5 Side Gigs to Earn Income While Searching for Your Dream Job Here are some ideas to bring in some extra bucks every month.
By Glassdoor
This story originally appeared on Glassdoor
You're eager to dive into your next role, and you've started to submit applications for job opportunities. You quickly find out, though, that things aren't as easy as you've been made to believe. This is taking much longer than you though and besides the fact that you have amassed some serious debt, you just need money to sustain yourself right now. What do you do? Take a side gig!
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Most side gigs do not require a lot of experience. Some require a bit of technical know-how, but not something you can't learn in a week or two if you really want to -- and then gradually build on (as you earn!). Some require skills you've acquired over the years. Regardless of your qualifications, below are five side gigs you can do to earn an income while waiting to land your dream job. With these gigs, it isn't unusual to see people earning four figures or more every month.
Freelance game developer
Do you know that over 155 million Americans regularly play games, spending three or more hours on games every week? Furthermore, four out of five households own video game consoles. The explosion of web browser games like io games and social media games like Candy Crush has made gaming even more mainstream, resulting in great progress in breaking the gender divide in the gaming industry (48 percent of gamers are females!).
This presents great opportunity for you if you have programming knowledge. Even if you don't, there are several tutorials online that will show you how to create your own video games without you having to sell your soul. Of course, it would be no Clash of Clans, but it'll be playable. And if your skills are good enough, you could just earn a good enough living taking side gigs as a freelance game developer. You could apply to freelance opportunities for game developers on freelance sites like Upwork and Freelancer.com.
Join an online jury
If you've been fascinated by the legal system and want to earn income while still making an impact, you might consider joining an online jury. With the kind of verdicts being delivered in court these days, most lawyers aren't willing to take any chances on their clients' cases. Instead, they want to get as much uninfluenced and unbiased view from a varied pool of people, hence the popularity of online juries. A simple online search will reveal a lot of opportunities to be a part of online juries, and while being a part of these juries won't take too much of your time, you can earn up to $60 for every case you review. Depending on how many opportunities you get, this can quickly amount to something serious while you wait to land your dream job.
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Freelance website developer/designer
1.2 billion. That's the total number of websites in the world as at the time of writing this article. What's even more interesting is that millions of businesses, globally, head online to launch their website and become more globally accessible every month. From mom and pop businesses to bigger corporations, a lot of businesses will be creating their own website in the near future. Some of them will use resources like this one on how to create a website, and others would have no idea such resources exist. Even some of the businesses that know about such resources won't be able to create their own websites either because it isn't the best use of their time or because they simply don't know how to due to a lack of technical savvy. This is where you come in.
Look for brick and mortar businesses, as well as mom and pop businesses, around you that do not have a website or that have a nonfunctional website. Reach out to them and tell them you can handle it for them. If they pay you a few hundred bucks for this and you get a handful of opportunities every month, it quickly adds up.
Freelance writer/content marketer
With the explosion of blogging and content marketing, demand for freelance writers has increased? Statistics from Hubspot shows that businesses that blog generate 67 percent more leads compared to businesses that don't blog, and that publishing more content will result in more traffic and leads for businesses. Statistics like these ones have created a kind of frenzy and great demand for freelance writers, and it isn't unusual to see many freelance writers earn as much as $50 per hour -- although the majority are on the lower end, and there are a few freelance writers who earn much more than that.
Regardless, if done right, you could be earning a comfortable four figures monthly income by taking freelance writing as a side gig while you wait for your dream job. You could start with this comprehensive list of websites looking for freelance writers.
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Tutor
So you have a talent for drawing that you have honed over the years? Or perhaps your major skill is that you are a maths genius? Don't despair. Despite the fact that you are yet to get your dream job, your skills and learning won't go to waste after all. Tutoring is one of the easiest ways to earn a side income. You can tutor on absolutely anything: Maths, music, drawing, even how to use certain computer applications. Sites like Tutor.com and Tutor Hunt are constantly looking for people to join their pool of tutors, and a simple Google search for tutoring opportunities will reveal several tutoring opportunities. By tutoring alone, you could find yourself earning four figures on the side before you get your dream job.
(By Jane Hurst)
