6 Side Hustles Earn High-Paying Incomes To Supplement Your Career

As the cost of living continues to rise (while wages don’t), the gig economy offers opportunities for American workers to earn more money and create multiple streams of income. If you’re looking for extra income to supplement your full-time job or looking to create your own job, the gig economy provides flexibility and a way to get hired or create work and gain experience. Nearly half of American workers have side hustles, and the numbers continue to rise. Why the switch from the traditional nine-to-five jobs? Flexibility.

Flexibility Is The Driving Force For Gig Jobs

A new national study from Jitjatjo finds that the flexibility trend is the driving factor. Employees want greater control over their lives and more work-life balance. Here are some of their findings:

• 31% of respondents confirm they spent between five and 14 hours weekly doing gig work as a side hustle.
• 50% of gig workers say they hid their gig work from family and friends with 34% confirming the reason being that they didn’t want to know gig work was their side hustle.
• ⅓ of respondents believe gig workers are made up of working professionals looking to make extra money.
• 63% report that setting their own schedule makes gig work more attractive than a traditional office job.
• 50% under age 45 admit they would leave their full-time job if gig work offered benefits.
• More than half of respondents (51%) think gig workers are happier than office workers.

Side Hustles To Augment Your Income

Side hustles, although not all that easy to come by, continue to flood the media. I spoke by email with Jason O’Brien, COO at TollFreeForwarding.com. He told me that searches for side hustles are projected to increase by 441% over the next five years. “Given this,” he added, “we researched and identified the following six side hustles anyone can access from the comfort of their own home to help them earn extra money.”

1. Netflix Tagger ($35,000-85,000 per year). This highly-sought after side hustle has skyrocketed in searches this year, according to O’Brien, and is expected to grow by 5400% in 2024. A Netflix tagger is someone who watches TV shows and movies on the platform then tags them by genre and other descriptors so consumers on the sounds platform can find the content easier when searching for something to watch.

2. Transcribing Audios and Videos ($15-$22 per audio hour). With searches for audio transcription increasing by 39% in the past year and expected to grow by 100% in the next year, now is the right time to get ahead of the game with this side hustle, O’Brien says. He cites transcribing audio and video into text as one of the more accessible side hustle opportunities and a relatively easy and flexible way to earn some extra money. He mentions hat starting out is simple, too, with a number of job openings on sites like TranscribeMe.

3. Blogging About your Passions (no salary range given). Despite being around since the 90’s, blogging can still earn you a good amount of money and is a great way to utilize your creativity and writing skills, according to O’Brien. “We found that searches for ‘blogger’ are expected to increase by 30% this year,” he notes, “which means people who are passionate about certain topics or who enjoy creative writing could earn some extra money utilizing their knowledge and skills.” He insists that blogging is one of the easiest ways to earn some extra income in your downtime. “To get started, all you need to do is create a blog—use a platform like Blogger or WordPress—and use Google AdSense to display ads based on the content you write,” he explains. “All you need to do is write about your interests, and Google does the rest for you.”

4. Joining a Focus Group ($25 per hour). Focus groups can be a great source of spare income if you have the time, O’Brien points out, affirming that these searches have been increasing yearly, and with their research, they’re expecting these searches to increase by another 184% this year. “Sites like Respondent and Sago connect individuals with researchers who want their opinions on a variety of topics,” he states. “We found focus groups to be one of the easiest ways for people to make additional income online.”

5. Freelancing on Fiverr (No salary ranges given). O’Brien finds that freelancing is one of the most popular ways to add additional income streams. “According to our research, searches for freelance positions are expected to grow by 67% this year,” he acknowledges. “However, getting started as a freelancer isn’t always the easiest.” He cites Fiverr as one of the leading digital marketplaces for freelancers to sell their products and build their portfolios. “Common opportunities on Fiverr include voiceover work, illustrations, video editing and coding,” he says. “The platform also allows you to set your own price, which means you can increase your fee as you gain more experience.” O’Brien suggests that this can be a great side hustle if you’re just looking for something casual, as you can choose the job requests you want to complete. You are also able to choose your own prices for your service, although Fiverr does take a portion of the profit.

6. Time Stamping as You Scroll ($2,000 to upwards of $5,000 per month). Time stamping is a side gig where you are paid to watch YouTube videos and find one-to-two-minute clips to put onto TikTok. O’Brien asserts that you’re basically paid to create a viral video. He believes this approachable side hustle is ideal for anyone who finds themselves constantly watching YouTube videos or scrolling through TikTok. “We found that searches for these roles are expected to increase by 83% through next year.”

A Final Thought

While money is tight for a lot of people right now, O’Brien is optimistic that there is still also a lot of opportunity to earn extra income online. “We hope people can use these tips to help generate additional income streams to help ease the burdens of rising costs,” he concludes.