The “Side Hustle” That’s Making Me An Extra $7k/Month

It didn’t take that long to set it up…

A $7k/Month “Side Hustle”. Created with Adobe Express

After my children were born it was obvious that my salary at that time wasn’t going to pay the bills. So I had to think of something. I designed this strategy and I got a $2.5k/month boost in my income in the first year, and an extra $4.5k/month in the second year.

More importantly, this boost is now stable and doesn’t fluctuate. In fact, it may increase in the new year.

What did I do?

Let’s go back almost two years ago. I had a job I loved working as a Visiting Assistant Professor at a major university.

But the job wasn’t a good fit for me. It didn’t pay the bills, and it demanded more hours than I had as a mother to two little children.

I needed to boost my salary and secure more stable working hours.

At first, I considered a typical side hustle, but I needed the money pretty soon, within the following 3 months. I didn’t have the time to build something that could later go on autopilot.

Then, it hit me. The fastest way to make more money was to find a better-paid 9-5. But where was I going to find a job as an academic, who would employ me? How much do people make outside of my field? I didn’t have a clue.

So I decided that my side hustle was going to be researching and landing a better job for me. I was going to work on it after the kids went to bed each night. One hour each day, that was it. Here are the steps I took:

First

I spent a couple of weeks informing myself of the opportunities for former academics. What did people do with a PhD? Were they Happy? What skills did they have to master first?

Second

As an academic, I had no resume, a very long CV (about 15 pages long), and millions of cover letters. I dedicated some time to creating a resume template with my information. I was going to optimize it for each job I was applying to.

You can read the steps I took to craft my resume in my free ebook.

Third

I started researching available positions. I based my search on a few keywords related to my passions and expertise. For example, I used the words ecology, science, and data science.

I also decided on a salary range I was willing to accept to transition out of academia for. I was only applying to jobs that met that requirement.

I didn't set it up too high though. This was going to be my first gig outside of academia, so I needed some experience before aiming higher.

Fourth

I accepted all interview invitations so that I could learn more about different fields and make more informed decisions.

Additionally, I obtained certificates to match the most common skills I was seeing advertised in the positions I was interested in.

And sure thing, after applying this method for one hour each day for three months, I got my first job offer. I was going to be working in a nonprofit organization, with a regular schedule, and a salary 60% higher than what I had.

In a nutshell, after working 1 extra hour per day for three months I secured a stable $2.5k boost to my salary.

And what about the second boost?

My initial plan was to over-perform in my position to secure a series of raises that were going to put me in my dream position and salary after a few years.

However, I had to change this plan after a series of unfortunate events. As I mentioned here, my supervisor turned to be a bully, and every time I tried to over-perform, I was reprimanded.

I thought it was something I was doing wrong, but people at my current job celebrate every time I over-perform because it saves them SO MUCH work. But that’s a topic for another day.

Since that plan wasn’t an option anymore, I “monitored and evaluated”. Basically, I changed my strategy and I went back to what I did a year previous.

I dedicated an hour of my day every day to secure a new position. But this time, with experience, I aimed high. So high, that I boosted my income by an extra $4.5k/month. Stable, they are part of my salary.

So, what’s the best side hustle, in my opinion, that a professional who likes 9-5s can take?

Invest in your education and go a little extra mile to get certifications to get promoted, or research better opportunities if that door is closed for you.

I myself, can’t think of a better side hustle than increasing your 9-5 income. Stable and secure.

Anything else I do is just for fun!

What are your strategies?