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People take on side gigs for all different reasons - in some cases, to earn extra cash or pursue a passion...in others, to make ends meet.
We teamed up with FlexJobs to take a look at the 15 most common side gigs. Many of these positions can be done from home, while others offer flexible office hours or weekend time slots to accommodate full-time jobs.
FlexJobs - a job site specializing in remote and part-time work - compiled a list of the top 15 most common side gigs. In addition, FlexJobs turned to Payscale for the average hourly wage of each position. This number indicates the mean earning, and variations of these general categories often prove to be extremely high-paying. Previous reporting from Business Insider's Erin McDowell shows that medical writers, for instance, can earn up to $50 an hour; the average salary for a writer is listed as $20 per hour.
Customer service representatives earn an average of $14 per hour.
Customer service representatives usually take incoming phone calls from customers and help answer inquiries. According to PayScale, positions in a call center have shifts from 7 am to 3 pm, 3 pm to 11 pm, and 11 pm to 7 am, allowing for flexibility.
Sales representative responsibilities vary depending on the company, but overall Payscale describes the position's main purpose as catering to both potential and existing clients. Maintaining relationships with these clients includes making sales calls to those companies within designated sales areas.
Whether working events — such as weddings or graduations — or freelancing for publications, photographers take pictures either in studio or on location, according to Payscale's description. Especially for event photographers, jobs are often booked for the weekends to earn extra money.
Social media managers earn an average hourly wage of $16.
Social media managers are tasked with maintaining a company or individual's social media pages. According to Payscale, "They also implement marketing campaigns to increase brand recognition and customer loyalty."
Virtual assistants also earn around $16 per hour as a side gig.
According to Payscale, virtual assistants can work from home and "make appointments, arrange for advertisement, and provide basic customer service activities online."
Additionally, the site notes that — as long as work is completed — work hours are often flexible, as "pay is based on a per-item basis rather than hourly or salary-based."
Graphic designers earn just over $17 per hour on average.
Graphic designers often use programs such as Adobe Illustrator and InDesign to design logos and other projects that appear in print or online for companies. While many are employed in-house or work for a design agency, according to Payscale, others opt for self-employment to work on a "per-project basis."
"Those working as a medical coder are responsible for transferring diagnostic and treatment terms from doctors and other health professionals into coded form for record-keeping, use of other medical professionals, and often for billing and insurance purposes," said Payscale's description.
Proofreaders also earn an average hourly wage of $18.
According to Payscale, "Proofreaders check the quality and consistency of a written work. They monitor the accuracy in both the text and images, such as with grammar, spelling, page numbers, consistency in typeface, and the table of contents."
According to Payscale's description, ESL (English as a Second Language) teachers instruct students whose first language is not English. Additionally, an ESL teacher's role is to assist these students in other subjects — such as math and science — that are taught in English.
While Payscale defines an interpreter's traditional role (translating verbal statements into another language), it also notes how the role has increased responsibilities today.
"An interpreter is often employed to help individuals fill out government forms that are in a different language than the individual speaks or writes," said Payscale. "Increasingly, interpreters also work as translators of technical material for companies to help bridge the gap between two or more development teams."
