Did it ever occur to you that there are odd jobs that you don’t even know exist? There are a lot of them available right now. Take the opportunity now to earn extra cash with these odd jobs near you.
Finding odd jobs online is the best place to start whether you need money now or just want a bit of extra cash. This can certainly boost your income chances if you know where to start.
Looking for and applying to various jobs or starting a side hustle to earn money isn’t always easy. But surely it’s one of the fastest ways to make extra cash.
Some odd jobs might require you to be a little open-minded and have the desire to try something new. However, most of the tasks on our lists do not require specific skills and will only require your time.
31 Odd Jobs Near Me
Odd jobs are all about your willingness to do and what you want to try to make a few extra bucks. Here are the 31 odd jobs you can find near your location.
1. Delivery Driver
Becoming a delivery driver is accessible and marketable nowadays. You can be flexible when it comes to your schedule, as you can work whenever it suits you.
Delivery drivers can deliver almost anything in your local area, from packages to food and other errands. There are a few cases in that you will be the one to provide a vehicle or use, and other companies are the ones who provide the car to use to deliver.
These are the companies that hire delivery drivers:
Requirements may depend on the company, but in most situations. They require you to have a:
- Smartphone
- Reliable car
- Valid ID or driver’s license
- Optional: another mode of transportation
For companies like DoorDash, you don’t even need a car, and DoorDash just requires a mode of transportation such as a bicycle or motorcycle. You may read our full DoorDash review and learn the process of how to apply.
Check our full review on DoorDash vs. Postmates when you potentially want to try out multiple companies.
Delivery drivers can earn from $12 to $25 per hour. However, the actual income may depend on the company rates and expenses.
2. Freelance Gigs
You might be wondering why freelance gigs are included in the list, but that’s because there are odd jobs in freelancing, such as matchmaking, phone actress jobs, wedding coach, online dating profile writer, baby name consultant, and more.
To land these freelance gigs does not require you to have a certification or any special skills, but if you have the talent, you can work on these gigs.
Freelance gigs are the most convenient side hustles and can earn big if you land on a big project. To start, you will need a laptop and an internet connection. The good thing about freelancing is that you get to set your own schedule and rates.
Here are the popular websites to look for freelance work:
3. Dog or Pet Walker
Dog or pet lovers, here’s your chance to earn money while doing the things you love! Most people are so busy with work and other things in their lives that sometimes they don’t have time to walk their dogs. Dogs need their routine exercises, too, to be fit.
To be a dog or pet walker, you can sign up on apps or sites that most people use when looking for walk dogs, board dogs, host daycares, house sit, and more.
Here are some services offered when you want to be a dog or pet walker:
- Rover
- Wag
- Sniff Spot
- PetBacker
- If you like dog grooming, sign up to groom dogs on Rover as well.
To begin, you can download the app, register, and most importantly, pass the background check. A dog walker can earn an average of $20 to $30 per walk.
The earnings depend on how many dogs you walk and how long you walk the dogs. Wag and Rover walkers can earn up to $20 for every 30 minutes and $30 for a 60-minute walk.
Boarding and pet sitting with Wag will get you $26 per night and an additional $15 fee for pick-up and drop-off. The downside of these apps is that they cut your earnings depending on the commission rate.
4. Clinical Trials
Another odd job that you may consider applying to earn big is clinical trials. Some people make thousands by trying out a new medication.
Clinical trials are scientific studies to find cures, prevention, diagnoses, and courses of treatments for issues and diseases in our lives. Mainly, a clinical trial is a method of advancing science. They will perform various actions and experiments to help develop new drugs that can span years of scientific studies during the study.
Before you begin, you will have to face various assessments, such as meeting the criteria and doing a full health check before starting the procedures, so you don’t have to worry about your privacy and welfare.
If you are looking for clinical trials near you or how they work, you can read more about the paid clinical trials near you.
5. Braille Proofreader
Who would have thought that people who use braille need proofreaders, too? Anything that has written words will always require a proofreader when the words are written in braille.
Braille’s purpose is to help vision-impaired individuals get the information they need. This will help them read the recent news, books, and magazines, and most importantly, continue taking the education they want.
