What Do Flight Attendants Do To Make Extra Money

It's no secret that starting out, your Flight Attendant salary will be relatively low. When I became a Flight Attendant, I cut my salary in half. It was hard at times to make ends meet. In this job even though you get paid less, you also have a lot more free time. I wanted to pick up a retail job, but it just wasn't possible while I was on reserve. I was constantly looking for side hustles that not only helped me make money, but also fit into my crazy schedule.

Many Flight Attendants own their own business or have a side hustle. It's one of the reasons they love the flexibility of the Flight Attendant lifestyle. We are hustlers (that's how we got the job!), but it can be hard to find a great way to make money on the side.

Now, more than ever, Flight Attendants are looking for great ways to make money. I've done tons of research about side income. After doing a few of these myself, I have a list of amazing ways to supplement your Flight Attendant salary.

supplementing her flight attendant salary on an overnight!

Teaching English Online

This side hustle is so good that I did it for years. There were times that I even made more than my Flight Attendant salary each month. Most companies require a Bachelor's degree, but each company has different requirements.

I taught with VIPKID, and it was a great money maker for me. Since you're teaching kids in China, you're on their timezone. This means classes are early in the morning or late at night; this is great for working around reserve shifts! Since you can open last minute slots and make a couple extra dollars, I even brought my stuff on the road with me and taught on overnights.

All the lessons are made by VIPKID, so you don't have to create anything. There's different levels of students, and you can really teach the lessons however you want.

There is no minimum or maximum obligation for how many classes you teach, so you can make your own schedule. If you're super busy with trips, you don't have to teach at all!

If you'd like to sign up for VIPKID, you can click this link and use my referral code: AMAND0378

Other great opportunities out there to teach English are GoGoKid and DaDa (requires an English Teaching Certificate, but this isn't too hard to get.)

Selling on Poshmark or eBay

This one is honestly so much fun! It's exciting to scour thrift stores looking for great pieces that someone left behind. Mostly, I do this with clothes on Poshmark, but on eBay, the sky is really the limit to what you can sell.

There's a market for almost everything! Items that can't be purchased in certain areas of the country or the world are especially great to sell. You can hit up your local TJ Maxx or Trader Joe's and see what people are buying.

When you find an item that you think might be worth selling, look up that item on Poshmark or eBay using the "Sold Items" filter. This will show you how much someone has already paid for that item and how recently another one sold. If there's tons of listings for it, skip the item. You can start out small and grow slowly!

My great uncle, who is a farmer, used to sell tractors to farmers in Egypt through eBay which is a major flex!

Substitute Teaching

This can be a little harder to break into, but it can be an amazing way to make some extra cash. It's crazy how similar substitute teaching is to being a Flight Attendant!

Most schools are in desperate need of more substitute teachers, and they pay pretty good money for a last minute gig. Many times, you can bring a book to read or something to work on while the kids work quietly at their desk.

On days off, you can substitute teach and pretend you have a normal schedule like everyone else. To find these jobs, either look on a specific school's website or the public school district's website. Every school or district has different requirements, but they usually don't require a degree.

Starting an Etsy business

If you love being creative, you can get paid for it! Etsy is not only a great source for unique items to buy, but it's a perfect marketplace for a small side business. My mom has a Cricut maker which can make a ton of cool items. She's made a little side business selling the stuff she's made.

I know a few people who even make digital designs that they sell. They never even have to deal with physical items or packaging! While this side hustle may have a bit of upfront costs, it can end up being a really great hustle with a flexible schedule.

Use Rakuten

You've probably seen the commercials for Rakuten (formerly Ebates), but if you're not using it, you're really missing out! No, this technically isn't a side hustle, but I know with the amount of online shopping that I do it's something that has really added up for me. Rakuten has partnered with a ton of online retailers, and they give you cash back when you shop at one of the stores.

Around the holidays, they even do some extra cash back deals with all the Black Friday sales. I love how you can install a Google Chrome widget at the top of your screen. When you go on websites that offer cash back, it will give you a pop up window letting you know. I've made almost $300 just buying stuff I was already planning to buy.

Babysitting

It's been awhile since I tapped this resource, but SitterCity gave me a great semi-regular babysitting job with an amazing family. It even led to another babysitting job with a family in the building! Another great website for this is Care.com. I love how both do background checks to make it safe for the family and the sitter. On these sites, you can also find care companion, housekeeping, and pet sitting jobs!

Tutoring

Since many Flight Attendants had a different career before flying, it's neat to see all the different backgrounds they have. Tutoring students is a way to not only keep those skills fresh but also make money using them.

