20 Side Hustles To Try While Working Full-Time
Over one-third of American adults have a side hustle alongside their full-time job. Whether you're one of those people already looking for new ideas, or you want to be one of those people bringing in a little extra money every month, here are 20 side hustles you can try—without giving up your 9-to-5 job.
Pet Or House Sitting
Whether you have pets of your own or simply love dogs and cats (four legs are good, right?), pet sitting and/or house sitting is a great way to earn some extra cash without giving up your full-time gig! This is particularly good if you have a work-from-home full-time job, which makes looking after someone's house or pets for them while they're away an absolute breeze!
There are a bunch of house sitting and pet sitting websites out there to join—or you can put a post on your local Facebook group, or community notice board.
On average, you could charge between $20 and $40 per day, depending on what the requirements are of the job.
Run Errands For People
Far too many people have almost no time in their lives to run errands and do other necessary tasks. If you're so-inclined and have the time off work during the week, you can offer to run errands for your elderly neighbor who can't always make it to the grocery store or some other errand. Charge them the cost of your gas and time and hey, presto! A side hustle is born.
The approximate earnings for errand running is about $36.00 per hour.
Paint Houses
If you're looking for a summertime side hustle, there's always someone that needs their house painted. While you'll require at bare minimum a paintbrush and some raggedy clothes that you don't mind getting dirty, doing the odd job of exterior painting is simple enough and could turn into a neat little side hustle for your days off. You can also offer to stain someone's deck as a secondary element to your exterior painting business.
The average house painter can earn between $15 and $40 per hour.
Tutor Others
If you've got the knowledge, share it! If you know your stuff when it comes to mathematics, English, science, or any other topics (and you've got the qualifications to back it up), offer your services as a tutor to kids or adults in your neighborhood who may struggle with these topics.
It's emotionally rewarding as well as being a good way to line your pockets: Elementary school tutors can charge between $20 and $75 an hour, middle school tutors can charge between $25 and $80 an hour, and high school tutors can make bank, charging between $30 and $100 an hour. Go forth and teach.
Dog Walking
If you find your shifts start later in the day, but you're up in the mornings, or you've got a couple of hours off during the middle of your working day as your WFH schedule allows, take up dog walking.
Not only is it a great way to get outside and meet people, it's also very helpful to dog owners who's beloved pooches are often stuck at home all day while they're at work. You can make between $20 and $30 per half-hour walk. That's between $40 and $60 per hour—heck, that's more than most entry-level corporate positions.
Teach English As A Second Language
If you think you have the skills to teach, then there are so many opportunities to teach English as a second language. Whether you're teaching locally at a community center, or online to a virtual class, working on your TESL certification and then teaching English as a second language is something you can do in your spare time.
The average salary of a part-time ESL teacher in the United States is $27.25 per hour.
Sell Artwork
If you're a part-time painter for the fun of it, consider trying to sell some of your artwork at your next local craft fair, or put it up online on Etsy. Sure, there's a bit of leg-work involved in marketing your stuff and you actually have to attend the craft fair, but it can be a decent way to make some money, and discover if there's more of a market for your work than you realize.
Invest In The Stock Market
While this will require some research and possibly some advice from a financial advisor, investing a little bit of money in the stock market might be a good way to make some passive income. As always with investments: Only invest what you can afford to lose (we cannot stress that enough).
Offer Freelance Writing Services
If you're more of a wordsmith than an artist with a paintbrush, then you should consider offering your talents as a freelance writer. There are many job banks out there for freelancers, including UpWork, Indeed, and ProBlogger.
If you're a right Hemingway with a keyboard, then you can make up to $23 per hour (on average). And, because you're a freelancer, you choose your own hours, your own projects, and can set your own hourly wage or get paid by the end of a project in a lump sum.
Be A Local Graphic Design Guru
In a similar vein to freelance writing, freelancing as a graphic designer is a great way to earn some extra cash. If you've always loved drawing or designing logos and have now graduated to the screen from the page, consider offering your services to local businesses as a way to gauge interest and build up your repertoire.
Side hustling graphic designers can earn an average of between $40 and $80 per hour.
Become A Transcriptionist
Another online gig that you can do from the comfort of your home to earn some extra dough is transcribing. Like the scribes of the king's court centuries ago, but with a computer and absolutely no artificial intelligence(!), you too can transcribe for companies and individuals. Start by seeing if there's a local market for your services, or take it online to sites like Rev.com or other transcription job sites, and start typing away today.
