19 Flexible Side Hustles for Graduate Students

Being a grad student is tiring, and starting a side hustle will add more to your already full plate. That said, if you’re here, it probably means you’re considering doing so anyway.

Don’t worry—your idea isn’t crazy. Here are a few benefits of having a side hustle that may help you justify the time and energy it will take:

• Additional income: It’s no secret that grad school is a big investment. Even if you’re one of the lucky ones on a scholarship, there’s a good chance you aren’t exactly swimming in money. A side hustle can help you pay for your daily living expenses, allow you to treat yourself to things you wouldn’t normally be able to afford, or help you put money aside to pay back your student loans.
• Work experience: Having a side hustle will help you acquire skills that will benefit you in your future career. Even if your hustle is unrelated to your degree, it’ll show potential employers that you have work experience and that you can manage your time effectively.
• Networking opportunities: Whether your side hustle is in your industry or not, it’s a way for you to make professional connections. You never know who you could meet—future clients, potential employers, mentors, or even future colleagues.

Many side hustles are also highly flexible, which is a big perk. Most of the gigs we’ve listed below can be done on your own time, and—in many cases—they’re remote-friendly, which allows you to make your studies your first priority.

Responsibilities: Tutoring consists of teaching students (usually one-on-one, although sometimes in small groups) and helping them with their studies.

This often involves explaining challenging topics, helping students complete their homework and prepare for tests, and so on. It may also require creating lesson plans. All of this can be done virtually or in person.

Requirements: You don’t need formal qualifications to start a tutoring side hustle, but you do need to have a thorough knowledge of the subject you’re tutoring, as well as good communication and planning skills.

If you’re tutoring online, you’ll also need a computer with a good internet connection, headphones and a microphone, a quiet environment, and video calling software (e.g., Zoom).

Schedule: This role is highly flexible. You can do it on your own schedule.

Potential earnings: Often $20 to $25 per hour.

Why it’s good for grad students: This is a flexible gig that almost all grad students are qualified to do. If you’re tutoring within your own field, it can also be a great opportunity to review your own knowledge.

If you’re interested in staying in academia and becoming a professor someday, the hands-on teaching experience will also give you a big leg up.

Responsibilities: This role involves assisting one of your professors with their duties. Your exact tasks will vary according to your university, department, subject, and professor, but they may include:

• Grading papers
• Teaching lower-level classes
• Overseeing laboratory sessions
• Running seminars

Requirements: To TA at your university, you must be a graduate student with a reasonably good academic performance.

Schedule: This role is part-time but generally has set hours.

Potential earnings: Widely varies. You may be paid in the form of a stipend or a discount toward your tuition.

Why it’s good for grad students: This is arguably the most common side hustle for grad students, and it may even be required by your university or department. Even if it’s optional, it can be great practice if you’re thinking about going into academia.

Responsibilities: Helping teachers during their lessons, tutoring students, and grading papers.

You can be a teacher’s aide at different types of schools, including middle, elementary, and high schools, as well as language centers. The setting you teach in will affect your duties, but you can generally expect your responsibilities to be more limited than they would be as a university TA.

Requirements: The requirements for this position are listed below.

• High school diploma or GED
• Associate’s degree or 2 years of college (for some jobs, especially at Title I schools)
• CPR or first aid certificate (sometimes)
• Teaching assistant license
• Background check
• Fluency in the language being taught (for language centers)

These requirements vary and some states (and schools) may have others not listed here.

Schedule: Traditional schools will require a regular (but part-time) daytime schedule. Language centers generally have regular hours, too, but you may be able to choose between working in the daytime, the evening, or on weekends.

Potential earnings: $15 to $20 per hour.

Why it’s good for grad students: This side hustle isn’t right for all grad students, but it’s a great fit if you’re considering a career that will heavily involve teaching.

Responsibilities: Helping professors and other researchers with their projects in different ways (e.g., by gathering data, writing reports, and helping with organizational tasks).

Requirements: It helps to be a student at the institution you’re researching at. You should also have high academic scores and strong research skills.

Schedule: This is usually a part-time role. Your schedule may be somewhat flexible but will be affected by the project’s deadlines.

Potential earnings: Generally depends on the project’s budget. Your pay may take the form of a salary, a stipend, or a discount towards your tuition.

Why it’s good for grad students: This is another very common gig for grad students, and your university will probably offer many opportunities. It’s a great chance for you to get a taste of what researching in your field is like and learn more about your specialty.

Responsibilities: You’ll cover lessons at schools when the primary teacher is absent. In addition to simply teaching, you’ll need to supervise students and practice classroom management. You may also need to grade papers, tests, or homework.

