25 Best Side Hustles for Scientists to Make Extra Money

You can definitely make extra money as a scientist engaging in side hustles, online and offline.

This article throws more light on some of the side hustles to consider – as many as 25 very awesome such side hustles as a scientist.

 

Importance

Quite possibly, if you were to share your immediate thoughts to an individual asking about scientists, several stereotypical thoughts might cross your mind.

You may think of an individual in a white lab coat working with laboratory rats and trying to discover a cure for a deadly disease.

Or perhaps, you think of a scientist as an individual with frazzled hair and performing incredible experiments.

The reality is, there are many types of scientists.

A sampling of careers under the general heading of being a scientist could include:

• Microbiologist
• Geologist
• Meteorologist
• Computer science
• Zoologist
• Seismologist
• Herpetologist
• Biologist

You get the idea.

Their “laboratory” may be a college classroom, high school, observatory, planetarium, etc.

Each of these areas and more are specific studies in which an individual has dedicated their time, devoted their passion to these areas of study, and have spent considerable financial resources to achieve their success.

Therefore, let us look through the microscope and scrutinize ways that an individual who is labeled as a scientist can earn extra money to help plan for their future as well as possibly decrease their indebtedness.

 

25 Money Making Best Side Hustles for Scientists

 

1. Writer 

As a scientist, regardless of your field of expertise, most likely you will be required to write your findings and record your experiments.

Why not put this detailed writing discipline, combined with your creativity, to author a book.

The plot could surround your field of expertise and perhaps involve the murder of a co-worker.

The plot could develop in that it appears that it was accidental death, but you think otherwise due to mysterious discolorations or other abnormalities that indicate that it was a possible murder.

You could use your scientific background and education to draw upon and provide those types of detail that bring credibility to the writing.

 

2. Consultant

A possibility of earning some additional income would be to offer your expertise and services in the role of a consultant.

For example, if you’re a Marine biologist and there’s a sudden anomaly amongst the fish in a certain geographical area, you could offer your services as a consultant to do some investigative work to see what may be the cause.

 

3. Online Teacher 

If you are extremely passionate about your line of work and enjoy the challenge of teaching, you can connect with online students through various websites that use online teaching forums.

One such website that teaches students through the online process can be found at www.teachaway.com/online-teaching-jobs.

 

4. Entrepreneur 

An opportunity that may present itself is to venture out and start your own business.

Possibilities could include a passive income-producing business such as placing vending machines, a self-care wash franchise, etc.

 

5. Blogging 

Another writing possibility of combining your knowledge with your creative thoughts is the start of a blog.

Through your blog, you can talk about your recent involvement regarding your scientific work, new strides being made, new experiments that are being conducted, etc.

Certainly, from the scientifically minded community, you would gather a following, and perhaps your readers would support you through contributions along with the possibilities of gaining sponsorship or affiliated marketing.

 

6. YouTuber 

Another media platform is YouTube.

Through the creation of your channel, you can gather a following based on the discussion of your particular aspect of the science world.

For example, if you’re a seismologist, you can talk about earthquakes, how to prepare for earthquakes, how the Richter scale works, etc.

Whatever your acumen is, you can expound on that and earn potential income through affiliate advertising, sponsorships, and contributions by your followers.

Another potential revenue opportunity through the YouTube channel would be offering premium content for individuals who subscribe to your channel.

The premium content would be access to information that the normal casual viewer would not have access to.

 

7. Podcasting

A revenue-generating media option is to create podcasts.

Contrary to popular belief, high-end sound equipment and microphones are not needed and the recording of the podcast can be accomplished by recording your sessions utilizing your smartphone.

In addition to generating the podcast about everything pertinent to your field of study, you can also utilize a guest speaker and create a dialogue that would certainly be of interest to those tuning in.

For example, if you’re involved in genetic engineering, you could invite a guest and record a discussion that would address any fears that people may have about genetically modified foods.

 

8. eBook Author

Another option, as it pertains to writing, is to create an e-book.

Typically, an e-book is more of a booklet and you as the author could take a variety of directions with this creation.

It could be more of a scholarly piece, and you write to other professionals in a language that is more conducive to your field of study.

Or another approach that you could take is more of an informational general overview of your particular area of expertise and focus on the average reading audience.

To learn more about placing an eBook on Amazon click here.

 

9. Writing 

An additional option associated with writing is to write scholarly pieces and submit them for publications to various periodicals.

The approach would be on a more professional level and would be a peer to peer writing.

Perhaps it could be an opinion expressed based on a recent study and your offering of a particular perspective or offering a different viewpoint.

For further information about submitting scientific papers you can access this website – https://www.science.org/content/page/science-information-authors.

 

10. Online Courses 

There are opportunities available that if professional wishes to make available online courses to their peers or students, these online courses can be submitted to a website that will create the course from your submitted work and make it available online for others to take advantage of the opportunity to learn.

Such a website is www.udemy.com.

 

11. Freelance Websites 

If wishing to move away from your field of study to earn additional revenue, there are other options available.

Many freelance websites are available in which an individual can search for jobs and if their talent and skills match up they can make an application for that job.

One such freelancing website is www.upwork.com.

There is no cost to register, and a variety of employment opportunities are available that more than likely will match your skills or talents.

 

12. Lectures 

If comfortable standing behind a lectern, a possibility of generating additional revenue is to provide a lecture or talk about your area of expertise.

This can be accomplished by reaching out to community colleges and offering your services as a guest speaker or through a variety of associations that you may be involved with that are looking for individuals to speak to their associates at various meetings and conventions.

The possibility of earning a salary or an honorarium is a possibility.

