Top 10 Side Hustles for People Working Full-time Jobs: Earn Extra Income in 2022
Are you currently working a full-time job with 8-hour to 12-hour shifts? Is having one job not enough for you to live your ideal lifestyle?
Rest assured, you’re not alone.
Financial security is essential. With skyrocketing inflation rates globally, having only one full-time job is sometimes not enough in the long run.
This inflation crisis also gave rise to dual-income households, which have become the norm for most families over the recent years.
As a result, more and more people are searching for ways to earn extra money by taking up side hustles and gigs to supplement their income.
If you’re looking for ways to earn extra cash on the side while having a full-time job, then look no further.
Whether you’re saving up for retirement, a dream vacation in Hawaii, or your child’s college tuition fees, here is a detailed guide on the top 10 side hustles for people working full-time jobs in 2022 (in no particular order).
Ready? Now let’s get into it.
1. Start a YouTube Channel
What you’ll need:
• a video-recording device (phone, laptop, etc.)
• a video-editing app or software
• a stable internet connection
Did you know that YouTube has over 2 billion active users each month?
This social media giant is currently the most popular video-sharing website, so it’s not a surprise that there is money to be made on the platform.
Starting your own YouTube channel can be a great way to earn some extra cash on the side, but the major downside is that it won’t happen right away.
There are specific requirements for you to comply before you can start monetizing your content on YouTube.
Prerequisites for monetization:
• Have 1,000 or more subscribers
• Get 4,000 or more viewed hours of your videos
Given the relatively large userbase, you can expect lots of competition against other YouTubers.
If you’re not constantly uploading high-quality videos, it might take several months or even years before you can achieve YouTube’s monetization prerequisites.
Posting random videos alone will also not be enough to earn money on YouTube. You need to possess decent video-editing skills and a creative mind to share interesting content that viewers will enjoy watching.
Becoming a successful YouTuber sounds like a daunting task. But if you devote enough time and effort into growing your YouTube channel, you’ll eventually reap rich rewards from video sponsors and advertisements.
2. Start Writing Blogs or Copywriting
What you’ll need:
• a computer, laptop, or mobile device
• a stable internet connection
• a good command of the language you’ll be writing in
Both blogging and copywriting can be fun, especially if you enjoy writing, or if you’re writing about specific niches that you’re interested in.
I might be slightly biased since I enjoy writing as a hobby, but with combined effort and patience, you can turn blogging and/or copywriting into lucrative side hustles.
So, what’s the difference between blogging and copywriting?
To put it simply, the aim of blogging is to educate or inform people. The aim of copywriting is to sell products or services to potential customers.
Here are the different ways to profit from blogging and/or copywriting:
- Create your own website for blogging.
For this to work out, you might need to have basic skills on coding if you want to build an aesthetic and interactive website, or you could alternatively just hire experts to design a website for you.
Once you get enough viewers and steady traffic on your website, you can start monetizing your blogs through Google Adsense, affiliate marketing, or brand sponsorships. - Write blogs on online publishing platforms like Medium.
There are numerous online publishing platforms that pay writers if they write good enough blogs or articles.
Besides Medium, there are other websites where bloggers can earn money from writing such as HubPages and Vocal.
The sky is the limit when it comes to what you can blog or write about. What matters is that you know what you’re writing about, and you’ll be able to deliver your content in an engaging way. - Become a copywriter.
Copywriting is a profitable skill that most digital marketing companies require. There are plenty of brands looking for copywriters to blog about their products and advertise them.
If you’re good at persuading people to buy something, copywriting sounds like the right side hustle for you.
You can apply for copywriting side hustles by signing up on LinkedIn, Upwork, Freelancer, or Fiverr.
3. Write a Book or eBook
What you’ll need:
• a laptop or computer
• an eBook creation software or app
• a good command of the language you’ll be writing in
Would you like to take your passion for writing to the next level and earn money from it?
Instead of just writing blogs and articles online, get your thinking cap on and try writing a book or an ebook.
Writing a book takes enormous amounts of time, effort, dedication, and motivation. Most writers tend to give up halfway through because they either run out of ideas, lose their motivation, or hit the infamous writer’s block.
Writing for hours and hours could get tedious, but if you enjoy writing as a hobby or establish a healthy routine that works for you, it will help ease the burden.
Given that you are working a full-time job, you can work on finishing your book during your spare time.
Don’t get me wrong, writing a book is a challenging side-hustle that does not yield earnings right away. But if your book becomes the next best-seller, all the invested time and effort will be worth it eventually.
4. Become a Freelancer
What you’ll need:
• a laptop or computer
• a stable internet connection
Freelancing can be described in one word: self-employment.
Whether you want to be your own boss, start a side hustle, or try out new career options, freelancing can be the way to go.
Becoming a freelancer entails certain advantages over traditional employment, such as: being able to set your own work hours, work on projects that you actually want to do, and lastly, the ability to set your own pay rate.
Here are some of the most common freelancing gigs that you can do as a side hustle:
• Web developing
• Graphic designing
• Social media marketing
• Language translation services
• Voiceover acting
• Subtitles captioning
• Ghostwriting
Of course, those aren’t the only available jobs that you can do as a freelancer. There are plenty of other side gigs in the market for you to choose from.
To kickstart your own freelancing side hustle and earn some money, prepare your resume or portfolio, and sign up on the following websites:
• Upwork
• Fiverr
• LinkedIn
• Freelancer
5. Become an Online Tutor
What you’ll need:
• an educational background or qualification
• knowledge or expertise on the subject you will be teaching
• a laptop or computer
• a stable internet connection
• a video camera (if your PC doesn’t have one)
If you are a dedicated disciple of the academe, online tutoring can be a lucrative side hustle for you, especially if you love teaching.
