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17 high-paying side jobs you can do in your spare time

Have free time you don't know what to do with? Trying to develop a new skill? You should consider getting a side gig

Jacquelyn Smith

Monday 14 March 2016 16:02 GMT

If you enjoy photography, why not use your hobby to make money? (iStock)

Trying to make some extra cash? Have free time you don't know what to do with? Trying to develop or hone a new skill? You should consider getting a side gig.

FlexJobs, an online service specializing in telecommuting and remote work, recently put together a list of 17 high-paying jobs you can do on the side.

To qualify for the list, each job had to be considered "flexible" (and not full time), and had to pay at least double the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour, according to the job posting on FlexJobs.

The 13 highest-paying jobs with less than 40 hours per week

Show all 13

1/13The 13 highest-paying jobs with less than 40 hours per week

The 13 highest-paying jobs with less than 40 hours per week

13. Postal service clerks

Average hours typically worked a week: 39.32 Median earned income: $51,000 What they do: Perform any combination of tasks in a post office like receive letters and parcels; sell postage and revenue stamps, postal cards, and stamped envelopes; fill out and sell money orders; place mail in pigeon holes of mail racks or in bags; and examine mail for correct postage.

Getty

The 13 highest-paying jobs with less than 40 hours per week

12. Speech-language pathologists

Average hours typically worked a week: 36.17 Median earned income: $54,000 What they do: Assess and treat persons with speech, language, voice, and fluency disorders.

The 13 highest-paying jobs with less than 40 hours per week

11. Registered nurses

Average hours typically worked a week: 37.59 Median earned income: $56,000 What they do: Assess patient health problems and needs, develop and implement nursing-care plans, and maintain medical records.

The 13 highest-paying jobs with less than 40 hours per week

10. Psychologists

Average hours typically worked a week: 36.75 Median earned income: $56,000 What they do: Diagnose or evaluate mental and emotional disorders of individuals through observations, interviews, and psychological tests and formulate and administer programs of treatment.

The 13 highest-paying jobs with less than 40 hours per week

9. Chiropractors

Average hours typically worked a week: 39.75 Median earned income: $60,000 What they do: Assess, treat, and care for patients by manipulation of spine and musculoskeletal system.

The 13 highest-paying jobs with less than 40 hours per week

8. Occupational therapists

Average hours typically worked a week: 36.02 Median earned income: $60,000 What they do: Provide rehabilitative treatments and procedures that help build or restore vocational, homemaking, and daily living skills.

The 13 highest-paying jobs with less than 40 hours per week

7. Technical writers

Average hours typically worked a week: 39.61 Median earned income: $62,000 What they do: Write technical materials, such as equipment manuals, appendices, or operating and maintenance instructions.

The 13 highest-paying jobs with less than 40 hours per week

6. Physical therapists

Average hours typically worked a week: 37.43 Median earned income: $63,000 What they do: Assess, plan, organise, and participate in rehabilitative programs that improve mobility, relieve pain, increase strength, and improve or correct disabling conditions resulting from disease or injury.

Rex Features

The 13 highest-paying jobs with less than 40 hours per week

5. Audiologists

Average hours typically worked a week: 37.77 Median earned income: $64,000 What they do: Assess and treat people with hearing and related disorders.

The 13 highest-paying jobs with less than 40 hours per week

4. Radiation therapists

Average hours typically worked a week: 38.40 Median earned income: $70,000 What they do: Provide radiation therapy to patients as prescribed by a radiologist according to established practices and standards.

The 13 highest-paying jobs with less than 40 hours per week

3. Optometrists

Average hours typically worked a week: 39.03 Median earned income: $100,000 What they do: Diagnose, manage, and treat conditions and diseases of the human eye and visual system.

The 13 highest-paying jobs with less than 40 hours per week

2. Pharmacists

Average hours typically worked a week: 38.38 Median earned income: $102,000 What they do: Dispense drugs prescribed by physicians and other health practitioners and provide information to patients about medications and their use.

The 13 highest-paying jobs with less than 40 hours per week

1. Dentists

Average hours typically worked a week: 37.83 Median earned income: $130,000 What they do: Examine, diagnose, and treat diseases, injuries, and malformations of teeth and gums.

Brie Reynolds, the director of online content for FlexJobs, says "side jobs" are defined as anything part time, including freelance, temporary, short- or long-term, work-from-home, or in-person flexible gigs.

Here's FlexJobs' list of high-paying side jobs you might want to consider:

1. Curriculum writer

(Getty Images)

Pay: $50 an hour

Type of flexibility: Temporary, part time

Description: Education professionals with experience in curriculum writing will find a variety of part-time and/or temporary positions to assist educational institutions and organizations with curriculum development, writing, and adaption. These jobs seek people who have excellent teamwork skills and who work well under deadlines.

