There are many side jobs within the gig economy that have low barriers to entry, few worker qualifications, and flexible schedules.
If you want to speed up the saving process, it might not be a bad idea to pick up a side job that you can do after work hours or on the weekend.
In this article, we’re going to look at a handful of side jobs within the gig economy that enable you to earn extra money in your free time.
These jobs are the perfect fit for side hustlers who have a full-time job but want to get out there and make some extra cash.
We also have an overview of side jobs from home if that seems more up your alley.
Let’s take a look at all of your money making opportunities.
Contents
The Best Side Jobs (Examples)
We’ve included an overview of our top picks below. For detailed information on each pick, scroll down.
Delivery: Food and Package Delivery Side Jobs
Tasks: Around the House Side Jobs
Delivery: Food and Package Delivery Side Jobs
Delivery gigs are a booming business with new opportunities popping up every single day.
In this category, you have a range of options — restaurant delivery, grocery delivery, and package delivery.
Delivery jobs are great for people who are more introverted since you have little interaction with customers throughout your shifts.
Yes, you’ll be dropping delivery items off at customers’ doors, but unlike ridesharing gigs, your conversations will be kept to a minimum.
Grubhub
Perfect for: Food runners looking to stay busy and receive steady delivery orders.
Minimum age: 19
Apply at: https://driver.grubhub.com/
Grubhub is a pioneer in the delivery business.
One of the first companies to burst onto the scene, Grubhub remains one of the main players in the on-demand restaurant delivery business.
So what’s required of you?
You’ll be tasked with picking up customer orders from local restaurants and then delivering them to their location.
Grubhub spans across the entire United States, so there’s a good chance you’ll be able to find employment near you.
This could be a great first step into a gig economy side job.
Learn more:
- Grubhub Driver Requirements: A Guide for Grubhub Applicants
- Should You Become a Grubhub Driver? Here Are the Pros and Cons
- What Does Working for Grubhub Pay in 2020? All Your Questions Answered
DoorDash
Perfect for: Delivery drivers who want to work for a booming platform with excellent driver support and plenty of orders.
Minimum age: 18
Apply at: https://www.doordash.com/dasher/signup
DoorDash is relatively new compared to Grubhub, but it’s quickly becoming the go-to option for hungry customers.
Similar to Grubhub, DoorDash is also an on-demand restaurant delivery business that delivers take-out orders from local restaurants to customers.
DoorDash has been garnering quite the reputation as of lately.
If you think restaurant delivery is the route you’d like to take, DoorDash is an excellent company to pair up with.
Learn more:
- How to Become a DoorDash Driver
- DoorDash Driver Requirements
- DoorDash Referral Codes: Maximize Your Signup Bonus Today
Instacart
Perfect for: Active workers who don’t mind running around the grocery store and delivering several bags of groceries.
Minimum age: 18 for Full-Service Shoppers, 17 for In-Store Shoppers
Apply at: https://shoppers.instacart.com/
Instead of running around to different restaurants all day, you could focus on a handful of grocery stores and deliver groceries to Instacart customers.
Instacart is a touch different.
With this side hustle, you’ll be required to fill customers’ grocery lists by shopping at grocery stores and then delivering them to their door.
Since you’ll be doing customers’ grocery shopping, this will require some heavy lifting and sometimes bring groceries up a few flights of stairs.
But don’t let this scare you away, Instacart is a great way to earn extra income in your free time.
Learn more:
- Get Paid to Shop: Driver Requirements for Instacart
- The Difference Between In-Store and Full-Service Instacart Shoppers
- The Definitive Guide to Instacart: Everything You Need to Know
Postmates
Perfect for: Delivery drivers who are up for delivering anything — from take-out orders to groceries to convenience products
Minimum age: 18
Apply at: https://fleet.postmates.com/
Postmates isn’t for the faint of heart.
With this delivery service, you’ll be on the go, picking up items from all sorts of businesses around town.
This includes take-out orders from restaurants, groceries from local stores, and everything else in between.
Postmates is another delivery service that is extremely popular across the United States, so you shouldn’t have a problem finding employment wherever you’re at.
Learn more:
- Postmates Courier Referral Code (For 2020 and Beyond)
- Postmates Requirements: What Potential Drivers Must Know
- Postmates Rates: How to Maximize Your Driver Earnings
Amazon Flex
Perfect for: The part-time delivery drivers who don’t mind delivering everything from A to Z for a paycheck that exceeds $18 per hour.
Minimum age: 21
Apply at: https://flex.amazon.com/
Like Postmates, Amazon Flex is an all-in-one delivery service, except Amazon goes one step further.
Not only will you be delivering restaurant orders, grocery items, and convenience items, but you’ll also be dropping off packages from Amazon’s eCommerce business.
Not a bad gig, however, it’s only offered in select cities.
Learn more:
- The Definitive Guide to Working as an Amazon Flex Driver
- How to Become an Amazon Flex Driver
- 7 Ways to Make More as an Amazon Flex Driver
The opportunities to make money in transportation aren’t only limited to the ever-so-popular Uber and Lyft.
Sure, these two companies are excellent choices as a steady side job, but we want to give you even more options beyond Uber and Lyft.
Let’s start with the two most popular gig economy employers and then make our way into some more unknown opportunities that you may not have heard of.
Uber
Perfect for: Anytime workers who don’t mind interacting with passengers all day.
Minimum age: 21
Apply at: https://www.uber.com/a/join-now/
Uber is the original American gig worker ambassador.
