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The Most Popular Part Time Jobs From Home in 2022
Day job. Side hustle. Survival job. No matter what you call it, pretty much every actor is going to need this at one time or another, and maybe many times over the course of your career. It’s that thing that you do that keeps the lights on, allows you to still eat and live in-doors… and of course pay for all of those expensive headshots and acting classes, while you pursue your dream career.
Almost everyone I know in the business has spent time waiting tables, bartending, supply teaching, or working a 9-to-5 job that made auditioning a real challenge. All of these choices are sane, valid, and often times necessary.
And most actors I know, yours truly included, have ended up doing some compilation of part times gigs. It hardly ever feels fun or even remotely supportive in any way, and usually leaves you frantic, exhausted and still struggling to pay the bills even when you are juggling three ‘side gigs’ with no days off.
Over the last decade, the employment landscape has radically changed. As a society we’re moving more and more towards a gig economy. There are a far greater number of viable options for actors (or anyone) who wants to make decent money, live a quasi normal life and have a somewhat flexible schedule. All this plus having the creative energy left at the end of the day to invest in passion pursuits, whether that’s an acting or other artistic career, raising a family or maybe even a deep dive into your yoga practice.
Today, actors have more opportunities than ever when comes to making extra, or even steady cash. And yes, I’ve read all the articles touting online surveys, that never tell your you’re going to have complete hundreds of them to make even $5, or watching a seemingly endless stream of random videos for less than 1¢ each. Yes, really. No, that’s not a typo. And don’t worry, that’s not even close to what I’m suggesting. I’m talking about real money and practical options, where you can make a decent living, keep your dignity in tact and maybe even live a little on the road to stardom. Most of these jobs can be done either full time or part time, you get to work from home, and best of all, you get to decide on what terms you make money.
So here are some of the most in-demand, part time jobs that you can do from home in 2020. And yes, most of them you can literally do from bed or your sofa.
1. Become a Virtual Assistant (VA)
Virtual Assistant jobs have taken off because so many other people are working from home with online businesses and they truly need the help! VA’s as they’re called or GVA’s – General Virtual Assistants, may take on any number of tasks, and I’m sure you must be good at at least a few of these.
- Email Management / Filtering
- Booking appointments with clients
- Following up with clients/customers (sending thank you and other reminder emails)
- Receptionist duties (answering or responding to occasional phone calls)
- File Management (organizing files using Dropbox, OneDrive etc)
- Database Management, especially updating email contacts or other contact lists in CRM
- Preparing Slideshows / Powerpoint Presentations
- Setting-up or maintaining Social Media Accounts (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Youtube)
- Publish WordPress blog posts or other content that has been provided
- Managing a WordPress blog including filtering and replying to comments or other general maintenance (obviously basic WordPress proficiency is needed for this)
- Transcription – if you’re a super fast typist, and hint: many musicians are! (it’s a manual dexterity thing) Why not transcribe videos, podcasts, tele-seminars or any other audio or video content being used by online marketers.
- Answering support tickets for a larger online web business with the use of Zendesk
Bonus: there are a number of online agencies for VA’s. There are 16 listed here, but of course be sure to do your own research as well
NOTE: GVA’s generally don’t handle tasks that would be taken care of by other types of virtual staff, such as web development and programming, graphic design, video and audio editing, content writing and SEO tasks.
2. Manage Social Media for Small Businesses
Maybe you already have some experience as a Virtual Assistant and are ready to take it to step it up a notch. Or maybe you are just killer good and crazy about Social Media…. people are willing to pay for this!
Lots of times people start off as a VA and expand into to being a dedicated Social Media Manager. As their clients’ business expands, so does the need for consistent social media content and the need to keep with social media trends.
Social Media managers usually manage most, if not all of their clients’ social media accounts, and may even tie in with other online marketing such as email marketing, SEO Writing or Blog Planning.
When starting out you can offer the basics, such as social media posting and scheduling. Once you have a little more experience, add on more tasks and tier your prices accordingly.
Look around at your local neighborhood coffee shops, restaurants, boutiques, and other small businesses to see whose social media needs a heaping dose of TLC. This is particularly common with older business owners or anyone who started their business before social media was such an important part of online marketing. You can come up with social media packages that can be as simple as teaching them how to use it, to as hands-on as completely running the platform for them. Then pitch these packages to the local small businesses around you!
Before searching for jobs as a SMM, do a little bit of research and see how the pricing is structured. Consider creating a couple of tiered packages with monthly pricing. This way, you’ll have a steady flow of income and know exactly how much money you can expect to make each month. And of course, figure out payment terms and how you’re going to work that as well.
Bonus: If you get super busy with your Social Media Management side hustle, start outsourcing to other VAs who can help you with the bulk of the work.
3. Offer Consulting Services
Are you skilled or have experience in any particular area? Why not offer Consulting Services? Maybe you’re really good at online marketing, or influencer marketing; consider giving advice and developing strategies on how a particular business can do this instead of doing the actual work for the clients.
You go in and offer ideas and inspiration, point out their strengths and their weak spots and as a higher tier of service, lay out a detailed plan. The clients take the info and run with it, and are the ones responsible for all of the implementation and content creation. I did this with a doctor friend of mine and she ended up getting a TV spot just a couple of months later…. and I was well compensated!
