Nursing is one of those exceptional career fields that offer great wages, flexible scheduling, and is rewarding, especially if you’re a registered nurse. Nurses help people every minute they are on duty by providing excellent healthcare services.
Even the Bureau of Labor and Statistics reports that nursing is a field that is growing quickly due to the increasing demand for nurses. According to the Bureau, employment of registered nurses is projected to grow 9 percent from 2020 to 2030, about as fast as the average for all occupations.
This means you will likely find a job as a nurse anywhere in the United States. Depending on how high the demand is in your specialty, you may even have the upper hand while negotiating your salary.
So, why would nurses, or better still, registered nurses, need a side job?
I asked the same question. The answers I got from research and a few friends who are nurses with side jobs make total sense. Some nurses get bored with their everyday jobs and challenge themselves in other areas.
Some nurses still have debt from getting an education and work side hustles to pay off the debt. Other reasons include the desire to be an entrepreneur, extra money for vacations or kids’ activities, or securing their financial future. For some, nursing is just a job and not their passion, and they follow their passion on the side.
Whatever your reason for needing a side hustle, you deserve a side job where you set your own hours and make the extra cash you need. With this in mind, let’s look at some side jobs for nurses.
First-Aid/CPR Instructor
A nursing background means you’ve already got the knowledge, skills, and experience in providing first aid and CPR. Also, you have a ton of on-the-job references you can draw from to teach these skills to others. And becoming an instructor is easy.
Wondering where to start? Get certified. Some choose to do this through the Red Cross, some through the American Heart Association, and others work with local agencies like the Fire Department.
You may choose to teach and certify students, or you may choose to educate the trainers. Both are rewarding.
The Low-Down on Being a First Aid/CPR Instructor
Potential Pay: Average is $29/hour
Pro: As a First Aid/CPR Instructor, you control when, where, and how often you teach a course.
Con: Depending on where you live, like in remote and rural areas, you may only have a few courses a month to take on, limiting how much money you can earn.
Freelance Writing for Healthcare
If you love to write fiction or non-fiction, you can choose from several freelance writing opportunities. You can write fiction novels using healthcare settings, plots, and characters. Publish your work as an eBook on Amazon.
You can also become a freelance health writer or start a healthcare blog to write patient-focused education articles. In addition, you can submit articles and blog posts to other healthcare websites or start one for your current employer.
I once read an online article about a nurse who turned her blogging side job into a $2,000,000 business. Yes, that’s six zeroes.
If you’d like to write a curriculum, you can use your writing skills to create or update educational materials in the healthcare industry.
As you grow in your writing skills, you may consider becoming an affiliate marketer. With this side gig, you find creative ways to promote products, then receive a commission if your readers click on the link to the product you promote.
Affiliate marketing is a great nursing side hustle for many nurses. Some leaders in the industry offer great information on how to get started.
The Low-Down on Freelance Writing
Potential Pay: Varies per job. Writers can earn between $50 and $150 an article when hired by another company. On the other hand, some bloggers earn between $5,000 and $10,000 a month. Your pay will depend on your efforts, talents, and desires.
Pro: You can write from home, on a beach, or ski resort. Freelance writing is very flexible, and you can combine it with your regular nursing job.
Con: It takes time to build a following, and marketing is a key component of building your platform.
Telehealth Nurse
If you want to work from home but stay in the medical field, telehealth nursing may be a perfect choice. A telehealth nurse can be of great help to patients who have issues during non-office hours or for those who have difficulty traveling but want answers regarding their health.
Insurance companies often hire telehealth nurses. Duties include checking with patients about vital signs such as oxygen levels, blood pressure, blood sugars, medication issues, and much more.
You can serve as a health coach to patients who need encouragement to take better care of their health. Note that health coaching is different from wellness coaching. The latter focuses on the overall wellbeing of a person, while the former aims at improved physical health.
The Low-Down on Telehealth Nursing
Potential Pay: Average is $28/ hour
Pro: Unlike standard nursing jobs, you can work from home with flexible hours. You are also helping patients who need care.
Con: Reimbursement can be inconsistent, depending on the company for which you work.
Adjunct Professor
Your local community college likely has a degree program focusing on healthcare. They are also looking for professors to teach courses. You can teach courses for extra money if you have the right education, usually a master’s degree.
Teaching allows you to help nursing students learn the necessary components of being great in their field. As an adjunct professor, you can teach one or two classes each week. In addition, the interaction with excited students can be very refreshing.
You may even choose to teach online nursing classes, allowing you to work from home.
The Low-Down on Teaching
Pay Potential: It can vary by school, but the average is around $3000 per class
Pro: It can be exciting and rewarding to train future nurses.
Con: The college sets your class schedule, sometimes interfering with your work schedule. However, colleges are willing to work with professors.