 

13. Uber 

A side gig that is fairly low-key but will add additional income to your banking account is by taking a job of driving.

One of those driving services is Uber and individuals who own their vehicle are utilized by this company to transport others who need to go from point A to point B.

The Uber driver is not an employee of the company but is an independent contractor and as such is responsible for their expenses.

Uber pays the driver for the number of trips that they make and any tips that are earned are completely given to the driver.

 

14. Rent a Spare Room 

If you have a spare room, a possibility of earning additional income is to rent out that room.

You would need to be selective and likely consider a reliable referral.

Potential renters could be a student, friend, or family member.

If going this route everything must be drawn up in a contract so that all parties involved know what is required of them.

 

15. Rental Home 

Another great opportunity to earn passive income is to purchase a home with the intent of utilizing the home as a rental property.

To further minimize your involvement, you can hire a management company that will charge a percentage of the rent to oversee the property and collect the payments every month.

 

16. Tutor 

There are a variety of websites on which a qualified individual can provide group or personal tutoring to individuals on that website.

One such tutoring website is www.wyzant.com.

This would be an opportunity to help a student who needs that extra boost as it relates to a particular study of science that may be challenging for them.

 

17. Community College 

An opportunity that might present itself to you to earn extra income may be offering yourself as a teacher at a local community college.

Often a variety of electives are offered or even the teaching of a science class for the students to earn credits.

 

18. Door Dash 

Another service delivery in which an individual can earn money as a side hustle is through the food delivery service of Door Dash.

This site also requires that the individual present documentation as it pertains to their car and driving and when accepted will utilize their car to deliver food to customers.

This food can be delivered from restaurants, convenience stores, grocery stores, etc.

Also See: Money Making Side Hustles for Dentists.

 

19. Instacart 

One other delivery service that utilizes a self-contracting individual with their vehicle is Instacart.

This delivery service company has a little bit of a twist to it in that the order is placed with the company that has a partnership with Instacart.

When the customer orders their groceries, the Instacart driver will then drive to that store and actually do the shopping for the individual and then deliver that food to their place of residency.

As a self-employed individual, you would earn an amount of money per trip as well as any tips.

 

20. Skills/Talent 

Many of us have hidden skills and talents that we don’t think are valuable to anybody else.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

Perhaps you can paint a landscape, are musically inclined, have a hobby, etc.

All of these particular options and more have value to people who may be willing to pay you for your time and expertise in demonstrating, selling, and teaching these skills.

 

21. Substitute Teacher 

Another option that may present itself is to be a substitute teacher.

You could work with your local school district and offer your services as a substitute teacher if a teacher is absent for a variety of reasons.

Your knowledge of biology, chemistry, and mathematics or any of the other sciences may be in demand especially by the school district knowing that you can fill in when the regular teacher is not available.

 

22. Etsy

Etsy is a large online retail store that allows its registrants to post pictures of the items that they have created.

Often these items that are created are a person’s hobby or demonstration of their creativity.

Etsy allows the individual to pick a genre that is appropriate for their items for sale and then post them to the website.

Individuals who are in the market for these products may purchase those items and you will receive the money.

 

23. EBay

EBay is another online retail website in which an individual can post pictures of items that they wish to place on sale for potential customers.

After registering on the website, you can list items that can be bought at a fixed price, can go to the highest bidder through an auction process, or can be sold through a minimum opening bid, and extended over a certain timeframe.

 

24. Surveys

There are a variety of websites in which individuals participate in focus groups or online surveys.

One of those online websites is Survey Junkie.

If selected, an individual, depending upon what survey they participate in, could earn $50 or more.

 

25. App Development

A possibility of some passive income would be the development of an app.

If you have coding skills or if you know a developer who could assist in creating an app based on your idea, you could earn some income when people download the app or subscribe to the service.

The focus of the application could range anywhere from your area of expertise to a variety of other ideas.

The developed program could also take on a tone of entertainment or be educationally focused or a combination to make learning fun.

If you are a chemist, you can utilize the periodic table and show what items or solutions can be formulated by adding elements from the table together.

For example, if you took Na and combined it with Cl the question would be asked as to what this combination of elements creates.

The answer could be in the form of a saltshaker.

 

Personal Story

Similarly, to most of you, high school was an opportunity to be exposed to a number of sciences.

In 10th grade, it was Biology, 11th-grade Chemistry, and in 12th grade it was Physics.

I enjoyed the sciences immensely and I particularly enjoyed chemistry and biology.

In fact, for Christmas one year I asked for a microscope as I was so enthralled with biology class and looking at cells, learning about our DNA and the various components of working within a laboratory.

Of course, a lot of the credit for that interest goes to the teacher that was teaching these subjects.

I don’t know if they were degreed in their particular science but their teaching, but they made it enjoyable, interesting, and memorable.

 

Money Earning Side Hustles for Dentists FAQs

 

What is the Average Indebtedness for an Individual Who Has Earned a Degree?

The average indebtedness for individuals going on to higher learning reflects the following debt:

• Undergraduate student loan debt – $36,635
• Masters degree indebtedness – $71,287
• PhD indebtedness – $159,625

https://educationdata.org/average-graduate-student-loan-debt

 

What is the Average Wage for a Scientist in the United States of America?

According to Indeed.com, the average salary for a scientist in America is $87,236 per year.

 

Conclusion

You did not earn your degree in your field of science by sitting around and thinking about ways that you could make that degree happen.

You had a vision, and you coupled that vision with motivation and the result was your particular scientific degree.

The same be said of your desire and need to earn income.

You have proven over and over again that your mind is a powerful component of your being.

Putting your mind to work to think of ways that you can earn extra money will be a no-brainer for you.