Starting a side hustle in Germany is not as hard as you think. Germans can start side hustles today that make them lots of money. The hard part is coming up with what side hustle to start. In this article, we are going to talk about 36+ high-paying side hustles for Germans.
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What Is A Side Hustle?
A side hustle is a second job or other income-generating activity that someone does in their free time. It is typically done for extra money, but can also be done to pursue a hobby or passion.
Why Start A Side Hustle?
A side hustle is a great way to make extra money, and it can be a lot of fun. You can do something you enjoy, or you can do something that you don’t enjoy but need to do. For example, if you’re a stay-at-home mom, you could start a blog and make money from ads on your site. If you’re an accountant, you could offer tax preparation services to friends and family.
36 High Paying Side Hustles For Germans
You can share your ride and make lots of money by carrying
people while on your way o work or school.
Let’s assume you want to drive from Munich to Berlin by car. Since Berlin and Munich are almost 600 kilometers apart, the fuel costs would be around 65 euros – of course, that also depends on which car you are talking about.
If you were to take three more people with you, you would offer your passengers a much shorter and cheaper trip and drastically reduce your travel expenses. With a pleasant conversation, the journey goes much faster anyway.
Another option is parcel delivery for companies like Amazon.
Check the company’s websites for the driver, courier, and delivery helper jobs near you. You can apply quickly and easily online from your computer or phone.
2. Domestic help/ handyman
Are you handy with housework? Can you fix or build things? Do you like cleaning and do you like organizing? Helpling is a website where you can offer your services. Once approved, you can use the app to find jobs that interest you.
If you have experience as a handyman, fitter, or cleaner, log on to MyHammer to find jobs in your city.
3. Become a babysitter
Babysitting positions with flexible hours are always available for people with penchants for caregiving. You have the option of registering with a care service.
There are countless other providers on the market.
4. Consulting/Advice
Suppose you have gained a lot of experience in a certain area over the years. In that case, you can simply share your experience with other people and thus earn additional money every month quite easily and quickly. Your main task would then be to help other people through competent and professional advice.
For example, if you’re a digital marketing expert, you can give a business tips on optimizing their website to rank better on Google searches and generate more monthly profits
5. Customer Care Service
Customer service is one of the fastest-growing professions in Germany. There are many ways to get hired, both online and on-site. Evening and weekend jobs are plentiful if you need to work alongside your day job.
6. Become a freelancer
If you’re looking to earn some extra cash and have the right digital skills and time, becoming a freelancer could be an excellent side hustle and a great way to boost your bank account and resume. You may even have thoughts about becoming a full-time freelancer on Upwork or Fiverr.
7. Graphic Designer
Do you master one of the Adobe programs, or do you generally have a passion for design and graphics? Then you should consider offering your skills to others. Many websites with online writing jobs also offer freelance graphic design projects. Here you can also search for jobs on the portals for freelancers. If you’re familiar with Photoshop, consider working on Fiverr as a side hustle.
8. Rent unused rooms
Another high-paying side hustle that works well in Germany is to rent additional space. Do you have a vacant room, garage, or storage space that you are not using? If so, check out Airbnb and other similar sites and rent out your space.
9. Sell old stuff
If your cabinet is littered with old clothes, shoes, bags, and other accessories, you can free up space, downsize your wardrobe, and make money by selling what you no longer need. For example, use eBay or one of the online sites dedicated to selling used clothes, or use an app like Vinted to sell clothes you haven’t worn in a long time.
If you are well-versed with routes and streets in your city and you are a good writer, then you can work effectively as a city guide writer could be an excellent side hustle. Real estate and tourism companies often hire local writers to create city and neighborhood guides. As a city guide author, you would provide a unique local perspective on the city, population demographics statistics, and insider tips for shopping, leisure, culture, entertainment, things to do, public transport, and more.
11. Take micro jobs
Are you on the lookout for a quick-time side hustle that can be done quickly and easily without committing? Consider a micro job! A micro job is a small, task-oriented, time-limited activity. Fiverr is one of the most popular sites for finding quick jobs.
12. Participation in research studies or focus groups
Here is another high-paying side hustle for people willing to participate in a paid research study or online focus groups. Some are ongoing; others are paid by the hour or a flat rate for your time. Some positions require you to attend in person. Others can be done online.
13. Organizer or sorting
Are you organized? Does clearing out closets and shelves sound like fun? Whether it’s for someone who needs help with organizing or someone who is downsizing their home, you can help clear up clutter for a fee.
