Need an additional source of income?
Consider the best second jobs that offer flexibility and decent pay.
Bests Second Jobs
Online Survey Taker
Working as an online survey taker is one of the best second jobs you can do if you want something simple to fit your other commitments. There are many sites for this type of work, with one of the best survey platforms being Branded Surveys.
You take a simple survey that lasts a few minutes and typically earn between $0.50 and $5 per survey. You can then redeem your earnings for cash via a Paypal transfer or gift card. The platform has a low minimum withdrawal threshold of just $5.
How much can you earn as an online survey taker?
The flexibility makes it a great side hustle option for anyone. Most online survey takers with Branded Surveys can earn up to $5 or more per hour.
Branded Surveys Summary
- $1 sign up bonus
- Earn $0.50-$5 on average per survey
- Average survey length is 15 min
- Pays by bank transfer, PayPal & gift cards
- Cash out from $5
- Bonuses available for daily survey takers
Delivery Driver
Food delivery platforms such as DoorDash have sprung up to cater to people who want food delivered directly to their homes. Becoming a food delivery driver with DoorDash is one of the best second jobs to earn an income.
To become a DoorDash delivery driver, you need to:
- Be at least 18 years old.
- Pass a background check
- Have access to an insured vehicle
- Own a smartphone to run the app
How much can you earn as a DoorDash delivery driver?
DollarBreak’s test earnings were $115.50 over 5 active hours as a delivery driver with DoorDash. Plus, you get to keep 100% of all tips you get from customers.
It is easy to earn extra cash as a delivery driver. However, remember to factor in your expenses, including vehicle insurance, fuel, and wear and tear before you decide to work this side gig.
DoorDash Summary
- Flexible working hours
- Be your own boss
- No experience or training required
- Daily payments available
- Special perks and rewards for drivers
- 10% cash back on gas surcharges
Personal Shopper
Instacart is an on-demand, same-day grocery delivery service. If you have access to an insured vehicle, one of the best second jobs you can get is as a personal shopper with Instacart.
As an Instacart full-service shopper, your job involves visiting grocery stores to purchase groceries based on customers’ orders. Once you have purchased the groceries, you deliver them to the customers’ homes to complete the order.
How much can you earn as a personal shopper with Instacart?
Each order you complete will pay you between $7 and $10. You can also boost your earnings by providing good customer service since you will keep 100% of all the tips you receive.
Instacart Summary
- 2 different types of work available
- Earn up to $10 per full-service order
- Get $10 for each friend you refer
- Work as much or as little as you want
- Choose which batches to accept
- Cash out your earnings in 2 hours
Customer Service Agent
Working as a customer service agent is a remote opportunity that may be one of the best second-career jobs on our list. The job scope involves providing useful information to customers who need help with various questions or concerns about products and services.
This type of work is paid by the hour; some companies even pay a bonus to workers working at peak times. In certain cases, commissions may be available for upselling to a customer on the phone.
One of the best places to look for customer service agent jobs is FlexJobs. The platform is a leading employment portal and job listing website specializing in flexible work, such as remote work.
How much can you earn as a customer service agent with FlexJobs?
As a remote customer service agent, you can expect to earn around $14 per hour.
Cleaner
Working as a cleaner is one of the best second jobs and is a popular way to make extra cash. Many people are too busy to clean and thus hire cleaners to help them complete various tasks, including:
- Washing
- Sweeping
- Vacuuming
- Dusting
- Washing dishes
- Wiping down counters
- Drying clothes
If you can clean houses well, finding work as a cleaner is easy, especially on the top job listing portals such as JobGet. You can even develop this side gig into a full-time business with enough demand from regular clients.
How much can you earn as a cleaner with JobGet?
Most cleaning jobs on the platform pay around $13 per hour for house cleaning services. Alternatively, you can also try starting a local cleaning business to increase your potential earnings. As a business owner, you take on more risk, but you also get the potential to earn huge profits.
Rideshare Driver
Becoming a rideshare driver is one of the best second jobs you can get. As a rideshare driver, you ferry passengers from one location to another.
Lyft is one of the most popular ridesharing platforms in the USA.
To become a Lyft driver, you must:
- Be at least 21 years old,
- Pass a background check
- Have in-state car insurance
- Provide a social security number to get paid
Your earning potential as a Lyft driver is similar to that of an Uber driver. Overall, your final decision between the two platforms should depend on which is more popular in your local area. Your earnings will largely depend on your area’s demand for rideshare services.
