20 Quick Ways To Make Extra Money In San Diego [2024]
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Have you been searching for ways to make money in San Diego? Are you wondering how people are making extra money in San Diego, California?
San Diego is a hotbed of employment opportunities. You can find jobs in almost every industry, from tech to healthcare to hospitality. With so many options, it can be hard to know where to start.
Side gigs are a popular way to earn extra money and make some extra cash while you're working full-time. No extra headache & you get to be your own boss!
What is the average cost of living and income in San Diego anyway?
- Cost of living: $2,797 per month for a single person, $6,223 for a family of four
- Average income: $81,000 per year
Considering this, it makes sense if you want to make some extra money.
If you're looking to make some fast money in San Diego, then here are 20 great side hustle options for you to choose from.
1. Deliver Packages With Amazon Flex
Whether it's delivering food or your packages, Amazon's been expanding its businesses, and you can help them do it while you earn some extra cash.
Amazon Flex has partnered with part-time drivers as service providers to help with on-time delivery services. You can participate in this initiative and earn a good income yourself. If you find out that you really enjoy doing this, then maybe you can even start your own logistics & delivery company in the future.
Earning Potential: Earn anywhere between $18 to $20
Requirements: Minimum age has to be 21 years old, will need a social security number, have to go through a background check, have a valid driver's license and a four-wheeler (preferably a pickup truck or van), and a smartphone.
Benefit: Earn some money, deliver some packages, and decide your schedule!
How To Get Started: You can apply for being an Amazon flex driver here.
2. Become a Dog Walker
If you have a couple of hours and need an exercise buddy, consider taking a stranger's dog for a walk. There are tons of people in the area that can't walk their dogs and will pay you to have a fun hour or two with their bundle of fur. Can it get any better?
Apps like Wag let you work on a flexible schedule and choose when you want to work. However, if you're open to doggy sitting/boarding - you're on call 24/7. Still, you're doing a service to your neighborhood and getting paid handsomely for it!
Earning Potential: up to $25/hour
Benefits: You get to play with a furball, get some exercise and explore the area!
How To Get Started: You can apply to be a dog walker through apps like Rover, Walkatxpets, Wag.
Dog walking can bring in some serious money. Learn how Melodi makes $54k/month walking dogs.
3. Become An Academic Consultant
Academic Consultants work with students, faculty, and staff in an academic institution. The academic consultants work as academic advisors and help promote student success & retention by providing required guidance & support. Education Consultants offer counseling & guidance to a school's teaching department on curriculum, teaching methods, textbooks, and other resources.
Earning Potential: Up to $55/hour
Requirements: To work as an educational consultant you'll need at least a bachelor's degree, but having a master's or Ph.D. would make you more eligible for the job. . Having a degree or diploma or work experience in a specific subject or field can give you an extra benefit. You should have a basic knowledge of the state & federal education rules and policies.
Investment needed: $0 investment required to work as an academic consultant.
How To Get Started: Search for academic consulting jobs on job portals such as FlexJobs or Indeed and start working!
4. Start Tutoring On The Side
Creating an online tutoring business is a convenient way to earn some money on the side, and one that can be very lucrative in the long run. You'll be able to make your own hours and work from home and you won't need a lot of startup capital to get started.
So, if you have a specialized skill, there are many ways to monetize it. From guitar instruction to French lessons to maths coaching or personal training, there are many opportunities for monetizing your knowledge in a variety of settings.
Earning Potential: Up to $25/hour
Requirements: You'll require specific skills or in-depth knowledge about the subject you'll teach, a laptop, mic, and high-speed internet
Investment needed: 0 investment if you already have a laptop
How To Get Started: You can register yourself as an online tutor on an online teaching platform like Preply or Teachable
5. Become A Student Brand Ambassador
Being a student brand ambassador requires you to market or advertise a brand and its products or services within a school or college campus. You will work as the face of the brand and help the company sell more products and earn profit for which you'll receive a commission.
