My first attempt at trying my hand on a money making escapade was back in 2010. Though some years before then I've joined my friend on a couple of occasions to sell her parent's goods but the money made from the effort wasn't actually mine. So I won't count that as some kind of job.
As a student from middle class backgrounds parents won't provide all the necessities. And that necessitated me to go out there and look for a source of income to augment whatever I get from home. Of course it's not going to be easy considering I was a full time student. But with a laptop and internet bundle, I realised I could make some money.
In my quest for financial freedom I dived into several options. I tried my hands on sports betting but the stuff was very difficult. I just couldn't stop losing the little money I have. After that I was introduced to HYIP (High Yield Investment Program). The trending one was hyped to high heavens in our forum and I did put some money into it.
They paid back in cents with a promise of 200% interest. I was lucky enough to get my initial capital's worth and some little profit before they stopped paying altogether. I told myself the risk was worth the try and was gearing up for another opportunity only for some silly scammers to get access into my Liberty Reserve account and wipe the little amount I have in there. I lost all hope.
But then, I intensified my research on jobs I could do online without risking my education. That was when I stumbled upon a website, Captcha2Cash. The job was quite simple and straightforward - all I had to do was to type captchas. But the pay was incredibly low. I've forgotten the pay rate but I would have to type captchas for well over 1 hour before getting close to a dollar.
Without wasting time, I started the job. Once I'm less busy after classes I would type captcha for several hours. It was frustrating, it was punishing, but the joy of getting paid from my own effort - even though the pay was quite little - kept me going. Due to my modest nature the little I made served me in times of need. I was able to eat properly and buy my basic needs. Then, disaster struck.
After a morning class, I sat down to work as usual only to log into the website and get denied. I thought I made a mistake or tried to access the wrong website but after much trials, it dawned on me that the website is no longer functional. Till today I don't know why it went offline. I tried looking for other websites offering the same service. I got one but the minimum payout was very high. When I read reviews, I realized they rarely pay those that eventually meet the payout threshold. So I didn't bother starting out with them.
As far as lessons learnt, I realized there are opportunities out there as long as one is willing to look deeply. But typing captcha is a job I'll never consider going back to except if the pay is exceptional. I've not searched for such jobs since but I've seen people advertising data entry jobs. I guess typing captcha and data entry has to be closely related or the same. Either way, it's a job that will probably get wiped out in due time so I won't be doing such a thing again.
But if I come across a student in need of an extra source of income I can easily recommend such because it requires little to no technical skill.
