{"id":83642,"date":"2018-02-09T12:00:13","date_gmt":"2018-02-09T11:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=83642"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:22:56","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:22:56","slug":"digital-side-digs-no-need-to-roll-up-the-sleeves-in-the-age-of-the-internet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2018\/02\/09\/digital-side-digs-no-need-to-roll-up-the-sleeves-in-the-age-of-the-internet\/","title":{"rendered":"No need to roll up the sleeves in the age of the Internet"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Internet has redefined the way we work and by \u201cwe,\u201d I mean broke full-time students in need of some extra income. In years past, students strapped for cash might scavenge the city for odd jobs that need doing. Working the night shift behind the bar, tutoring school kids in between classes, or walking some old lady\u2019s dog are just a couple examples of odd jobs that could help to pay the rent.<\/p>\n

In the age of the Internet, the odd job has taken up a whole new meaning. While many students today are still employed doing labour-based \u201cgrunt\u201d work, a select few students are using the Internet as a means of making money. These digital side-jobs are odd not for their obscurity, but for an entirely different reason: there are no required hours, there is no boss and the Internet is the medium that makes it all happen. For students on the lookout for a new way of creating capital, look no further than what these three students are doing now.<\/p>\n

Ryan Li (20), Cryptocurrency Trader <\/h2>
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Ryan Li is low key about his line of work. If it weren\u2019t for the stock charts that periodically fill the screen of his laptop during lectures, no one would have clue that he is a trader of cryptocurrencies. But before the yo-yoing price of Bitcoin became a daily conversation starter for everyday people, Li was trading a different kind of currency: designer shoes.<\/p>\n

\u201cI needed to make money one way or another, but I didn\u2019t want to work a regular job,\u201d said Li, who studies Communications and Media. \u201cI once worked at a restaurant and that really sucked. I couldn\u2019t deal with the fact that I\u2019m working my ass off for a few euros an hour, so I started buying and re-selling brand name shoes online. At first it didn\u2019t work out, but after doing some research and finding a group of shoe-sellers who gave me some tips on how to sell at a profit, I quickly made back the money I\u2019d lost within a month. After that, the profit kept growing and growing till I had quite something to work with.\u201d<\/p>\n

After learning about Bitcoin from his roommate at the start of 2017, Li decided to try his luck in the cryptocurrency market. The result of this decision parallels that of his time in the shoe-selling business, albeit at much higher profit margins.<\/p>\n\n\t

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\n\t\t\u2018At its highest, the profit value was 350k in US dollar value\u2019\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

\u201cAt first I was day-trading different coins like a madman, and that didn\u2019t work out,\u201d admitted Li. \u201cI lost quite a bit of money, so I took the time to study how other people trade and how to sell at max-profit. Surprisingly, Twitter became my most important source of information. I learned the basics of market cycles\u2014buying when coins are low and selling when they\u2019re high. Between July and December the market was down, but I knew that the market had to go up again, so I started preparing myself by buying into different cryptocurrencies other than Bitcoin. And well, it worked out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Curious to know how well that worked out? \u201cAt its highest, the profit value was 350k in US dollar value,\u201d said Li, grinning ever so slightly. \u201cBut with the recent crash of the market, it\u2019s down to 100k.\u201d With such high stakes comes high stress, but Li has learned how to keep his cool over the last few months. \u201cI couldn\u2019t sleep when I first started trading because the market would shift so fast,\u201d said Li. \u201cNow I think to myself: \u2018If I lose it all, I\u2019ll still be fine at the end of the day.\u2019 That helps me sleep at night and lets me enjoy life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nychenda Fecunda (20), Artist<\/h2>
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Nychenda Fecunda has a thing for drawing faces. Along her bedroom walls are copious portraits that tread the line between ravishing and disturbing, playful and eerie. Each face is delicately manipulated as if it were dipped in a pool of strange dreams only to come out unnaturally colourful and with peculiar features, such as melting ice cream for hair. For Fecunda, drawing is a form of meditation, but as of late, the art she posts on Instagram has also become a source of extra cash.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen people started asking me online if they could buy my stuff, I\u2019d always have this moment of stress like \u2018Damn, what price tag do I attach to this?\u201d said Fecunda, who is doing a double-degree at Erasmus University College. \u201cA few months ago, this girl sent me a DM from Sweden asking to buy something. At first I was excited, but then the practical matters came into play like pricing it and transporting it and I gave up on the whole thing. Finally three months ago, I agreed to selling a piece to someone and when I delivered it to her, she was so happy, which made me happy. I mean, I didn\u2019t ask for a lot of money, but it felt really nice to get something for something I loved doing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

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\n\t\t\u2018I decided that I would ask the same amount that I used to get tutoring per hour\u2019\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

Fecunda\u2019s following on Instagram, as well her as exhibitions at venues like WORM, has led to more people enquiring about her portraits. Now she doesn\u2019t hesitate so much when pricing her work. \u201cI decided that I would ask the same amount that I used to get tutoring per hour, so if I spend 2.5 hours on something, it will be around 25 euros,\u201d Fecunda told EM. \u201cBut it depends on the size of the piece too. I\u2019ve talked to friends I know who go to the art academy, and they say that\u2019s way too little. Professionals charge 40 euros an hour, but I\u2019m no professional so I\u2019m starting out with this and we\u2019ll see where it goes in a year.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Fecunda, who signs all her pieces with \u2018NaaF\u2019 in the bottom corner, it\u2019s first and foremost about the art and then the money. \u201cI feel that if I only did this because I need to pay the rent, it would take away the joy, and then what\u2019s the point of doing it in the first place.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lorenzo De Benedictis (20), Football Data Collector <\/h2>
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Lorenzo De Benedictis scored a side-job that every football-lover could only dream of: getting paid to watch live football. After punching the word \u2018football\u2019 into a few freelancing websites, De Benedictis stumbled upon an advertisement from a sports data agency that pays its employees 50 euros a match, plus transportation costs and the price of the ticket to collect data as the match is happening.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing in a foreign country and not speaking the language, I thought this is the best job I can get,\u201d De Benedictis told EM. \u201cI believe you should do what you love and I love football, so if I can\u2019t play or coach, then this is how I\u2019ll get my foot in the door.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

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\n\t\t\u2018The match may only be 90 minutes long, but it feels like you\u2019re working for three hours\u2019\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

Collecting a paycheck for watching football sounds brilliant, but the job demands a whole lot more than that. Using a laptop or smartphone, De Benedictis has to record everything that\u2019s happening in the game, from player line-ups and formations to goals scored and fouls. He even needs to record who\u2019s in possession of the ball and where throughout the whole game.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not like watching a regular match,\u201d said De Benedictis, who studies Communication and Media. \u201cThere\u2019s actually a lot of pressure because it has to be done live and instantaneously. Football can get really high-pace, so you have to keep one eye on your laptop and the other on the match. The match may only be 90 minutes long, but it feels like you\u2019re working for three hours.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sure, those 90 minutes may be intensive, but De Benedictis is much happier doing this than washing dishes in the kitchen of a restaurant. \u201cWhen it comes to student jobs, mine is the outsider,\u201d said De Benedictis. \u201cIt\u2019s something very different. I don\u2019t have a boss in front of me and I make my own schedule. And also, I get paid to watch football, which is amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

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De redactie<\/h2>\n\t\t\n\t\t
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