5 Fall Side Hustles, Some of Which Can Pay $40 Per Hour – Or Even More

Gili Malinsky

More than 1 in 4 people with side hustles (27%) rely on that income to help cover basics like bills, according to a May DollarSprout survey of almost 700 adults. Fall offers plenty of opportunities for those looking to earn extra money, especially this year.

“I think the trends we’re going to see this fall will all be about providing services to working parents,” says Kathy Kristof, editor of Sidehusl.com, including tutoring and child care. “If you can provide that support, you’re likely to find plenty of work. And there’s a good chance that you’ll be able to get premium rates for your time, too.”

Here are five side hustles to consider picking up this fall.

Babysitting

With many schools electing to go remote again this fall, at least temporarily, many parents working full time will need someone to help take care of their kids throughout the day.

If babysitting seems like a viable choice for you, “there’s gonna have to be a certain degree of vetting that goes on,” Dr. David Hirschwerk, infectious diseases doctor at the North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, New York, told Grow. “I would want to know, in the household, has anybody recently been ill? And I think you’d want to know to what degree is that household practicing social distancing.”

Sitters nationwide can make anywhere from around $13 to $20 per hour, according to Care.com. Sign up to be a babysitter on sites like Care.com, Sittercity, and UrbanSitter.

Tutoring

Similarly, as the school year begins, parents may be looking for people who can help their kids improve in certain subjects or supplement school activities.

If you’re especially good at algebra, love writing essays, or have a vast knowledge of world history, for example, consider signing up to be a tutor on a site like Varsity Tutors. Varsity Tutors offers students hour-long virtual lessons in anything from calculus to German with tutors making between $15 and $40 per hour, according to SideHusl.

If you’re great at an instrument, consider offering lessons on platforms like Lessonface. Prices vary anywhere from $60 for four one-hour lessons to a group to $50 for a 30-minute lesson that’s one-on-one. Lessonface typically takes 15% of teachers’ earnings if students found them via the website and 4% if teachers recruited the students on their own.

Delivering groceries

With the pandemic ongoing and some experts warning of a second wave this fall, millions of American may continue to order groceries to be delivered to their homes rather than going to the supermarket themselves. Consider signing up to be a shopper for services like Instacart, which pays an average of $13 per hour, according to Glassdoor, or Shipt, which pays an average of $22 per hour, according to Indeed.

But given ongoing virus concerns, it’s important to make sure that in supermarkets and grocery stores, you can still “adhere to the principles of social distancing,” says Hirschwerk. Keep that six-foot distance from other people and wear a mask.

These rules apply for making the deliveries, too. Ask your employer what kind of contactless delivery system is in place to mitigate your risks. And make sure your employer has a break system in place to allow you to wash your hands frequently and to rest.

Taking notes for a class

If you happen to be taking an undergraduate-level college or university course this coming fall, you may be able to make some money off of it. Sites like StudySoup let you post materials like class notes and study guides for others to use, with the site paying $35 for every subscription your notes generate. You can also get paid $2 every time a current user or free trial user adds your notes to their library. 

For the best results in terms of profits, StudySoup recommends picking courses that draw in 50 or more students, have three or more exams, and include regular lectures.

Selling your stuff online

As long as you’re inside and social distancing, this fall might present a great opportunity to clean out your bedroom and sell whatever’s in good condition online. Apps like Poshmark offer great opportunities for selling used clothes and sites like Decluttr will buy your used electronics. Sites like Mercari and eBay are good for selling anything from baby toys to car parts.

In the last three years, college student Aleah Mazyck has made $41,000 selling used clothes online.