Top 10 Side Hustles for Felons

Average rates: $25–$35 per hour

If you have a way with words or specialized knowledge in a certain subject, you can easily become a freelance writer. Even without previous writing experience or industry know-how, you can find freelance writing gigs.

Tons of companies need writers for articles, web page copy, ads, social media posts, emails, and more.

If you’re starting from scratch, you probably won’t be offered the best freelance writing rates right away, but the more experience you get, the more you can charge. This is a great way to make solid cash from home.

Where to get started

• Upwork
• Fiverr
• Freelancer
• WritersWork
• Contently

Average rates: $25–$40 per hour

Consider becoming a virtual assistant on the side to pad your resume with especially useful skills and experience to put towards future jobs.

As a virtual assistant, you’ll help a company or individual manage the everyday ins and outs of their business—and you can do it all from your home.

Virtual assistants take on different tasks depending on the gig. For example, you could be organizing someone’s schedule, planning a project, managing a calendar, or organizing a database.

Where to get started

• Time etc
• Prialto
• Upwork
• Randstad
• Virtual Coworker

Average rates: $5–$50 per hour

Online marketplaces like Fiverr don’t require background checks. As an independent contractor on this type of platform, you can post whatever service you want for whatever rate you want.

You can get hired online to perform almost any service that can be done remotely, like design, development, consulting, SEO, marketing, administration, and much more.

Where to get started

• Fiverr
• Upwork

Average rates: $12–$20 per hour

Customer service is one of the most in-demand industries all around the world, at all times of the day and night. No matter your schedule or living situation, you can work a remote customer service side job. Because many customer service calls are conducted from home, therefore your legal status won’t have much impact on your ability to land work.

Where to get started

• Upwork
• Helpwise
• Fiverr
• Indeed
• ZipRecruiter
• FlexJobs

Average rates: $11–$22 per hour

Data entry is a great job for a convicted felon, as most gigs have minimal barriers to entry, no experience is required, and you can perform the work from home.

As a data entry clerk, you’ll transfer information from one format to another. This usually entails simply inputting data into a spreadsheet. Sometimes you’ll be responsible for fetching the data from another source as well.

Either way, data entry tends to be fairly easy work that helps pass the time and secures some monthly income.

Where to get started

• Upwork
• Fiverr
• People Caddie
• Manpower
• Randstad

Average rates: $17–$26 per hour

The internet is constantly changing. As companies, website owners, and app developers release and update products, they need real user feedback to improve their offerings. You can sign up to be one of those users and test websites and apps in exchange for compensation.

How much work you can find will depend on your demographic, but your record probably won’t play a role in how valuable your feedback is for companies—most of them won’t bother conducting background checks and will be more interested in your age, ethnicity, gender, and other similar factors.

Where to get started

• Tester Work
• User Testing
• Userlytics
• User Feel

Average rates: $12–$22 per hour

As a transcriptionist, you’ll be tasked with listening to audio files or watching videos, then writing a transcript of what’s said. Transcription pays well and doesn’t require you to go to a physical location or work specific hours.

However, you will need to have fast fingers, so hunt-and-peck typers are better off looking into different side hustles.

Where to get started

• Scribie
• TranscribeMe!
• SpeechPad
• CrowdSurf
• Rev

Average rates: $20–$25 per hour (highly dependent on the popularity of your content)

Share your thoughts online with one of the most popular side hustles out there: blogging. Be warned that of all the gigs on this list, this one is the least income-stable.

You’ll need to get your blog off the ground by building an audience, then monetize it through affiliates and ads. Making money with blogging takes time and dedication.

But if you want to flex your creative side and make your voice heard, creating your own content can be a gratifying way to earn money and potentially speak to others navigating the same troubled waters you’ve been through yourself.

Of course, you can blog about anything—you don’t need to write anything related to your experiences as a felon (such as navigating the legal system, etc). If you do write about that, though, it will give you a unique perspective that many people will probably find interesting.

Where to get started

• Wix
• GoDaddy
• Squarespace
• WordPress
• Weebly

Average rates: $25–$40 per hour or $.02–$0.03 per word

Proofreading is often confused with editing, but they’re different jobs. As a proofreader, you’ll take one of the final looks at a piece of content and make sure the grammar, spelling, style, and punctuation are all correct.

You won’t be in charge of making content-level changes to written works, so you don’t need special knowledge of the subject matter to become a proofreader. That said, you do need a solid grasp of grammar and spelling. If you’re not confident in your skills in this area, look into taking some of these proofreading courses before you start working.

Where to get started

• Upwork
• Freelancer
• Scribbr
• Proofreading Pal

Average rates: 90.5% of the sale price (on Etsy)

Working with your hands is a great way to alleviate stress—and make some extra money. Sell items you create from scratch, such as:

• Artwork
• Jewelry
• Woodwork
• Metalwork
• Knitwear
• Bath products

Anything else you can make (even non-physical products like e-cards and designs) can be sold online and shipped or delivered virtually.

Where to get started

• Etsy
• Facebook Marketplace
• Handmade Artists

These 10 side hustles are far from the only possibilities. In fact, many of the jobs listed above have variations you can explore.

For example, if blogging isn’t your style, you can look into creating a YouTube channel or podcast. Instead of website testing, you can look into product testing jobs, and so on.

For those who aren’t concerned with making the big bucks, there are lower-paying side hustles available, like watching ads for money, taking surveys, or even getting paid to sleep (a real possibility, especially if you don’t mind putting yourself out there and participating in research).

If you aren’t hindered by location and schedule restrictions, you can also check out out-and-about side hustles, like delivery driving, lawn mowing, running errands, or helping people move. The platforms to look into include:

• Instacart
• DoorDash
• Dolly
• Lawn Love

Some of these platforms may run background checks, but not all of them will. DoorDash, for instance, has been known to allow felons to do deliveries for them. In many cases you’ll have a better chance if your conviction is fairly old (7 years is a common cutoff point).

Whether or not you can work specific side hustles will depend on the platform you’re working with or the individuals who hire you. If you want to use a service, check their employment terms and whether they require a background check.

When in doubt, do an internet search for “site:[site you wish to work for] felon,” e.g., “site:uber.com felon.”

This will likely bring up results for the company’s policies.

If you don’t plan on using an app and will try to find work independently (or even start your own business as a side hustle), be honest and upfront with your potential employers and clients about your legal situation.

Side hustles to avoid

Avoid side hustles where you will be responsible for a charge, like:

• Babysitting
• Tutoring
• Dog walking

In particular, depending on the nature of your crime, you will probably have trouble landing side hustles that put you near minors, such as:

• Camp counselor
• Lifeguard
• Coach

Finally, some people may not be comfortable inviting a convicted felon into their homes to perform jobs like:

• House sitting
• Pet sitting
• Home maintenance
• Lawn care

Again, these jobs aren’t necessarily off-limits to all felons. If your conviction was nonviolent, it may be possible to land work in one of those areas, although it might be a struggle.