“You have to get up really early, and it’s definitely not the safest area,” she said. “People there don’t have jobs, and they don’t have anything to do, so they can be there all day.”

Although she already had a job on campus, Clayton said the money she earned was not enough,

“I’d like to say it was for the virtue of the whole thing, but I just needed quick money,” she said.

With the economy continuously in distress, distinguished professor of economics Mordechai Kreinin said students seeking out alternative forms of employment is not unusual.

“I don’t think there’s that many (job opportunities for students),” he said. “It’s tough going, and I don’t like the idea that the average student leaves school with a very substantial debt.”

When he was younger, Kreinin said he did everything from mowing lawns during the summer to shoveling snow in the winter to earn extra money, and he encourages students to be creative when job hunting as well.

“I did it, and a lot of my companions did it a long time ago, so there’s no reason not to do it today,” he said.

Donating Plasma
When advertising junior Andrew Mcilzried needed a way to fund a trip back to his hometown of Pittsburgh, he also resorted to donating plasma.

“I was pretty broke at the time, so I needed some gas money,” he said.

Christopher Florentz, the manager of corporate communications for CSL Behring, the parent company of CSL Plasma, said college students account for a number of patients at CSL Plasma centers, especially those near large universities.

“We have centers that are in proximity to college campuses, and those tend to get a higher number of students,” he said.

Mcilzried still donates about once a month at CSL Plasma to pay for groceries, gas and other necessities.

“If I ever have a little free time, it’s nice to make money without doing much,” he said.

Like Mcilzried, Clayton, who had to stop giving because of a body piercing she got, said she appreciated the extra money being a donor provided her.

She said she made $50 the first five times she donated, and after that, she made $20 on her first visit of the week and $35 on the second visit.

Brand management
After struggling to find time to commit to his campus job, Luke Hessler was forced to quit.
But he still needed money to put himself through college, so he started promoting a product called Verve, which is a healthy energy drink.

“Now this is my only job, and I’m making $500 a month, so it’s been working out really well,” the international relations sophomore said.

Hessler, who began working for Verve just before finals week last semester, said he has no set hours and can work as little or as often as he wants to plan events and spread the word about his product to students.

“It’s by far the best job a college student can have because you work on your own time and you set your own income,” he said.

Packaging and advertising sophomore Connor Ross, who also works as a promoter for several companies, including Goodwood NYC, Boom Headphones, Boomtho! and Hottest College Parties, said his unpredictable schedule can be difficult to manage, especially with his school workload.

“You have really interesting hours, and technically, you’re always on the clock,” he said. “You always have to have that mentality that you’re working.”

Ross, who began advertising when he was just 12 years old, said since then, he has developed a passion for his job, which he plans to continue pursuing after he graduates.

“I love it, so it’s not like a normal job,” he said. “I’m pretty much getting paid to have fun. I don’t consider it a job.”

Modeling
When alumna Emily Rohrer was in school and searching for a job to help pay her bills, she never expected the job she found would follow her after she graduated.

But several years after she began modeling for the Department of Art & Art History, she still is posing for students in drawing, painting and sculpting classes.

“Until I’m old and gray, I think I will always be a model,” Rohrer said.

Michelle Word, teaching and outreach specialist for the Department of Art & Art History, said models for the department are paid $11 an hour, and the number employed changes from semester to semester, depending on the need.

By working for the department, Word said models are able to participate in a rare experience.

“It isn’t a common opportunity to be a part of an artist’s development — to be their muse,” she
said.

Rohrer said she believes her job is more fulfilling than a typical position one might find on campus.

“I would think that this is certainly more of an enriching experience than sitting at a desk,” she said. “College is the time to do something that you’re going to look back on and be glad that you did it and that you took a risk.”

Throughout the several years she has worked as a model, Rohrer said she has developed more self esteem and a less judgemental attitude.

“It’s not about body glamour, (and) it’s not the same thing as posing for Playboy where you’re expected to be perfect. You come as you are,” she said.

Stock Market
Economics junior Kiernan Easton entered his freshman year of college with a little spending money and the desire to earn even more. After much convincing, he talked his parents into setting him up an account on tdameritrade.com, a website that allows members to buy, sell and trade stocks.

“The thought that every day I could be making or losing money was a harsh learning experience,” he said. “But my incentive was that any money I could get would allow me to put more into it.”

Although Easton admitted to making unwise decisions at first, he has continued to invest throughout his time at MSU, and now makes enough that he hasn’t had a steady job in nearly a year. He tends to invest in the stocks he’s found to be the most stable, including McDonald’s and Walmart, and said he has made up to $2,000 from his initial investments on a single stock.

“It was nice that I didn’t have to work last summer, that I could sit in the comfort of my own home and make about as much (as a minimum wage job),” he said.

Richard Feight, a financial planner for IAM Financial, 2164 University Park Drive, in Okemos, recommends college students invest to gain financial knowledge for the future.

“You get that great experience, and you get involved,” the MSU alumnus said. “Although you might have a rough start, you’re just getting your feet wet. The longer you continue to invest, the more you improve your skills.”

Two years later, and Easton said he has yet to lose his natural inclination to get involved in stocks. After college, he said he aspires to find work as a mutual fund manager.

“It’s so embedded in parts of everyday life,” he said. “I stay interested because it’s always

happening, and it’s happening all around you. There will always be something I see happening that I can’t help but buy into.”

Entrepreneurship
Premedical sophomore Usman Majeed has been making money through self-produced websites and forums since he was in middle school.

“I’ve never really had a minimum wage job to be honest,” he said. “I’d rather be my own boss and make enough money to sustain myself.”

After running blogs and websites throughout high school, Majeed now earns income through his two websites: techtwurl.com, where people can re-sell their electronics to interested buyers, and unlockinc.com, which offers products to help unlock Apple’s iPhone and make hidden features and applications available.

Majeed said he makes more than he would at a minimum wage job on campus from his two websites, and he enjoys the flexibility.

Media and information junior Marissa Berman runs her own website as well for her clothing line, Savage Colors Clothing. Berman sells handmade shirts, jewelry and sweatshirts, and her designs have been sold in stores across Michigan — even Miley Cyrus has been seen wearing her merchandise.

“It makes me feel like you really can do anything,” she said. “I’m only someone from Michigan and my talents have been given to people that I look up to. It feels nice to know that it can really happen, (and) it makes me feel really accomplished.”

After seeing actress Samantha Droke’s designs at a market in Los Angeles, Berman was inspired by her style and chose to follow suit. She said running her own business has given her many benefits.

“I like to take everything and see how I can make money out of it,” she said. “I think in business terms, whereas other people just make something and give it away. I decided to take all my hobbies and wide range of skills and build something out of them.”

MSU Entrepreneurship Association president Anuj Shah said there are both pros and cons for students operating their own businesses.

“You can go home when you want, call it quits when you want,” the hospitality business junior said. “But there’s a lot of initial investment involved, so you have to be sure of what you’re doing. Two percent of unsureness can finish you.”