14. Party Planner
If you have a knack for party planning, this is a part-time job that’s easy to get started with. Offer your services to everyone you know, and you’ll soon have a list of clients who can write references for you. You can start with small events like children’s birthday parties and expand as you gain experience.
15. Photographer
Regardless of whether you want to become an artist or a professional photographer, you can turn your hobby into a high-paying side hustle and earn an additional income. You can take photos while traveling and sell them to photo-sharing sites. Photographers can capture special occasions, with prices ranging from €300 to €500 for birthday parties and up to €3,000 for a wedding. Many businesses and non-profit organizations hire photographers for events or marketing purposes on a contract or freelance basis.
16. Work for a caterer
One of the perks of working for a caterer is that you don’t have to stick to a fixed schedule. You can work at events when you have time. Typical positions that caterers hire for are waiters, bartenders, and other event staff.
17. Use your hobby to earn extra money.
Don’t forget that you can earn extra money from your hobby, especially if it’s something you enjoy doing. If you are a photographer who takes great photos, try to sell them to others. Perhaps you make craft items to sell on Etsy or at local craft fairs. And if you are particularly gifted at playing a musical instrument, you may be able to charge a fee for music lessons. Get creative and think about your hobby as a possible side hustle.
18. Work at a market or festival
Many communities have weekly farmer’s markets, and some also have regular flea markets. If you have time on the weekends, a job at the market can provide you with some extra income, and you may get a bargain on produce and other goods being sold.
If you live in a resort town, check the calendar for upcoming festivals, concerts, and fairs. There you’ll find a range of fun jobs to take on, and you’ll get free entry to the event.
19. Online Writer
If you’re a good writer, there are many ways to hone your craft and make some extra cash. Whether you’re a freelancer writing articles for a magazine, editing a blog, proofreading reports, or writing short stories, there are many online marketplaces with customers looking for good writers and editors.
You can apply to be an author here:
20. Surveys and Product Tests
Market research relies on surveys, the results of which flow into product development or the design of advertising media, among other things. You can earn a few extra euros by answering relevant online surveys. You are very flexible in terms of time and can do these tasks well as a side hustle from home.
21. Usability Tests
In this side hustle, your duty is to test games, apps, other software, or websites according to specified criteria and log the results. The tests serve to discover errors and potential for improvement. However, you should be interested in the digital content to be tested and be able to concentrate.
22. Tutoring
You don’t need to have a college degree to become a tutor. College students are often hired as tutors for elementary and high school students. For example, older candidates with a bachelor’s degree in a specific subject could become tutors after school, in the evenings, or on weekends.
Check with your school district counseling center for high school and elementary school jobs, career counseling, or student office for on-campus jobs.
Tutoring is a high-paying side hustle in Germany. The prerequisite for this is that your students come to you. An alternative can be video chat, for example, via Skype. Of course, you must have the appropriate specialist knowledge and be able to convey it.
23. Accounting work
This activity is well suited as a side hustle if you are employed full-time in the commercial sector. If you have worked as an employee in accounting for at least 16 hours a week for at least three years after completing a commercial apprenticeship, you have more opportunities. Then you can also assign and book ongoing business transactions for your clients, carry out ongoing payroll accounting and create wage tax returns. As an alternative to self-employment, you can also look for a side hustle job in the usual job exchanges and agree on working from home with the employer.
24. Copywriting
As a copywriter, you mainly create content for company websites, online shops, blogs, and occasionally printed articles. However, specialist knowledge and good language skills positively affect earning potential. Most copywriters work as freelancers on an hourly or word basis. A mini-job is also possible, but more rarely.
The work includes research and the formulation of texts with the precise implementation of the specifications. Creativity is also often required. Getting started is easy with portals such as content.de or textbroker.de. This is where career changers can also find jobs, gain experience, and do not have to worry about customer acquisition and billing. Another possibility is job exchanges such as texterjobboerse.de.
25. Editing and Proofreading
Editors and proofreaders check written texts. Proofreaders focus on spelling, grammar, and typography. Editors check structure and content. Therefore, in some cases, you also need specialist knowledge. You can find a mini job or jobs for the self-employed on job exchanges. Some companies specialize in these services. Editors can tend to earn more than proofreaders. Content and type of text play a major role in this. The services are also in demand in the academic sector. Therefore, this side hustle is a good earning opportunity for students in Germany.