2. City-guide writer

Pay: $50 to $100 a project

Type of flexibility: Freelance, telecommute

Description: Travel and tourism businesses, as well as real-estate companies, often hire writers to write city and/or neighborhood guides with information about population size, shopping, recreation, culture, entertainment, things to do, climate, transit, and more.

3. Business consultant

(Getty Images)

Pay: $48 an hour

Type of flexibility: Part time, telecommute, freelance

Description: Consultants may work with one local business or a variety of nationwide or international companies to handle questions, review processes, and improve performance. Extensive previous management experience is typically required.

4. Project manager

Pay: Up to $43 an hour

Type of flexibility: Part time, freelance

Description: Project managers with previous experience are sometimes hired by clients who need a specific project handled from start to finish. They may oversee the project from idea creation through implementation, coordinate with all participants, track budgets, and troubleshoot issues.

5. Sign-language interpreter

(Getty Images)

Pay: $36.50 an hour

Type of flexibility: Part time

Description: For those with sign-language skills and a license (which are usually state-sponsored), part-time and freelance contracts are often available. Depending on the employer, you'll help different populations with hearing impairments communicate with interpretation.

6. Web designer

Pay: $32 an hour

Type of flexibility: Part time, telecommute, temporary, freelance

Description: Web designers are responsible for the graphic-design elements of websites. In these roles, designers create, update, and manage web-design elements, and they need to have design experience as well as excellent client-relations skills.

7. Software developer

(Getty Images)

Pay: Up to $30 an hour

Type of flexibility: Flexible schedule, part time, telecommute

Description: Software-development jobs are one of the most in-demand positions available today, and many offer part-time and project-based work. Depending on the gig, you might be updating existing websites, creating new templates, helping to develop new websites and apps, or other related tasks.

8. Online communications associate

Pay: Up to $25 an hour

Type of flexibility: Telecommute, part time

Description: Online-community management positions are a growing area for part-time work. Responsibilities typically include updating web content, managing social media, providing system administration, writing content, and creating reports.

9. Video reviewer

Pay: $25 an hour

Type of flexibility: Part time, telecommute

Description: For certified teachers in a variety of subject areas, video-reviewer jobs are a part-time way to use your skills and experience for extra income. Video reviewers observe and assess the classroom and instructional performance of teachers from around the country, who send videos of themselves for review.

10. Accountant

(Getty Images)

Pay: $25 an hour

Type of flexibility: Part time, freelance

Description: Though this isn't typically thought of as a "side job," accountants with several years of experience can find part-time work helping different businesses with accounting functions, reporting, and taxes. Some accounting side gigs help businesses and individuals complete their taxes annually or throughout the year, while others are responsible more for daily, weekly, and monthly accounting tasks.

11. Merchandise coordinator

Pay: $21 an hour

Type of flexibility: Temporary, freelance, short term

Description: A small amount of merchandising experience is needed for these types of jobs, where you'll support a merchandising team by maintaining and updating information such as reports, samples, and updates from other teams.

12. Bilingual legal assistant

Pay: Up to $21 an hour

Type of flexibility: Freelance, short term

Description: For someone with multilingual skills and legal experience, bilingual-legal-assistant jobs are often available as projects or temporary jobs in which you'll help an organization with a specific case or issue, reviewing legal documents using your language skills.

13. Lead-generation specialist

Pay: $20 an hour

Type of flexibility: Freelance, part time, telecommute

Description: Lead-generation specialists, also known as appointment setters, typically prospect, qualify, and generate appointments for a variety of companies and business-development teams. Someone with high self-motivation, determination, and communication skills should do well in this type of job.

14. Freelance product photographer

(Getty Images)

Pay: Up to $20 an hour

Type of flexibility: Temporary, part time, freelance

Description: Make no mistake — photography side jobs require someone who is highly skilled in photography and related software for editing and retouching photos. Photography experience is almost always required, and graphic design and Photoshop experience is a plus.

15. Bookkeeper

Pay: Up to $19 an hour

Type of flexibility: Temporary, flexible schedule, part-time potential

Description: Plenty of part-time bookkeeping jobs exist for both small and large companies. The responsibilities typically usually include using QuickBooks to do reconciliation, accounts payable, accounts receivable, etc. — so at least some experience (and relevant skills) are required.

16. Copy editor/writer

(Getty Images)

Pay: Up to $17 an hour

Type of flexibility: Temporary, part time, telecommute

Description: Copy editors and writers can be responsible for the writing, execution, and proofreading of materials across digital and print platforms. Depending on the employer, they may write and edit for marketing materials, editorial content, social media, or other types of material.

17. Temporary transcript processor

Pay: $15 an hour

Type of flexibility: Part time, temporary

Description: Data-entry jobs like transcript processing are a great side job for people who love to work independently, have solid attention to detail, and enjoy the unique challenges of data entry. Data-entry specialists are needed to input data from a variety of sources into the correct corresponding fields quickly and accurately, and working well under pressure is a must.

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