Requirements: This job’s requirements vary depending on the school and state, but generally, you’ll need the following:

• High school diploma or GED
• Bachelor’s degree
• Teaching licensure or certification
• Some teaching experience
• Background check

Schedule: This gig can be done on an as-needed basis, but you may be asked to cover lessons for a longer period of time, such as during the main teacher’s maternity leave. If you contract with a school, you’ll probably have to commit to regular hours when you’ll be available.

Potential earnings: $15 to $25 per hour, depending on your location and school.

Why it’s good for grad students: As with many of the side gigs we’ve mentioned so far, becoming a substitute teacher is a particularly good idea if you aspire to make a career out of teaching and need work experience.

Responsibilities: Take prospective students and their parents around campus and tell them about what makes your university special.

Requirements: This side hustle has no requirements other than being a current student at the university in question. That said, you should:

• Know the campus well (its geography, history, and current culture)
• Be friendly, polite, and good at communicating
• Be physically able to navigate around campus

You may need to have been a student for a minimum amount of time before you can sign up to do this.

Schedule: This is often a seasonal job. You’ll work during college application season when prospective students are visiting the university (either before applying or right after being accepted).

Potential earnings: Institution-dependent, often $8–$15 per hour.

Why it’s good for grad students: Because this job is seasonal, its earning potential isn’t particularly high, but it’s hard to beat it for convenience—you can do this between lectures without ever leaving campus.

Responsibilities: Produce your own courses (which will probably include audio or video lessons and may also include worksheets and quizzes). You can cover what you’re studying in grad school or something else entirely—anything you’re an expert in and can teach people about.

Requirements:

At minimum, you’ll need:

• Deep knowledge of your chosen subject
• Recording equipment, such as a high-quality camera and a microphone
• Video editing software
• Screen recording software (for some subjects)
• Lighting equipment (optional but recommended)

If you plan on distributing your course on an online platform, such as Skillshare or Udemy, it may have its own requirements that you’ll need to follow. For instance, you may need to create a personal bio and upload a picture of yourself.

Schedule: You can create and promote your courses on your own schedule.

Potential earnings: This entirely depends on how popular your course is. Your earnings may range from essentially nothing to thousands of dollars per month (if your efforts are successful and your course really takes off).

Why it’s good for grad students: This gig is flexible and can be done remotely. Moreover, as a grad student, you presumably have a lot of knowledge of your field, which makes creating educational materials about it a particularly suitable side hustle.

Responsibilities: Proofread papers for others and offer feedback before they submit them for assessment or publication.

Requirements: You don’t need any formal qualifications to be a proofreader, but you will need attention to detail and excellent writing skills. If you’re proofreading technical materials (e.g., for publication in an academic journal), subject matter knowledge is a strong plus.

Schedule: This can be done on your own schedule, although you may have to meet tight deadlines. Demand may increase during exam season.

Potential earnings: Often around $20 per hour.

Why it’s good for grad students: Becoming a proofreader gives you the chance to take advantage of the writing skills you’ve had to hone over the course of your own academic career. This is also another job that can be done remotely and on your own time, which means it won’t interfere with your studies.

Responsibilities: As a data analyst, you’ll offer your services to organizations that have large volumes of data that they need to extract insights from. It might consist of marketing or sales data, research data, or something else entirely.

You’ll use software tools to sort and interpret this data, potentially clean and rearrange it, and prepare reports or answer questions from your employer.

Requirements: To land a freelance data analysis gig and do your job competently, you’ll need knowledge of a programming language with robust data science libraries (Python and R are both popular choices).

If you want to pursue traditional employment in this field, you’ll also need a bachelor’s degree in science, math, or a related field, and some roles may also require a graduate degree.

Schedule: If you do this as a freelancer, you have the freedom to set your own schedule as long as you meet your client’s deadlines.

Potential earnings: $33+ per hour.

Why it’s good for grad students: This is a great fit for math and computer science grad students. Data analysis is a very useful (and rapidly growing) field, and in addition to leaning on skills you’ve probably already developed, it’s a very good resume booster for after you earn your degree.

Responsibilities: You’ll be responsible for writing or editing articles or other types of content. This may involve a research component.

Requirements: Excellent writing and editing skills, attention to detail, and the ability to manage your time effectively.

Schedule: As with most freelance gigs, you can work entirely on your own schedule.

Potential earnings: Depending on your experience, you could earn between $20 and $30 an hour when you first start out as a freelance writer and $25 to $35 as an editor. However, freelance writers and editors often get paid per word rather than per hour.

