Find yourself turning to top ramen and PB&Js way too much lately? Unfortunately, unemployment checks aren’t up to par with the budget you were used to when you had a full-time job. And even if you have a full-time job, the salary might not be what you expected, especially if you’re a recent grad. But there are lots of great ways to make extra cash under the table. And they don’t even require a degree or experience. Two that I personally turn to when times are tough are tutoring and babysitting.
- Tutoring: The great thing about this is that people will pay a lot for it and everyone has something they excel in! You can do anything from teaching someone the guitar to helping a middle schooler with math (if you’re like me, you don’t know anything past geometry). You can probably find work through word of mouth. But I really like Wyzant. You set the rate, and they take a portion of it (a pretty big chunk if ya ask me). But I’ve charged as high as $50/hour. People will pay for it if it means good grades or a new talent they can show off.
- Babysitting: You may not have time to take on a full-time nanny job (which pays very well btw), but you can pick up a few weekend shifts here and there. If you can’t hang with babies like me, try an elementary school kid. And don’t be embarrassed. Nannying is a real job!
Of course, my main side job is resume writing, but don’t do that! I don’t need anymore competition. =)
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These are great ideas! The internet has made it relatively easy to freelance effectively on the side, even if you also enjoy full time employment. For example, even amateur graphic designers can churn out logos, business cards, and stationary designs on sites like 99designs.com and earn a decent chunk of cash.
I also have many friends who are attending short educational programs to become licensed massage therapists, estheticians, makeup artists, health/fitness trainers, etc. and starting businesses out of their homes.
On my blog, I write a lot about how people are starting to view their careers through the lens of “gigonomics.” We need to start treating our careers like we do our stock portfolios–diversification is key. While it is still okay (and profitable!) to pursue a corporate job full time, the layoffs we’ve seen in this economy have shown us that it never hurts to work a gig or two on the side.
So true! I know several people who have done the whole personal training side job thing. I like the analogy to the stock market! That would make for a great post headline. Thanks for reading!