More Than Half Of Millennials Work Side Hustle — Here’s How Much They Make
Written by
Vance Cariaga
Edited by
Angela Corry
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Side hustles cover a lot of territory, from earning a few extra bucks as a plant sitter to raking in $100 an hour or more as a consultant. The one thing they all have in common is providing a needed financial boost when your regular job doesn’t cover all your expenses.
This is especially important for millennials, who are at an age when those expenses can pile up in a hurry.
More than half (52%) of millennials in the United States work some type of side hustle to supplement their income, according to a new survey from the education and writing platform Academized. In many cases, millennials rely on “polyworking” to supplement their incomes, meaning they work multiple jobs.
Academized, which polled 2,500 millennials between the ages of 26 and 41, found that one-third of respondents work at four or more jobs. Another 24% handle three jobs at a time.
Nearly two-thirds (64%) of millennials spend five to 20 hours a week on their side gigs in addition to maintaining their full-time work commitments. All of this work isn’t just a way to earn a little extra pocket change, either. Most millennials who work side hustles bring in enough additional income to give their finances a serious boost.
The average annual income from side hustles is $12,689, according to Academized. The highest reported side hustle income for millennials is $45,000 a year — not that far below the median earnings of about $62,000 for full-time workers, according to the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics data.
Here are the top five reasons millennials get side hustles, per the Academized survey:
- Save money: 31% of respondents
- Pursue creative/personal interests: 24%
- Gain skills for career advancement: 17%
- Build personal brand or businesses: 12%
- Improve work-life balance: 9%
While the extra money (and fulfillment) no doubt come in handy, polyworking does have a few downsides. Academized found that 42% of millennials who hold multiple jobs face burnout due to extended work hours and frequent job changes. About one-quarter (26%) experienced “personal relationship problems,” while 19% reported a decline in their full-time job performance.
On the flipside, nearly one-third (31%) of respondents reported no downside to holding multiple jobs.
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