Here’s a breakdown of what you can expect to earn if you choose to go this route:

Why it’s good for grad students: Becoming a freelance writer or editor gives you the chance to put the writing and critical thinking skills you’ve developed during your studies to good use. This side hustle is also very accommodating of busy course schedules.

Responsibilities: You’ll arrange shoots, take photos, and edit them before presenting them to your clients.

Requirements: As well as photography and editing skills, you’ll need to have a camera, other equipment (such as a tripod), and editing software.

Schedule: You can build your schedule around your university commitments.

Potential earnings: Varies by experience level and location, but often $40 to $50 per hour.

Why it’s good for grad students: Photography is a very diverse field—there are a lot of ways to make money as a photographer, and you can choose whichever ones you’re interested in.

This is particularly suitable for students in creative fields who are looking to build their portfolios while still in school. (These fields aren’t limited to the visual arts—a strong photography portfolio can also benefit you if you aspire to become an architect or interior designer.)

Responsibilities: Virtual assistants (VAs) help individuals or businesses with administrative tasks, which may include (but aren’t limited to):

• Scheduling appointments
• Bookkeeping
• Answering phone calls and emails
• Preparing presentations
• Making travel arrangements
• Light research

Requirements: You don’t need any formal qualifications to become a virtual assistant, but you’ll need good communication and organizational skills, and some employers may ask for relevant work experience.

Schedule: You’ll generally work on a part-time basis but will probably have to match your client’s schedule, so you won’t have full control over your hours.

Potential earnings: On average, virtual assistants earn between $20 and $25 per hour.

Why it’s good for grad students: This is a gig you’ll generally be able to fit around your coursework and other commitments, and it’s one that you’re almost certainly qualified to do. If you’ve served as a TA or lab assistant for one of your professors, you may already be familiar with some of the admin tasks you’ll have to perform as a VA.

Responsibilities: Content creation is a very broad umbrella term that encompasses blogging, podcasting, vlogging (e.g., YouTubing or posting on TikTok), and many other forms of expression. As a creator, you’ll have to:

• Create and publish compelling content on your chosen platform
• Share and market it so that it takes off
• Monetize your content with ads, sponsorship deals, affiliate links, and other strategies

Requirements: This isn’t a traditional job and doesn’t have any formal requirements, but you’ll need to be skilled in your chosen medium, creative, and highly motivated. You’ll also need a good idea for your blog, channel, account, or podcast.

Schedule: You can create content on whatever schedule you like.

Potential earnings: Varies extremely widely depending on how popular your content is.

Why it’s good for grad students: You can create content about whatever you like: your hobbies, your major, or anything else you know a lot about. As a grad student, you probably have a broad array of knowledge you can share (and experience writing about it), so if you’re short of ideas, that’s a good place to start.

If you create content about something that’s related to your field, it could even position you as an expert and further your career.

Responsibilities: You’ll be responsible for managing an individual or business’s social media accounts. This may entail:

• Creating, scheduling, and posting content
• Responding to messages and comments
• Monitoring engagement (e.g., click-through rates and other metrics)
• Creating a content strategy

Requirements: Many clients and employers will want to see relevant work experience to prove that you can do this job. If you’re studying marketing (or a related field) at the graduate level, a portfolio of your schoolwork might be enough.

Schedule: This is often a remote role, and since you can schedule posts in advance, you’ll probably have some freedom to choose your hours, although you may need to be available at certain times to meet with your client or employer.

Potential earnings: $20 to $30 per hour.

Why it’s good for grad students: This is an excellent side hustle for graduate students studying business, marketing, communication, or anything in a creative field. It’s also flexible and can be done remotely.

Responsibilities: This role involves translating written documents as accurately as possible. It may involve researching terminology and adding explanatory notes.

Requirements: As you’d expect, you must be proficient in at least two languages. It helps to be a skilled writer and communicator in your target language (the one you’ll translate into).

Schedule: If you pursue this job on a freelance basis, you’ll be free to set your own hours.

Potential earnings: Between $25 and $30 per hour.

Why it’s good for grad students: If you’re an international student or you speak a second language, this is a great chance to put that skill to good use, all while working from home during your free time.

Responsibilities: This involves watching someone’s children, pets, or home while they’re away. Your exact duties will depend on exactly what (or who!) you’re looking after, but, as you’d expect, your foremost responsibility will be to keep them safe. Depending on the gig, you might or might not be expected to stay overnight.

Requirements: It’s possible to do any of these three hustles without formal credentials, but many gig apps that people use to find work (particularly babysitting and pet-sitting apps) will require you to undergo a background check. In some cases, for babysitting roles, you may need CPR training as well.

To learn more about this, you can explore our other resources on how to become a babysitter, become a pet sitter, or get started as a house sitter.

