebody who can give me help.

Do you want to make money real bad? How much is your conviction. I mean it's really easy to say I want to, but really do you? I mean can you work when you are sick? When you feel like shit? When there is no urge? You don't have to work. But you should still get up and sit there. if you have that level of conviction then here is the advice:
1. Write lit rpg.
2. Read a dozen of lit rpg. Don't just read them. Study them. Disect them to pieces and take the fan favourites and throw the hated.
3. Start writing. Have around 100k words in backlog or something.
4. Mass release some part of it.
5. Wait untill you have some amount of followers and open patreon and earn.

Mind you, this is pretty much cheap money in my eyes but you can try!

 

[mitkopom]

If I were you I would go for a vintage work for few months in Australia and then New Zealand. If you do not over-spend during those 4-5 months and live moderately, you will come back home with a bag full of money. It is what I did when I was a poor student years ago. It worked well for me. ... I got a confidence in my capabilities, then a car, then a girlfriend ->fiance->current wife-> family.
Now I have enough cash and I am writing for free to entertain myself and the mass public :) :)

 

[TotallyHuman]

I verily doubt writing will help. If ypu know programming, why not try finding a job there?

 

[TheJudger]

If you knows the basics of programming, then create an account on some free-lance platform

This will help you study, and you will get some money in the process

Usually, the Freelancer sites around are just easy jobs that some people is needing fast, so it won't take more then a few hours for you to get a minimal of 40 dollars

But you have to dedicate yourself on studying these platforms, like, which one pays more, which one has to most costumers, and so on

 

[Redemit]

Imagine wasting precious time and money on college nowadays

In 4 years you're going to have a mountain of debt that's going to take you decades to pay off no work experience which is all anyone actually cares about no examples of your skills but at least you'll have a piece of paper saying you spent alot of money and know 1 or 2 things pretty good or alternatively in 4 years you could've had 4 years of actual work experience and a decent safety net saved up and you could've studied whatever you want in your free time while also making examples of what you can do with those studies for any future employers or even use your saved up money to start your own business

 

[ArcadiaBlade]

If i were you, I should start looking for work and getting experience instead. If you plan on continuing instead of just trying to wing it by writing, I suggest you think it though....

I-its not because of experience or anything you know....

 

[KrakenRiderEmma]

Unfortunately, multimedia development is not a huge part of a BS in IT degree. Your program probably doesn’t require you to have a high-spec multimedia laptop because most classes are dealing with code, command line, hardware, computer science, etc. It isn’t worth it for you financially to buy a laptop for one class. However, you should not take the word of anyone on an Internet forum about that, you should ask your teachers. Talk to the person teaching the multimedia studies class or classes, ask them how other students have dealt with hardware. It’s quite possible that your school, or even individual teachers, have resources you don’t know about. Some schools have laptops you can borrow for a particular class or a semester. Or labs where you can do multimedia stuff, or equipment scholarships. I realize your friend got money quickly by selling a NFT, but even that scam doesn’t really work anymore, and you shouldn’t rely on some way of “getting rich quick.” Ask for help from people with resources instead, it’s literally their job to help students so you should press them to do their job.

 

[melchi]

I agree with Kracken, if the teachers are saying a high end laptop is needed for an IT class then that school is really crappy. They should be teaching networking not programing or graphic design. Yes, some scripting is good to know but it shouldn't need an eight core pc to compile a perl or similar script.

 

[WinterTimeCrime]

Imagine wasting precious time and money on college nowadays

In 4 years you're going to have a mountain of debt that's going to take you decades to pay off no work experience which is all anyone actually cares about no examples of your skills but at least you'll have a piece of paper saying you spent alot of money and know 1 or 2 things pretty good or alternatively in 4 years you could've had 4 years of actual work experience and a decent safety net saved up and you could've studied whatever you want in your free time while also making examples of what you can do with those studies for any future employers or even use your saved up money to start your own business

Don't know who told you this, but that's totally untrue.

I can vouch that for some people with the right drive and skills, there are jobs for them, but not most of the time. For instance, when I graduated from grade school, I got an internship as an Accel. Developer for Roblox Co. and was offered a job there. Things were good, but after talking with my mother, mind you, a woman with a Ph.D., she told me about the importance of having a degree giving you "shut up value," essentially the ability to walk in a room, and your worth speaks for itself.

Now on a grant from my new company, I'm studying Data Analytics/Business Intelligence and International Business as a dual degree. A degree isn't about learning the various courses or topics that you come across in your studies. It's telling your employer that, for four years, you showed up on time to multiple locations, took care of business, and were capable of basic mental, social, and academic skills to succeed. That is not something that learning a course online or learning to code can do, even if you had years of practice in your skillset. Who's to say that you're some slob that sits on a couch all day, has no work ethic, or makes excuses when a project needs to get done?

Most jobs in STEM starting pay is above $80k+, and the availability of grants and scholarships allows you to leave with a good portion of your debt erased if you decide to act. If there were ever to be a recession or job cut, management or employer would think twice about firing me over someone with "coding experience" just because someone like that is expendable

I do agree that some jobs aren't worth going to college for, especially in this job market where AI is taking over an abundance of jobs in the liberal arts or mechanical sector.

Also, examples you stated, such as starting a company and coding experience, take capital, time, and resources, things many people in the middle/lower class do not have. Sure, you can learn to code for free on a dozen websites like CodeAcademy or take the free Harvard class. Still, unless you have reputable projects, licenses, and/or certifications like Comp TIA, etc., or have worked for well-known companies such as FANG, you're at a loss.

 

[Vnator]

All the best! Also, don't take career advice from anyone here, since most of them are absolutely NOT qualified or are in high school themselves. Though what @WinterTimeCrime and @KrakenRiderEmma stated are good pieces of advice, which I say as someone who has graduated and is currently working in software.

Either way, all the best! But on the bright side, if you sell something that people in a 1st world country will buy, be it patreon for your writing or art as many do, that money will have a LOT of impact due to the difference in buying power between countries. Maybe not enough to buy a high end laptop, but for IT, you don't really need anything that major since multimedia is almost nonexistent in it.

 

[StrongArm]

time to put your assless leather chaps on and walk the street corner! Sell that booty!