16 Best Odd Jobs to Earn Extra Money - Side Gigs That Work

There are countless ways to earn money on the side by doing odd jobs. Chances are, you’ve developed skills throughout your life that others haven’t, and it’s easy to forget that those skills can be turned into cash surprisingly quickly!

The best thing about earning through odd jobs is the flexibility. There’s no clocking in and out, you don’t have to worry about being present for a certain amount of time in the day. If you’re feeling sleepy and need a nap, you can just do that. No dramas.

Event Work - $15-20 per hour

Hospitality support is always needed, and event organisers often find themselves scrambling for on-site staff to help them keep the wheels turning. If you have experience in hospitality, you can be one of those extra hands on deck with relative ease.

I’ve found casual event work in a variety of places. Indeed is always a decent starting point to get on the lists of organisations who need extra staff regularly, but I would also recommend specialist event staffing agencies. Event People is a solid option in the UK, but be sure to check out options near you too. Ask around your personal network as well - you might have a friend who’s done this kind of work before!

Lifeguarding - $18-25 per hour

I’ve found lifeguarding to be one of the best odd jobs I could find for a bit of extra money. If you can already swim, qualifying should be nice and easy as long as you focus on the important information in training. I qualified through the NPLQ in the UK, whereas the US uses the American Red Cross Lifeguard Certification. Find your local governing body and get signed up!

Some lifeguarding jobs are more structured than others - it’s illegal to run a pool session without enough lifeguards after all, so they're booked in advance to ensure coverage. However, I found that when I began doing lifeguarding work, extra odd jobs found me. My favourites were these super chill sessions I lifeguarded on Saturday mornings for a lovely group of elderly folk, and because I’d just finished a swimming session myself, it was a no-brainer to stick around and keep eyes out.

Just remember, even as an odd job, understanding the vital importance of the lifeguard’s work is imperative. If you aren’t willing to take accountability for the public’s safety, give this one a miss.

Furniture Assembly - $10-25

I hate putting together furniture. This is not the odd job for me. In fact, I am your customer. Can you put my IKEA wardrobe together before I tear my hair out?

If you’re confident with a screwdriver and don’t keep losing track of which bolt goes where, people will pay you for the convenience of not having to do that themselves. What a relief. Hop onto a site like Taskrabbit or Fantastic Services, and put together a quick profile. Be prepared for some grateful customers. It’s me, I’m the grateful customer.

Food Delivery Driver - $15-60 per hour

Got a car? A bike? A moped? Fancy popping out to deliver someone’s pizza? Fancy popping out to deliver my pizza?

Joining a service like Uber Eats or Deliveroo can be one of the most flexible odd jobs around, and you’ll be able to start racking up a decent amount of money if you time things right. Go out around mealtimes, hang around the restaurants you know will be busy, and watch the orders fly in.

I remember making a hundred quid in just a couple of hours back when I delivered in Brighton. It was hard work, but worth it when I made it out.

House Cleaner - $20-40 per hour

Another odd job you can pick up on a fairly regular basis, cleaning is one of those jobs people just can’t stand doing themselves. That means they’re willing to pay fairly well to avoid it. This is the perfect odd job to pick up if you aren’t afraid of a hard scrub.

You’ll need some supplies. Surface cleaner, floor cleaner, cloths, mops, and protective gloves are a few essentials, but be sure to stock up with a variety as you’ll need different tools for different jobs. Earnings can vary, too - decide whether you want to do regular cleaning jobs at a consistent cadence or one-off jobs like deep cleans for house movers. The latter might be preferable for those looking for odd jobs without a huge level of commitment.

Once you’re ready to go, it’s time to advertise. There are a few ways to do this - I recommend a combination of them all. Local gig platforms like Taskrabbit, Gumtree, or Craigslist can be a quality starting point, as can residential-specific apps like Handy and Housekeep. The way you’ll see the most long-term success is probably through word of mouth though. Get a few gigs, do a good job, and watch demand grow.

Car Washer - $15-30 per hour

Car washing can be a potential addition to your house cleaning hustle or a standalone gig depending on what you’re looking for. You’ll need different equipment specific for cleaning cars (your lemon-scented kitchen surface cleaner won’t work on a hubcap caked with mud), but once you have your car washing soap, brushes, and buckets, you’ll be good to go in no time.