Earning Potential: Up to $20/hour
Requirements: For this job, you will require excellent marketing & customer handling skills, the ability to interact with people & convince them easily, need to do proper research about the brand as well as the product you are selling. As for educational qualifications, you don't need to have any degree and you are most likely to receive on-the-job training from most companies.
Investment needed: $0 investment required to work as a student brand ambassador.
How To Get Started: Want to work as a student or college brand ambassador? Look at the job listings for this post on Indeed.
6. Rent Out Your Extra Space
You can rent out spare space in your home for some extra cash, like an extra room, or your garage.
You can offer your property to someone looking for accommodation or storage space and make some decent income from it each month.
Earning Potential: Up to $300/month
Requirements: You will need an extra room that's in a good condition with all the basic facilities.
Investment needed: $0 investment if the room is in good shape.
How To Get Started: Visit websites like Neighbor and list yourself as a Neighbor host. For more info click on this link.
7. Become A Part-time Jewelry Sales Associate
Jewelry is one of the world's largest and most profitable industries, but many people are unaware that there are thousands of jewelry sales associate jobs out there. As a jewelry sales associate you must be able to approach potential clients, offer advice, help hesitant customers make decisions, close sales, prevent thefts, and report to upper management.
Earning Potential: Up to $21/hour
Requirements: To be a jewelry sales associate you'll need:
- At least a high school diploma
- Minimum a couple of years experience in retail sales
- Knowledge about jewelry products and gemstones
- Great communication skills & convincing power
- The ability to maintain professional behavior at all times
Investment needed: No investment needed to start your career as a sales associate at a jewelry store.
How To Get Started: Look for jewelry sales associates' positions in popular job search portals such as ZipRecruiter, Indeed, or LinkedIn.
8. Start Babysitting
If you love spending time with babies then the babysitting business can be a fulfilling and rewarding business for you to venture into. This is a very well-paid job in San Diego and plus it's quite flexible since you can choose your working hours and work independently.
Earning Potential: Up to $23/hour
Requirements: You should be responsible & reliable, should be punctual, creative & playful, must possess a lot of patience, have good manners, and should not have any criminal background. It will be a bonus if you have a driving license and have done a basic babysitting course.
Investment needed: $0 investment needed
How To Get Started: Network and let your family, friends, and neighbors know that you are interested in working as a babysitter. Look for mom's groups on social media platforms, and contact your local kindergarten or junior schools. You can also sign up with apps that connect parents with babysitters such as UrbanSitter, Bambino, or bubble.
9. Become A Pet Massage Therapist
Just like us human pets also need massage therapies to heal some kind of wounds or to relax the muscles to release pain. If you love pets and want to have a career where you get to spend time with them and help them live a healthier & happier life then working as a pet massage therapist can be a rewarding job for you.
Earning Potential: Up to $23/hour
Requirements: You will need to have a degree in animal massage therapy from an authorized institute. No minimum educational qualification is required for this job.
Investment needed: Getting a pet massage therapist's degree can cause you around $3000.
How To Get Started: Search for animal massage therapist jobs on ZipRecruiter and Indeed and talk to the recruiters directly.
10. Start Freelancing
Freelancing is not just a trend. It is a way of life for many people. The internet has made it easier than ever to find freelance work and make money online in San Diego.
Post your skillset on platforms like Upwork and Fiverr, and anyone in the world out there can hire you for a job.
Earning Potential: You can make as much money as you want as a freelancer (you set your own rates).
Requirements: You'll need to chalk out a plan, and pin down a particular skill that you want to utilize to offer freelancing services like content writing, social media marketing, website development, web research, and so on. Then you'll need to find a freelancing platform, create your profile, set up your rate, and start finding work. One skill that will really come in handy is your client communication skills.
Benefits: Enjoy the freedom that comes with the lifestyle, set your own hours and work from home, and take on multiple clients at once.
How to get started: Sign up at Upwork or Fiverr.
Freelancing is no joke. Learn how David makes $80k/month as a freelance writer.
