What: Take notes in class
Expected pay: $300 to $600 per semester
Husl $core: $$$
Where: U.S. colleges and universities
Requirements: Attend classes for which StudySoup needs notes; take detailed notes and follow program guidelines
Review: If you’re a college student looking for a way to earn a little pocket money, Study Soup provides an interesting option. By signing up to take notes in class, you can earn $300 — or more, in some instances. And there’s a good chance that the detailed notes you’ll need to take for this job will help you get better grades. The site sets up its payment formula based on specific actions, such as when you upload study guides and plug in exam dates and notes. You can download a copy of the contract before you sign up, which gets StudySoup good marks for transparency, too. (We’ve excerpted the payment schedule from this contract at the bottom of this post.)
Students who have tried this gig generally appear to like it. However, some recent changes in the payment formula have sparked complaints about declining returns and inconsistent payment practices. Be sure to check the contract for your school before you give up your notes.
Also know that some schools are not enthused about the idea of students sharing their notes, unless they’re specifically working with the Disability Services department. And, if you have the initiative to work with the Disability Services department at your school, you may be able to sell your notes without StudySoup, like this blogger did. But if you’d rather leave the business side of the business to someone else, StudySoup is a reasonable option. Also check out Nexus Notes, which has a different payment formula, which gives you a little less initially but promises bigger payments if your notes prove popular.
What their note-takers say:
“Job required class notes, at least one upload per week. Two exam study guides must be uploaded per class subscribed. Money was uploaded to account one week after requirements were made. Flexible hours since you work on your own time. You make your own management. The hardest part of job was meeting the weekly requirements. The most enjoyable part of job was being own boss since you work on your own time.”
“Instead of people skipping class then taking pictures of notes for free so they can skip again, you can finally make some money off of your hard work. The support staff is very responsive and friendly, and the system is very easy to use. You can make a bit of extra cash without having to do any extra work. Plus, other students can preview your notes or materials so they know what they’re getting. Since typed notes are the only ones that usually get purchased, those who handwrite your notes will need to take extra time to type them up, format them, etc. If someone else from your class offers their notes without using Study Soup, you may only make a small amount of extra money. Also, prepare for classmates to be annoyed by your sharing notes with them through the student email all the time. Also, although several times I’ve been offered different positions as an intern or Marketing Coordinator, the resume description of my work never materialized as promised, and the positions always required pitching Study Soup using language that made it sound almost deceptive in my opinion. Not a lot of chance to move up in the company, because it’s a startup, unless you’re willing to sign up for pitching the website to classes.”
“For a dedicated college student, StudySoup is a very good way to generate some spending money. It’s very easy to sell your notes and make a name among your classmates as a reliable study buddy. Be very careful about your school’s note-selling policy and the temperaments of your professors. You could get in a LOT of trouble if your actions are perceived as a copyright violation. Advice to Management: Try helping students connect with their professors or their Disability Services on campus to make StudySoup’s presence more legitimate and with less risk of disciplinary action.”
“Please fix a bug in the search engine that does not link certain classes to the correct teachers. For the entire 2016-17 school year my Chemistry 112 (a very BIG class across the country) did not show up in the search engine. Because of this my competitors were being rewarded more than me even though the quality of their notes was far below mine. It took a long time to tackle this and I still believe it isn’t fixed. Not the best experience there.”
A final note: Study Soup provides a contract that note takers can view before they sign on. This is the payment schedule from that contract. Payments can be withheld if the site determines the notes are not of sufficient quality.
Regular Payment: (paid out 3-5 days after exam date)
o Upload & Share Study Guide: $50 per Study Guide ▪ Maximum 3 Study Guides per course
● End-of-Semester Paycheck: (paid out January 1st, 2018)
o Onboarding Completion: $25
o Entering Exam Dates: $25
o Upload & Share First Set of Notes: $25 per course
o Study Guides: $50 bonus per course for successfully uploading and sharing all 3 study guides (i.e. qualified for the $50 payment on each Study Guide)
o Weekly Notes: $50 bonus per course for 8 weeks of uploaded notes