Proofreaders are one of the in-demand jobs online, and their duties are catching errors such as typos and grammatical errors before they print books, scripts, and other documents.
A braille proofreader job requires a bachelor’s degree and the ability to read braille. You can expect an average hourly salary of $19.78 and an annual wage of $41,142. If you know how to read braille and love to correct word errors, then this is a job you might want to try.
6. Body Part Model
Have you heard of a job where you get to model your own body parts? I’ve seen it on some commercials that used body parts like feet, hands, lips, or abs to promote their products and services. If you have a nice body and fit the criteria of what companies are looking for, then this job is for you!
According to Forbes, the top models can earn around $75,000 a year depending on the industry they choose and the kind of work they get. Hand models are generally booked for fashion and beauty shoots or commercial jobs like food and cleaning products.
You can even find some people who work as a double for some celebrities regarding action stunts. These kinds of jobs aren’t widely available, so competition is tough, and you’ll have to be ready to take direction from heads of photography.
7. Sommelier
Do you have the skills to make incredible drinks or want to be a bartender? Then a sommelier job might be of interest. A sommelier or a bartender manages everything from identifying and buying a wine collection to placing it in proper storage and promotion.
Being a sommelier, you also work with the kitchen staff to prepare food and wine pairings. Perfect wine requires a perfect food counterpart too. Usually, sommeliers work with upscale restaurants, hotels, and other places where wines are sold.
To become a sommelier, you are expected to demonstrate a thorough knowledge of wines, geographic regions where wine is made, vineyards, and grapes.
The requirements vary depending on what the employers are looking for. Some places require years of experience, and some are looking for a certificate from culinary school training, especially focusing on the fermented grape drink.
8. Soap Boiler
A soap boiler’s job is to help make actual soaps used by people for their health and cleanliness. To produce soap, it needs the help of soap boilers.
Soap boilers follow a multiple-step process to turn fats into soap used for bars and powders. Brittanica describes the soap-making process as pretty unique and colorful, that’s because you are dealing with a grainy, curdy mass of soap and a “pasty boiling mass that is treated with brine.”
The process alone is interesting, and this may be a great way of learning how to make soap and earn money.
A soap boiler’s average hourly wage ranges between $19-$22 and an annual wage of $40,685. This job suits applicant who are high school graduates and those looking for a part-time job.
9. Elevator Inspector
The job of elevator inspector ensures that the elevator works properly and delivers you comfortably. However, their job does not stop there. They also examine and maintain lifting and conveying devices such as elevators, escalators, moving sidewalks, ski lifts, and amusement park rides.
Their job is to make sure that every elevator, conveying device, escalator, and more does meet the safety and compliance codes before it operates. So the next time you reach your floor without issues, you know who did an excellent job!
For higher chances of getting these types of jobs, you’re required to have at least a high school diploma with ample work-related experience as an inspector. An average salary of an elevator inspector is between $44,000 – $81,000.
10. Bingo Manager
If you like playing bingo, why not work as a manager? You may have the possibility of working in a home with designated areas or a hall to play bingo.
When you say bingo, the first thing that comes to mind is our grandparents and their favorite pastime. They are a pro at playing this kind of game, and if you have experienced managing Saturday bingo games, you know how exciting it can be.
The bingo manager’s tasks are managing bingo departments of casinos and big businesses with bingo. A bingo manager oversees and directs the department’s daily activities, approving jackpots and payouts.
They also make sure that the compliance with federal and state gaming relations are met and implemented. To be a bingo manager, specific requirements differ based on the employer. However, you are required to have 3-5 years of experience to get a gig as a bingo manager.
11. Ice Cream Taster
Do you love ice cream? If so, then an ice cream taster job might just be what you need to earn some extra cash. An ice cream taster is a real gig that pays real money.
However, not all the ice cream you taste will suit your taste. So keep in mind that your job is to choose the one that will sell in the market.
An ice cream taster or food scientist is responsible for ensuring that each type of ice cream contains the proper ingredients, textures, and flavors so that consumers will like it.
Although the role of an ice cream taster will vary depending on the company, they can invent new ice cream flavors. For requirements, some companies will look for applicants with a degree in dairy science or food science. They also look for people who are keen to taste and are insensitive to brain freeze.