Admittedly, the pay isn't immediately awesome (between $10 and $30 per hour), but you can build up a dedicated clientele base or enough small jobs that will leave you with a nice chunk of change at the end of the month.
Mow Lawns In The Neighborhood
If you've got a working lawn mower, it might be a good idea to see if anyone around you needs their lawn mowed. Even if it's just once a week or bi-weekly, you could be charging between $30 and $50 per cut, depending on the lawn's size. You can also add in weed-whacking and charge more for the extra service.
Design Websites
If you know coding and graphic design, you could start a small-scale (for now) web design business. Many small businesses and local organizations don't have the knowledge or skillset to design a website with any degree of aesthetic appeal or functionality—if you have these skills, web design is a great way to make some extra cash and help out your local community at the same time.
Web designers can charge between $27 and $75 per hour.
Drive For Uber Or Lyft
While this isn't the right side hustle for everyone, if you've got a vehicle, then offering your services as a driver for a rideshare platform like Uber or Lyft (or even outside of those two main ones) might be a good way to make some cash. Just ensure you're paid enough to cover your gas and turn a small profit at the end of the day.
Rideshare drivers in the US can earn about $2,500 to $3,500 per month! Although, if you keep your full-time gig, your wages will likely be much lower, but every little helps.
Got An Extra Room? Become An Airbnb/Vrbo Host
If you've got a spare bedroom that's not being used regularly, and are comfortable renting it out via Airbnb or Vrbo, then it might be a good option to make some extra money. You don't have to go through Airbnb or Vrbo, but that middleman might be a good source of protection for yourself and your would-be guests.
The average monthly earnings from Airbnb in the US is around $14,000 per year, depending on your state. There's a lot of variables that go into that figure, but it gives you some idea of what's possible.
Consider Yourself An Authority On Your Local Scene? Become An AirBnB "Experience" Host
Another great way to earn some more cash is to use your local knowledge on an established site like Airbnb as an "Experience" provider. These providers host various "experiences" for guests, which can include things like photoshoots in your local beauty spots, wine tasting nights, or even cooking experiences. You charge what you want, by the person, and can almost guarantee yourself that extra income.
While income data for "experiences" is relatively nascent, we can presume it's somewhat similar to your average earnings as an Airbnb host each year.
Editing And Proofreading
If you have a knack for spelling and grammar, then becoming an editor or proofreader of people's essays or papers might be a good option for you to earn some extra income. You can check online job marketplaces for these kinds of jobs, or just offer to do them for your mate who's struggling with his university essays.
Editors and proofreaders can make between $20 and $40 per hour.
Write An E-Book
If you have an idea for a short story, or even a full novel, but don't want to go through the hassle and financial capital required to publish it as a paperback, launch it as an e-book through Amazon or Kindle, or another online e-book resource. Writing and self-publishing an e-book is a great way to get your name out there as an author and earn some extra cash in the process.
E-book authors' monthly earnings will vary, but marketing your e-book is a piece of cake. Get to it!
Become A Virtual Assistant
Becoming a virtual assistant is a great way to earn some extra cash if you have a few hours spare in the evening. Even if you're just crafting marketing emails for a client, or putting together their calendar for the next couple of days, this might be a great opportunity to showcase a skill you're good at and earn some extra cash on the side.
The average hourly wage of a part-time virtual assistant is $24.40 per hour in the US.
Create Social Media Content For Clients
Another expansion for a virtual assistant, freelance writer, or graphic designer might be to create social media content for customers. If you find yourself on social media a lot (who doesn't?), or you have an understanding for how the algorithm works, you may be able to use those skills and knowledge to your client's advantage and manage their social media for them.
This often means creating images and text posts that can be scheduled for days in advance. So, you could do all your work in one day or break it up into smaller batches and charge a monthly fee, rather than charging by the hour. On average, social media managers can make between $40,000 and $70,000 per year.
One Man's Trash Is Another's Treasure
Collecting your local area's scrap metal is the perfect way to earn some side hustle cash. You just need a place to store it and can earn $200 per ton of scrap metal. You'll need to do some research on who's buying in your area, but finding one man's trash and turning it into your treasure is a fantastic side hustle.