I would also suggest offering car interior cleaning services as an add-on, as it can really ramp up the potential income per job. It requires a bit of extra kit, but offering a more comprehensive service will boost your trust in the eyes of potential clients.

Whether you use your existing network, hand out flyers in local community areas, or go online to sites like Taskrabbit, finding car washing work can happen fairly swiftly. It’s also an odd job by its very nature, so there won’t be any requirement to commit to a regular schedule. You can earn whenever you feel like it.

Removals/House Moving Help - $50-150 per hour

This isn’t one for the meek. I hate moving house, so making this a job you choose to do? You must be built different. You’ll have to lug heavy furniture around, drive it to the new house, and heave it all back out again. Not my cup of tea.

If you’re a van or truck owner, you’re halfway there, at least. You can even earn more money by offering to pack and unpack belongings, as this is a level of faff I personally would pay a wedge of cash to avoid. You have a lot of responsibility, too. You’re one person with all of someone’s stuff in your vehicle. Tie furniture down, wrap fragile items so they don’t break, and drive carefully. 

This isn’t an easy job, but there is a lot of demand for removals, particularly in urban areas. Advertise in local businesses, sign up to platforms like Airtasker and Dolly, and take the jobs that work for you.

Flyer Distribution - $10-20 per hour

If you don’t mind getting out and about, get yourself a stack of flyers and start walking. Leaflet distribution is a great way to get paid quickly over the course of a few hours of work, and it can be a nice way to enjoy the great outdoors while earning.

You can go to flyer distribution companies like The Private Postman or LeafletDrop, who will often offer regular work. Or, if you’re seeking something more casual, contact local businesses themselves and pitch your services to them! Rates will vary depending on whether you’re going door-to-door or distributing in the street, but if you’re specific about the number of eyes you’ll get on their business within a certain area, you’ll quickly be able to find and keep casual work as a flyer distributor.

Be an Extra - $120-250 per day

It might be my enormous ego talking, but being an extra has got to be the best odd job if you can find it. As a natural-born superstar, I was destined for the big screen. Or the small screen. Or whatever screen you’re reading this on, I guess. 

Being a background actor isn’t easy to get into, but once you become a reliable and known figure on the scene, things get a lot easier. The first step is to get yourself signed up to casting agencies. Extra People and Casting Collective are two big ones in the UK, and Central Casting is a significant player in the US market.

A great aspect of background acting is just how casual it is! You can apply for as much or as little as you’d like, and there’s no obligation to do a certain amount of work once you join the agency. And hey, maybe that background scene will get you scouted into the next summer blockbuster. Time will tell.

Minor Repairs - $30-80 per hour

“You’re a lifesaver!” - your client when you finish fixing their ergonomic office chair that’s been fixing their chronic back pain for years. If you’re decent with a hammer in hand, know your way around furniture and home DIY, and want to earn a bit for it, then what are you waiting for?

This is the kind of odd job that’s always needed. Things break, they wear out, and no one wants to live in a house with a broken door hinge. Rocking up with a toolbox and fixing something in someone’s house is the quintessential odd job, and you might be more qualified than you think if you’ve done a little DIY in your own life. You might even already have all the kit ready to go!

Minor repairs are a service people need at short notice, so you can quickly accept or reject jobs based on your schedule. Start off by joining a site that people reach for as soon as they need a handyman, like Checkatrade or Thumbtack, and begin building your reputation in your local area. You can even earn more by carrying out emergency repairs quickly.

Dog Grooming - $30-70 per hour

If you’re a dog lover, look no further. Apps like Rover and Bark allow you to monetise your ability to make dogs and cats look fabulous. You have to have the equipment, from pet-safe shampoo to dog-specific hair brushes, and it’s important to learn how to use them first. Practice on your own pet, make the mistakes when you’re not getting paid for it yet, before getting others involved.

Do a great job, and that’s a repeat customer sorted. My family’s dog always gets pampered by the same person, because Benji does not trust strangers easily. Because of the nature of the job, you can be nice and flexible with your timings too, especially if you offer a mobile service you can bring to someone’s house.