An average salary of an ice cream taster ranges from $35,000 annual salary to $97,000. Get to earn money and a chance to taste ice cream for free!
12. Commercial Diver
A commercial diver makes money by working underwater. Their roles are checking for pipe leaks, inspecting and cleaning pipe valves, inspecting bridges, ships, docks, and sewers.
Commercial divers do not clean and place coral reefs in the sea or even teach you how to dive. Those are different divers.
If you want to be a commercial diver, you will have to have a high school diploma, scuba certification, and a complete commercial diving training program.
Are you up for some 18th-century shipwreck treasure hunting? If so, you may expect a salary of $35,000 to $96,000. What are you waiting for? Let’s go on a sea adventure!
13. Crime Scene Cleaner
Crime scenes are secluded if the investigations are ongoing, but they must be cleaned once the evidence is acquired. A crime scene cleaner comes in to remove hazardous waste and other unpleasantries from the scene.
Crime scene cleaners may not require to have an individual license. However, some technicians are generally part of a company that does require various licenses according to the regulations set by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
To become a crime scene cleaner, you must have a high school diploma but not require any experience. An average salary of a crime scene cleaner is around $27,000 – $61,500.
14. Body Painter
Have you ever been to a kid’s party or costume festival? Body painters are usually found on these occasions where they do face painting of your choice. Once, I attended a festival where a body painter was present, and there was a long line if you wanted one.
Working as a body painter, you will have a wide array of creativity and an artistic hand. Your job lies in making art such as a flag, flowers, butterflies, logos, and more.
Kids love that! And so body painters are in demand and may work at concerts, music festivals, parties, or fairs. They can also offer their services to adults, and they can also be employed on a photo or video shoot that requires clothing to be painted on.
15. Color Expert
Who would have thought that there is a color expert job that exists in the industry? Color experts organizations are color consultants that combine color psychology, current trends, demographic statistics, and color design theories.
This is to integrate colors into a project, whether designing the layout of a room or a company’s logo. The International Association of Color Consultants (IACC) provides membership and training for color consultants.
16. Feng Shui Consultant
Feng Shui consultants are very popular nowadays. Feng Shui is an ancient Chinese art and science based on Taoist principles. Feng Shui focuses on the energy flow, called the “Chi.” This ensures the health, wellness, and fortune of the area’s inhabitants.
Feng Shui may be used in homes, offices, gardens, stores, and more spaces. Feng Shui decorator does include color, lighting, and organization in a room as part of their job.
Feng Shui consultants can be self-taught. Even so, they may also have formal certification or training. According to the HomeAdvisor, a typical pay of a Feng Shui consultant is around $600 to $1,200 per job.
17. Flavorist
If there is an ice cream taster, there’s also a flavorist! Flavorist is chemists who formulate both natural and artificial flavors. They are those who have a Ph.D. in biochemistry or chemistry.
Although they take a lot of apprenticeships with flavor companies known as “flavor houses” in addition to their formal education and certification. This odd job can also be considered lucrative, and some earn a 6 figure salary.
18. Screen Phone Calls
How many times have you heard the phrase “This call may be monitored or recorded for quality assurance purposes”? I lost count, and even I worked and stated this phrase a couple of times working as a customer service representative.
Vadymvdrobot/Depositphotos
This phrase lets you know that the call is being screened. This ensures that the conversation happens and that the customer service agent can meet and answer clients’ needs.
Screen phone callers or reviewers are the ones who listen to the call, answer a few questions, and submit your responses. You don’t have to be a third party on any calls. You can just work on your own schedule and listen to the calls.
To be a screen phone call reviewer, you will need a verified PayPal account, and you can earn between $1 to $4.50 per call. This job is flexible and if you have excellent people communication skills, making money by screen phone call is easy.
19. Bounty Hunter
If you like looking out for people, this odd job is for you, primarily criminals who are free on private bail and skip their court dates. Bounty hunters are like the law enforcement of the private bail industry as you have to help apprehend the criminals if they go astray.
After the bounty hunter recovers the items such as cars, documents, or more, they get paid. Nevertheless, that depends on the state you are in. Some bounty hunters may have different names and titles, like in the John Wick movies.
