11 Best Side Hustles for Social Workers

Earning potential: $70–$200 per hour

What it is and how it works: Life coaches help individuals set and achieve personal or professional goals.

While some people elect to become general life coaches, others specialize in various niches. Here are a few different types of life coaches:

• Mental health coach
• Marriage coach
• Career coach
• Financial coach
• Health and wellness coach
• Spiritual coach

Why you should do it: There’s a fair amount of overlap between life coaches and social workers. Both professions attract compassionate people who have a deep understanding of human behavior and excel at helping others navigate challenges.

How to get started: Although you don’t need to be certified to become a life coach, obtaining formal credentials can help you develop your coaching skills and give you a boost when it comes to finding clients. Be sure your certification is accredited by a reputable organization, such as the International Coaching Federation (ICF).

If you’re starting your own coaching business, you’ll need to learn how to promote yourself. A crucial part of this process is establishing a strong online presence and a clear brand identity. Build a website, and look into how to effectively advertise on social media.

Earning potential: Varies

What it is and how it works: Therapists are licensed professionals who help individuals understand themselves and each other. As a therapist, you’ll often have to develop specific treatment plans for your clients and teach them how best to handle their problems.

To properly assess your clients and make progress, it’s crucial to create a safe space in which they feel comfortable enough to open up to you. You’ll usually hold multiple sessions with the same client over a long period of time, instead of just seeing them once or twice.

Like life coaches, therapists often specialize. You can choose to focus on:

• Marriage therapy
• Family therapy
• Child therapy
• Behavior therapy
• Addiction therapy
• Trauma therapy

Why it suits social workers: Becoming a therapist is by no means a walk in the park. The job requires much more coursework and training than any other job on this list.

However, it’s also a highly rewarding career that gives you the opportunity to improve other people’s lives. Being a trained therapist who’s knowledgeable about human psychology will also give you an enormous leg up in your career as a social worker.

How to get started: To become a therapist, you’ll usually need at least a master’s degree in a relevant field, such as psychology, counseling, or social work (which means you may already hold the necessary degree). You’ll also have to pass a licensure exam to practice legally.

Earning potential: $100+ per hour

What it is and how it works: You can offer consulting services to companies who need professional advice about the field of social work (e.g., help developing programs or policy analysis).

Your responsibilities will include conducting assessments of your client’s projects. You’ll assess whether they have any significant problems they need to address, and if they do, come up with a plan for how to fix them.

Why it suits social workers: Your expansive knowledge of social work theory, research, and practice will come in handy as a consultant in this field.

What’s more, being a consultant can be a fairly lucrative side hustle. If this gig takes off, your earnings may eventually outstrip your primary salary.

Consulting also allows you to create a positive social impact by helping people solve complex issues and promote social justice.

How to get started: There aren’t any hard requirements to become a consultant, but having a degree in social work and a fair amount of experience will make you a more competitive candidate for the job. This side hustle is generally suited to mid- and late-career social workers, not beginners.

Tap into your personal and professional network to find clients. It’s a good idea to create a website to promote your services. You can also look for job opportunities on consulting marketplaces like Catalant and Zintro.

Earning potential: Varies widely (anywhere between $25 and $200 per hour)

What it is and how it works: Focus groups are a type of market research tool that companies use to improve their products, services, or strategies.

Focus group participants take part in group interviews to give feedback to the company. These can be conducted in person or online. You won’t qualify for all types of focus groups; factors like your age, gender, and field of expertise will all affect your eligibility.

Why it suits social workers: As a focus group participant, you can lend your expertise to social science researchers working in areas you care about. Each job will usually only last a few hours and won’t require a long-term commitment.

How to get started: Search online for focus groups that you’re eligible for. Start by checking out this list of focus group sites to see if it has any you’re interested in.

