Are you a travel nurse looking to make extra money on the side?
Maybe you need the money, maybe you don’t.
Perhaps you just have extra time on your hands and want to use it in a productive way while also earning extra income.
Well, I’ve got news for you as this is one of my best travel nurse tips ever.
As someone who has hustled her whole life, I think it’s time I share some of my best-kept secrets about how I have generated extra income on the side, through multiple income streams, and all while travel nursing.
What Are The Best Side Hustles For Travel Nurses?
Some of the best side hustles for nurses are the ones that use the skills that you have gained from your career as an RN.
Here is a list of the best side hustles for travel nurses who have an RN license:
- Pick up per-diem shifts
- IV Hydration nurse
- Aesthetic nurse
- Infusion Nurse
- Telehealth Nurse
- Immunization Nurse
- Nurse-writer
- Start a blog
- Freelance Writing
- Medical surveys
- Become a social media influencer
- Tutor nursing students
- Become a health coach
- BLS Instructor
- Uber/Lyft driver
- Food delivery
- Sell crafts on Etsy
- Concierge nurse
- Home health nurse
- Airbnb host
- Babysitting
- Pet-sitting
1. Per Diem Shifts
Obviously, picking up per diem shifts, or even extra shifts at your work, is always an excellent way to make some extra cash.
For times when there aren’t any extra shifts available, those shifts at work aren’t worth the money, or I’m in between contracts, I always go straight to Medely.
If you’re not familiar, Medely is a website where you sign up, put in your state license and credentials, and then when shifts become available in your area, you get sent a text message with a link to pick up the shift you want.
And depending on where you live, there is plenty of work available.
Click the button below to get started.
Average pay for per diem shifts: $42-$125 per hour according to Medely.
2. IV Hydration Nurse
There are so many ways to do this profitable side hustle. And depending on where you live, there are lots of opportunities available.
You can either:
- Work at a brick-and-mortar location where customers come to the storefront
- Be a mobile IV hydration nurse where you drive to people’s houses for a brick-and-mortar company
- Pick up per diem IV hydration shifts.
The last one is my preference as text messages get sent to you and you can decide if you want to work that job or not.
I recommend Googling “IV hydration nurse”, “IV therapy nurse”, “concierge nurse”, and “vitamin infusion nurse” and see what pops up in your area.
Average pay for an IV hydration nurse: up to $100 according to Nurse.org.
3. Aesthetic Nurse
This one takes some training, but if you know someone who has an in and is willing to train you, this can be a very lucrative side gig.
As you will see, the best nurse side hustles are the ones that take some training or learning — if it was easy, then everyone would be doing it.
But if botox, facial injections, and beauty, in general, are your jam, this side hustle can easily turn into a full-time job that pays similarly to that of travel nursing.
Average pay for aesthetic nurse: up to $100K/year according to Indeed.com.
4. Infusion Nurse
An infusion nurse is a registered nurse who performs medication infusions for patients who need IV antibiotics or chemotherapy infusions.
This isn’t to be confused with an IV Hydration nurse who infuses IV fluid boluses with vitamins and supplements.
You also need to have a special certificate to be able to infusion chemo drugs as they require special handling and disposal practices.
This certificate is called a CRNI — Certificate of Registered Nurse, Infusion.
Average pay for infusion nurse: $35 – $53 per hour according to Zip Recruiter.
5. Telehealth Nurse
Work as a telehealth nurse has gained increasing popularity since the pandemic hit.
Even though it is over, people are still interested in having their appointments online and also, it’s not always necessary to go in person to an appointment.
A telehealth nurse may:
- Makes video calls with patients regarding test results
- Create Care plans
- Follow-up care appointments
- Chronic care management
- Triaging
- Health assessments
- Medication questions and refills
- Work for a nurse hotline
Average pay for a telehealth nurse: $39 – $118 per hour according to Zip Recruiter.
6. Immunization Nurse
An immunization nurse can work in various settings and it is a great way to make some extra money.
An immunization nurse may:
- Administer behavioral health medications
- Work at a pharmacy administering vaccines
- Work in a clinic
- Administer travel vaccines
- Work in an urgent care
Average pay for an immunization nurse: $25 – $64 per hour, according to Zip Recruiter.
7. Nurse Writer
As long as you enjoy writing and aren’t half-bad at it, anyone can be a nurse writer.
Nurse writers look for freelance jobs on websites like UpWork and Fiverr and are paid either per article or per word.
Nurse writer may write:
- Blogs (like this one!)
- Articles
- Education materials
- Medical writing
- Research articles
- Copywriting
I like this article from Nurse Fern which gives good insights about what you can do with the field.
Average pay for a nurse writer: $100 – $800 per article, according to Nurse Fern.
