The Best Second Jobs [Start Making Extra Money Today!] (2024)

If you’re thinking about getting a second job, you’re probably not too happy about it.

If you already work 40 hours a week (or more), starting an extra part-time job sounds exhausting.

But sometimes, you gotta do what you gotta do.

Luckily, it's easier than ever to make some extra money in your free time.

No longer do you have to trudge into a restaurant for six or seven hours after working your day job.

Thanks to the gig economy, a lot of the side jobs out there are fun, flexible, and lucrative.

Below, we discuss some of the bestsecond jobs the gig economy has to offer.

The Best Second Jobs to Make Extra Money (Overview)

1. Drive for a Rideshare Company
2. Deliver Food or Packages
3. Delivery Gigs
4. Care Gigs
5. Teach an Online Course
6. Perform Odd Jobs
7. Work as a Freelancer

Drive for a Rideshare Company

If you have a car, a driver’s license, and a clean record, it’s easy to drive for a company like Uber or Lyft.

These rideshare companies, among others, hire independent contractors to drive their customers around town.

The rideshare transportation industry is growing at a rapid pace, too.

No matter where live, you can find work as a driver.

Here are some of the pros and cons ofdriving for Uberor one of their competitors:

Pros

The primary benefits of ride-sharing include:

Get paid to drive your car:

The work is easy - pick up your passengers and take them where they need to go.

Just follow your GPS, be nice to people, and then take home some cash.

Flexible schedule:

Create your own schedule!

No need to sign up for shifts or commit to a time frame.

Simply log in to the app when you want to earn and get paid.

Meet new people and explore your city:

Driving will give you the chance to interact with a lot of different folks.

Also, it gives you time to see the parts of your city you’ve never been to.

You may need to fight some traffic in the meantime, but that’s a great chance to catch up on your favorite podcasts.

Cons

The main drawbacks to driving as a second job are:

Exhausting work:

Sitting in the car for five hours after a long day at your full-time gig might get old quickly.

But if you find yourself too exhausted to continue, then just clock out.

You don’t always have that option in the service industry.

Vehicle wear and tear:

Driving for work means more oil changes, tire replacements, and overall maintenance.

Over time, this can add up quite a bit and take money out of your pocket.

But, you can get that money back byclaiming it on your taxes.

Fuzzy insurance policies:

Rideshare companies like Uber provide some protection.

But, there are areas where you’re not covered.

Some insurance providers don’t cover commercial vehicles, either, so you may need an additional insurance plan.

Deliver Food or Packages

In the gig economy, you can have pretty much anything you want delivered right to your door.

Obviously, this is amazing for consumers (who doesn’t want falafel at 3 AM sometimes?).

But it’s also great for people seeking a side hustle.

There are a lot of delivery jobs out there.

There are a lot of reasons why these jobs are good, but there are of course some drawbacks.

Read below to find out more:

Pros

The benefits of working for a delivery company are:

Easy work:

All you need to do is follow the instructions on the company’s app.

It tells you where to pick up the items and where to bring them.

The only thing you need to do is follow your GPS.

Tips:

Delivery drivers make most of their money in tips.

And, almost every company allows you to keep 100% of your tip money.

In other words, you’ll have money in your pocket at the end of every shift.

No need for a car:

Don’t own a vehicle?

No worries!

If you live in a city, companies likePostmates allow you to ride a bike, or even walk.

You’ll save a ton of money on gas and car maintenance!

Cons

Delivery has a lot of upside.

There are some negatives aspects, too, like:

Big responsibility:

Hungry people don’t mess around.

If a traffic jam makes you late or the order is wrong, your customers won’t be pleased.

Even though it’s not your fault, people love to blame the messenger.

Repetitive work:

It’s an easy job, but delivery gets old fast.

It’s never fun waiting in line to pick up orders when you’ve already been on your feet all day.

Delivery Gigs

If you want to make some extra cash, there are plenty of delivery gigs available.

COVID-19 has pushed these services to the forefront of customers' minds, meaning demand is higher than ever. Here are our favorites:

Babysit, Pet Sit or Take Care of Elderly People

Are you good with kids?

What about animals?

Dog-walking or babysitting could be a great way for you to bring in some extra income.

Or, if spending a Saturday with elderly folks sounds nice, you can also make money doing that.

The gig economy has revolutionized the care industry.

If you can pass a background check, you can find part-timework as a babysitter, dog walker, or caretaker.

There are some positives and negatives to working as a caretaker.

We’ll discuss them below:

Pros

Here are the good things you can expect from taking on a second job in caregiving:

Rewarding work:

There’s no greater feeling than lending someone else a helping hand.

When you work in caregiving, you get to do it as a job.

This is tough to beat.

Skillbuilding opportunities:

Caretaking involves maturity and responsibility.

In order to succeed in this field, you’ll have to be patient, dependable, and trustworthy.

If you plan to work in the medical industry someday, this will look good on your resume.

Cons

Some of the downsides to this type of job are:

Extra liability:

Unlike a delivery job where the biggest risk you face is delivering cold food, caregiving carries more risks.

You’re dealing with people’s family members and pets, so you have to take this job seriously.

Heavy travel:

Sometimes, jobs require you to shuttle kids around or take older folks on errands.

Traveling can cut into your time and earnings.

This might be well worth the experience you gain, but it’s something to consider before applying.

Potential scams:

Some caretaking platforms have had problems with scammers in the past.

For example, some customers have refused to pay sitters.

