This is the third post under series Alternate Pocket Money Source

I’m sure every college student will relate to the need for the occasional (or not-so-occasional) extra buck. I am no exception to this.

Being an engineer in India, my story is the same as lakhs of other students - Forced to opt for engineering by parents or ran out of career options after choosing Science in class 12th. I chose to become an engineer also because I had already wasted one year in FIITJEE and had nothing else in my hand. Yeah, reality bites.

But one thing remained constant for me. Right from childhood to publishing my first article in the school magazine to handling the e-cell of my college. The zeal of creative writing. Scoring 99 in my CBSE 12th English exam also boosted this zeal somewhat.

After reaching college, it made sense to monetize my talent and earn some extra pocket money. Especially after I heard people making good money from blogging and content writing. Truth be told, initially, I didn’t know how or where to get started. I neither had the dedication to be persistent with a blog, nor the work experience needed to get hired as a full-time writer.

But, the dream was strong! I had always felt attracted to the columns of magazines at any bookshop and fantasized about having my article featured in one of those. I was fortunate to be part of the wave around content marketing. So many organizations are now searching for content writers to compose, alter or deliver content in offline and online media.

So, off I went to create a profile on Internshala (my seniors told me about this), and landed an internship with an advertising company. My job was to create content to be advertised through print media. I was paid per article. The pay was nominal, but I was enjoying what I was doing. As I took on more assignments, I made a decent amount of cash and connections alongside my academic pursuits.

If you also have a thing for writing (and making extra pocket money), then here are a few tips before you start taking on writing gigs:

• Your English language abilities must be impeccable

• Taking up freelance work means having a decent measure of timelessness and duty

• You ought to be sufficiently strong to take dismissal or feedback because writing is extremely subjective: one individual may love your written work, while another may not.