13 people reveal how much money they have earned with their secondary jobs

Secondary occupations are becoming more common.

After all, there is a wide range of these types of activities, from driving for Uber to earning income from selling e-books.

Here, 13 people share the amount of money they've made from their side jobs.

Secondary jobs are becoming more common these days, especially with the popularity of apps and platforms like Uber and TaskRabbit (a platform that puts handymen in contact with people who need a repair and that is not working in Spain ).

While some people drive for Uber in their spare time, which is especially true in the United States, others earn passive income from selling e-books or products they sell through sites like Amazon or Etsy.

Online investment company Betterment has published a report stating that 67% of people who have a side job do so primarily for financial reasons, such as paying down debt or saving for retirement.

This figure was based on a survey of 1,000 Americans age 25 and older, 500 of them with a side job in addition to their main job, and 500 of them who rely on their full-time job as their main source of income. .

According to the 2020 Intuit Report, nearly a third of American workers today are self-employed. "And this number is expected to rise to 40% by 2020," Andrew Westlin, a certified financial planner and financial planning professional at Betterment, told Business Insider in an email. "Increasingly, workers are complementing their career with independent or temporary work."

Westlin has mentioned that one of the main benefits of taking a side hustle is the opportunity it gives you to diversify your income. "A secondary income can be a key component in planning for your future," Westlin has stated. "Even if the side job doesn't seem very lucrative at first, every dollar adds up along the way."

Here, 13 people share the amount of money they've made from their side jobs. (Responses have been summarized and edited for clarity.)

1. Scott Van Daalen, 23, wedding planning website: $12,000 - $14,000 a year.

I am focused on my postgraduate studies and most of my time is dedicated to studying for a master's degree. I found it interesting to have a part-time job because of the flexibility it gave me; I could work and earn money on my own schedule. As for this sideline, I run a business called The Wedding Collective, which helps brides book a bunch of vendors in one place.

I do it because I love the wedding industry, as well as helping couples plan their celebration with less stress. I've been doing this for about five months and my forecasts are that I'm going to make between $6,000 and $7,000 this year. Next year, I hope to hit $14,000.

2. Crystal Bowe, MD, 38, Children's Book Author: $1,000 – $1,500 a year.

In addition to being a GP, I have a sideline. I have written three children's books and one for coloring. I started almost two years ago, and I did it with the goal of creating different literature for children like my daughter.

For me, the best part of this is having a different outlet than medicine, being able to try something new, meeting new people in the process, and even earning a little money from the project! I have made between $2,000 and $3,000 so far, which has been an added incentive.

3. Jason Butler, 35, eBay: $5,400 – $7,200 a year.

I am a financial aid advisor at a local college. As my side job I sell items on eBay, my eBay store is Atlanta Mart. I've always liked selling things, so I decided to give eBay a try, and I've been selling, sometimes on and off, for nine years. I became constant with him in 2017 so that I could pay off my debt.

The best part of having a side job is being in charge of what you do - the more items I track, the more money I make. Right now, I make between 450 and 600 dollars a month with it. I also write about side jobs and paying off debt on my blog, TheButlerJournal.com.

4. Maria Wiles, 26, dog walker: $2,000 a year.

I'm a queen of the side job, from waitressing, babysitting, clothing saleswoman, to dog walker and more. I work from home as a publicist, which gives me flexible hours to do side jobs. I am a huge fan of animals, and have always wanted a dog. This was not possible living in Los Angeles in a 700-square-foot apartment without a backyard.

Therefore, I decided to join Wag! as a dog walker. I've been doing it for about three months, and it allows me to spend time with adorable dogs, lose weight walking them, and make money doing it. I've made about $500 so far.

5. Mindy McCarthy, 29, Etsy: $15,000 – $25,000 a year.

I'm a full-time mom of two kids (one 2 and one 5), studying to be a real estate agent about 15 hours a week, and lastly running my Etsy shop, MinMac.

I started my shop in September 2013 after my husband and I had our first daughter. As a new mom, I needed to have a way to communicate with the world while still taking care of my daughter. Mothers can get very lost in the repetitive art of motherhood, and I had been losing my sense of who I was as a person—other than just being a "mother." This store opened the doors for me to create.

I started shipping fabric earrings in the US and now my shop as a side job has grown into wall art, necklaces and women's t-shirts that have reached thousands of people around the world.

I send out cheer cards with every order in hopes of reminding people that they matter. This is the best part: sharing positive words that bring people to life. I typically make between $15,000 and $25,000 a year, depending on how much time (read: how well my kids sleep) I can dedicate to my shop.

6. Jonathan Holloway, 32, guitarist product review writer: $9,000 a year.

I'm a Partner and Director of Digital Strategy at NoExam.com, but in my spare time I write product reviews for guitar players. My website is called GuitarLessons.org and I started it in March 2018 — I was looking for something to do related to a topic I was passionate about.

The best part of having a side job is the extra money; it's a fun pastime that also earns you money. Also, I like to write and entertain myself with the website, and I get to buy cool products and try them out. The website generates approximately $750 per month.