If you want to work as a bounty hunter, you may look for bail enforcement, bail bond enforcers, fugitive recovery agents, and more.
In 24 states, you’ll be required to have a license and registration to be a bounty hunter. While in the 18 other states, bounty hunters are self-regulated. However, this profession is prohibited in four states, and some states ban private bail altogether.
A bounty hunter can earn up to $80,000 yearly for working dozens of cases, and the only weird thing about this job is the hours can be long and difficult.
20. Professional Cuddler
Alone in this cold weather? You need a professional cuddler, or you could be one! Share your warmth and let other people know the fuzzy feeling of getting a hug and earning while doing it.
Some people pay good money to get a hug from professional cuddlers. You get to snuggle up with complete strangers and strictly just hug and platonic.
Study shows that hugging and cuddling release oxytocin, meaning the feel-good hormone. A cuddle session provides therapeutic effects for people who disconnect themselves from society and cures the feeling of loneliness.
To be a professional cuddler, one must be of legal age 18 and above. They don’t have any restrictions on race, or gender, and strong interpersonal and communication skills.
Professional cuddlers can earn up to $40 to $80 per hour, excluding tips.
Odd Jobs Apps
Odd jobs can also be found on apps which makes it easy to earn extra bucks and a secure way of searching for various odd jobs. Here are some of the odd jobs you can find on apps:
21. Swagbucks
Swagbucks is a popular application that offers different odd jobs and is the number one app that provides real good money-making tasks compared to some of the task-based apps. Not to mention they have a $5 bonus for signing up with their app.
You can find different jobs in Swagbucks, such as surveys, watching videos, playing games, searching the internet, and even reading emails. Other than that, you can earn bonuses for giving your cashback for your shopping, another way of making money.
Check out our Swagbucks review to see exactly what you can do in the app.
22. Fiverr
Another good app to look for an odd job online is Fiverr. People who are looking to hire people to do work, this is the one that they recommend the most. If you want to earn a little cash, this is where most freelancers go-to.
Deklofenak/Depositphotos.
Although Fiverr started as a place for people to pay $5 for easy and quick tasks, it is now pretty occasional to find people that pay $5. Depending on the services you offer, you can charge almost whatever you want.
In this way, you get to aim to work for people who offer $10 an hour online or more. The range of services on Fiverr is broad and includes graphic design, writing content, editing videos, social media marketing, voiceover work, and many more.
Start Earning Money From Fiverr
23. Instacart
Many may not know Instacart, but this app lets people have their grocery shopping done, where insider shoppers come in. Instacart offers to shop on your behalf!
To start, you have to sign up to be a shopper with Instacart. You can earn by delivering people’s groceries, and if you want, you can even do the actual shopping for them.
Once an order appears for you to accept, you’ll get an estimate from Instacart on your potential wage for it. They also guarantee that you will receive $5 for every delivery-only order and $7 to $10 for a full-service order (shopping and delivery).
24. Amazon Mechanical Turk
Amazon’s Mechanical Turk is a crowdsourcing site that allows businesses to outsource small tasks that require people. Artificial Intelligence may be innovative but can’t do everything that humans can, and that’s why companies are looking forward to hearing feedback from real people.
These tasks include processing images and videos, cleaning up data, and answering questions about the content. There is a wide array of tasks available to choose from. You can work as little or often as you like, and it’s a flexible method to make extra cash in your free time.
The microtasks can take a few seconds to half an hour to complete. There’s a huge range to choose from, and the requirements must be of legal age or above and with internet access.
Completing tasks lets you earn around $6 per hour, not bad for extra cash. You can keep an eye on high-paying tasks or increase your earnings by finishing many short tasks that pay well.
25. SolidGigs
SolidGigs is just like Fiverr. They offer various freelance jobs in the most basic fields. However, their difference is that SolidGigs aims your job search as efficiently as it can be, and that is by having actual people review the freelance job opportunities and only send those jobs that fit you.
By doing that, you get to save time and effort in sending resumes, portfolios, and certificates. The disadvantage of this app is that you have to pay for the services to start, but on the bright side, you get to save time, and you can even negotiate with the monthly fee.