If you know a second language or majored in a particular subject in college, there are some great sites out there looking for tutors. A great company for this is Varsity Tutors. They allow tutors to be independent contractors and have their own way of doing things. This lets you create an experience for your students that works for you. You could also do this on long overnights on your computer!

Transcription Work

This is another hustle that I did myself as a reserve Flight Attendant, but it will only be a small addition for your Flight Attendant salary. I worked through Rev, and it was a pretty good side hustle for me. If you're a fast typer or know a foreign language, you can make some extra cash doing transcription work on the side.

Transcribing can be nice to do on airport standby or an overnight. When I did this work, I would use the money I made from this for a specific item I wanted. For example, if I wanted a new jacket that cost $50, I would do transcription work until I made $50, and then I could buy the jacket. It made it more exciting when I was working toward a goal!

The work can be tedious at times, but it feels like a game. Not to mention, I have learned about some pretty interesting stuff with the different files I transcribed.

Drive for Uber Or Lyft

What I love about driving for Uber or Lyft is the absolute flexibility that you have with it. The people I know that do this usually have a good story or two to tell as well! Another great thing about driving for Uber and Lyft is that in some cities, you can rent a car to drive for them if you don't have one.

Since Flight Attendants may not have their exact schedule, you'll be able to work around your flying days and work either driving for passengers or driving for Uber Eats. This would be great for someone who is on reserve and lives in base because you can drive for Uber up until you get the call for your trip!

You can sign up for Uber by clicking this link and using my code: AMANDAP135

Work for a Delivery Service

Convenience is the name of the game these days, and delivery services make that happen. There are so many different ones out there delivering all sorts of items! While I haven't done this myself, some that I've heard really good things about are Amazon Flex, where you deliver packages for Amazon by reserving a block window where you're available to work. You use your own car for deliveries, and you have amazing support from Amazon!

Another great one is Postmates. I did this in New York City, and it's always crazy busy around lunch time! You can join Postmates using my code: FL-APRIDDY

Other great delivery services to work for include DoorDash, Shipt, Instacart, and GrubHub. Check these out and see which one is the best fit for you!

Dog Walking/Sitting

I worked for Rover when I lived in New York City, and I absolutely loved it. To be honest, the majority of people who book a walker or a sitter for their pets take really good care of them, so all the ones I worked with were really sweet. It was so much fun!

There are tons of opportunities for this one in larger cities like airline hubs, and there are many people looking that only need someone every once in a while. Another great company is Wag. Both companies offer dog walking, drop-ins, dog sitting, and dog boarding (where the dog stays at your house)

Be An Extra In A TV Show or Movie

Yes, you heard that right! Think of all the Flight Attendants you know that have a little bit of performer in them. Depending on where you live or work, you can make some money on the side starring on the big screen! A New York based Flight Attendant I know has been in several episodes of Law and Order, and she absolutely loves it. You can use sites like On Location Casting or Backstage to find work.

Amazon mTurk

I'd really only suggest doing Amazon mTurk while sitting airport standby because it's not a great money maker, but it's something. What's great about it is that you can do short easy tasks, (Some take as little as 15 seconds), and get paid for it. These jobs are ones that can't be automated and done by a machine, so they need a human (like you) to work on them!

It's easy to do right up until crew scheduling calls you since there really aren't many ways to make money at the airport. Some tasks are extremely boring, but it can kind of be like a game to see how much money you make. This is another one that's great for working toward a specific purchase.

Task Rabbit

This is another super exciting one! Are you a whiz at putting together IKEA furniture? Or maybe you are the best at running errands for other people? If you become a tasker with TaskRabbit, you can put those skills to the test! People will hire you to do tasks for them around the house or at their business. You're able to set your own rates and schedule, and you can build a super enticing profile to attract customers to choose you for the job.

Unclaimed Funds

No one knows about unclaimed funds! It won't exactly be a regular addition to your Flight Attendant salary, but it can help at times! This one also won't work for everyone. If a company sends you a check, but it never makes it to you, (maybe you moved or they got the wrong address) the company can't just keep the money. It has to go somewhere, so the Department of Treasury in that state will hold onto it.

Each state keeps a database, so you can search your name and see if you have any unclaimed funds. It sounds super sketchy, but it's totally real. I randomly found $40 from a refund from my health insurance company. Sometimes, it's just a few dollars, but there are people on there who have thousands of dollars just waiting on them (very rare, but still neat!)

Even if you don't have any unclaimed funds, it's still fun to check it out for friends or family, and let them know to go get their money! (No, do not text your ex.) Who knows? Maybe they'll give you a cut. You can check out this website for more information on unclaimed funds.

Hopefully, you found this guide to be helpful for making some extra cash in addition to your Flight Attendant salary. What are some other ways you've found to hustle on the side?