11. Make Money Renting Out Your Car
Are you using your car for a short time and it just sits idle for the rest of the day? Or do you own more than one car and want to use the extra one to earn some additional income on the side. Renting your car out on an hourly basis can be a good source of side income for you to have while you are working a regular job.
Earning Potential: Up to $10/hour
Requirements: You will need to have an extra car that's in good running condition and also car insurance. You should yourself check or ask the agent to check if the person you are renting your car to has a valid driver's license, a government-approved photo ID, and no criminal background.
Investment needed: $0 upfront cost if you have insured the vehicle beforehand.
How To Get Started: List your car on HyreCar or Turo and let your car earn for you while you rest.
12. Become A Social Media Marketing Assistant
As a social media marketing assistant, you will be responsible to oversee all of the social media platforms of a company or a client and manage all the promotional posts & advertisements, go through the customer feedback or comments, plus analyzing the performance of posts & ads and so on. You'll also need to provide suggestions regarding how to improve the quality of the ads & build strategies about how to grow followers & user engagement across all social media accounts.
Earning Potential: Up to $26/hour
Requirements: The qualification required to work as a social media marketing assistant:
- Profound knowledge of social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.
- Good Analytical skills.
- Outstanding communication skills.
- Willingness to learn about new trends and software related to the field.
- Great time management skills.
- Having a degree or diploma in marketing, communication, or social media can be an added bonus.
Investment needed: $0 cost to begin a career as a social media marketing assistant if you have the required skills.
How To Get Started: Search for related job listings on platforms like ZipCruiter, Zippia, Indeed.
13. Become A Part-time Tour Guide
Working as a tour guide is a great side gig option if you live in a city that has touristy places like museums, monuments, historical locations, art galleries, botanical gardens, old libraries, theme parks, zoos, religious buildings, etc. You will need to plan itineraries, research the places, and interact with the customers before the actual trip. This job allows you to be flexible as you can work on weekends and lets you be your own boss.
Earning Potential: Up to $23/hour
Requirements: For this job, you don't need any formal education but having at least a high school diploma will look good for you. There are training programs available for travel guide associates in San Diego but it is not necessary to have a training certificate. You should know your city well, be well-acquainted with the city's transport systems, and do proper research about historical places and iconic travel destinations. Having excellent communication skills and knowing multiple languages can be beneficial for this kind of job.
Investment needed: $0 to start as a tour guide.
How To Get Started: Looking for part-time tour guide jobs to earn some quick cash over the weekends? Check out the job listings posted on SimplyHired, Indeed, and LinkedIn.
14. Work As A Tax Associate
Helping others is what we do best here, which means you will get to see the impact of your work firsthand. As you inspire people to make confident, informed decisions about their lives, careers, and money, you will build client relationships that will grow stronger each year.
Earning Potential: Up to Up to $60/hour
Requirements: You will need to meet the requirements for regular bookkeeping job qualifications, a minimum high school degree is required but if you can shoe a Bachelor's degree it will look good on your portfolio. Math & computer skills are musts.
Investment needed: $0 starting cost if you have the mentioned skills.
How To Get Started: You'll find a lot of job listings on Indeed or SimplyHired, plus you can also open a freelancer account on UpWork and search for bookkeeper jobs there as well.
15. Become A Life Model For Artists
Life models earn money by posing for artists. If you’re comfortable posing nude in front of artists and are capable of holding poses for as long as 30 minutes, consider life modeling. Artists want to draw bodies of all shapes and sizes in order to hone their skills so being a particular body type is not a requirement.
Earning Potential: Up to $60/hour
Requirements: You should be at least 18 years, will need to study creative poses, and learn to hold those poses for a long period of time. This job will require you to have a lot of patience, be inhibition free, and also you should know how to brand yourself on social media to get more clients.
Investment needed: $0 cost to work as a life model
How To Get Started: Go to Indeed and search for life model jobs and apply directly from there. You can get hired by individual artists or by art college faculties to work as a life model for the art students at their institution.
16. Work As A Part Time Bridal Consultant
If you are from a fashion background or love dressing other people up and have a keen eye for detail then working as a part-time bridal consultant can be a rewarding job for you.
