When 21-year-old DVC student Ryan Homer started to look for a few part-time, local job in the Bay Area, he stumbled upon an online job marketplace just for college students.

Homer has found 10 to 20 short-term jobs since the start of the semester, from helping people move couches to bar-tending a wedding.

Founded in San Francisco by Justin Ohanessian and Joey Toboni, College Labor helps connects college students around the Bay Area with jobs like moving, event work, gardening, errands and courier services.

According to Ohanessian, many of these jobs earn students $20 or more per hour.

First launched in September 2012, the platform was intended for students who needed help paying for college.

High school friends, Ohanessian and Toboni found that it was hard for a couple of under qualified students to gain jobs. However, they found success after posting a few moving ads one summer.

Ohanessian said that they made, “a bunch of money doing odd jobs.” They continued to work every summer, getting more jobs and earning more money doing small tasks. After graduating college, they decided to go back to this simple idea, especially after learning that people like hiring college kids.

Using their experience working these jobs and this knowledge, they created College Labor for this purpose. 

Ohanessian explained that to work for this online marketplace, students need to apply and get interviewed, like other jobs, before being accepted.

Customers can then submit a job to the website and get a quoted rate for the task. Students will get a text and if they are interested in the job, they can claim it and pay a small finder’s fee. The customer pays the student when the job is finished.

23-year-old Phillip Welden has worked for College Labor since last winter and has had fun with the odd jobs he’s done. While these jobs typically pay well, the fact that most jobs are based out of San Francisco makes it harder for students to get jobs.

Welden admits that some jobs are, “barely worth it,” when considering the time spent traveling to get there. While Ohanessian admits that their San Francisco business is more established, College Labor has already expanded to the East and South Bay to help with accessibility for a wide range of students.

Homer thinks that it’s great that this marketplace is only for students, and that he can choose which job he wants to do, based on his own schedule. He also likes the independence, flexibility and receiving about $15 to $20 an hour.

“You get paid really well for these jobs,” Homer said.

To sign up for College Labor, go to www.collegelabor.org.