Who would have thought that employing independent contractors to chauffeur passengers around urban areas would have boomed into such an enormous business?
Not only has Uber changed the way people get around every major city in the world, but they’ve also given you ample opportunity to pick up hours in your spare time and make extra cash whenever is easiest for you.
Learn more:
- Uber Driver Requirements 2020: The Ultimate Guide
- How to Become an Uber Driver: Step-by-Step Guide
- Pay Breakdown: How Much Do Uber Drivers Make?
Lyft
Perfect for: Drivers who would rather work for a rideshare company with a slightly better track record.
Minimum age: 21
Apply at: https://www.lyft.com/driver
If you call Lyft Uber’s little brother, I’m sure they would take offense.
Sure, Lyft was second on the scene, but they’ve managed to slowly grow into a reliable rideshare service that focuses on customer and driver happiness.
There’s plenty of drivers out there who will confess that their favorite rideshare service is Lyft.
The next time you hail a rideshare service, make sure you ask your driver — we’re sure they’ll give you their unbiased opinion.
Learn more:
- Lyft Requirements: Your Guide to Becoming a Lyft Driver
- How to Become a Lyft Driver
- How Much Do Lyft Drivers Make?
Lime
Perfect for: Those interested in making money while they sleep — literally — by charging scooters overnight.
Minimum age: 18
Apply at: https://web.limebike.com/juicer
Lime provides scooters, bicycles, and e-bikes for people to rent in densely populated urban areas.
If you live in a busy urban area, just take a look around — we’re sure you’ll see some form of a micro-mobility option.
Your opportunity comes in the form of a flexible side job of charging electric scooters throughout your city.
All of those scooters that people ride around require charging every single night.
By picking up scooters and charging them overnight, you can set yourself with a nice source of side income.
Learn more:
- The Definitive Guide to Being a Lime Scooter Charger
- How to Make Money as a Lime Charger (Plus a Promo Code to Start)
- Make Money While You Sleep as a Lime Scooter Juicer
Tasks: Around the House Side Jobs
Some people are just naturally handy. If you fall into this category, then a side job within the task completion business might be right for you.
This could include fixing things around the house, answering phone calls for a business, or picking up dry cleaning for customers.
TaskRabbit
Perfect for: Those who are willing to do anything under the sun for a buck or two.
Minimum age: 21
Apply at: https://www.taskrabbit.com/become-a-tasker
Think of TaskRabbit as being a personal assistant to whoever needs a task or job done.
These jobs could range from picking up dry cleaning, hanging a picture frame on the wall, or putting together IKEA furniture.
If you consider yourself handy or are up for completing a variety of tasks, then TaskRabbit might be for you.
Learn more:
- How to Become a TaskRabbit Tasker
- The Definitive Guide to TaskRabbit
- 8 Ways to Contact TaskRabbit Customer Service
Handy
Perfect for: The experienced handy people out there who don’t mind fixing things around the home.
Minimum age: 18
Apply at: https://www.handy.com/apply
Handy is virtually the same service as the previously mentioned company TaskRabbit.
Handy allows you to complete tasks for customers, like hanging shelves, painting a room, or fixing a leaky faucet.
You don’t need to be a licensed contractor to work for Handy, you just need to be, well, handy.
The catch is that you must actually know how to fix things and have a track record of doing so.
This definitely beats scouring Craigslist posts for one-off jobs.
Learn more:
Care: Human and Pet Care Side Jobs
If driving people around all day, delivering groceries, or fixing things around the house isn’t your type of thing, then you can always look for a gig where you take care of people or pets.
Human and pet care jobs are great if you like to interact with people throughout your day.
Let’s take a look at two of the more popular services out there.
Care
Perfect for: Anyone looking to babysit, walk a dog, or take care of elderly family members.
Minimum age: 14 if a parent monitors, 18 if not
Apply at: https://www.care.com/enroll-care-seeker-p1042-q111085935.html
Care is a service for families to find caregivers.
This can range from babysitters to nannies to pet sitters to eldercare.
There are plenty of opportunities on Care.com if you think you’re fit to care for others’ loved ones.
The application and background check process might be slightly more intense, but if you’re able to lock in a steady caretaker gig, you could have yourself quite the side gig.
This is an excellent choice for high school and college students.
Learn more:
- Care.com Requirements: What You Need to Become a Caregiver
- How to Find Your First Job on Care.com: A Step-by-Step Guide
- How to List or Apply to Care.com Nanny Jobs: Updated for 2020
Rover
Perfect for: Pet lovers who wouldn’t mind walking a dog or pet sitting for the weekend.
Minimum age: 18
Apply at: https://www.rover.com/account/continue/
Rover focuses on one thing and one thing only — connecting pet owners with people who can walk their pets or petsit for a period of time.
If you’re an animal lover, then this might be right up your alley.
You can decide between getting paid to walk a customer’s pets or taking them into your home to watch them for the weekend.
Doesn’t sound like a bad part-time job to us.
Learn more:
- Make Money By Walking Dogs: Your Ultimate Guide to Rover
- How Much Money Can You Make as a Rover Dog Walker?
- 7 Ways to Make More Money as a Rover Walker
Extra Work on the Side
So the question is, “What are you saving for?”
Is it a new car?
Or maybe an exotic vacation?
Perhaps even a new home.
Whatever it is, you could always use additional cash flow coming into your bank account.
You can keep your day job and pick up work on the side in order to save money faster.
All of the side jobs mentioned above will help you reach your goals faster.
It’s time to start doubling up on the hours to reach your financial goals.