4. Put Your Photoshop and Canva Skills to Work as a Graphic Designer
If you are really good at graphic design, and many creatives are, consider using this talent for something other than your own promo materials or online content. Again, this is something you can pitch to small, local businesses, and most of them will probably be grateful for the help.
Use tools like Photoshop, Canva, Adobe Spark and PicMonkey to create the materials needed for the jobs you get. You could also create your own specific designs and sell them online through sites such as Etsy or Creative Market that already have millions of daily buyers. Graphic design materials are in high demand by bloggers, influencers and other digital marketers. Whether it be stock photos, info-graphics, blank workbooks, document templates or social media templates, the possibilities are endless.
5. Read, Check and Correct as a Proofreader
Do you have a sharp eye for detail and a passion for grammar and spell checking? Okay, not everyone does, but many aspiring writers do! And there are so many little things that automatic Spellcheck misses and just doesn’t catch. Proof reading is a great way to put those exceptional skills to work and earn an income from doing it.
Being a proofreader doesn’t require any special skills to get started and yes, it can be learned and self-taught pretty quickly! Like other things I’ve mentioned there are a number of online agencies that hire for this or provide job postings. And the best part of this is…. that you can do it right from the comfort of your home. Yes, even your bed or sofa.
6. Track Other People’s Money as a Virtual Bookkeeper
Got a thing for money and numbers? Are you freakishly organized? Do you possess even basic accounting skills? Put those A-Type qualities to use as a side hustle. There are a lot of small businesses and e-commerce retailers that need help with the basics of their accounting. Even counsellors, therapists, life coaches and other online consultants have to track the sales and receipts, and many don’t have the time or inclination to do this.
Bookkeepers generally don’t require the same level of training as an accountant, but you should be good with basic financial software and spreadsheets.
7. Be a Customer Service Representative
Not feeling terribly entrepreneurial? Or just don’t have the extra energy to chase down jobs? I get it! Customer service is a field where more and more companies are hiring people to work from home. Courier companies, car rental agencies and travel services do this frequently,
Check out agencies like LiveOps which will pair you with companies that allow their customer service reps to work remotely.
8. Try Copywriting or Freelance Writing
Everybody seems to need content these days! With the rise of blogs as the new answer to online magazines, content marketing and copywriting is in high demand. This may surprise you, but many businesses and bloggers don’t actually write their own content. They simply don’t have the time to do this, so they frequently hire ‘ghost writers’ to churn out a steady stream of articles and blog posts.
Most blogs and businesses like to use the same copywriters every month to keep all of the materials in the same voice, so this can be a great gig for a steady income as a freelance writer.
9. Teach Something Online
Yes, this is a real thing and it is on the rise! Are you an awesome guitar player? Have you had musical theatre or singing training? Maybe you speak Spanish? These are all things that you can teach online. There are several companies out there that offer video platforms / classrooms, and handle the marketing and payment, you just have to list your services. One of my favs is Lessons.com but do your research for a few more.
Some other popular online lessons are piano lessons, violin lessons … or any other musical instrument or language. I’ve even seen cooking and sewing lessons offered online. Get creative! I’m sure there is some special skill you have that someone else would really like to know.
10. List Your Teaching Services Online
Okay, not everything can be taught online, but you can use a number of these platforms to list your services as well. Some of the popular lessons I’ve seen offered are:
- Golf Lessons
- Tennis Lessons
- Baseball Training
- Dance Lessons
- Private Yoga Instruction
- Personal Trainer
- Painting Lessons
- Self Defense Training
Of course you can work with adults, but a lot of people are specifically looking for private lessons for their kids or even a group of parents who’d like their kids to learn together.
11. Become an Online Language Tutor and/or Conversation Partner
This is one that I really love for actors, who often love to talk and connect with people and who tend to have great language skills. There are people all over the world, and I mean LOTS of people, who are eager to learn English or even practice speaking English with a native English speaker. This is a very cool way to connect with people of different cultures from all over the planet.
Again, you can check out websites like iTalki.com Wyzant.com or Preply.com who will pair you with people across the globe who want to learn English strictly online. And if you speak other languages fluently too, all the better.
12. Test Websites and Give Feedback
Yes, big companies don’t go randomly launching new platforms. After careful design, websites often go through several phases of testing before going live, or even just after. Why not click through websites and get paid for it?
Some of the companies that do this are UserTesting, UserAnalytics and UserBrain. Sign up for an account with each of them and yes, one more way you can earn extra cash from your sofa.
Earning A Regular Income Every Month
Remember, the key to earning a consistent income every month is by being consistent in your efforts and having retainer packages with clients whenever you can. Try to avoid the single, hourly paid jobs because you are always chasing the next one, and it’s tough to gauge how much work you will actually get week to week. Also, individual or low paying clients can be a little more hands-on and difficult to deal with.
These are 12 of the most popular side hustles and part time jobs that you can do from home in 2022. The added bonus is that they are also in high demand!
I hope you really enjoyed this post and are ready to ditch your survival job (replace the income first!) and kick things off with your side gig in 2022.
Would love for you to leave a comment below with which ones you think are the best for you?
And don’t forget to share this post with an actor friend who may need it too!
Hustle hustle! And always follow your dreams! xo Hunter
This post was originally published in January 2021 and has been rewritten and updated.
* Please Note: I am not an agent, manager, or casting director. I do not procure work for actors. All information, workshops and coaching are for educational purposes only and are not a guarantee or promise of employment. Thank you for being here!
