Building a Career? 4 Places Where Side Work is Plentiful

Side gigs and part-time work were once a way to make ends meet while waiting for a real career to launch. Today, side work and side hustles are plentiful across a variety of age brackets, especially among millennials. According to a report by Bankrate, 50 percent of millenials have a side job.

A side gig may be a financial necessity, but you can still leverage the skills you learn and experience gained to build a flourishing career. Pair your side gig with one of the best cities for millennials to kickstart your career and enjoy a relatively low cost of living. Here's are four ideas to help you get started.

Micro-Influencer

You don't need an Instagram following worthy of a reality star to launch a micro-influencer career. Micro-influencers have a smaller, engaged following of just a few thousand that are attractive to brands looking to raise awareness of their products. The best part is you can live anywhere like the up and coming Jefferson City, Missouri or Ames, Iowa attracting a new wave of millennials and Generation Z. Curate your audience and share an authentic look at your life and areas you're passionate about from wellness to self-care.

Partner with brands to work on paid campaigns, or sell products you love and use directly to your audience. Consider the items you already use around your house like Amway wellness products and promote them to your audience. Use your platform to publicly address questions about the now defunct Amway scam claim and show your audience how you earn a viable living selling their products.

Tech Junkie

Tech junkies with start-up ambitions can look beyond the prohibitively expensive San Francisco and toward up and coming tech cities. Head to Madison, Wisconsin's emerging tech hub and look to coding boot camps while working on your start-up dreams. You can also consider pitching yourself as a personal assistant to area tech founders and angel investors to learn everything about the business.

Remember to keep your tech skills sharp by taking courses on sites like Lynda or Skillshare to help prepare for your dream career. You can even take your skills pro by bidding on jobs at Upwork. But stay strategic along the way. Set your search criteria to browse gigs that will give your career a boost like computer coding, UX experience designer, or web developer.

Artist

You can still make a living with your creative pursuits in millennial hot spots like Cleveland, Ohio. The city boasts a thriving music scene, arts district, and hip neighborhoods like Lakewood. Look to jobs at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Cleveland Museum of Art, or Playhouse Square among others. Theater buffets and aspiring actors may be surprised to learn that Cleveland boasts one of the biggest theater scenes outside of New York City.

To bolster your artistic endeavors, look to Cleveland’s boutiques and flea markets to sell your wares, play your guitar at one of the many microbreweries, or turn to Etsy to sell your original photographs and artwork. With Cleveland’s reasonable cost of living, you’ll have your pick of viable creative pursuits.

Entertainment

Struggling actors and performers are a common tale in L.A. and New York City, where the creative class struggles to make ends meet. Instead of looking to traditional entertainment cities with an astronomical price tag, make a move to one of the best cities for millennials. Orlando, Florida is home to a thriving tourism industry where actors, musicians, and performers are in demand for theme parks like Disney, Universal Studios, comedy clubs, hotels, bars, restaurants, and more. In the meantime, you can even supplement your income with sites like Voices or VoiceBunny to flex your voice over talent performance muscles.

Wherever you decide to relocate, make sure it supports both your career goals, side gigs and quality of life. In a world where side gigs rule, forge a new path in one of the emerging cities for ambitious millennials.

Staying Liquid: Smart Cash-Flow Strategies Between Paychecks

Side-gig income often arrives at irregular intervals, making short-term liquidity critical. Build a zero-based budget, automate a “side-hustle savings” sub-account, and track weekly cash burn so you know exactly when your balance will bottom out. If an unexpected bill lands before your next payout and i need cash today, compare costs carefully speedy funding usually carries higher fees, so use it only as a bridge, not a habit.

• Sync expense due dates with incoming payments when possible.
• Keep at least one month of average gig expenses in an e-savings buffer.
• Automate “sweep” transfers on every deposit to avoid manual discipline fatigue.

Funding Your First Tools When Credit Isn’t Perfect

New side hustles often require modest gear or certification fees that traditional banks dismiss as “too small.” If your FICO score is under 580, explore loans for bad credit online guaranteed approval options from niche fintech lenders. Vet APRs, origination fees, and pre-payment penalties, then borrow only what accelerates revenue (laptop, software, trade license) so the loan repays itself quickly.

Pro tip: Choose a lender that reports on-time payments to all three bureaus; that turns each installment into positive credit history.

Bridging Short Gaps with a $500 Cushion

Many gig workers hit cash crunches under $1,000 exactly where credit-card limits or savings may fall short. A dedicated $500 cash advance no credit check can cover replacement tools, emergency car repairs, or rush inventory. Compare fixed-fee versus interest-based structures; a flat $75 fee on a two-week loan equals a 391% APR.

Always map a clear repayment date tied to confirmed incoming work to avoid rollover traps.

Leveling Up: When a $1,000 Infusion Makes Sense

Ready to upgrade from hobby to semi-pro? Investing in higher-end gear, bulk materials, or targeted ads can 2-3× your revenue if timed right. A strategic 1000 dollar loan lets you seize limited-time discounts or holiday demand spikes without draining operating cash. Forecast ROI first: will the loan’s total cost be less than 20% of the projected incremental profit?

No-Credit-Check Loans: Convenience vs. True Cost

Marketing headlines promise instant approval, but every no credit check loans product still reviews income and banking history. Expect higher rates to offset the lender’s risk. Use a total-cost-of-credit calculator, factoring fees and interest over the full term, not just the headline APR, to decide if speed outweighs expense.

Rule of thumb: If total repayment exceeds 130% of the principal within one year, seek alternatives (employer advances, local CDFI micro-loans, or peer-to-peer platforms).

Borrow Smarter Online to Rebuild Your Score

Consistent on-time payments can turn short-term borrowing into a long-term asset for your financial profile. Choose online loans for bad credit that (1) cap late fees, (2) allow early payoff without penalty, and (3) report to major bureaus. Combine that with a secured credit card and a 10% utilization target to move a score from “poor” to “fair” within 12 months.

Remember: your side hustle is a business. Treat credit as working capital, not spending money, and track metrics like any entrepreneur.