Pet Sitter
Working as a pet sitter to earn extra money may be one of animal lovers’ best second career jobs.
One of the best platforms to look for pet-sitting jobs is Rover. Rover connects pet owners that need sitting and walking services with people that can provide them.
To sign up, you will need the following:
- A smartphone to run the app
- A profile on the platform
- Pass a background check.
- To be at least 18 years old
As a pet sitter, you may be asked to supply periodic reports for pet owners to know how their pets enjoy their walks or playtime.
How much can you earn as a pet sitter with Rover?
The exact salary will vary depending on the demand and supply in your area. Generally, a Rover worker can earn between $400 and $1,000 per month, depending on how much they work.
Freelance Writer
If you have good writing skills and are willing to put in the effort to develop your talents, you could work as a freelance writer on Upwork.
Becoming a freelance writer is one of the best second jobs since it has a high potential to earn money. However, it may be hard to get started, and you need a portfolio. Nonetheless, once you establish a reputation for quality and reliability within your chosen niche, you can build a solid client base and get regular work.
For example, if you excel at writing in a formal style, you can earn a good living by writing technical content or white papers.
How much can you earn as a freelance writer on Upwork?
A new writer on Upwork can generally expect to earn around $15 per hour. As you gain experience, you can earn up to $100 per hour or more.
Tasker
One of the best platforms to look for local gigs is TaskRabbit.
Taskers on the platform must:
- Be at least 18 years old
- Pass an ID and background check
- Live is a city supported by the platform
The work that you may find on TaskRabbit can vary greatly. You could run an errand, assemble furniture, or carry out contractor work.
How much can you earn as a tasker on TaskRabbit?
Due to the wide range of jobs on the platform, it is tricky to place a dollar value on the earning potential of a tasker. Nonetheless, an average tasker tends to earn around $110 each month. You will need a US-based checking account and a valid credit card to get paid.
Note that there is a one-off $25 registration fee to join TaskRabbit.
Renter
Many people have stuff they do not always use, which can be rented out to earn some extra income. When you rent your things out, you can offset the purchasing cost of products you want and turn it into a lucrative side gig.
For example, you could rent out:
- Power tools
- Sports equipment
- Cameras and photography equipment
- Home appliances
- Drones
- Garden tools
- and many more
One of the best platforms to rent stuff out is FriendWithA. The platform charges a low fee of just 10% each time you manage to rent your things out.
How much can you earn as a renter on FriendWithA?
Depending on the type of gear you have available to rent out, you can earn up to $1000 per month. The high earnings potential makes it one of the best second jobs you can do.
Online Seller
One of the best second jobs for people wanting to make quick money is to sell items online. It is easy to start selling your stuff on eCommerce platforms like eBay. You can also resell items you have managed to purchase cheaply at a garage sale.
Alternatively, you can also do retail arbitrage on eBay. This process involves purchasing items at discounts, such as thrift stores, and reselling them online at a higher price.
It is free to list items for sale on eBay, up to your first 250 items per month. After that, there is a $0.35 listing fee per item. eBay also charges a 12.55% + $0.30 fee on most sales, with sales in some categories having different fees. Your earnings as an online seller on eBay will vary depending on the type of items you sell.
Caregiver
Working as a caregiver with a platform such as Care.com can be a very fulfilling second job and financially lucrative.
All you need to get started is to:
- Pass an ID and background check
- Have a recent photo
- Be over 18 years of age
Then, you can create a detailed profile on the website and apply for caregiver jobs.
There are many related jobs in addition to caregiving available on the platform, such as:
- Senior care
- Housekeeping
- Tutoring
- Babysitting
- and many more
How much can you earn as a caregiver on Care.com?
You can earn around $10-$20 per hour based on your qualifications and work experience.
Transcriptionist
A transcriptionist listens to audio files and converts that content into a written document. As you might imagine, this role requires good typing and listening skills, which means that transcriptionists are always in demand. A transcriber is one of the best jobs for gig workers, but you will need some equipment to get started.
Many transcription companies require their transcriptionists to use a pedal and headset to control and monitor the incoming audio. You will also need a computer and a reliable internet connection.
There are many platforms where you can get transcription gigs, with one of the best platforms to get paid to type being TranscribeMe. Working as a transcriptionist is flexible so you can do it during your free time or as a full-time job.
How much can you earn as a transcriptionist on TranscribeMe?
