It seems like everybody’s got a side hustle these days. Laura Olert, senior coaching manager at the talent mobility firm Randstad RiseSmart, frequently hears about these side jobs so we asked her to tell us about some of the best side hustles now—including some that are not online and some attractive app-based gigs.
Why side jobs are still hot
People have always taken side jobs to make money. But side hustles are more popular than ever, thanks to a perfect storm of factors, including the proliferation of smartphones and apps…the normalization of remote work…a challenging economy in which it’s increasingly difficult to make ends meet…and a culture of constant striving.
Today, roughly one in three US workers is working some kind of side job. These may be side jobs from home, mindless tasks done online or passion work performed as an antidote to the daily grind. If you’re wondering how to make extra money, consider these categories of opportunities…
AI
Machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) are everywhere now, and that opens up opportunities for side jobs. Companies need humans to check their bots’ work, and humans need other humans to help them use the machines. You don’t need tech credentials to get an AI side hustle. Many companies are hiring bright people to fact-check the machines’ output…others are engaging subject-matter experts such as writers, engineers and lawyers to check not just for accuracy but also to analyze and critique content to improve their AI models.
If you’re an analytical thinker and clear writer, you can find side work creating AI prompts—the input, questions or instructions given to an AI model to generate a response—for small businesses, educators, artists, writers, job seekers, social-media managers…the list goes on. You can get started on sites like Fiverr and Upwork. Once you’ve developed a niche, you can start selling “prompt packs” (curated collections of prewritten text commands that get high-quality results from AI tools) on Gumroad, Etsy and other sites.
Eldercare
Over on the offline side, the aging of our population presents an opportunity for meaningful side work. It can be difficult to navigate the healthcare, insurance, Medicaid and elder-care systems. If you’ve been through that already—on your own or perhaps on your parents’ behalf—you’ve acquired knowledge and skills that would be invaluable to others. Consider offering your services as an elder-care coach. You could develop checklists, decision trees and resource lists to guide families through the process. Work could come in by referral, through workshops or through partnerships with realtors, clinics or estate planners.
Or: If you’re compassionate and hands-on, you might become a paid personal-care aide. Some Medicaid aging-in-place programs allow people who need in-home assistance to hire caregivers directly, even people with no credentials. Common tasks include helping with bathing, dressing, meal prep and errands, and providing companionship. For a non-credentialed job, the hourly pay is usually mid-teens to $20. Find opportunities through local aging networks, disability organizations, faith communities and caregiver matching platforms.
Fractional leadership
Fractional leadership consists of providing executive-level services on a part-time basis. Example: Say you’re high up in a company’s finance department, but you’re not the chief financial officer (CFO). You could offer your skills and services as a CFO to a smaller company on a part-time or as-needed basis. Result: You make money on the side while boosting your résumé, and the small business accesses talent without paying a full-time salary. These arrangements are increasingly common, especially in the fields of marketing, technology and finance. Search firms that offer fractional leadership opportunities: Hardesty (Hardestyllc.com)…Korn Ferry (KornFerry.com)…Tatum Consulting (Randstadusa.com).
Drive-away services
Drive-away workers deliver vehicles by driving them from one location to another. Runs may or may not require a commercial license. As the driver, you receive a flat fee or per-mile rate, and you’re usually responsible for your own return travel after delivery. You can find runs by signing up with a drive-away company, such as Montway or Pinnacle Transport Group. Depending on the run and how efficiently you can find your way home, you might net a few hundred dollars to more than $1,500 per trip.
Reselling
If you love flea markets and estate sales, you could sell your finds, a process known as “thrift flipping.” The app Whatnot lets you schedule online auctions to sell your wares.
Or: You can earn money with the app Sharetown an oversized-return management company, by reselling bulky items like furniture and fitness equipment that customers want to return to the retailers. Example: A customer wants to return a sofa to a local furniture store. The store refunds the customer’s sale price and then instead of retrieving the sofa, it lists it on the Sharetown app. As a Sharetown rep, you go to the customer’s house, collect the sofa, sanitize it, take pictures and sell it on Facebook Marketplace or wherever you’d like. Once you show Sharetown your proof of sale, the platform and the retailer get their cuts. Resellers often clear $150 to 250 per item.
