10 High-Paying Side Hustles for 9-5 Workers (2024)

If you work a 9-5 job and are looking for ways to build generational wealth on the side —you’ve come to the right place.

But first, you have to stop telling yourself that you don’t have time.

Think about it like this —9-5 PM belongs to your employer.

And 5-9 PM belongs to you. Use your offline hours wisely.

Opportunities for high-paying side hustles for 9-5 workers are everywhere.

Especially nowadays with increased living costs, stagnant wages, and inflation.

This article will take you through 10 high-paying side hustles for 9-5 workers.

And why you should consider picking up a side hustle.

Why Should I Learn a Side Hustle?

Learning a side hustle can help increase your earning potential and put more money in your bank account.

After paying your rent or mortgage, and taking care of the other basic necessities, you may feel like there’s not much left over at the end of the month.

However, taking on a second job can give you some breathing room to relax finance-wise and you’ll even be able to afford a little bit of fun.

What are the Benefits of a Side Hustle?

If you want more money to travel, eat out, shop, and treat yourself, you deserve it.

By getting a second job, not only will you be lining your pockets with extra dollar bills, you will reap many other benefits as well.

Besides making more money, some of the top benefits for a side hustle are:

1. You’ll spend even less since you’ll be working more.

2. Learn a new skill

3. Grow your network

4. Connect with your community

5. Grow your income and savings

10 High-Paying Side Hustles for 9-5 Workers

1. Freelancing

Freelancers are people who rather than being employed by a company, just work for themselves.

They hustle to find gigs or contracts on a project basis instead of a set amount of hours.

There are many different freelance sites you can list your services on and you can do a variety of things.

Some of the most common services offered by freelancers are; graphic design, copywriting, editors, web developers, and virtual assistants.

However, the market is expanding rapidly and many others offer course creation, business consulting, fitness coaching, and more.

You have tons of options if you decide to become a freelancer and also this job comes with a lot of time flexibility.

You can work on your projects on your clock, no one else’s.

2. Pet Sitting

If you are lucky enough to have a 9-5 job that allows you to work remotely, getting into pet sitting is a great option.

Well, only if you love animals it is. If you are working from home, you can sign up for pet-sitting sites online such as Rover, and multi-task your jobs.

While you will have to take breaks from work to play and feed the pups, this is one of the high-paying side hustles for 9-5 workers.

Being around animals has been shown to decrease your cortisol levels and lower blood pressure.

Animals also help to reduce loneliness and boost your mood. If you are unable to watch animals in your home, you can still sign up to become a dog walker.

3. Food Delivery

There are so many ways to make money now just by bringing people their food or groceries.

You can become a shopper who grabs people’s groceries and brings them to their houses or drives for a food delivery app.

Either one of these options allows you time flexibility to work as much or as little as you, please.

You will get paid by the delivery employer and you will most likely make tips which is a great perk of the job.

4. YouTuber

So many people are making money right now off YouTube.

If you are not shy and feel like you have something to talk about, share or teach the world, you should start making videos.

YouTube is a great way to make extra money because once the videos are up and you are getting traction and enough subscribers, you will have recurring money rolling into your account from old videos. It will take some time but once you’ve put in that time and effort, you can start to earn thousands per month.

This is probably one of the potentially highest-paying side hustles you can start. It just needs to be given some thought and done correctly.

5. Driver

Another car-based side hustle is becoming a driver for a transportation company such as Uber or Lyft.

If you are out running errands or just have a few hours to kill and want to make some easy money, you can drive people around.

Out of all the side hustles for 9-5workers, this is a great option because it allows you to cater to your schedule.

6. Blogging

Blogging is another high-profit side hustle that is a low startup and very easy to get into.

There are a ton of YouTube videos and how-to guides on this and it’s simple to teach yourself.

By picking and writing about a niche you’re into like travel, food, beauty, and cars, you can build a great blog site.

As more internet traffic finds you, you can monetize your blog with ads and affiliate programs.

7. Coaching

Do you have an expertise that people are constantly coming to you for?

Think about the skills you’re using in your 9-5 job. Can you offer potential clients any of these skills as a coaching service?

And cut out the middle man…Your employer.

Today one on one coaching is booming across all industries. Consider becoming a coach to monetize your special skills.

Coaching is without a doubt a high-paying side hustle you can do as a 9-5 worker.

8. Social Media Manager

Do you spend a lot of time on social media? Why not get paid for it?

Social media managers handle the accounts of companies and business owners.

They consult with their clients on ways to grow their business and attract new customers online.

While running marketing campaigns on social media platforms.

This could be an easy side hustle if you’re highly skilled in digital marketing and have a great online presence.

9. Online Tutoring

If you have special knowledge in a certain field and enjoy teaching, online tutoring could be a good path to extra income.

Online tutoring allows you the flexibility to teach according to your availability.

To get started, there are many tutoring platforms where you can offer your services.

Plus, tutoring can be a very lucrative side hustle depending on the topic.

10. E-commerce

We couldn’t finish this list of high-paying side hustles for 9-5 workers without mentioning e-commerce.

Simply put, e-commerce is buying or selling products or services online.

Consider all the products you purchase online. Can you possibly sell them yourself?

The best part of this side hustle is that getting started couldn’t be easier.

With sites like Amazon, Etsy and eBay, you don’t even need a website to sell online.

How to Turn Your Side Hustle Into a Full-Time Career?

If your goal is to have your side hustle become your main hustle, I have total faith that you can do this.

The world is full of endless opportunities right now, especially online and if you just put in the time and effort, you can build up something great.

So many people are crushing it out there online and in real-life side hustles, there are zero reasons why you can’t be doing the same.

Many side hustles for 9-5 workers that are out there today are adaptable jobs that can work around your existing schedule.

Make sure you’re not burning yourself out and over-committing, and you will be just fine with whatever side hustle you choose to do.

As always, NetWerk® is here to support your journey. Be sure to subscribe for access to our Free Career Center!

Over to You

How have you been making money outside of your 9-5 job? Let us know in the comments section on our social @netwerkmovement.

Share this with a friend who’s looking to fire up a side hustle of their own!