Earning potential: Varies, generally $15+ per hour

What it is and how it works: Also known as inspirational speakers, motivational speakers give talks at various types of events, including:

• School graduations and other on-campus events
• Charity fundraisers
• Business conferences
• Self-development workshops
• Corporate and nonprofit team-building retreats

As a speaker, you’ll usually talk about something you’re an expert in, such as health, finance, or relationships. For instance, if you’re a foster care social worker, you can give speeches about child welfare to foster parents, child welfare advocates, and other social workers.

Why it suits social workers: Giving motivational speeches on social topics lets you draw upon your expertise, passion, and commitment to your profession. Moreover, you can educate the public about the issues you care about.

How to get started: There aren’t any formal education requirements to become a motivational speaker, but you can undergo training in public speaking if you need it. (You might not—some people find that they’re able to get comfortable with it on their own.)

To attract clients, promote your services online by posting on social media and creating a website. You should also create a demo video to send to clients when you apply for gigs.

Remember to research your target audience. For instance, depending on your specialty, you may want to pitch to social worker conferences, mental health conferences, or juvenile justice conferences.

Earning potential: $20 per hour

What it is and how it works: You’ll answer calls from distressed individuals and help them deal with their crises. Your responsibilities will include assessing and documenting their situations, calming them down, offering resources, and developing safety plans.

This can be a fulfilling job, but it isn’t one for the faint-hearted. Your callers may be experiencing something extremely traumatic, such as a mental breakdown, domestic violence, or sexual assault. It’s absolutely critical to remain level-headed throughout each call despite it all.

Note that your exact title may depend on the hotline, your precise role, and your expertise. For instance, you may be a peer support specialist, crisis counselor, crisis line responder, or something else.

Some hotlines may allow you to work remotely from home, while others will require you to go into an office.

Why it suits social workers: Social workers are trained to deal with different crises, making them ideal candidates for this job. They possess highly relevant skills, such as effective communication, critical thinking, active listening, and an understanding of how to create safe spaces.

How to get started: Crisis lines often hire volunteers, but there are organizations that pay as well, especially if the position requires you to be a licensed professional (e.g., an LPC, LMSW, or LCPC). Your employer may give you additional training before you start your job.

Here are several organizations that offer paid positions:

• Protocall Services
• Crisis Text Line
• Empathy
• Crisis Services
• Lines for Life

Earning potential: $30–$100 per hour

What it is and how it works: Grant writers help organizations create and submit proposals to secure financial support. There will often be multiple documents you’ll need to prepare, including a cover letter, a project proposal, and letters of recommendation.

You’ll need to research the grant’s specifications and write a proposal that explains your client’s objectives and tells a compelling story. Depending on your availability and preferences, you can work part-time for an organization or as a freelancer.

Why it suits social workers: Social workers often receive public funding, and you may already have experience writing and submitting grants, making you a natural fit for this job.

If you like, can specialize in writing proposals for organizations in your field whose missions you agree with. This way, you can get paid to help causes you’re passionate about.

How to get started: As with any other type of writing job, you need to create a strong digital portfolio that showcases your writing and research skills. Of course, if you have prior grant writing experience, be sure to add those pieces to your portfolio.

Earning potential: Varies depending on the type of teaching you do

What it is and how it works: As someone who’s walked the walk, you can tutor social work students and help them prepare for licensing exams. This can be done either online or in person.

If you have a PhD or a master’s in social work, you can consider teaching part-time at a college or university. If you don’t have a graduate degree but are still interested in post-secondary education, look into local community colleges; some of them might still be willing to take you on.

You can also create online courses, which allow you to scale your business in a way that teaching in a school setting doesn’t. This is a good way to earn passive income as a social worker, since you don’t have to actively administer the course after you put it online. You’ll need to do a little work to market it, but otherwise, you can sit back and let the money roll in.

Why it suits social workers: Like teachers, social workers are generally empathetic and patient, making a sidestep into teaching a natural move. If you can teach in your field, that’s even better.

