A Developer's Guide to Earning Extra Income on the Side

Developers have one of the highest-paying jobs in the tech industry. Besides offering a stable income, this position, calling, and talent involve having the option for creativity and innovation. Developers with ideas, inventiveness, and drive can explore multiple income streams. For instance, you might work a 9--5 job at a company. Yet, you have the freedom to pursue other projects, be it through freelancing or personal tasks.

This guide introduces some tempting and lucrative ideas on how to earn extra income.

Tutoring and offering online courses

Sometimes, sharing is not only caring but a lucrative business. With enough knowledge and experience, you can offer lessons to other developers. The beauty of the internet is that you can accept payments from anyone worldwide. Thus, you can take clients from anywhere (although the language barriers might affect this).

If 1-on-1 calls are not your favorite, consider creating online courses and sharing them on platforms like Udemy. After publishing a course, you don't need to do anything else (unless you wish to update and improve it). Such a strategy is known as passive income.

You put effort initially and then sit back, relax, and enjoy the additional income. Many options for such earning opportunities are available. For instance, you can make money online by sharing unused internet bandwidth or adding different monetization strategies (more on that later).

Become a creator

Creating online courses already means you become a content creator. However, you may also explore other venues for income. For instance, you can start writing a blog, offering tips and tutorials on development trends and processes.

Besides technical blogging, you can start a YouTube channel and post similar educational content. Such a strategy correlates with online courses. You offer sneak peeks on your YouTube channel, and if users wish to see more, they can buy your course. Additionally, you can add different monetization strategies (like ads or affiliate marketing) to make even more.

Selling your projects and assets

For developers, the sky is the limit. After creating something, you can sell it on different marketplaces or directly to people/businesses. What could you sell? You can create website templates, kits, SDKs, APIs, plugins, extensions, and apps. These items can be put on different marketplaces, such as ThemeForest, Shopify, CodeCanyon, and Unreal Marketplace.

Build an app

Of course, you can also upload your mobile application to platforms like Google Play Store and Apple Store. Even if the application is free, you have plenty of options to make money. For example, in-app purchases or subscriptions are popular trends. For games, in-app purchases can be boosted or include some unique content. Subscriptions usually mean offering a basic app version for free and charging users for additional perks (like unlimited use).

You can also go the more direct route, charging users for the one-time free in exchange for downloading the application.

The freelancing world

Developers are in high demand, and a client might just be looking for someone with your skillset. So, if you have the time, consider joining platforms like Upwork and Fiverr. They are popular freelancing platforms that let you find people looking for professionals to pursue authentic projects. You can set your prices and be as flexible as you like.

You can set prices according to project size or a fixed fee per hour depending on your skills. If you're unsure about what your prices should be, take a look at your competitors on the freelancing platforms. They should let you familiarize yourself with the industry-standard prices. When just starting, you can accommodate lower prices to attract new clients (who will keep returning thanks to your skills).

You can freelance for different projects. For instance, cybersecurity can require various services, such as penetration testing, code review, and security audits. Additionally, you can explore potential earnings through bug bounty platforms. Many programs have this, meaning you get paid for finding and reporting software bugs. Rewards can sometimes be substantial, especially for more prominent companies and critical vulnerabilities or bugs. Furthermore, as a freelancer, it's essential to protect your sensitive information and client data. Using the best password manager can help you securely store and manage all your passwords, ensuring that your accounts remain safe while you focus on delivering high-quality work.

Conclusion

Developers have the golden opportunity to explore different income sources! Besides their regular jobs, they can pursue personal projects or attract external clients. Sometimes, the apps you build could become successful, but your first release might be more challenging than you expect. In fact, it usually takes several tries to release applications or services that attract attention and earn you substantial income.