The number of alternatives for side income has greatly expanded as a result of the expanding presence of online enterprises, platforms, and marketplaces. Here are 10 ways to make extra money without sacrificing your 9 to 5 for professionals with full-time employment obligations and those shortly to be professionals.
The benefits of having linguistic abilities are numerous. But don’t be afraid to catch up if you haven’t mastered a second language or feel a little out of practice, we suggest using language-learning applications.
The top free language learning applications are listed below:
- Duolingo offers around 40 languages, including French, German, Spanish, and Portuguese, with structured courses covering everything from basic vocab to advanced grammar.
- Memrise has a staggering 1,000+ language courses, from Korean to Cherokee and everything in between. They use a mix of official Memrise courses as well as those compiled by community members.
Both platforms are big on gamification of language learning to make it more fun. This means bite-size, colorful content, plus lots of interactivity and motivation to stick at it, which usually involves bagging points and rewards as you progress through lessons.
There are also tons of free single-language apps and websites out there – just get looking! Your uni may even have free resources, including tapes, books, and videos to borrow, or even taught courses run alongside degree programs.
Here are the best ways to make money from your language skills:
1. Become a Tutor
Most students look for time slots in the late afternoons or on weekends, which can fit perfectly around any 9-to-5 commitment. As for pay, there’s quite a range here in terms of what you can charge. In metropolitan cities, the average is between $25 and $80 an hour, while in more suburban areas it’s between $12 and $50.
Tutoring online is also an easy and lucrative option, as you can teach from your home or anywhere you have an Internet connection. Craigslist can be a great way to start by creating your own ad to promote your tutoring business. Other popular options with often reliable referral streams are Varsity Tutors and WyzAnt, among others.
WyzAnt is a great recommendation if you’re looking to teach sessions in person. This website has grown quite competitive in the last couple of years as the company continues to hire progressively more experienced tutors, who often wind up competing against each other—especially if they’re listed to tutor the same language in the same area! That being said, this competition allows you to request the rate that you’re worth, you won’t need to lowball others and get paid less than you’d like.
If you’re more interested in teaching online, Verbling is the way to go. There’s a huge user base, and if you’re able to teach a less common language, then you’ll find a lot of students heading your way. It also simplifies the whole online teaching experience, streamlining your online classroom so you have no need for Skype or another third-party software—you can set up your teaching schedule, advertise your skills, communicate with students and hold classes right on this site.
2. Freelance Translation
With your bilingual or multilingual skills, there’s also money in taking side jobs translating articles, books, websites, and other forms of text. The most common way to land these positions is through word-of-mouth, and there’s a big market for it.
That said, it’s not exactly easy or simple, as many international businesses often prefer to hire people from lower-income countries, where they can pay less for the same job. Standard rates are around 10 cents a word; you may earn more if the text is specialized, technical or scientific.
Read Also: How to Make Money as a Drone Videographer
If you have friends, family, or colleagues who are expanding their businesses internationally, helping them translate marketing materials can be an awesome supplement to your income. You can also try listing your services on online freelance boards, like Upwork.
3. App and Game Development
The mobile market outpaced computer use in 2014 and 80% of Internet users now own smartphones. There’s clearly a growing demand, and some say apps are the future of everything! The CEO of Apple, Tim Cook, recently stated in a keynote that he believes the future of TV is apps as well, which further expands app possibilities beyond the iPhone and iPad and onto the big screen in the living room.
Of course, this option can require a bit more of a time commitment. You’ll need to do your research, as your app will need to stand out among the competition. If you’re not tech-savvy, you may also need to find and hire someone to bring your idea to life.
If you create an app, depending on the number of people who download it and how much you charge for it, you can make between $5 and $12,000 monthly. Apple’s iOS platform is the most popular, and despite their commission charges, 25% of its app developers make over $5,000 a month!
4. Freelance Writing
Do you love to write? Do you have something to share about languages, or maybe even international travel you’ve done? Personal blogs can now easily include advertisements and links to Amazon products, which can generate income as people browse ads and click links from your blog.
Advertising revenue varies greatly depending on your traffic, so you’ll need to spend a lot of time building your audience first. If you look for paid freelancing opportunities, you’ll notice many companies and websites pay between $10 to $100 for articles.
5. Make Videos for YouTube, Vimeo and Other Platforms
We’ve all heard about popular YouTube stars making tons of money—and while it certainly takes work to get to that status, there’s an opportunity to earn revenue from your own personal videos.
Anyone can create digital video clips for free through their Google accounts, for example, and earn between .08 and 26 cents for every advertisement view. While this may sound like a small amount, it can easily add up.
