How Do You Know When To Make Your Side Hustle Your Full-Time Job?

• Maintaining a clear distinction between a side hustle (limited time and supplemental income) and a full-service job (substantial time and primary income) is crucial for optimizing career satisfaction and financial health.
• Side hustles can offer opportunities for skill enhancement and exploring passions, potentially contributing to a main job, but can evolve into full-service jobs if they start demanding more time and aligning with career goals.
• Deciding to shift a side hustle to a full-time job hinges on factors like financial stability, passion, market demand, and impact on work-life balance.

Ten hours of a side hustle can earn you an average of $14,000 a year. Seems worth it, right? 

Maybe. Balancing your time and effort between your side hustle and your main job can get tough. 

Yet side hustles are skyrocketing in popularity for good reasons. The surge in gig work and freelancing since the remote work revolution has generated over $50 billion in monthly income, much of which remains untaxed. Remarkably, even individuals with annual salaries of $100,000 or more are participating in this side hustle phenomenon.

Now, 7 in 10 remote workers have multiple jobs, according to Resume Builder. 

The line between when a “side hustle” becomes a “full-service job” can be murky, but it is essential to delineate the two to optimize both career satisfaction and financial health. 

Time Commitment and Income Dependency

The distinction around work types outside of a main full-time job primarily hinges on factors like time commitment, income dependency, and professional development. 

Side Hustle

Typically, a side hustle is an additional job or project that one undertakes outside of their primary employment. The defining feature here is the limited time commitment, often ranging from a few hours to around 10-15 hours per week. 

For instance, a web developer who spends 10 hours a week working on freelance projects can earn an impressive additional $25,114 annually, per Preply’s analysis. This is often supplemental income rather than being necessary to meet one’s basic expenses, but as many workers struggle economically it has become critical to some in order to cover costs of living.

Full-Service Job

A full-service job, on the other hand, requires a more substantial time investment, generally full-time hours, and is the primary source of income and professional engagement. It goes beyond mere financial utility, integrating aspects of career advancement, skills development, and networking, making it a vital part of one’s professional identity.

Professional Development and Career Goals

A side hustle often serves as a means for individuals to explore their passions, test new fields, or build additional skills that may not be utilized in their primary job.

A side hustle often serves as a means for individuals to explore their passions, test new fields, or build additional skills that may not be utilized in their primary job. The creative and tech sectors, for instance, offer high-paying side gigs like motion graphics design, where one can earn up to $53 per hour, or writing and blogging at $42 per hour. 

These not only provide financial flexibility but also assist in skill enhancement that can be beneficial for the main job.

Conversely, if the side hustle starts taking up a substantial portion of time and becomes integral to one’s career goals, it may have evolved into a full-service job. 

This is most apparent when the supplemental job starts offering consistent projects, significant professional contacts, and learning opportunities, thereby overshadowing the main employment in terms of career satisfaction and growth.

A Side Hustle’s Contribution to the Main Job

A well-chosen side hustle can contribute positively to a person’s main job, especially if there is a skills overlap. For example, a web developer working on freelance projects can gain new technical skills and perspectives that enhance their performance in their primary job. 

Similarly, side gigs in writing or content creation can improve communication skills valuable in virtually any profession.

However, the contribution is not always direct or guaranteed. A side hustle in a vastly different field, such as pet sitting or housekeeping, may offer little to no professional crossover with a primary job in software development or finance. 

The primary benefit, in such cases, lies in financial security and personal fulfillment rather than direct professional development.

When to Settle into the Best Permanent Hustle

Understanding when a side hustle is merely a supplementary activity and when it has the potential to become a full-service job is key to career planning.

Understanding when a side hustle is merely a supplementary activity and when it has the potential to become a full-service job is key to career planning.The decision to transition a side hustle into a full-service job, or to identify the best permanent hustle, often depends on several personal and professional factors:

1. Financial Stability: When the income from the side hustle matches or exceeds the primary job and offers stability, it might signal readiness for a full transition.
2. Passion and Fulfillment: If the side hustle aligns more with one’s passions and yields greater fulfillment than the primary job, a permanent shift could enhance overall well-being.
3. Market Demand: Understanding the market demand for the side hustle is invaluable. High-demand fields like web development and motion graphic design are more likely to offer sustainable full-time opportunities.
4. Work-Life Balance: The nature of the work and its impact on work-life balance should be considered heavily. If permanent engagement in the side hustle offers a better work-life balance, it might be worth making the leap.

While side hustles can significantly enhance financial stability and personal satisfaction, careful consideration should be given to time commitment, professional development, earnings potential, and fulfillment before making any major career transitions. Analyzing market data and trends can offer valuable insights into the most lucrative and stable side hustles to potentially target.