Not dependent on pocket money, city youth find part-time jobs to fund their passion

Many teenagers studying various undergraduate courses like architecture, marketing, commerce and engineering have become experts at juggling classes, exams and a part-time job with ease, easily raking in anywhere between Rs 2,000 and Rs 10,000 a month. They are also adroit when it comes to picking the jobs they want to take up, choosing something they enjoy doing or one that would add to their targeted skill set, besides bringing in the money.

Divya S (19), pursuing architecture at MEASI Academy of Architecture, loves doodling. When not studying, she is always creating patterns and motifs whenever she gets a piece of paper in hand. “I thought I’ll take this a step further and earn some money.” Thus she approached an institute in T Nagar that conducts classes in doing tattoos to learn how to ink professionally. They normally charge Rs 40,000 for a course, but she managed to convince them to reduce the fee by offering to work for them after college hours and learn how to ink tattoos on the side.

Now, an artist well-equipped with a tattoo machine, she charges aboutRs 1,000 – Rs 3,000 for every tattoo she inks. This is a win-win situation for both Divya and her customers, as they have to pay a lot lesser than they do at a professional tattoo studio.

Another person is Upasana P (23), a recent graduate, who became a certified Zumba instructor after undergoing a one-month programme. “After that, many corporate companies gave me gigs to conduct sessions for their employees for which they would pay me Rs 500.”

In the last six months of her college, she managed to earn Rs 6,000 per month by conducting 12 such sessions each month. “People prefer Zumba to working out in gyms. At one point, I thought I’ll become a full-time Zumba trainer but decided against it as I landed another job that my parents approved of.”

Dinesh M (21), who completed bachelor’s degree in Commerce, made use of his addiction to social media before pursuing a masters degree immediately after his graduation. “I am addicted to social media, spending hours together scrolling down my feed. One day, I came across an advertisement from a chain of restaurants on Instagram calling for part time social media executives.”

Dinesh reached out to them, and is now earning Rs 4,000 per month for just half an hour’s work every day. He schedules two posts a day on Facebook and Instagram for the restaurant chain on their official handles. “They didn’t want to see my qualifications. They tried me out for a week, and after seeing that I was posting regularly, they took me on board.” He plans to continue until his admission for Masters gets sorted out.

Living as a nuclear family in flats, with jobs that send them on week long expeditions, the young couples in the city are turning to their neighbours’ kids to look after their pets, opening up another avenue to earn an income.

Kavya Sharanya, an 18-year-old from Ramapuram, is one such person who lends a hand to a young couple in the neighbourhood – for a tidy sum. “They would drop their dog, a beagle, with me when they have to travel for a couple of days. The dog knows me, and is comfortable here rather than being dropped at their parents’ place. They give me their house keys so I can access the dog food, and pay me Rs 2,000 every time they leave him with me,” said the beaming teenager.