Health-related side hustles

The pandemic wreaked havoc on the medical field, pushing hospitals to their limits, fueling a mental health crisis and creating serious new risks for nursing homes. It has also created a booming business for health-related side hustles for both skilled medical professionals and unskilled caregivers, who have the time, skill and patience to provide care.

Heath-related side hustles

Health-related side hustles fall into several categories — psychiatric, nursing and non-medical care. Pay ranges are as wide as the differences in skills and credentials required by the jobs.

Jobs for nurses

Nurses, who have the time and temperament to take additional shifts, can find part-time work through ConnectRN. The site matches medical facilities needing additional part-time help with a wide array of nurses and nursing assistants. These include registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, as well as geriatric nursing assistants, state tested nursing assistants and certified nursing assistants.

Nursing assistants earn between $15 and $18 per hour, while nurses earn between $30 and $45 per hour, depending on their credentials. The site charges a 20% connection fee, but that’s paid by the medical facilities, not the freelancer.

TrustedHealth also connects nurses with health care facilities that need contract workers. Generally, the site enlists nurses for three-month stints in cities where demand has exceeded the supply of health professionals. Thus, signing up generally means you’re willing to travel for work.

That said, pay is agreed to upfront and is usually generous. Glassdoor estimates that Registered Nurses earn between $8,000 and $10,000 per month with this site.

Jobs for caregivers

With Covid spreading disastrously through nursing care facilities nationwide, families are increasingly cautious about sending relatives to nursing facilities when there’s a reasonable alternative. That’s created opportunity for individuals who are willing to provide elder care services, both skilled and unskilled, to patients in their own homes.

Hundreds of local caregiving agencies advertise on job-search sites like Indeed. Because these opportunities are local, the best way to find them is to use Indeed’s search bar, filling in the appropriate job description, your city and state. Promised pay for caregiving jobs generally ranges from $14 to $25 per hour.

A number of national websites also encourage caregivers to publish profiles to connect with clients, who need non-medical care. These sites include Carelinx, GoNannies, SitterCity, ElderCare.com, and Care.com.

Of these, Carelinx is SideHusl.com‘s top pick for workers. There are two main reasons why. Workers set their own rates, which allows them to adjust for cost-of-living and experience. In addition, the site legally sets caregivers up as employees of the client. This qualifies these otherwise self-employed workers to a passel of employee benefits, including worker’s compensation. The only cost for caregivers to sign up at this site is a $20 fee for a background check.

Caregivers and families can also connect through free neighborhood sites, such as Nextdoor.

Jobs for counselors and therapists

The therapist’s couch has been largely replaced by Zoom and text messages during these long, lonely, pandemic-scarred months.

For therapists who don’t have an official online presence, a number of online therapy sites promise to help you market and manage your online practice. Some, such as eCounseling, simply advertise your services for a flat annual fee.

BetterHelp, meanwhile, provides full-service management, from finding clients and managing the technology to billing for your time. The downside? The site also takes pricing control out of your hands. And while therapists are generally happy with the site’s technology and billing support, they almost universally complain about the pay.