A recent survey showed that a large number of Americans are not satisfied with a single source of income as wages remain stagnant. The survey by Bankrate found that over 44 million Americans or 13.5% of the country are getting a side job to earn extra money. Of these 86% do it on a monthly basis and 36% earn more than $500 each month on the job. A staggering 28% of young adults between 18 and 26 years old are most likely to have a side job.
Though the survey did not ask the 1,000 respondents to detail their specific side gigs, it was found that smartphones have made it easy to sign up for extra work whenever one feels like it. While traditional gigs like dog walking and lawn mowing are still up for grabs, technology has enabled those with full-time jobs to find other sources of additional income. For example, TaskRabbit lets you sign up to run an errand for someone, be it picking up a bottle of wine or moving a piece of furniture.
Ride-hailing apps have also ushered in a wave of opportunities. If you were to spend 20 hours as a Lyft driver in New York City, you could make up to $700 per week. There are also slightly more passive cash cows, like using Airbnb or VRBO to rent out your room or entire apartment. Many working professionals who end up traveling a lot for their full-time profession can easily rake in a few hundred bucks a week this way. And you have the flexibility of choosing which dates you’d like to list. The massive benefit of these side gigs is that you have the power to opt in or not.
Beyond people picking up jobs for the sake of making some extra cash, individuals use side jobs to find their creative outlets in the evenings and weekends. Sometimes these can become full-time jobs. Sarah Berger, writer at Bankrate said, “The internet lets you showcase your skills and pick your own hours”. “It’s fascinating how profitable these side hustles have become. I think people are realizing it can be a good way to experiment turning their passions into profit.”
Source: Yahoo Finance