Schedule: You’re free to choose gigs that fit your study schedule.

Potential earnings: Rates for these gigs vary, but the table below shows rough averages:

Why it’s good for grad students: This is a classic “student” side hustle. Much of the time, the work won’t require your full attention, so you’ll be able to bring your textbooks (or your laptop, if you want to work on your thesis) and spend your time productively.

Responsibilities: This side hustle is simple: you drive a person, package, or meal from point A to point B. Most gig workers who do this use one or more of the rideshare or delivery driving apps on the market, such as Uber, Instacart, or DoorDash.

Requirements: Generally, for any kind of driving gig, you’ll need:

• Driver’s license
• Vehicle (if you drive for a gig app, they may let you rent one)
• Auto insurance
• Background check
• Vehicle inspection (on most apps)

You’ll also probably have to meet certain age requirements (e.g., being at least 21 years old). These vary by state.

Schedule: You can drive on your own schedule. Whenever you’re free, you can log on to the app and pick up a passenger or order, and you don’t have to keep working one second longer than you want to.

Potential earnings: Delivery drivers earn around $20 per hour on average; rideshare drivers earn slightly more (often around $25).

Why it’s good for grad students: This is a gig that virtually anyone can do, and it can accommodate any schedule. If you’d like, you can combine it with your study time by listening to a podcast or an audio lecture, although if you’d rather disconnect by listening to a podcast or music, that’s fine, too.

Responsibilities: You can earn money by designing and selling products, including stationery, notebooks, stickers, calendars, t-shirts, mugs, and more. If something can feature a design, you can make money off of it.

You can either sell your products as digital “printables” that people can print out on their own, or work with a “print-on-demand” company that will handle manufacturing and shipping for you.

Requirements: To make products that people will want to buy, you’ll need graphic design skills, with some marketing knowledge being a big help.

You’ll also need an account on an appropriate marketplace:

• Printables: You have several options, but many people get started by selling printables on Etsy, which is the most popular platform for all sorts of DIY products, both physical and digital.
• Print-on-demand: Redbubble and Printful are two of the biggest print-on-demand platforms. Teespring is another (and, despite the name, it doesn’t exclusively focus on t-shirts).

Schedule: You can create and promote products on your own time, whenever your study schedule allows.

Potential earnings: Widely varies depending on how popular your products are and how effectively you market them.

Why it’s good for grad students: This one is for the marketing and art students out there. If you’re not much of a designer yourself, you can also partner with a classmate—few things would be more formidable in the world of e-commerce than an art student and MBA team-up.

Responsibilities: This gig involves doing light maintenance tasks and repair work, such as:

• Assembling furniture
• Mounting TVs
• Helping people move
• Cleaning pools
• Mowing lawns

You can use gig apps like TaskRabbit and Thumbtack to find work.

Requirements: Some states require licensure to perform handyman tasks (and not all tasks are created equal here; the requirements may depend on the size or precise nature of the work, e.g., whether it’s plumbing, electrical rewiring, etc.) Check your local regulations before accepting your first job.

Schedule: If you land your gigs through an app, you’re free to set your schedule.

Potential earnings: Often between $20 and $60 per hour.

Why it’s good for grad students: If you spend most of your day quietly studying or working, this is a great way to blow off steam and get a little exercise. Moreover, if you’re studying something in STEM that has a certain amount of crossover with construction work or the trades (such as engineering or architecture), being a handyman may actually synergize with the skills you’ve learned in your academic career.

As mentioned, most grad students are busy. You’ll need to figure out how to balance your studies with your side hustle. Here are a few tips to help you make the most of your working time without sacrificing your sanity:

• Practice responsible time management: Create a schedule and stick to it. Include all your classes and study periods, your side hustle, your basic needs, and some time for socializing and having fun. You can use productivity tools like Google Calendar and Notion to help you manage your time more efficiently.
• Set realistic goals: You can’t do everything all at once. Set short-term and long-term goals for yourself. Break your commitments and responsibilities down into manageable tasks that you can deal with on a daily or weekly basis.
• Prioritize your academics: As soon as you know the deadlines for your assignments and the dates for your exams, mark them down in your calendar so they don’t catch you by surprise. Don’t shortchange them; the key word in “side hustle” is “side.” Your studies should be your main priority.

Throughout all of this, make sure to practice self-care. For a side hustle to be successful, it needs to be sustainable, and burnout is always a danger in grad school, even when you’re not juggling multiple commitments.

Allow yourself enough breaks (and time for your friends and hobbies) to make sure you recharge. That way, you can give both your coursework and your side hustle the energy they deserve.