May 26, 2023
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Kari is a writer for SideHustles.com. She previously managed a website in the privacy and digital compliance industry and earned money on the side by working as a pet sitter for 7 years.
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TelehealthNursing is a hard job, and unfortunately, it doesn’t always pay the bills. Whether you’re paying off loans, dealing with the rising cost of living, or just trying to put some extra money away, you may find yourself needing to supplement your nursing income to meet your financial goals.
Luckily, your skills and experience as a nurse qualify you for a range of flexible and lucrative gigs. Here are the 15 best side hustles for nurses.
Average rates: $40–$49/hour
Telehealth is a booming industry that provides patients with remote medical consultations and provides healthcare workers the opportunity to work from home.
As a telehealth nurse, you’ll be communicating with patients over video call, phone call, or even text messaging.
You can look for contract telehealth work on sites like:
Average rates: $23/hour
CPR and first aid are very in-demand certifications that many professionals now need. This has created a market for CPR and first aid instructors to teach private classes and tutor individuals (or even teach entire workplaces) how to perform life-saving measures.
As a nurse, you’re already certified in these fields and can lend your knowledge to others. Be aware that some jobs will require a CPR and first aid instructor certification, while others are more lenient.
Average rates: $20–$30/hour
Hundreds of thousands of students are currently enrolled in nursing school, with enrollment numbers rising over the past few years. 1 With so many students, there’s a strong demand for tutors.
If you’re a registered nurse who’s already made it to the other side of nursing school, you’re uniquely qualified to help prospective nurses succeed in their studies. As a tutor (either in person or online), you’ll have a lot of control over your schedule, time commitment, and hourly rate.
Of course, if you have other in-demand skills (e.g., if you have a knack for math, science, or English), you can earn extra money tutoring students in them as well.
There are dozens of platforms that offer online tutoring jobs. To get started tutoring nursing students, look into:
Average rates: $10–$16/hour
Transfer the empathy and attentiveness you employ on the job to a supplemental line of work by acting as a caregiver.
There are multiple routes that caregivers can take, including:
You already have the necessary training to be a caregiver, and your nursing license and experience will make you a highly competitive candidate for any job in the industry. Choose a field of caregiving to pursue, then find freelance caregiver work on sites like Care, Matchwell, and CareLinx.
Average rates: $35–$40/hour
The consulting field is vast and varied. Almost every company and individual will find themselves in need of a consultant at one point or another.
Nurses have many avenues to pursue in consultancy, like the highly lucrative legal nurse consulting track. That line of work requires a special certification, but may be well worth the effort if you’re interested in acting as a liaison between medical and legal professionals.
On the other hand, if you aren’t interested in undergoing extra training, you can still provide highly sought-after consultancy on topics like sleep, diet, and even breastfeeding.
You can look for consulting jobs online or post your services on gig sites like Fiverr.
Average rates: $35–$65/hour
Doulas provide care and support before, during, and after the birthing process. This line of work doesn’t require a formal degree or training, but your nursing experience will make you particularly qualified to aid women in their labor, delivery, and postpartum period.
Unlike midwives, doulas do not provide medical care to mothers. Rather, they provide emotional and informational support.
As a doula, you’ll have some flexibility over your schedule, but only to an extent, as births are often unexpected events. While you can control how much work you take on, you can’t always control when that work needs you.
Average rates: $18–$20/hour
Being quick on the keyboard can land you a flexible gig as a transcriptionist. You can take on whatever types of transcription work you like, but many nurses take advantage of their education and experience by transcribing medical records.
Your knowledge of medical terminology and the healthcare industry will give you a leg up for this kind of work, which (along with legal transcription) usually commands higher rates than other types of transcription.
As a medical transcriptionist, you’ll listen to recordings of doctors, nurses, and other medical practitioners and convert the audio into a written document.
You can find work as a freelance transcriptionist through platforms like Upwork, Fiverr, Scribie, and TranscribeMe.
Average rates: $29/hour
If you have a camera and a subject you’re passionate about, you can start a YouTube channel to let your voice be heard around the world. YouTube content creation can earn you money through views, sponsorships, and ads, while allowing you to express your creativity.
You can create videos about anything under the sun, but your nursing experience could make a great basis for a channel.
Some nursing content ideas include:
Average rates: $20–$25/hour
If you have something to say but prefer not to be in front of a camera, starting your own blog is a great alternative to creating YouTube content. You can write about a topic that interests you or that you’re knowledgeable about, like:
Blog topics are limitless, so it’s just a matter of finding your niche. Once you know what to write about, you can easily host your blog on a platform like Squarespace, Wix, or Blogger.
Once you’ve built up a decent following, which will take a while (blogging is a competitive space), you can monetize your blog through affiliate deals and advertising.
Average rates: $25–$35/hour
Freelance writing is one of the most common side hustles. There’s huge demand for contract writers, the work is flexible enough to fit into any schedule, and the pay has great potential depending on your qualifications and writing skill.
Nurses have specialized knowledge and training that make them appealing to many websites and publications in need of healthcare expertise. You can look for nursing-specific writing gigs or general writing work on sites like:
Average rates: $30–$40/hour
Certified RNs and LPNs can administer flu shots and COVID-19 vaccinations outside of their usual workplace.
If you work with a pharmacy, immunization clinic, or local clinic, you can contract on an hourly or per diem basis to give individuals immunizations against viruses. You must have the proper certifications and training, and this work is often temporary and seasonal.
If you’re interested in administering immunizations on the side, you can seek out jobs on sites like Indeed and FlexJobs, or inquire at pharmacies and clinics in your area.
Average rates: $34–$42/hour
Take your nursing knowledge to the next level by imparting it onto others. Many online services—like Teachable and Udemy—are looking for online teachers to lead their own classes, or even just to create and sell courses (with no teaching required).
Creating a course includes:
If this sounds up your alley, look into creating a course in nursing (or something else you’re interested in and knowledgeable about).
Average rates: $15–$25/hour
If you’re passionate about helping people lead the lives they dream of, put your nursing skills to good use outside of your day job by being a health coach. Health coaching spans all disciplines of health, from weight loss to better sleep to fertility.
You can take up in-person health coaching work, or you can join the telemedicine industry as an online health coach.
Many people who become health coaches pursue certification, although it isn’t legally required. You can start by searching this list of health and wellness coaching certifications. After that, you’ll need to market yourself. You can:
Average rates: $25–$30/hour
Of course, you can always supplement your nursing work with more nursing work. This is arguably the simplest side hustle to get into (although by no means the easiest), since you don’t have to learn a new skill set.
Platforms like Clipboard Health allow you to pick up per diem shifts and make some extra dough in a way that fits with your schedule.
You can also train for a speciality of nursing that lends itself to supplementary work—like phlebotomy and IV infusion. These lines of work are specialized, but don’t need to be your full-time job, as many clinics and private facilities need part-time and contract nurses to draw blood and administer IV drips.
Average rates: $13–$25/hour
While side hustles that leverage your nursing skills and training can be very lucrative, there’s a world of opportunities outside of healthcare.
If you don’t feel like pulling shifts elsewhere after a long day of work, consider other ways you can make money from home, like selling crafts, virtual assisting, travel planning, or data entry.
If you’re willing to get out in the world for your second money stream, you can look into doing photography as a side hustle or walking dogs for money (a great way to get your exercise in if your shifts as a nurse leave you too tired to go to the gym).
These, along with so many other options, give you the flexibility to fit another line of revenue into your busy nursing schedule.