26. Translator
To be able to work as a translator, you do not necessarily need special training or a degree. It is still advantageous because it allows you to take on more demanding and better-paying jobs. Even if you grew up bilingual, that is a good prerequisite for successful work.
Earning opportunities is highly dependent on your skills. Because simple shop texts are less demanding than, for example, technical or medical specialist translations, since a translator, in contrast to an interpreter, only works in writing, you can do this as a side hustle from home, mostly as a freelancer.
27. Transcription
When it comes to transcribing interviews, conference minutes, or lectures from audio or video recordings correctly into written form, this is only possible manually.
If you can type quickly with the keyboard, you can do the transcription as an interesting side hustle in Germany. Occasionally there are vacancies for mini-jobs, but freelance work predominates in this area. You have even more options with training as a medical transcriptionist because doctors also use this service frequently.
28. Data Collection and Maintenance
Whether for business, marketing or research, data often has to be recorded manually and databases maintained. This can be, for example, addresses, product data, or survey results. Many companies delegate these tasks because they do not arise regularly. This is a high-paying side hustle, and the exchange takes place online. For example, you receive image files and transfer certain information to a database. Normally, you agree on fixed prices for each data set; less often, billing is by the hour.
29. Research Assistant
Internet research is a high-paying side hustle in Germany. The need for such services is always there. For example, many companies are interested in certain market data. Others would like to supplement internal databases. Research is also necessary for research work and various other projects.
Certain specialist knowledge is sometimes required, especially in the scientific field. In many cases, however, the tasks can be completed by anyone who can work in a concentrated and precise manner and has experience using the internet.
30. Virtual Assistant
Virtual assistants are mostly self-employed but sometimes also work as employees. You can take up telephone services, organize appointments, e-mail and letter traffic, and similar assistance work for one or more clients without having to be there in person. Customers are often craftsmen or other small businesses without their secretariat.
If you want to do this as a side hustle from home, agree on fixed times that can be combined with your main job or everyday life. This works best if you work for one or a few regular clients. Look for advertisements on job boards or create one yourself. You can also use social networks to find customers or contact companies directly.
Learn how to make money as a virtual assistant with our article here.
31. Customer Support
Unlike virtual assistants, account managers are often employees. This work is also suitable if you want a side hustle from home. Account managers must be familiar with the company’s offerings to advise customers professionally.
They must remain friendly even when taking criticism or dealing with disgruntled customers. Since communication occurs via telephone, e-mail, or chat, the work can also be carried out without being present in the company. However, the employer must agree to this. Use job boards to look for such work.
32. Sell homemade stuff
You can make money if you pursue a creative hobby that involves making attractive products regularly. Whether you sew, do handicrafts, or do other arts and crafts, you’ll earn extra income from the sale. With this side hustle from home, you are self-employed and must register a business if you sell regularly.
33. Affiliate Marketing
Whether as a blogger with a niche site or with your own video channel, income from affiliate links can generate an attractive additional income. Affiliate links lead to websites or specific products of advertising companies (advertisers). You will receive a commission for each sale via such a link or for each click.
34. Influencer Marketing
A prerequisite for a worthwhile income is reaching so many people via a social media channel such as Instagram or YouTube that you become interesting as a company cooperation partner. This is only possible with a good concept and regular new content.
Ideally, you publish content on a topic that you are passionate about. You can then seek endorsement deals with corporate partners and showcase their products.
35. Dropshipping
With dropshipping, you operate your online shop, e.g., with Shopify. The special feature is that you do not come into contact with the sold items yourself since these are sent directly from manufacturers or wholesalers to the end customers after the orders have been placed.
Your task is maintaining the shop and doing marketing, billing, and administration. However, you do not need any storage or shipping capacities. You also do not have to pre-finance goods on a large scale.
36. Create online courses
If you have expert knowledge in a certain field, you can create video courses on it and monetize them. The users of your offers pay for it, and you get a revenue share.
Alternatively, you can also offer courses via video platforms such as YouTube and monetize them with advertisements or affiliate links. However, you may no longer publish these courses on Udemy or similar platforms.
37. Account Manager
You can be an account manager to CEOs and MDs who might be too busy to work but will hire you to help them balance their records. In Germany, you will find such jobs during weekends and after-work periods.
Conclusion
If you want to earn something extra, this is possible with a side hustle or self-employment from home. Many offers appeal to different interests, talents, and requirements. Above all, computers and the internet make it possible that interesting and flexible side hustles are not a problem.