Best Side Hustle in NYC (What Reddit Gets Right and Wrong)
I know you've seen a lot of these posts. You searched "best side hustle NYC reddit," you got a thread with 400 comments, and everyone's recommending something different. Some of it is good advice. A lot of it assumes things about your life that may not be true.
Let me break down what Reddit actually recommends, what the catches are, and where Shift fits into all of this.
What Reddit Usually Says
DoorDash / Uber Eats
Reddit loves this one. And it can work — especially if you have an e-bike and the right borough. But the caveats bury themselves in reply chains: you need a bike or car, gear adds up, weather is a factor, and you're burning energy and time commuting between orders. In Manhattan it's viable. Outer boroughs are hit or miss.
TaskRabbit
Also popular. Pays well — $30–60/hr for things like furniture assembly or moving help. But it takes weeks to build reviews, you're going into strangers' homes, and you need a specific skill set. Not a "start this weekend" option for most people.
Tutoring
Good if you have a degree or subject expertise. Platforms like Wyzant or Varsity Tutors get you clients, but the ramp-up is slow and your availability needs to match students' schedules, which usually means evenings and weekends.
Selling stuff (Depop, eBay, Facebook Marketplace)
The "start for free" option. Realistic? Sure, if you have things to sell. Scalable? Not really. You'll hit a ceiling fast unless you're sourcing inventory.
Survey sites and microtasks
Someone always posts Swagbucks or Amazon Mechanical Turk. Don't waste your time. You'll make $2–4/hr if you're lucky.
What Reddit Gets Wrong
Most of the top-voted answers assume you have either:
- A vehicle (car or bike)
- A marketable skill
- Time to build reviews/ratings over weeks
- Flexibility to work on a platform's schedule
If you have all of those, you have good options. If you don't, you're mostly stuck with lower-quality suggestions.
Where Shift Fits
Shift pays $20/hr to record everyday tasks — cooking, cleaning, laundry, running errands — with your phone. The footage is used by companies to train AI systems and improve home automation tech. It's not glamorous, but it's real.
What you actually need: A smartphone. Your apartment. Your normal routine.
What you don't need: A car, a bike, a skill set, prior reviews, or a fixed schedule.
At 2 hours a day, that's $1,200/month. You can do it in the morning before work, in the evening, whenever. No commute, no weather risk, no customers.
It's not the highest-paying option on the list. But it's the most accessible, especially if you're starting with nothing but a phone and some free time.
The Honest Comparison
| Option | Min. Requirements | Time to First Dollar | |---|---|---| | DoorDash | Bike or car | Same week | | TaskRabbit | Skills + reviews | 2–4 weeks | | Tutoring | Expertise + profile | 1–3 weeks | | Selling stuff | Inventory | Varies | | Shift | Smartphone | Same week |
Reddit threads are useful, but they reflect a range of situations. The thing that works for a guy in Midtown with an e-bike isn't necessarily the thing that works for someone in Flatbush without one.
Start with what actually fits your life.
Apply now and start earning this week.