Tutoring can also be a rewarding job. As a tutor, you will gradually develop an arsenal of useful skills such as strong communication, active listening, problem-solving, and adaptability.
The most common subjects that students all around the world require tutoring in are the following:
• Mathematics
• English (ESL for non-native speakers)
• Sciences
• Computer Programming or Coding
• Music
If you think you’re qualified to teach any of these subject areas, try becoming an online tutor. Enjoy the benefits of a convenient home-based setup while earning extra cash on the side.
Don’t know where to begin? Sign up for a LinkedIn account to browse for online tutoring jobs, or check out these websites:
• Tutor.com
• Skooli
• Sunlyt
• ESL Tutor
6. Launch Online Courses
What you’ll need:
• an educational background or qualification
• knowledge or expertise on the subject you will be teaching
• a laptop or computer
• a stable internet connection
• a video camera (if your laptop doesn’t have one)
• a video-editing app or software
You’ve probably seen advertisements about online courses on every social media platform you have.
Ever since the COVID-19 lockdowns began, there has been a major shift from the traditional face-to-face learning to online learning.
This transition became a gateway for online learning businesses and platforms to gain more clients and thus, earn more profit.
Just like online tutoring, launching online courses involves teaching.
The main difference between the two is that with launching online courses, you can profit by selling pre-recorded videos of your classes, instead of having to interact with customers or students live.
You can create your own website to sell your online courses, or you can upload your online courses on any of the following websites to start earning:
• Udemy
• Skillshare
• Alison
• Teachable
7. Do Odd Jobs
Out of all the side hustles in this list, this one does not have any major prerequisites for you to comply.
As long as you are able to perform the specified tasks involved in the odd job, then you’re good to go.
Examples of odd jobs that you can do are:
• Babysitting
• Dog walking
• Mowing lawns or gardening
• House cleaning services
• Dishwashing services
Most odd jobs can be found locally. You don’t need to create a website or sign up anywhere online to find one.
In order to find odd jobs within your local community, you could simply do the following suggestions:
• Ask your neighbors or co-workers.
• Post flyers or leaflets around the neighborhood about the services that you’re offering.
• Advertise on your social media accounts.
8. Sell Products Online (eCommerce)
What you’ll need:
• a laptop, computer, or mobile device
• a stable internet connection
• access to product suppliers
• a business capital amount
Starting an eCommerce store can be a lot of work in the beginning. But once you get a hang of it, it can be a profitable side hustle.
Here is a summary of what you need to do to start selling products online on an eCommerce store:
1. Research about the products that are in demand.
2. Find a supplier and buy the products in bulk.
3. Advertise your products online or anywhere you can.
4. Sell your products online at a marked-up retail price.
5. Provide a professional customer service.
6. Earn money.
There’s a lot of planning and preparation involved, as well as the need for a business capital to purchase products from your supplier.
However, once you achieve a steady flow of regular customers, the only challenging part would be maintaining the business model and expanding it.
If you think you have what it takes to be a successful online seller, you can start selling your products in the following eCommerce stores:
• Amazon
• eBay
• Alibaba
• Shopify
9. Sell Stock Photos
What you’ll need:
• any device that can take photos
• an internet connection
Are you good at taking pictures? Do you have a keen eye for photography and would like to profit from it?
Whether you are a professional photographer or someone who simply likes taking pictures, there is a way to earn money by selling photos.
Selling stock photos is often an overlooked side hustle and it’s unlikely to earn you lots of money, but it takes up the least amount of time and effort out of all the side hustles in this list.
You can start selling your pics on the following stock photo websites:
• Shutterstock
• Pexels
• Adobe Stock
• Pixabay
10. Get a Sugar Daddy / Mommy
What you’ll need:
• good looks and youthfulness
• a pleasing personality
• experience with relationships
I bet you didn’t see this one coming. To be fair, I ran out of fresh ideas, so neither did I.
Now bear with me as I go through how being a sugar baby can be a lucrative side hustle in 2022.
For starters, the concept of “sugar dating” is pretty straightforward:
1. Find a rich and successful man (or woman) who is in need of a relationship or companion.
2. Be their companion. Establish the labels, terms, and boundaries of your relationship.
3. Earn money and material benefits on the side.
The relationship between sugar babies and their sugar daddies/mommies is often seen by most people through blurred grey lenses — somewhere between the lines of traditional dating and illegal prostitution.
But despite the mostly negative preconceived notions about sugar dating, plenty of young men and women all around the world use their sugar daddies and mommies to supplement their income streams and live lavish lives.
If you are single or in a polyamorous relationship, and you’re open to becoming a sugar baby, here are the best dating sites for you:
• Seeking
• SugarDaddy Meet
• MissTravel
Conclusion
The advantage of a side hustle is that you can work on it during your spare time. If you are working an 8am–5pm or 7am–7pm full-time job, you can treat your side hustle as an additional source of income.
An important thing to note is that a “side hustle” is often used interchangeably with “passive income”. Although both methods supplement your income, a side hustle often requires a lot more time, effort, and dedication to pursue and succeed in than a passive source of income.
It is therefore imperative that your side hustle does not turn into an additional day job. As the name implies, a side hustle is something that you do on the side, so it should’t take up too much of your time and effort, or stress you out too much.
If it stresses you out too much or takes up too much of your time, then that’s no longer a side hustle, but another dreaded full-time job.
Check out my previous blog on the top 10 sources of passive income to further boost your income streams and grow your wealth.