That said, it’s important to clarify that what makes the money isn’t the video viewing or clicking itself, but the advertisement viewing. The more viewers engage with the ad (the longer they watch it), the more you’ll make. It also depends on your target keywords, so you may want to do some research on that.
6. Sell Your (Original) Content
Many companies and schools pay tutors to create problem quiz sets for language courses. Any creative or innovative language worksheets, e-books or other pedagogic materials can become dollar signs.
The skill here, beyond creating unique and quality material that facilities learning, is in marketing. Pay rates depend on demand and can range from $5 to the thousands. Some companies only take between 6.5% to 10% commission and the rest is yours!
7. Grade or Score Standardized Language Examinations
Many universities, schools and testing centers, such as ETS (they administer the GRE and SAT), outsource their grading for the Spanish AP test, for example. Many of them hire from 5 pm to 9 pm (online as well) in the month of May, for example, which is great temporary work to supplement income!
To find and apply for these positions, search ETS as well as websites like HigherEd Jobs. Others often post to Craigslist, too. These gigs usually pay between $13 and $40 an hour.
8. Teach at a Museum or Community College
Many museums are open to hosting courses and easily attract returning students. These gigs can pay between $12 to $45 an hour, or a few hundred to thousands for full-course contracts. Community colleges also offer many language classes and may be more likely to hire teachers without teaching credentials.
9. Lead a Trip to a Foreign Country
Teaching opportunities abound as more schools and universities see the value in taking students abroad. Depending on your availability, you might consider leading a short-term trip, such as one during a spring break. Check job boards or connect with local schools to see what opportunities are available.
You can visit the websites for the study abroad programs themselves and see what’s being offered. For instance, check out Experiment in International Living or Organization for Tropical Studies.
And if you’re a college student returning from an awesome study abroad experience yourself, see if your university hires campus ambassadors to promote study abroad programs!
10. Teach English Abroad
After Chinese, English is the most spoken language in the world. If you have a bigger window of availability—perhaps you’re taking a gap year before entering college, for example—consider going abroad to teach English! Many programs hire people without any prior teaching experience.
If you’re not sure how to get started, check out the resources on Teach English Abroad. They offer TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) courses and paid internships as well as jobs and travel opportunities.
Another big perk is the opportunity to save money while you’re living abroad. In China, for example, many English teachers are able to save $500 to $1,500 monthly teaching English after paying off all their expenses. Of course, you’ll need to do some research—contract length and what’s provided for you can vary.
Take advantage of these growing opportunities to keep your language acumen solid and your brain sharp—and profit from it all, too!
Become a conversation buddy
If you studied a language at school, you’ll already be familiar with conversation practice. It involves chatting about everyday topics with a teacher or native speaker, and it’s a way to test out or improve what you’ve learned.
There are ways to get your conversation practice in for free, usually by swapping a language you know with someone who speaks the language you want to learn. If you want to get paid for talking, you need an angle.
- Advertise your strengths – If you’re a native speaker or have teaching experience, tell people
- Go niche – Think essentials for business travelers, medical vocab, technical terms and phrases for students or sports fans
- Use your accent – Regional differences can be the most challenging aspect of a language, so if you’ve got an accent, make the most of it.
Once you’ve got a hook, setting up an online ‘classroom’ is easy as pie with these free online video messengers. Most messaging apps let you vary your style of interaction: use video chat for role play and speaking practice, or stick to texting or emailing for writing skills (or if you’re camera shy).
Alternatively, use notice boards, leaflet drops and language clubs to connect with local learners.
Like the sound of earning from your language skills but not sure where to start? Take a look at the suggestions to freelancing below:
- Make a business plan. It doesn’t have to be complicated, just think about what you’re offering, how much you’ll charge, whether it costs anything to get started, and who your customers might be. It’s also worth drafting up a contract.
- Advertise your freelance services on social media. Get a blog, YouTube channel, Facebook page, Twitter account, or LinkedIn Profile. Think about which channels your customers use most and spend time developing those accounts first – and don’t forget to keep it professional online.
- Sign up to online marketplaces like Fiverr to sell your time and skills. Fiverr takes a cut of each sale, but you can still use it to build your reputation, find clients and do paid freelance gigs when you’re starting out.
- Contact local businesses and charities to find out about freelance opportunities, or stick notes in newsagents’ windows. Basically, tell people what you’re offering.
- Create an invoice template and choose a payment method. You could get a PayPal merchant account (free) to send out invoices and get paid securely – but again, PayPal takes a bite out of each sale. Fee-free options include Google Pay, and your bank’s mobile app – some even let you receive money by text message without revealing your account details.
- Find out if you’ll need to do a self-assessment tax return. It’ll make life easier if you get clued up about tax – plus, it only takes five minutes to get the basics under your belt (and it comes in handy for your Student Loan repayments, too).