Start Your Own Small Business
Do your own thing. And it doesn’t have to be related to healthcare at all. For example, if you love crafting, create products and sell them on Etsy. Start a personal training service as a nurse health coach if you like fitness. If you are passionate about holistic medicine, open a side business providing these services.
Make the cutest scrubs ever and start selling them to your co-workers if you can sew.
The business you start on the side should be related to your passion. Start it for the right reasons, and the money will follow. Think of it first as an outlet for your creativity. Then monetize it.
Entrepreneurship is popular today, with many people finding success and happiness. To help you find your niche in the business world and gain insight into how to start your business the right way, listen to podcasts and read books from those who have done it right.
The Low-Down on Entrepreneurship
Potential Pay: Your pay depends on how much you want to make, the efforts you can make in building a customer base, what you are selling, and the amount of time you can spend working your side job.
Pro: You can explore your passions and participate in activities that make you happy.
Con: It can take time to build a customer base.
Work Overtime
Okay, so this is not a new thing; working overtime has been around for ages. But you can make overtime something to look forward to by choosing to work overtime in a completely different area of nursing.
If you normally work in the emergency room, work overtime in the neo-natal unit. If your day job is spent in the laboratory, work overtime as an administrator. You get the picture. Choose an area of nursing you find interesting and try it. You can always switch to a different area if you don’t like it.
Some hospitals have web-based systems that allow you to sign up for overtime opportunities.
The Low-Down on Working Overtime
Potential Pay: On the lower side, an average of about $30 an hour. However, many overtime jobs pay time and a half.
Pro: You can start working overtime today and start earning great money right away. Plus, you know how to do the job well.
Con: You will be doing the same thing you do in your day job and may get bored or restless.
Start a Podcast
If you research podcasts in the healthcare industry, you will find many of them out there. People are talking about everything from diet and nutrition to cancer and death. It sounds morbid, but if it can happen, people are talking about it.
Starting a podcast can be quite profitable if you find a niche that interests people enough to follow you regularly. The more followers you have, the more advertisers and sponsors you can get.
When choosing a topic, discuss what you know, what you are passionate about, and what you think will help your listeners.
The Low-Down on Starting a Podcast
Potential Pay: Most podcasts depend on advertisements and sponsors who pay you once you build up a large following. The more people follow your podcast, the more you get paid for ads.
Pro: You have your show on a topic you want to focus on, and you are in control of the how, when, and where you produce content for the podcast. You can even start your podcast on Anchor for FREE.
Con: It can take time to build up a large following, but people will jump on board if you have an interesting topic and delivery.
Spa Technician
I know, just hearing the word spa ignites your imagination. You picture yourself relaxed and being rubbed by super-hero hands that eliminate all the stress in your body.
But in talking about side jobs, a spa technician has much more meaning. They are responsible for providing treatments like chemical peels, microdermabrasion, and laser treatments to patients with problems in their bodies.
Procedures like these require the expertise of healthcare professionals to provide quality service to patients.
The Low-Down on Being a Spa Technician
Pro: You can choose where you work as a spa technician, from doctor’s offices to salons. And you get to make people feel good about themselves.
Con: Your schedule may need to be set up based on when your clients can meet, like after they get off work, making it less flexible for you.
These are just a few of the side jobs where nurses can make extra money. There are many more, especially in the medical field. Check these out:
- Correctional nursing- for those wanting to help inmates with their medical health
- Home health nursing- for those who want to work with patients in their natural environment
- Community clinics- for those who may be interested in providing services like giving immunizations and flu shots
- Nursing homes- for those who enjoy working with the elderly
- Insurance exams- for those who can gather information from patients to verify if they qualify for insurance benefits
- Medical transcribing (become a medical transcriptionist)- for those who want to work from home
- Sell medical products online through your own website or eBay- for those who enjoy selling
- Pick up Per Diem Shifts- for those who just want to work extra shifts
- Medical coding- for those good at working with diagnoses
- Wound care nurse, online or on site- for those with a wound care certification
- Phlebotomy worker- for those who don’t mind working with needles
- Legal nurse consultant- for those who know the law and can assist attorneys
- Nurse advocate- for those who want to help patients understand every aspect of their care
- Clinical researcher- for those who like to run clinical trials and collect data
- Medical equipment sales rep- for those who want to sell products to physicians
Don’t let these ideas restrict your options. If you can dream it, you can make it happen. So, to help you figure out your perfect side hustle, follow the steps below. They helped me, and I know they can help you too.
Step 1: Make a list of your natural talents.
Step 2: Narrow that list by choosing the top two you enjoy the most.
Step 3: Of those two, determine which one is the most flexible.
Step 4: Of those two, determine which one pays good money.
Step 5: Of those two, determine which one has a higher demand.
Step 6: Research the market and start putting together a business plan.
You can start today by creating your action plan for a side job that compliments your nursing career. First, consider the information I’ve provided here. Next, carry out research once you decide on a specific area. Then, go for it!