How to get started: Once you’ve decided how to teach (e.g., tutoring online, creating courses, or trying to become a professor), research whether there are any qualifications you’ll need to meet for the position. If you’re unsure of your teaching skills, consider undergoing additional training or obtaining a teaching certificate.

Earning potential: $10–30 per hour

What it is and how it works: Your main responsibility will be to ensure the safety, comfort, and general well-being of infants, children, or pets while their guardians or owners are away.

Your exact duties will vary depending on who’s under your care. For instance, infants may require bottle-feeding, school-age children may need help with their homework, and pets may require grooming.

Why it suits social workers: Social workers are trained to provide quality care to those who need special attention. Particularly if your work involves children, your compassion and experience will probably make you an above-average caregiver.

How to get started: You don’t need any formal education to begin babysitting and pet sitting, but you should obtain a pediatric CPR certification or a pet CPR certification, just in case anything goes wrong and you need to act quickly in an emergency. You may have to undergo a background check, which, if you’re a social worker, will probably be a cinch.

Finding work will also be relatively easy. There are plenty of apps for pet sitters to find gigs on, including:

• Rover
• Wag!
• Meowtel
• Fetch! Pet Care

Likewise, there are many babysitting apps and sites:

• UrbanSitter
• Sittercity
• Bambino
• Care.com

Often, you can take clients who want to work with you regularly off the platform once you’ve built mutual trust. This way, you won’t need to pay the app a commission on each job.

Earning potential: $15–$25 per hour

What it is and how it works: Virtual assistants handle administrative tasks remotely, with the goal of helping their clients’ days flow more smoothly.

Common tasks include taking calls, responding to emails and texts, managing calendars, maintaining client databases, and making appointments.

Why it suits social workers: As a social worker, you’re probably very familiar with paperwork (possibly far more familiar than you’d like). You’ve also been trained to pay attention to detail and solve last-minute problems. This experience will work in your favor as a virtual assistant, allowing you to handle your responsibilities without getting flustered.

This role also often comes with a flexible schedule and allows you to work remotely from anywhere you want. You won’t need to worry about your side hustle clashing with your commitments at your primary job.

How to get started: You can become a virtual assistant without any formal training or education. However, you should have good communication skills and be relatively tech-savvy, since you might need to pick up new software suites for your clients.

Before applying for jobs, think about whether there are any specialties that particularly interest you. For example, you may enjoy data entry more than taking phone calls and sending emails. Knowing your preferences will help you narrow down your options during your job hunt.

To land your first few clients, look for jobs on online job platforms. You can gradually build your reputation from there. Start by browsing:

• Randstad
• Time etc.
• Virtual Employee
• Fiverr
• Upwork
• Freelancer

Earning potential: Widely varies depending on the popularity of your content

What it is and how it works: As you probably know, social media influencers post content on online platforms, often in a particular niche. To succeed, they need to create engaging (and shareable!) content, as well as engage with their audience to build a large and loyal following.

Why it suits social workers: It’s notoriously difficult to become a huge social media influencer, but this gig has a very low barrier to entry. Virtually anyone can take a shot at it, no matter their experience and background.

As a social worker, you have an advantage here, because your work touches on areas that a lot of people care about (vulnerable people, social justice issues, etc.). There’s also a good chance you’ve accumulated interesting stories that you can tell on camera (for TikTok or YouTube) or on a blog.

Arguably one of the greatest benefits of social media is that it enables you to reach a broad audience. Regardless of how profitable your channels are, you’ll be able to make a positive impact by educating the public and raising awareness about overlooked social problems.

How to get started: Pick your main platform depending on the type of content you like to create. For example, if you enjoy making long, in-depth videos, you can primarily focus on building a YouTube channel. If you prefer shorter video content, consider TikTok, and if you think you come across better via text, start a blog.

Choose a niche that you’re passionate about and do competitor research to understand the type of content that’s in demand. It’s important to have a content strategy, although don’t overthink it; the first and most important step is to just start creating. You’ll gradually figure out what works for you and what doesn’t along the way.