Got two or more side gigs and looking for more? You’re in good company. A recent study by HiringLab.org, a division of job-search site Indeed, found that 16% of job seekers are already working multiple jobs. That’s a sign of a workforce that’s under “quiet, persistent pressure,” the site says.
Naturally, juggling multiple jobs can be remarkably stressful. But there’s a way to ease the pain. Pair side gigs that complement each other. Like what, you ask? These 5 side gigs go together like peanut butter and jelly. Not only are they well-matched, they can often be done at roughly the same time, giving you the ability to profit from your free moments and earn two paychecks during the same working hours.
Side Gigs That Go Together Like PB&J
What makes paired side gigs work well together? In some cases, it’s because they involve the same skills or activity. In others, they allow you to add revenue streams for products you’ve already created. Finally, some simply allow you to use free time that’s factored into one gig to fuel another money-making endeavor.
Customer Service & Laundry
Consider freelance customer service work. These jobs are done remotely and are highly flexible. In some cases, freelancers can schedule shifts that last for as little as 15 minutes at a time. More commonly, however, freelancers work 2 hour to 4 hour shifts or more.
But there’s a catch. Most freelancers are paid by the “productive” or “engaged” minute. In other words, if you aren’t actively on the phone answering customer questions or helping a customer troubleshoot a problem, you aren’t getting paid.
Although the better customer service firms, such as Working Solutions, promise at least minimum payments for each hour, a certain amount of free — and unpaid — time is baked into the gig.
So why not fill that free time with another paying activity that can easily be interrupted for a phone call? Two companies — Poplin and Hampr — pay freelancers to pick up, wash, fold and return customer laundry. Poplin pays by the pound; Hampr pays by the load.
Freelancers who want to juggle these two gigs together can pick up laundry before the beginning of their customer service stint; use free minutes to wash and fold it; and return it when both jobs are done.
Clinical Trials & Writing or Editing
A highly lucrative side gig for anyone who doesn’t mind medical procedures involves participating in clinical trials. These trials typically examine the efficacy of different drugs, treatments, and vaccines. While some require participants to have a medical condition, such as eczema or diabetes, others simply recruit healthy adults.
The pay varies widely based on what’s required. But to give an idea, a company called Parexel is currently recruiting healthy individuals, age 25-75, for medical research that will involve 10 site visits — two screening and two follow-ups, plus a 5 day/4-night stay. Those who complete the study will receive $12,050.
The screenings and follow-up visits typically take an hour or two. But much of the on-site stay is so that clinicians can observe you, possibly monitoring your blood pressure and other vital signs several times during the day and night. But when they’re not checking your vitals, your day is free. You can read, play games, watch t.v. — or engage in another side hustle that can be done remotely and can be temporarily set aside for medical testing.
Some good options: Writing and editing gigs. Companies such as Contently, Skyword, nDash and ServiceScape enlist freelance writers to create and edit copy on everything from health to academic research. Rates and deadlines vary by the assignment.
Teaching & Tutoring
If you’re a teacher, retired teacher — or just somebody with a skill you’d like to teach — a site called Outschool can connect you with kids age 3 to 18, who may be interested in your class. While many of the online classes here are academic, others involve life skills, drawing, video games and more.
Teachers determine the curriculum, class availability, cost of each session and how many kids can sign up. Outschool simply takes a commission from your earnings.
Tutoring, of course, involves many of the same skills and can work around your teaching schedule. There are dozens of good tutoring sites, including Wyzant, Varsity Tutors and TutorOcean.
Photography, Art & Print on Demand
If you take beautiful pictures or create beautiful art, you can sell the products you create through online art marketplaces such as Saatchi Art and TurningArt.
But you can also use the same artworks to decorate everything from puzzles to coffee mugs, t-shirts to tapestries with a variety of print-on-demand sites. These sites have you upload your art and give you the ability to determine what products you’d like that art to decorate. You then earn a royalty on each sale.
The best print-on-demand sites include FineArtAmerica, Spoonflower and Society6.
Petsitting & Virtual Assisting
Petsitting, either in your own home or at the client’s home, leaves the sitter with plenty of free time. After all, even the most demanding dogs only require a few walks a day. And feeding and putting out water takes a sum total of a few minutes. So, after you secure your petsitting work through a site like Rover, you may want to curl up on the couch and try a secondary endeavor.
One good option is virtual assisting. Virtual Assistants can do anything from managing a client’s email to scheduling meetings and trips. You can find virtual assisting work through Boldly, Belay and FreeUp.
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