Looking to make extra money in New York City? Whether you want to be completely home-based or get out and about in the big city, there are plenty of side hustle opportunities available to you. Being in proximity to a major city means there is a great variety of work available and plenty of work to go around. Especially if you’re open to delivery and tasking jobs! Check out the possibilities below.
Make Deliveries
If there’s one fundamental need cried out for by the City That Never Sleeps, it’s being able to get delivery on virtually anything at virtually anytime – which obviously calls for a ton of people willing to do deliveries. Get yourself a piece of that Big Apple pie by working independently for delivery-based apps. Whether you have a vehicle or a bike, there’s a delivery job waiting for you to take food or packages to various folks around town. Here are a few options:
Amazon Flex will pay you between $18-$25 per hour to deliver packages for Amazon and you set your own schedule. Just answer a few questions about whether you have a vehicle, the type of smartphone you’re using, and you’ll be ready to download their app.
UberEats is another flexible app that lets you set your own hours, then deliver food using your car, bike, or scooter. Earning potential depends on when you’re working and how much you’re tipped.
Postmates is active in at least a few boroughs, and reportedly pays between $10-15 per hour, though of course that depends on what times you work. You can set your own schedule, get feedback on their highest volume timeframes, and cash out whenever you like on their app.
Pet Care
Another big need in a city as full of busy people as New York is outsourced pet care, whether that’s making sure their dog gets some outside time each day to pet sitting their cat to grooming both dogs and cats to dog training and more. This basic need of high-stress New Yorkers is so pervasive that Googling dog walking jobs in New York will turn up a dozen companies offering the service without you even breaking a sweat. Here are a few to work for:
Rover is now a well-established app offering to connect those who need pet care with vetted sitters like you (potentially); as always, you set your own hours and define what services you offer. Rover says you can earn up to $1000 a month working with them.
Wag is exclusively for dog walkers, and you qualify to apply with them as long as you’re over 18, have a smartphone, and are physically fit enough to walk several hours a day. They advertise earnings of up to $25 per hour.
Found your own: if ever a place rewarded the entrepreneurial spirit, it’s New York. If you’ve got the gumption, found your own pet training school or mobile grooming station or whatever suits you. Make sure you do it by the book with all necessary permits and insurance, then offer your pet care at large!
Tasking
Where there is a large concentration of overworked people and the option to pay someone else to do their errands for them – well, there’s opportunity to pick up others’ small tasks and get paid for it! If you don’t mind doing someone else’s shopping, whether for groceries or something more unusual or completing small tasks for corporations who need ground-level feedback on various fronts, you can earn an income from doing tasks. Check out these apps:
GigWalk lets you choose the jobs that interest you when you sign on to work, and you’ll be paid according to how long the task takes to complete. They pay via PayPal once you’ve finished a job and had it approved.
TaskRabbit shows you jobs available nearby, which fall into categories like Handyman, Cleaning, Personal Assistant, and more. You also get to set the rates you charge for completing tasks.
Shipt pays you to shop for their members, set your own hours, and advertises that experienced shoppers can make an average of $22 per hour. They pay weekly.
Appointment Setting
If you have a feel for sales and don’t mind cold calls, appointment setting can offer good opportunities for the home-based New Yorker. This is a job that pays you to make calls to potential sales leads and book them for appointments. It doesn’t require much in the way of training, though you do need a thick skin as some people may be rude to you in the pursuit of your job. Some companies currently hiring appointment setters are:
Ver-A-Fast hires folks with some customer service/telemarketing experience to work from home doing cold calling, lead generation, appointment setting and more. You must be available to work a minimum of 16 hours per week, with at least 8 hours on evenings and weekends.
Blue Zebra Appointment Setting is for the experienced cold caller and appointment setter. They reportedly pay $15 hourly to start and then offer an increase within 30-60 days if you demonstrate consistent results.
Publishing
New York is one of the greatest publishing centers in the United States, home to major publishing houses such as Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, HarperCollins, Hachette Book Group, and Macmillan. While much of the work in publishing is done in-house, more tasks are being outsourced to independent professionals as the publishing world continues to evolve with digital media. So if you’ve got proven English language skills – and some college education or work experience in copyediting or proofing – there’s work to be had. Where to look for work:
Cambridge Proofreading Worldwide hires both proofreaders and editors; you’ll need an advanced degree and should have experience doing academic proofreading and editing.
TCK Publishing is looking for various types of editors and media managers and even graphic designers. Requirements vary, but most share that you must have a passion for books.
By referral: it always helps to know someone. If you have friends in the book business, let them know you’ve got the skills and are looking for remote freelance work. They may be able to connect you with someone in need of freelance editing work.
Customer Service
The customer service industry has perhaps the most work at home jobs available to all remote workers pretty much despite their location – as long as you have reliable, high-speed Internet access and (potentially) a reliable landline telephone. There are many companies hiring full-time customer service agents with benefits and decent pay. Often, you don’t need much in the way of previous experience or training. Some companies hiring work-from-home customer service reps are:
Amazon wants at least a year of customer service experience and a high school diploma; they can also only hire from certain states, so check the list.
Alorica hires people as employees and not independent contractors and offer much in the way of scheduling flexibility.
Hilton offers work-from-home careers with benefits and advancement potential and they don’t just hire for seasonal positions so it’s stable work.
These are just some of the popular industries for remote work in New York, but should get you started on your work-from-home job search. Head out and find the one that works for you!