As a beginner, you can expect to earn around $15 per hour, although this can rise to $30 or more per hour as you gain experience and improve your skills.
Website Tester
Testing websites may seem like a task for programmers, but this couldn’t be further from the truth. Platforms such as UserTesting rely on regular people to check the functionality and user-friendliness of various websites. As a website tester, your job involves visiting websites and providing feedback on them.
The platform then uses this feedback to help businesses improve their website to become more user-friendly. Website testing for new websites also helps the developer to correct any problems before a website goes live.
How much can you earn as a website tester on UserTesting?
As a website tester, you can earn around $10 for a gig that takes around 20 minutes.
ESL Tutor
If you enjoy teaching, you can become an English as a Second Language (ESL) tutor for kids worldwide. One of the best platforms to look for ESL tutor jobs is VIPKid. The platform offers English tutoring services to kids in Asia who want to learn English from native speakers.
Most tutoring platforms need tutors to:
- Have experience teaching English
- Possess formal qualifications or certifications.
- Pass a teaching test
How much can you earn as an ESL tutor on VIPKid?
Becoming an ESL tutor is a flexible side hustle, and you can earn around $20 per hour. Plus, with time zone differences, you can even teach in the morning before your main job, making the job of an ESL tutor an early morning job.
Youtuber
If you enjoy creating entertaining content, you can make good money as a YouTuber. Although it can take some time to build a viewer base, it has the potential to be one of the most rewarding second jobs.
Your YouTube channel must have 1000+ subscribers and 4,000+ viewing hours before you earn money from ads.
How much can you earn as a Youtuber?
As a YouTuber, you could earn as much as $2,000 monthly. To achieve this amount, you would need approximately 700,000 views per month spread across all your videos. Thus, it may take some time before you start earning a good income, and top YouTubers can even make millions each month.
If you consistently create popular content, your earnings are unlimited. Thus, it is important to choose a niche for your videos that you will enjoy for years.
Personal Trainer
If you have a passion for fitness, one of the best second jobs you can do is the job of a personal trainer. This job is lucrative, and you could earn up to $50 per hour by helping people reach their fitness goals.
Getting a personal trainer certification can increase your earning potential significantly. Nonetheless, you do not necessarily need certification to get started; you can find clients using your social media profiles.
You can also ask for testimonials from free work and build your portfolio while you take an online course. This will allow you to gain experience and find clients.
Real Estate Agent
Real estate agents broker the sale of houses and other properties. Many successful real estate agents start part-time while working at their regular jobs. It is also interesting to note that many agents return to a part-time role as they near retirement.
Thus, the flexibility of a real estate agent job makes it one of the best second jobs you can get. Real estate agent earns a commission when they make a sale or if they refer someone who closes a sale later.
How much can you earn as a real estate agent?
On average, real estate agents earn 2.5% to 3% of the sale price of a house in commission. Thus, by selling a $1 million house, a real estate agent can earn up to $30,000. The amount you can earn from referral commissions can vary.
Bartender
Bartending can be among the best second jobs in the food and beverage industry. Bars tend to require extra manpower on weekends or evenings, and if you are free during those hours, you can earn money by bartending.
Plus, bartending gigs are typically shift-based. Therefore, you can pick up shifts only when you have the time.
How much can you earn as a bartender?
A steady gig at a local restaurant typically pays $15 per hour plus tips. This makes it one of the best jobs with tips. However, if you are working at a high-profile club, you can potentially make even more. You may also enjoy other benefits, such as free entry to the club on your off days.
Store Stocker
A store stocker oversees inventory stocking and management in a department store or retail outlet.
The job scope of a store stocker includes:
- Stocking the shelves
- Assembling displays
- Removing marketing displays
- Taking inventory
Usually, shifts are available to cover various working times, making this a fairly flexible option. You can thus pick up shifts when you can earn some extra cash.
How much can you earn as a store stocker?
A stocker generally earns around $11 per hour, although the pay can increase to $20 or more for unpopular shifts such as the graveyard shift.
Is Getting a Second Job a Good Idea?
Do you need a second job? A second job, sometimes also referred to as a “side gig” or “side hustle,” can be a good idea for several reasons. The best second jobs allow people to pursue their passion or hobby without compromising their main source of income.
A second job will also allow you to earn more money to save for something or meet a financial obligation. Thus, getting a second job may be a good idea if you want to earn some extra spending cash.