One great way to promote yourself as a pet groomer is by social media. Who doesn’t love pet pictures, or videos of them getting dolled up? It’s a much easier sell than other odd jobs, because the cute animals are already super shareable and people want to see them - it doesn’t even feel like an advertisement.

Voiceover Work - $20-50 per hour

This job can have a significant pay range depending on your skill and marketability. It’ll take a while to get fancy jobs like narrating a bestseller for Audible, but by completing voiceover odd jobs, you can get paid fairly well regardless. It’s perfect if, like me, you love to talk.

You need a decent audio setup. The Blue Yeti is a classic starting point, but for highly professional work, a quality XLR microphone and audio interface will be a great investment in the long run. Investing time (or money) into soundproofing your space and minimising background noise will help too - no one wants to hear your voice echoing alongside a plethora of car horns honking.

Once you have a solid demo reel, jobs will come more easily, but initially, you can use platforms like Voice123, Upwork and Fiverr to build a portfolio of work. The more you do, the better you’ll become, and the more well-known your services will be to prospective clients. Eventually, you’ll be able to pitch for recurring work with larger companies, if you want to take your voiceover work out of the ‘odd jobs’ category.

Gardening - $20-60 per hour

Don’t look at my garden. Summer’s coming and the place is a mess. If you’re the sort of person who reads that and thinks “why doesn’t he just tidy it up a bit?”, you’re the perfect person to take on gardening odd jobs.

I won’t pick up hedge trimmers for as long as I live. I’m not alone. People like me? We’re prime targets for your business. There’s a lot of scope for creativity and a range of different jobs you can complete, so find your strongest points and do them well, whether it’s lawn mowing or full-scale landscaping.

Obviously, you’ll need the equipment. If you aren’t up for hauling a lawnmower from garden to garden, maybe you’re better suited pruning and beautifying, or planting flower beds. Regardless of what you choose, gardening can be a fairly profitable and extremely therapeutic odd job for people who want to spend a bit more time in the sun.

Video Captioning - $0.3-3 per minute of video

If you can type quickly, you’re in luck. Video captioning is becoming more and more essential with the constant growth of video content online, and even with the rise of AI, human captioners are still vital providers of this service for the sake of accuracy and clarity.

Captioning isn’t just about transcription. You have to sync the captions to the right point in the video, requiring a bit more work than just typing the audio out.

Services like Rev often have openings for freelance video captioning work, with a significant amount of flexibility built in. Once you’re a bit more experienced, I’d recommend going directly to companies, content creators, and studios who need captioning services. By becoming a repeat provider of captioning services, you can start to ramp up your per-minute, and thus per-hour, earnings.

Proofreading - $15-70 per 1000 words

As a pedant, this one is perfect for me. Attention to detail is important here, so if you’re the sort who reads a book and notices grammatical errors, you’ll have a great time with proofreading as an odd job.

Having some experience as an editor or proofreader helps when finding work, and you should be able to showcase this easily by rattling off names of organisations and people you’ve worked with in the past, as well as examples of your work there. Think about your strengths in proofreading - will you do better with academic essays, or are you more comfortable editing business documents?

Either way, use tools like Proofed or ProofreadingPal to find work, and start building up your arsenal of samples!

Photo Editing - $20-75 per hour

Photo editing is a hard skill to master, but is absolutely perfect for use as an odd job once you know what you’re doing. There’s some ongoing monetary investment given the requirement for photo editing software like Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom, but aside from that, all you need is your ability and your computer.

Also, if you’re looking for an odd job you can do from anywhere and continue to earn, photo editing is perfect, as all the equipment fits into a backpack. It’s also worth finding your niche, whether that’s high-end edits worthy of Vogue or simple crops and colour correcting in bulk. 

Get some practice in, and create 'before' and 'after' images you can show off to prospective clients. Put your portfolio online, somewhere like Instagram or a personal website. To start off with, Fiverr and Upwork can help, but it’s also worth contacting photographers, event organisers, and other businesses that’ll need professionally-edited pictures, so you can be on call for future jobs. Make it as easy as possible for clients you contact to choose you for their services, because they know exactly what they get from you.