8. Start A Blog (Like This One!)
Out of all of the side hustles for nurses, this is one that I stuck with and finally made some passive income off of.
I started this travel nursing blog in January of this year, and it was the best decision I ever made.
I decided to go with a focus on travel nursing as that is what I do and I have a lot of knowledge on the topic.
And how did I learn how to start a blog?
I purchased a course on how to do it.
After tons of research looking into where to spend my money, I finally landed on Adam Enfroy’s Blog Growth Engine (BGE).
And it has been the best money I’ve ever spent
I knew nothing about starting a blog or building a website when I started, and I now generate monthly income and am considered an expert in my field.
If this is something that interests you, I can’t recommend BGE enough. Not only do you get hundreds of hours of videos and “over the shoulder” step-by-step learning, but there are also live meetings with the founder and his coaches almost daily where you can ask anything.
Click here to explore Blog Growth Engine.
Earning from blogs comes from many things such as:
- Affiliate marketing
- Sponsorships
- Selling “how to” guides
- Ebooks
- Creating Courses
- Coaching people
- Newsletters
- Selling physical products
- Advertising
Average pay a blogger can make: $100 – $100,000 per month. This all depends on how dedicated you are and how you decide to earn money.
9. Freelance Writing
Freelance writing is different from nurse writing in that you can write on literally any topic.
I actually still do this side hustle and rarely write on the topic of nursing.
I go on UpWork and search for freelance writing jobs and there are hundreds of jobs to choose from.
I also suggest narrowing down the search by typing in anything that you are interested in.
And if you don’t want to write, no problem! There are plenty of editing and proofreading jobs out there with a lot of them looking for people with medical experience.
The opportunities are endless with this one. It’s also great as you get to work from home.
Average pay for a freelance writer: $100 – $1000 per week, according to Zip Recruiter.
10. Medical Surveys
This is another easy side gig that I have participated in.
Medical surveys are so specialized, that survey companies are constantly looking for medical professionals to give their input.
Some of my favorites are:
- My Medical Panel
- MD For Lives
- M3 Global Research
- All Global Circle
- Sermo
- Med Survey
Average pay for medical surveys: $1 – $500 per survey, according to FreeCash.com.
11. Become A Social Media Influencer
I know you’ve all seen travel nurses on TikTok and Instagram. The ones who have a large audience can actually do pretty well.
This side hustle requires you to have an audience. It’s all about if people are interested in what you have to say and if they can get any value out of it.
Like this blog. I imagine you’re here because you get something valuable from it.
The same goes for being an influencer.
This isn’t to say it’s an easy gig — I’ve tried it…and did ok, but it was SO much work.
Average pay for being a social media influencer: varies greatly.
12. Tutor Nursing Students
Yet another side hustle opportunity that I took advantage of — tutoring nursing students.
Well, I tried to at least.
There are quite a few tutor websites out there, the best ones being the ones where you must submit your credentials and even prove you know your stuff.
This is done through either proficiency tests or having you write a paper.
Some tutoring sites I tried are:
- Preply
- Super Prof
- Varsity Tutors
- UpWork
Average pay for tutoring nursing students: $4 – $60 per hour according to my personal experience.
13. Become A Health Coach
Another profitable side hustle for nurses is to become a health coach.
What is a health coach exactly?
A health coach uses evidence-based practices and their clinical knowledge to help guide people into adopting healthy lifestyle habits. These habits can range from mental, physical, nutrition, and overall well-being.
You can do this through one-on-one coaching, group coaching, and online coaching.
A certificate can be obtained from the America Holistic Nurses Credentialing Corporation which includes classes as well as mentoring from a certified health coach.
This can be done part-time or full-time.
Average pay for a health coach: $20 – $35 per hour (or you can set your own rates) according to Zip Recruiter.
14. BLS Instructor
Why not put all of those certificates and skills to use and get paid to teach them?
Becoming a BLS instructor is a great way for nurses to earn additional income on the side.
All you do is go to the Red Cross Instructor Training website, register, take an online course, an in-person course, and you’re good to go.
Teach classes in your hometown or anywhere you might be traveling to.
Average pay for a BLS instructor: $17 – $30 per hour according to Zip Recruiter.
15. Uber or Lyft Driver
This one is actually a great side hustle for nursing students — it’s what I did in nursing school!
As long as you have a newer car that is in good running condition and up to safety standards, you can be driving people around town in no time.
This one is especially great if you are a people person and enjoy chatting.
Why not drive for 3 hours and make $100! Sounds good to me.
Average pay for an Uber or Lyft driver: $33 per hour according to Business Insider.
16. Food Delivery
On the topic of gig economy jobs, this is another one I did and actually made pretty decent money doing.
Food delivery is in more demand than ever.
