If you've ever studied, or are currently studying, Information Systems, you might be familiar with this feeling: you enter with high expectations, then slowly realize the major feels like it's stuck in the middle of everything.
Not technical enough compared to Computer Science. Not business-savvy enough compared to Management. Information Systems sits right in between, and if you don't actively fill that gap yourself, the degree ends up feeling like it doesn't have a clear edge in the job market.
But it was precisely that "in-between" nature that taught me something no classroom ever could: how to survive with what you have.
This is the third part of my side hustle journey, after the elementary school era of scrap metal and medicinal herbs, after the high school era of blogging and online shop admin work. Now it's the college chapter. More experiments, more failures, but also a few things that actually stuck.
Context: A College Student Far From Home Who Had to Be Realistic
Studying away from home isn't just about learning. There's rent, food, transportation, and academic costs that keep coming every single month. My parents were doing their best, and I didn't want to be more of a burden than necessary.
That's where the push to earn my own income came from, not from big ambitions, but from a very concrete need.
1. Selling Digital Accounts: Easy Money That Didn't Last
This was the first thing I tried, and honestly, I didn't think too hard about it at the time.
The ecosystem of buying and selling digital accounts, Gmail, Twitter, and similar platforms, has existed for a long time and keeps running to this day. The buyers were real, the market was there, and distribution back then ran through Twitter and Telegram.
I stopped not because it wasn't making money, but because the process kept getting more complicated as platforms tightened their verification systems. The effort no longer matched the return.
What I learned: grey area businesses have a low ceiling. Not because they don't generate income, but because the foundation is fragile, too dependent on loopholes that can be closed at any time. Not a great place to build something long-term.
2. Programming Content: Failed, But It Was Part of the Journey
In my first semester, I was learning C++ in a programming course. An idea immediately popped into my head: "Make programming content, people will definitely watch."
The execution? Far from the plan.
My programming skills were still at freshman level, which means the material was too basic, and plenty of others were already covering it better. On top of that, I wasn't consistent, and the video editing process felt overwhelming for someone who had never done it before.
The project ended before it ever got off the ground. Wasted data, wasted time, zero income.
But I don't regret it. That failure taught me that good content requires two things that can't be separated: skills that are mature enough, and consistency that isn't half-hearted. Without one of them, the result is exactly what I experienced.
3. Helping Friends With Assignments: An Ecosystem That Won't Die
This is the most sensitive one to talk about, but also the most honest to acknowledge: the market for assignment help services is real, large, and it's not going anywhere.
It started simply, a friend asked for help, paid me with a plate of rice. Gradually, cash started coming in, and I began offering the service more actively through Twitter and Telegram.
In the age of AI, some people might think this ecosystem is dying. It's not. AI helps with the work, but many students still need someone who can make sure the output is accurate, relevant, and fits the specific context of their course. As long as there's a gap between the assignments given and the ability to complete them, this market will keep existing.
I'm not recommending it or condemning it. I'm simply noting that it's a reality, and at the time, it helped me eat while living away from home.
4. Blogging (Again): Two Blogs, Two Different Fates
I tried blogging again during college, this time with two blogs running simultaneously.
The first covered school and college study materials. The second was a film and app download blog, which back then still attracted massive traffic.
Monetization through ads and URL shorteners did generate some income. But the same problem came back: I didn't have enough patience. Blogs take a long time to grow, and I gave up too early before seeing any real results.
The lesson I took from this: blogging isn't a sprint, it's a marathon. And I wasn't ready for a marathon back then.
(Ironic, I know, I'm back in the blogging world now through By Sidebars. Maybe what changed isn't the medium, but the mental readiness.)
5. Crypto Airdrops: One Million Rupiah From Luck, the Rest Was Dust
Airdrop information back then came from Telegram and Twitter, the natural habitat of the crypto community.
I stayed in this ecosystem for quite a while. Diligently completing tasks, following projects, hoping one of them would list at a good price.
The results? Honestly: mostly dust. Many airdrops never produced anything, or the tokens listed but crashed before I could sell.
But there was one moment I remember, I managed to get around one million rupiah from one airdrop that listed at a decent price. It felt like a small jackpot in the middle of a pile of failures.
My conclusion on airdrops: this isn't a side hustle, it's a lottery. It can pay off, but it can't be relied upon. If you're interested in entering this space, go in with realistic expectations and don't sacrifice time that could be better spent building more concrete skills.
6. Freelancing With a Team: The One That Lasted Until Graduation
This is the one I'm most proud of from my entire college side hustle journey.
Together with a few college friends, we formed a small team to take on freelance work, graphic design, website development, data processing, and several other projects within our skill range at the time.
What made this different from all the previous attempts was simple: there was a team, there was a division of labor, and there was shared commitment. I wasn't carrying everything alone.
Clients came through various channels, lecturer referrals, friend connections, and online freelance platforms. The projects weren't always big, but they were consistent enough to serve as reliable supplementary income.
We kept the team going until graduation. We only stopped once each of us landed a full-time job.
This taught me more about professional work than any course ever did: how to communicate with clients, how to manage deadlines, how to divide tasks, and how to handle clients with unrealistic expectations, none of that was in any syllabus.
What I Took Away From All of This
Looking back, a clear pattern emerges.
- What failed — almost all of it shared one thing: I was trying alone, without long-term commitment, and I quit at the first sign of resistance.
- What survived — had a more solid foundation: real skills being developed, a team for support, and a process carried out with more patience.
Information Systems may feel like an in-between major. But that's exactly why it pushed me to fill the gaps myself, by trying many things, failing at most of them, and eventually finding a few that were actually worth leaning on.
If you're in a similar position right now, a college student who needs extra income and doesn't know where to start, here's the one thing I can offer: start with whatever is closest to your current skill set, and don't quit too soon.
Failure isn't the end. Most of what I've shared here is failure. But it's from those failures that I finally figured out what I could actually rely on.
This is the third part of my side hustle series, from elementary school, to high school, to college. If you have a similar story, share it in the comments. I'm sure yours is more interesting than mine.