By Freelancing is now more than just a side hustle. In 2025, a report by Upwork shows that the number of freelancers has increased by more than 36% with 2 million professionals.
It is gaining traction and is a popular choice among UK students. Freelancing offers opportunities to hone skills, flexibility in time, and early work experience to build a professional career.
Research shows that freelancing offers pupils the freedom to work while continuing their studies and without sacrificing their time.
In this blog, we will discuss why more UK students are opting for freelancing while studying. So, stay with me till the end of this guide.
What is Freelancing?
According to Kazi, A. G., Yusoff, R. M., Khan, A., & Kazi, S. (2015), Freelance is a form of freelance work where someone sells the knowledge and professional skills they possess.
Freelancing is a form of self-employment where individuals offer their services to clients on a contractual or project basis. In addition, freelancers are their own bosses and set their schedule, choose clients, and manage their own business operations.
UK Work Restrictions for International Students
Before you begin to look for freelance options in the UK, you must know the work restrictions of this country. If you are an international student, you are only allowed to work 20 hours per week during term time and full-time only during holidays.
Also, there might be additional restrictions as well. Therefore, check your visa conditions and stay updated on the work rules.
Top Freelance Jobs For UK Students
Students must look for a freelance opportunity that the best suited to their skills and knowledge. However, below are the common freelance jobs for students:
Online Tutoring
This is one of the common freelance jobs among students. In addition, pupils offer online tutoring services according to their educational background and expertise in a particular area.
They can offer hourly services and set the rates as well. Hence, this doesn’t disturb their studies, and they manage everything perfectly.
Platforms like StudentJobs UK and Find Tutor connect tutors with students.
Freelance Writing
Have great writing skills? Then why not try the freelance writing option? I believe that it’s an effective way for beginners. In addition, the writing projects are of various types, such as blogs, articles, social media content, and much more. My suggestion is to start this journey with Upwork. But make sure to understand the functionality of this platform.
Also, upon connecting with a known writing brand, CIPD Assignment Help London, many freelance writers working here suggest having powerful conversational skills and staying honest with the clients.
Graphic Designing
And here comes the best opportunity for the creative heads. Yes, graphic design. So those who have creative flair and skills in design software should try this.
What are the work requirements? Well, this involves creating logos, posters, website visuals, and other design elements at the request of clients.
Virtual Assistant
The role of a virtual assistant is to help businesses or people manage their day-to-day tasks. In addition, these include replying to emails, answering calls, booking appointments, making schedules, or anything else as per the work requirement.
Social Media Management
The rise of social media is pretty visible in businesses. Therefore, there’s a great area required to be filled with social media managers.
This role involves creating social media content, engaging with followers, and also analyzing the performance to make changes accordingly.
Why Students Prefer Freelancing Opportunities
The average age of freelancers is 37. But according to a source, Gen Z is now most likely to take up the demographics, as 50% of the freelancers are between 18-22.
Here are some of the factors why students prefer freelancing opportunities:
Flexibility
According to the University of Primakara, by working freelance, people have the flexibility to choose their own time and place to work.
Hence, the flexible work opportunities do not interfere with a student’s studies and schedule. Also, this work can be done in free time; therefore, there’s no need to have extra time. Instead, you hone different skills and abilities.
Improved Skills
Becoming a freelancer for a student helps to develop or polish skills that they have learned in their studies. In addition, this serves as tangible proof of how pupils use their knowledge and skills in the workplace.
Additional Income
Pupils who work as a freelancer aims to support their families or accommodate their educational expenses. So with the flexibility it offers, students can easily have additional income without compromising their studies.
Networking
As freelancers, pupils have the opportunity to interact with various clients, companies, startups, or individuals coming from diverse backgrounds. In addition, this interaction helps them to network with more people and get an amazing work opportunity.
How to Balance Freelance Work with Studies
Freelancing brings ease and support to students. However, the key is to manage everything smoothly.
For that, below are some valuable and amazing tips:
Ensure Time Management
Time management is the key to balancing work and studies. Thus, make sure to organize your time well and dedicate time to work on all your day-to-day tasks.
- Use a digital calendar to keep track of your progress and meeting deadlines.
- Use the Eisenhower Matrix or a similar method to prioritize and categorize tasks based on importance or urgency.
- Use the Pomodoro technique to allocate dedicated time and maintain focus to perform your tasks.
- Break down your tasks into smaller parts using Asana or Trello to visualize your progress.
Vocational courses are pretty hard to cover. And writing a CIPD level 5 assignment is nothing less than walking on burning coals for students working as freelancers. Therefore, it’s best to follow the above tips and submit the best and impressive content to the assessors.
Make a Realistic Study Plan
When you have to juggle multiple tasks, the key is to make a realistic plan for completion. For that, here are a few things you must do:
- Assess your entire day’s routine for a few days or a week, and then make a plan that suits you. For example, note down your lunch breaks, evening after work, or productive hours.
- Set a realistic study plan for each session that can be easily managed.
- Read and review the outcome report to make the required changes in the schedule.
Create the Perfect Study Space
The space plays a crucial role in developing focus and enables studying well. In addition, this is what you can follow:
- Keep all study material with you, and also use online tools like EverNote or OneNote for digital study content.
- Study in a quiet and distraction-free space.
- Lastly, it’s best to use apps like Freedom or Cold Turkey to block time-wasting websites or social media platforms.
