Side Hustle for Single Parents in NYC
Most side hustles assume you can just leave. Drive somewhere. Show up somewhere. Be available at a certain time.
When you're a single parent in New York, that assumption falls apart fast. You can't always get childcare. You can't always leave. And even when you can, the cost of childcare often eats what you'd earn.
Shift works differently. You stay home. The kids are home. You're doing the tasks anyway.
How Shift works
Shift pays $20/hr to record everyday household tasks on your phone. Cooking dinner for your family. Cleaning the apartment. Doing laundry. Running a quick errand to the corner store.
Companies use this footage to train AI and improve home technology. They need real households with real routines — not staged kitchens or professional setups.
You record while you do the tasks. That's the whole job.
Why this works when you have kids at home
The tasks parents do every day are exactly what Shift needs:
- Cooking family meals — Making dinner for you and your kids is a recordable session. You're doing it anyway.
- Cleaning up — After dinner, after playtime, a quick sweep. All recordable.
- Laundry — Sorting, washing, folding. A natural session.
- Grocery runs — If you walk to the store with the kids, that's a task you can record.
Kids don't have to be out of the frame. They don't have to be quiet. Real family households are exactly what the footage buyers want.
No childcare needed
This is the point. You're not going anywhere. You're not dropping the kids with a neighbor. You're in your apartment, doing what you'd do anyway, with your phone recording.
No extra cost. No logistics to arrange. No time away from your kids.
What you can earn
- Cook dinner every night and record it: ~30–45 minutes per session
- Add a cleaning session or laundry on the weekend: another 30–60 minutes
- Grocery run during the week: 20–30 minutes
At $20/hr, that adds up fast:
- 1 hour/day = $20/day, ~$600/month
- 2 hours/day = $1,200/month
You won't max it every single day. But even 3–4 recording sessions a week is real money. Money that doesn't require you to leave your kids or hire someone to watch them.
For NYC single parents specifically
NYC is one of the most expensive places to raise a child alone. Childcare costs are brutal. Every dollar of extra income that doesn't require paying for childcare is worth more than its face value.
Shift is one of the few earning options that actually accounts for the reality of parenting alone.
Getting started
Download the Shift app. Record your next meal. That's your first session. No interview, no background check, no fixed schedule.
Apply now and start earning this week.