Did you know you could make up to $250 an hour doing homework in Singapore? A recent MyPaper article revealed just how much parents were willing to spend in order to help their children finish what they consider “unnecessary” homework.
I’m not going to deny that it’s great news for entrepreneurial young minds who are more than happy to make a quick buck. But I’m sure there’s a moral issue with exploiting stupid parents who are putting their own children’s development at risk. Instead, here are several quick (and less morally questionable) ways you can make some extra money in Singapore.
1. Being a Focus Group Participant
Researchers of all kinds often use focus groups to gather data by asking questions to a target audience. These researchers could be interested in a diverse spectrum of people. Be it working mothers, in fresh graduates, or even depending on your race, you may be eligible to be a participant. Attending a focus group as a participant means going through a session between 1-2 hours.
There’s no one standard way of conducting a focus group discussion, but usually it involves back-and-forth discussion between the researcher and the group of participants. Usually, all you need to do is speak from your perspective and experience, but your answers will go far in helping these researchers make decisions or come to conclusions.
The best part of being a focus group participant? Getting paid for just giving your opinion. Well, getting paid most of the time, anyway. Some focus group only remunerate their participants with goodie bags or movie tickets, so if you want cold hard cash, be sure to check with the organisers before committing to the focus group.
How much can you earn? $25 to $80 per hour, depending on the study requirements.
2. Offering Yourself as a Science Experiment
Speaking of research, scientists often need human test subjects to help see if a treatment is effective or not. This often means taking some kind of medication or undergoing some procedure to see if there are any side effects. No, the chances of turning into Spider-Man or the Incredible Hulk are pretty darn low.
Clinical trials are conducted regularly in Singapore. The Health Sciences Authority is in charge of making sure that these tests are carried out in a safe and ethical manner. This means that in most cases, there should be no serious side effects that could put your life at risk. It’s more reassuring than it sounds, trust me.
How much can you earn? It depends on the length of the trial. In a trial I did back in 2009, I was paid $200.
3. Giving Tuition. REAL Tuition.
No, I’m not talking about earning up to $250 an hour for doing some poor kid’s homework. I’m just talking about tuition as what it should be – helping children improve in their studies by forc- I mean, encouraging them to do exercises and explaining concepts when necessary.
Depending on how desperately you want work, you may consider signing up with one of numerous tuition agencies in the island. The advantage of going the agency route is you’ll have access to a wider net of parents looking for tuition services. The disadvantage? The tuition agency often takes a cut of how much the parents are paying.
So if you don’t want to lose out, just put the word out to family and friends that you’re available to give tuition. If you’re sufficiently qualified – usually if you have had previous experience as an educator, you can even organise group tuition to earn more money per hour. That being said, parents are often willing to pay handsomely for the premium of one-on-one attention.
How much can you earn? Up to $100 an hour, depending on your qualifications.
4. Busking along Orchard Road.
If you have a skill or talent that can be showcased in a public space, why not consider busking? Not only will you be able to make some money, but putting your ability out there for people to see could also lead to gigs, if you’re talented enough. Busking isn’t just someone along the street playing a musical instrument. You could be a juggler, a mime, a living statue. The possibilities are limited only by your talent and imagination.
Oh, and by the fact that you need to get a license to busk legally. In Singapore, you need to attend a workshop to get familiarise with busking laws and pass an audition conducted by the National Arts Council, before you can get on the street and start earning money. Auditions are only held four times a year, so you’re going to have to time this pretty darn well if you need cash fast.
How much can you earn? About $100 per session, if you’re good.
5. Blogging – AHEM – Being a social media “influencer”.
Now, I know that there have been several exposés recently about the real business of blogging in Singapore. When the CEO of a telco needs to make a public apology because a certain local blogger has decided to be provocative, you know blogging is no laughing matter. But if you’re just starting out, how do you turn blogging into a cash generator?
We’ve recently published an article about earning money as a blogger in Singapore, but the key feature is that, no matter how new your blog is, the best way to monetise it is via advertising. Putting up ads from Google Adsense or Nuffnang means that, as long as you have a steady stream of content, you’re sure to generate a decent amount of revenue.
Probably not enough to live on, of course, but at least enough to make the effort of writing quality content worthwhile.
How much can you earn? Anything from $10 a month to $100 a DAY, depending on your traffic. Focus on creating quality content, of course.
Do you have any other quick ways to make money in Singapore? Share them with us.