And it’s not just food — people also want their groceries delivered now too.
I did food/grocery delivery along with driving for Uber in nursing school and it was enough to get me by. The trick is treating it like a real job, setting hours for yourself, and sticking to them.
Average pay for food & grocery delivery: $15 – $250 per day according to personal experience.
17. Sell Items On Etsy
I tried this once, but I did it in the form of creating my own sweatshirts, t-shirts, mugs, and tote bags.
There is no need to hold inventory or be creative — there is a website for everything and the items are only made when they are ordered. They even take care of shipping the item to the customer. You are left with whatever profit is left over.
I used Printify and had a very good experience with them.
But, if you have something else you make, like bookmarks, jewelry, PDFs, nursing study notes, or literally anything else, give this a try!
I will say that the market is SUPER competitive, so just know that.
To learn more on this topic, I recommend checking out TikTok as that is where I learned everything when I did this.
And remember, how much you make is entirely up to you and your product.
Average pay for selling items on Etsy: $5 – $5K per day according to Marmalead.com.
18. Concierge Nurse
Being a concierge nurse is always something I wanted to try but was never able to successfully break into the field.
As a concierge nurse, you can either be self-employed or work with a company, and you provide care to people in their own homes.
Sometimes this looks like wound care, sometimes it’s administering medications, and oftentimes it’s helping patients post-surgery — think of it as a fancy alternative to going to a rehab, for those who can afford it.
The key to this side hustle isn’t a certificate, but how much experience you have in your field.
You also have to make sure you have access to medical supplies and anything else your patient might need.
Average pay for being a concierge nurse: $23 – $75 per hour.
19. Home Health Nurse
A home health nurse goes out to people’s homes, performs assessments, takes vital signs, helps with medications, toileting, turning, wound care, and sometimes making appointments.
This differs from a concierge nurse as you are employed with a company, and usually, it’s insurance that pays for this service, instead of out-of-pocket like the former.
You can do this job part-time or full-time, depending on your schedule, and you don’t have to be at a hospital, which is great news.
Average pay for a home health nurse: $46 per hour according to Vivian.com.
20. Airbnb Host
This one is a great opportunity for nurses who travel to make extra income.
In fact, I’ve been wanting to get into this for a long time.
The only caveat is that you need to own a home.
If you are a travel nurse who owns a home and it is left empty for the majority of the year, why not rent it out to other travel nurses?
You know what you pay for short-term housing, so you definitely have a good idea of how much you can make off of this.
Even if you aren’t a travel nurse, you can still rent out a room to those who are if you are comfortable with it.
Average pay for being an Airbnb host: $900 – $3000 per month according to Furnished Finder.
21. Babysitting
If kids are your thing or if you’re a peds nurse, then this could be a great way to supplement your income.
I’ve heard of people using word-of-mouth with co-workers or using websites to find babysitting jobs.
Some babysitting websites are:
- Care
- Babysits
- UrbanSitter
- Sitter City
- Bambino
Average pay for being a babysitter: $18 – $40 per hour according to NannyLane.com.
22. Pet Sitting
Last but not least, pet sitting is an excellent side hustle for travel nurses.
You get to be outside and play with animals…for money!
I have never gotten paid for this, but I have used these services. And they are a lifesaver.
Some good sites for pet sitting are:
- Rover
- Care
- Wag Walking
- Fetch Pet Care
- Dog Vacay
Average pay for being a pet sitter: $15 – $50 per hour according to Pawsathomecare.com.
Wrapping Up
As you can see, there are plenty of side hustles for nurses in 2024.
If you’re looking to earn extra cash, the opportunity is there.
It’s up to you to pursue it and it’s also up to you how hard you want to work.
That’s the beauty of a side hustle — it is 100% in your control.
If you know of something that I left off this list, please leave a comment below!
FAQ
What is the best side hustle for a nurse?
1. Pick up per-diem shifts
2. IV Hydration nurse
3. Aesthetic nurse
4. Infusion Nurse
5. Telehealth Nurse
6. Immunization Nurse
7. Nurse-writer
8. Start a blog
9. Freelance Writing
10. Medical surveys
11. Become a social media influencer
12. Tutor nursing students
13. Become a health coach
14. BLS Instructor
15. Uber/Lyft driver
16. Food delivery
17. Sell crafts on Etsy
18. Concierge nurse
19. Home health nurse
20. Airbnb host
21. Babysitting
22. Pet-sitting
How can an RN make extra money online?
The best online side hustles for nurses are:
1. Telehealth nurse
2. Freelance writer
3. Start a blog
4. Nurse writer
5. Medical surveys
6. Online tutoring for nursing students
7. Sell on Etsy
Disclaimer: I may earn commissions from purchases made through the links in this post at no extra cost to you.