If you’re heading into this field, make sure to keep an eye out for grifters toavoid getting scammed.

Care Gigs

Providing care is one of the best ways to make money in the gig economy, especially if you are personable and empathetic.

As gig work becomes more mainstream, so does the demand for care gigs.

Teach an Online Course

Teaching is one of the most rewarding professions out there.

There’s nothing better than giving someone the tools they need to achieve success in life.

Of course, doing it full time is hard work.

But, with platforms like Udemy, you can teach online part-time.

Udemy allows you to create courses and make money off them.

You record lectures, upload them to the platform, and receive money for every student who enrolls.

It can be quite profitable, making it one of the most popular summer job for teachers.

Pros

Teaching as a side gig allows you to:

Help others:

Knowledge is power.

By offering yours to others, you are helping them better themselves while making money.

How wonderful!?

Work from anywhere:

Don’t worry about driving to school every day.

With Udemy, you can teach from your living room! If you’re looking forwork from home jobs, this is definitely one to consider.

Gain teaching experience:

This is a great way to improve your skills.

If you can learn to captivate an audience online, you’ll perform much better in a real classroom.

Cons

Any teacher will tell you it’s not all fun and games.

Some of the things to keep in mind include:

Heavy workload:

Teaching is a time-consuming career.

If you want people to pay you to teach them, you need to offer something truly unique and actually helpful.

You’ll spend hours compiling courses and recording lectures before you see any pay off.

Marketing:

If you don’t market your course, very few people will know about it.

You’ll probably have to promote your class on social media and web forums to get students to enroll.

In some cases, you might even have to offer a Udemy coupon code and give students a discount.

Other Online Teaching Gigs

While teaching an online course is a great way to earn money in the gig economy, there are many other teaching jobs that you should also be aware of.

Put those skills to use and don't settle on just one!

Perform Odd Jobs

For those who still aren’t sure which second job they want, you can always just do “everything.”

Literally.

There are a ton of people out there who need a second set of hands to help them with odd jobs.

Craigslistis a great place to find the people in your area who need help.

Maybe one of your neighbors needs someone to mow their lawn.

Or maybe someone down the stress bought a new piece of real estate and wants help cleaning it up.

Or, you can also sell things on Craigslist and make extra money by getting rid of extra household items you no longer need.

TaskRabbit is a fantastic platform to find gigs like that, too.

On this platform, you’ll find people who need help with all kinds of things - from furniture assembly to grocery shopping.

As with all second jobs, there are some positives and negatives to this type of work, such as:

Pros

The benefits of doing odd jobs are:

Money for your skills:

Are you really good at something specific?

Well, now you can get paid for it.

Only take on jobs you enjoy and pass on the ones you don’t.

Flexible schedule:

You can jump on TaskRabbit and look for jobs whenever you have time.

There’s no strict 9-5 schedule with this type of work.

Learn new things:

This is a pretty low-key environment to try out a new skill and make some money at the same time.

If you do it well, then maybe you can go pro and turn it into a living.

Cons

Some of the things that aren’t so great about this work include:

Fluctuating demand:

Some days, there are lots of job posting on TaskRabbit and Craigslist.

Other days, it seems like no one is hiring.

This can be difficult if you’re desperate for cash.

Low pay:

Without proof of your skills, it might be hard to convince people to pay you what you think you’re worth.

Odd Jobs Gigs

As mentioned above, there is no shortage of odd job gigs in the gig economy.

People need help with pretty much everything under the sun.

So many people need help that we've dedicated an entire section of our site to tasks that you can perform to make money.

Work as a Freelancer

Freelancing encompasses a wide variety of different jobs.

As a freelancer, you can work as a writer, editor, graphic designer, web developer, virtual assistant, and much more.

If you’re looking for a second job, this is a great option.

It’s especially good if you’re already skilled in a particular field.

If you work a full-timejob in web design, for example, you can easily make some extra money as a freelance designer at night.

After all, you’ve got the portfolio to show clients that you know how to build amazing websites.

There are a few good platforms that will help you in your job search.

OnUpwork, you can find well-paying freelance jobs.

This is a good platform for folks who’ve worked in their field for a while and have some experience.

If you’re trying to break into a particular field, check outFiverr.

You’ll have to work for $5 per project in the beginning, but it’s a great place to gain some experience.

Pros

The main advantages of working as a freelancer are:

High earnings:

People pay good money for talent.

If you’ve got skills, you can make a decent living as an independent contractor.

Plus, you can earn more money while working fewer hours.

Create your own schedule:

Work as much or as little as you’d like.

When you get busy with other things, simply stop accepting new projects.

Do what you love:

Why work a boring job when you can make money off your passion?

Cons

Freelancing isn’t all fun and games. There are some downsides, such as:

Takes time to gain momentum:

In the beginning, you may need to accept lower rates or work more than you want.

As you build a reputation for quality, it’s easier to acquire high-paying customers.

Third-party site fees:

Upwork and Fiverr both take e a considerable chunk of your earnings as a finder’s fee.

Understand their fees before you start so you know what to expect.

Conclusion

As you can see, the gig economy has opened up a whole new world of opportunity for hustlers.

There are places to find work than ever before.

Perhaps the best thing about these arrangements is that there’s no commitment.

In the gig economy, you can work however much you want.

So, if you’re interested in a side hustle, try out one of these second jobs to see if you like it.

If you don’t, then drop it and try something new.

In today’s world, you’re in control.

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