Everything You Need to Know About Your Next Job
In our capitalist society, there is a constant desire to turn every free minute into an opportunity to earn money. But I’m not here to dwell on capitalism. I’m here to talk about the popularity of side jobs and all the ways you can get involved.
In addition to my role as a staff writer at Lifehacker, I can usually expect a few extra hundreds of dollars a year for odd jobs like humor writing, voice acting, and copy editing. What’s notable is how I can do all those odd jobs from the same desktop (okay, you got me: work bed).
According to Side Hustle Nation , the most popular ways to make extra money are often online, a fact that has only become more true during the pandemic. In fact, research on the popular freelancing platform Upwork found that during the pandemic, 12% of the U.S. workforce tried freelancing for the first time.
However, it’s hard to estimate how much extra income you can actually get from a part-time job, as the pay varies greatly depending on your experience, location, and the amount of time you have. Below we will look at some of the most popular types of part-time jobs that will help you start or increase your income.
Note. All average hourly wage estimates are from Payscale ; You can read more about how they crowdsource and validate salary data here .
Part-time Online Concerts
Examples: virtual assistant, customer service representative, online tutor.
What you put into it: You can work up to 20 hours per week for some roles. Requires a different level of knowledge; virtual assistants may not need any educational requirements, but a SAT tutor needs additional qualifications.
What you can get from it: Moderate flexibility (your hours may depend on your client), ability to work from anywhere, $15 an hour on average.
Tip: network to find a job. Reach out to people you know have been successful in freelancing to hear their advice, ask for referrals from former clients, and join Facebook industry groups to stay up to date on freelancing opportunities.
Online micro jobs (also known as “chars”)
Examples: graphic design, resume editing, data entry, audio and video transcription , voice acting, dating app .
What you put into it: Basic tech savvy, usually one to three hours per gig (but this can vary a lot), specific skills for design or programming projects.
What you can get out of it: May charge a higher rate depending on your skill level; transcribing averages around $15 an hour, online tutors average around $20 an hour, and experienced graphic designers can charge rates of several hundred dollars per project.
Tip: Create a profile that showcases your specialties and check out freelancing gig sites like Editorr , FlexJobs , and Upwork .
Personal micro jobs
Examples: dog walking, house keeping, furniture rearrangement, cleaning, notary services, personal training, etc.
What you put into it: Physical travel, typically one to two hour tasks, specific experiences depending on the project.
What you can get out of it: depends on the task at hand and your personal stakes; some—dog walkers, for example—may earn about $15 an hour.
Advice. Get creative with the services you can provide. I’ve heard of people making a quick buck sharpening knives, taking out pet waste, and cleaning car interiors.
Electronic commerce
Examples: selling homemade items on Etsy, reselling clothes on apps like Depop , getting rid of old junk on the eBay/Craigslist/Facebook Marketplace.
What you put into it: A few hours of market research, taking good photos and writing product descriptions, interacting with customers, and then physically packaging and shipping the products to customers.
What you can get from it: Income varies by subject; you have tons of flexibility in terms of what, how much and when you sell.
Tip: Good customer service can turn you into a sales leader; conversely, one negative review can have a (potentially unfair) negative impact on your sales. Here are some of the best sites to sell all your old stuff .
Joint concerts
Examples: Lyft, DoorDash, Instacart, etc.
What you put into it: own car, potentially stressful shifts that last from one to 12 hours.
What you can get from it: Flexibility in clock settings. Hourly paid sources range from $8 to $20 an hour, averaging around $14 an hour (plus tips from clients).
Tip: If you enjoy working on collaborative projects, don’t feel the need to be loyal to one corporation over another – travel to multiple companies at the same time to maximize your profits.
House rent
Examples: Airbnb.com. There are alternatives like VRBO and Homestay, but let’s be realistic: Airbnb seems like a big deal.
What you put into it: Potentially two to three hours a day to manage your property and five to eight hours on days you have a rotation of guests. When you have guests, you are expected to always be “in touch”.
What you can get out of it: highly dependent on location. NerdWallet reckons hostings average $924 per month . To estimate how much you can earn, you can go to the Airbnb website , enter your location, how many guests you can host, and how much of your home you can rent out.
Tip: Use the Airbnb algorithm to your advantage by writing a detailed property description and using the most popular keywords for your destination.
Content Creator
Examples: Twitch streamer, YouTube tutorials, OnlyFans, creating niche meme accounts.
What you put into it: Building a personal brand or online authority, consistent posting habits, and a strategy to gain and monetize followers.
What You Can Gain From It: Internet fame is a fickle thing. Assuming you’re not going to be a true “influencer” (whatever that means), monetizing your online content isn’t exactly a get-rich-quick scheme. For example, as a social media comedian, I got free pizza, glasses, hoodies, and vibrators in exchange for posts, but not much cash. Your best bet is to somehow get a niche, loyal followers who will donate to your Patreon to gain access to your content. These types of subscribers are key.
Tip: Do your research and be realistic about your expectations. Calculate how many followers you will need to become a permanent influencer . Also explore the content gaps you can fill in so you don’t compete for eyeballs in hyper-competitive spaces like health and wellness accounts.
Investment
Examples: cryptocurrencies, stocks, protection of specific enterprises, real estate, etc.
What you put in it: Potentially big risks.
What you can get from it: Potentially big rewards. Investing online does not take too long and does not require any special skills. Compared to the other task-based part-time jobs on this list, investing is a way to earn thousands over the years, which means it depends on a lot of variables.
Tip: study yourself before you start investing in what is currently in trend. Here’s how to start investing in real estate (without a lot of money), and here’s what you need to know about cryptocurrencies these days .
Online surveys
Examples: paid surveys, online focus groups, anything on the Survey Junkie .
What do you put into it: Not much work. Most surveys will take about 20 minutes of your time and require little or no real effort.
What you can get from it: Not much money. $2-5 per hour. Considering that it might be pointless and you can do them whenever you have free time, this is a small change.
Tip: Never pay to take surveys. This is a sure sign of a scam.
It is impossible to make this list exhaustive. Thanks to the ability to post information about your services on the Internet, any of your hobbies or skills can bring you money. Get creative and do a lot of market research to make part-time work a part of your life and hopefully a part of your bank account.