26. Fancy Hands
Fancy Hands is an app that associates virtual assistants with clients, and its purpose is to help people work from home as a VA (virtual assistant).
Fancy hands differ from some virtual assistant websites as they involve putting you in a pool of virtual assistants. In that way, when a client requests support on a particular task, you can be recommended to help out on that job rather than working with that same client for the long term.
This process has its own pros and cons, especially because there will always be work available, and it may not always be in line with your skills.
Websites That Offer Odd Jobs
Many websites offer odd jobs, and with their vast options for you to choose from, earning extra income is within your grasp. Here are some of the websites we have compiled for you to check out.
HayDmitriy/Depositphotos.
27. TaskRabbit
The first on the list is TaskRabbit, which is currently available in 39 metro areas across the United States. The process to start is simple. You will have to sign-up to become a Tasker and then bid on local jobs to earn extra cash.
TaskRabbit’s popular categories are handyman, cleaning, delivery, moving, furniture assembly, and personal assistant tasks. You can also search for tasks near your area and ask how much they’d charge you for the specific job.
TaskRabbit is a bidding site, so usually, the lowest bidder gets the project and pays through a secure online system. After completing the task, if you are searching for a fast way to earn money, then sign-up and start working on TaskRabbit.
28. Airtasker
Airtasker is also a site that helps people look for a job that matches their skills within their area. This particular platform is active in the US and Australia.
Airtasker allows buyers to find local businesses in different types of service areas. With this, buyers can review service providers in their local area, so if you are interested in offering services such as cleaning, DJ, landscaping, or more, then Airtasker is beneficial.
29. Gigwalk
Gigwalk has a lot of tasks that let you make a bit more money of up to $100 or more. Once you have signed up for an account, you can search for any gigs available in your area.
After completing the gigs via the app, you will be paid through PayPal. Jobs on GigWalk come from different brands and retailers seeking people to check out their products, displays, and pricing across other locations.
To finish the gig, you will have to document your work through geo-tagged photos.
30. Easy Shift
Easy Shift promotes itself as a course of action for you to get paid to shop, eat and explore in your city. Isn’t that great? Earning money while doing what you love the most, shopping!
Easy Shift is just like GigWalk and Field Agent, meaning if you like shopping without spending your own money, this could be for you.
Your work entails taking photos of the products, checking prices, and reviewing store promotions for brands and retailers to ensure their customers see the same on the images posted.
After completing the task, you can expect the payment to be sent within 48 hours of approval.
31. Spare5
Like many other sites mentioned here, Spare5 is made to help developers and businesses complete simple tasks that still require an actual human.
The available tasks on Spare5 are tagging photographs, offering keywords for photos, or even finding the edges of the photographed item. Their goal is to help computers get smarter by filling them with more data loads.
To access the tasks provided by Spare5, you will need to use their website or app and get paid through PayPal.
Bottomline – Odd Jobs Near Me
Making a living isn’t always simple, and sometimes life has a different way of directing us to the right path. Many are afraid of getting frustrated for being stuck as unemployed in this day and age.
Jobs on the market are uncertain, and even if there is a large variety of jobs available, there is no validity that it is inclined with your skills. If you find yourself looking for jobs, you may want to check out some of the odd jobs listed above.
If you are unsure of what kind of odd jobs you want or having a hard time choosing one, you might want to ask yourself these questions and hopefully find the right answer and job for you.
Here are the questions to help you decide on the odd jobs you can work with:
- How is the gig economy changing the workforce?
- What will the future of work look like?
- How do you find your purpose and do what you love?
- Could gig work put an end to traditional employment?
Founder of Spark Nomad, Radical FIRE, Journalist
Expertise: Personal finance and travel content
Education: Bachelor of Economics at Radboud University, Master in Finance at Radboud University, Minor in Economics at Chapman University.
Over 200 articles, essays, and short stories published across the web.
Experience: Marjolein Dilven is a journalist and founder of Radical FIRE, a personal finance platform, and Spark Nomad, a travel platform. Marjolein has a finance and economics background with a master’s in Finance. She has quit her job to travel the world, documenting her travels on Spark Nomad to help people plan their travels. Marjolein Dilven has written for publications like MSN, Associated Press, CNBC, Town News syndicate, and more.