7. Alex Tran, 33, teaching and selling products online: $30,000 a year.

As a day job I am a marketing specialist for Hollingsworth LLC, with my side jobs selling online and teaching yoga. I have earned my living with my side jobs and I think I will never stop doing them; They help me save for retirement and pay for my vacation.

I've been selling on eBay since 2003 to pay for my college expenses. I discovered that I could get money for things I no longer wanted instead of throwing them away. So I found sellers who buy stuff and resell it on eBay. Today, I sell on my website, Schmiggy, or on apps like Mercari and Poshmark, and make about $20,000 a year.

In 2015, I completed a yoga teacher training program, which launched me into a career as a yoga instructor. I started teaching everywhere: for companies, studios, private clients, gyms, etc. I was willing to teach anyone, anytime, and I've made about $10,000 a year from yoga classes.

8. Tshireletso "TY" Hlangwane, 26, Art Direction for Musicians: $25,000 a year.

I'm a marketing director at an app company in South Africa, and my side job is artist management and public relations for music artists around the world, but mostly from Africa. I used to be a musician, but now I just do production work on albums. I've been doing it for over a year, and the best part has to be watching the artists grow, traveling to different countries, and learning about the different traditions each country has.

Having more than one form of income is a blessing — it helps a lot and my savings account looks great. In terms of money, I made about $25,000 last year, and I hope to double that in 2019.

9. Vanessa Valiente, 36, fashion and travel blogger: $18,000 a year.

I'm a personal stylist and creator of V-Style, a fashion and travel blog in San Diego. V-Style is my side job. I've been doing it for 11 years, and it currently pays my mortgage (about $18,000 a year). It was originally inspired by my friend Andrea Kane, who was a pioneering organic beauty blogger back in 2007. I do it because I love it.

I prefer it over my full-time job as a personal stylist; personal styling is a very stressful job, while V-Style is a place where I can work in peace. I run everything, answer to no one, and create beautiful, useful content that women love. It also allows me to travel, and I get endless benefits ranging from free clothing and products to invitations to events.

10. Tom Nathaniel, 35, Grubhub delivery guy: $14,000-$15,000 a year.

I've been an SEO consultant since 2006, but I also work on side projects and have sold a few in the past. Right now, my side project is lushdollar.com, and I work with various clients.

My side job is delivering for Grubhub (a food delivery platform). Since I work from home, I always want to go outside to relax, talk to people, and be alone for a few hours a week. I have been doing it since August 2017 and I do it because I love interacting with the restaurant staff, going around the city seeing new places, and learning from good restaurants.

I make $20-30 an hour working dinner shifts (I only work 5-8:30pm if I do). To date, I haven't followed through 100%, but I'd say I make about $1,000 a month (so maybe $14,000-15,000 gross a year). Grubhub has helped me a lot when selling projects in the past, since I basically had to start from scratch with a new one and didn't want to touch the money I made from them.

11. Michele Brignoni, 44, dog sitter: $3,000 a year.

I'm a special education teacher in Chicago who has a side job to supplement the income. I am a dog sitter through Rover.com. As a teacher, I have summers off. Summer is also the time when most people travel (besides holidays), so I am available when the demand is highest. During the school year I also walk dogs but only a few.

I started doing this two summers ago; one of my dogs passed away and I thought the other one could use some canine companionship. I didn't necessarily want another dog, so joining Rover was a great option. It's nice to have a side job for the fun extras I normally couldn't afford. In two years, I have saved $6,000.

12. Misha Kaura, 26, fashion business: $2 million a year.

I've made close to $2 million in profits since I started the fashion business as a side job last year. I am the owner, CEO and creative director of a fashion company called Darlinghurst Enterprises. As well as having my own fashion company, Darlinghurst Garment Factory, I also design my signature fashion labels Misha Kaura and Mishactiv.

I always wanted to be a designer, so I've kept my steady job as a stock trader while continuing to do fashion in the evenings and on weekends.

The best part of having a side job is that I am able to earn a break in finances while supplementing my income with fashion, my chosen industry. I'm getting close to a point where I can quit my job in finance and focus on fashion full time.

13. Heather Yun, 40, UI and UX testing: $9,600 – $12,000 a year.

I was looking at The Penny Hoarder to find ways to earn some extra money for Christmas in 2016, I was hoping to make a few hundred dollars for gifts etc. I was primarily interested in User Interface (UI) and User Experience (UX) as I was developing web pages for work.

At my full time job I am a small business consultant at Level Up Colab helping clients find inefficiencies; it's all about UX and UI testing. I like to look for bugs (like when doing functionality tests) or contribute my knowledge about how to improve websites, what colors look better and more.

I signed up with a few places (from Usertesting.com to Utest.com) and I was immediately getting paid to run tests. So now I've been doing UI and UX testing as well as functional testing for websites and apps for the past two years. Alongside my full-time job, I've been earning an average of between $800 and $1,000 a month, and it's been great to have money to save or for extra expenses. (The most I've earned in a week has been $1,200.)

What I like about having a side job is that I don't count the money I make doing this as part of my salary, the part that I include in my daily life. Money from my side job goes into savings, investments, travel, buying things I feel like splurging on, and extras like Netflix subscriptions.