As a bridal consultant, you will be assisting customers, helping them determine their preferences and expectations regarding the purchase of a wedding gown, and informing them about the styles, colors, and cuts. you'll also keep track of the available stock & inventory and report to the store manager.
Earning Potential: Up to $19/hour
Requirements: No particular degree or certification is required to work as a bridal consultant as nearly all bridal salons will give on-the-job training. But if you have some previous background in fashion, retail, or marketing it will give you an extra push.
Investment needed: $0 investment needed for this job role
How To Get Started: Looking for part-time job opportunities as a bridal consultant? Visit indeed.com or ziprecruiter.com to search for the role and start working right away.
17. Open An Online Bakery
Is baking something you enjoy doing in your free time? Then you can turn this hobby into a part-time business by opening an online bakery that you can operate from your home. Run a home bakery and take orders for various occasions like birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, baby showers, and more. This job will let you work on your own time, cultivate your passion, and earn a good sum of money as a side hustle.
Earning Potential: From an online bakery you can make around $1,500 to $4,750 per month
Requirements: requirements to start an online bakery
- You will need to set up an online store
- Need business license & permits
- Advertise your products across all social media channels
- Get baking professional equipment
- You can take professional baking courses to further hone your existing baking skills
- Carefully price the baked items
- Pay attention to packaging & shipping
- Maintain hygiene and health standards
Investment needed: A home-based online bakery business can require around $19,500 as a startup cost.
How To Get Started: Create a list of items you want to sell, test your products and offer free samples to your friends & family members and get their feedback. Tell people in your circle about your business. Use platforms like Facebook & Instagram to get direct sales. To know more about starting an online bakery, take a look at this article.
18. Become A Hair Stylist
If you have a few hours on hand every day or have the whole weekend free and want to use this time to have an additional income you can consider working as a hairstylist assistant.
A hair stylist assistant assists a lead stylist with daily tasks. Duties may include gathering supplies, mixing colors, shampooing hair, sterilizing tools, and general cleaning. Some assistants also greet clients and schedule appointments.
Earning Potential: Up to $17/hour
Requirements: You need to have a minimum high-school diploma or GED and some basic training in hairdressing from a cosmetology school. If you have a cosmetology license then it will be beneficial for you. If you don't have a license you can still work as a hairstylist assistant and in most cases, you will get on-the-job training at the salons you will be working in.
Investment needed: $0 investment needed if you have a cosmetology license.
How To Get Started: Apply to be a hair stylist assistant click here.
19. Sell Your Unwanted Gadgets
Do you have some old gadgets lying around your house that you don't need anymore? If the gadgets are in good condition & you have the receipts and boxes with you then you can sell them in exchange for some good cash. There are a lot of places online where you can sell second-hand appliances and get good returns.
Earning Potential: Depends on the type of gadgets you are trying to sell and what condition they are in.
Requirements: The gadgets you want to sell must be in good condition. If you have the papers & boxes it will be useful. You will need to cleverly advertise your gadgets and mention the condition of your device in clear words. Make sure you use you click great quality pictures and list them on the websites where you want to sell your gadgets.
Investment needed: $0 investment is needed for this since you already have the items.
How To Get Started: You can list your used gadgets on websites like eBay, Decluttr, or BuyBackWorld.
20. Sell Used Books
Selling used books is a great choice to earn some extra cash on the side. You can sell some of the used books from your own collection or you can purchase new or used books for the sole purpose of selling them to make some profit from them.
For a book that is brand new, you should take 25 percent off the original list value. If it's a used book, you can take 25 percent off the price that you paid for the book.
Earning Potential: Depends on the original price or the price you paid for the book, its condition, and whether it's a rare or limited edition collection.
Requirements: Need to have good knowledge of books & their market value. Plus, do market research and learn more about the book flipping business.
Investment needed: $0 needed as you are selling books from your personal collection.
How To Get Started: You can sell used books on some of the following websites -
Not looking for extra income, but rather a better job? Find a new job in San Diego:
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Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
