Whether you’re looking to take on another gig, develop your own side hustle, or find a part-time job to supplement your income, chances are that you have a limited window in which to earn this income so that you have ample time to attend your full-time job and squeeze in other day-to-day responsibilities. The good news? No matter what your time constraints are, there are ample opportunities out there for you to take advantage of.
If you’re ready to supplement your income, here are 18 of the best early morning jobs that may be the perfect fit for you.
1. Gig Worker
Gig work has become a great way to control your schedule while earning an extra bit of money along the way. Unlike part-time work, you’re in full control of when you do work, meaning that you can start making money as early as you need to.
In the morning, apps like Uber and Lyft may be especially busy for those who might not have a car and need to get from their house to their job. Early risers who go grocery shopping early on or forgot something may turn to Shipt or Instacart for help, while those who aren’t looking to make breakfast may rely on Grubhub, Postmates, DoorDash, and Uber Eats. Put simply, if there’s a gig app, there’s the likelihood of people needing support as early as you’re looking to make some extra cash.
Even better, you can diversify your gig work opportunities by downloading all the apps that are relevant to you and clicking on the one that seems to produce the best results in the early mornings. Over time, you’ll begin to craft your own schedule of the best apps to bring in maximum income.
2. Dog Walker
Pet owners who have to get ready for work likely don’t have the time to properly take their pets out and make sure they get a bit of exercise or go to the bathroom. That’s where you come in! If you’re a fan of animals and you don’t mind picking up after them, becoming a dog walker is a great way to earn some income in the morning.
Apps like Wag! and Rover make it easy for you to advertise your services and get in contact with pet owners who need you. If you find that you can squeeze in some gigs watching pets in the morning, there are plenty of these opportunities as well. If you’re going to make some money, why not make it doing what you love, especially if you love being around and caring for pets.
3. Personal Trainer
As more people return to the office, squeezing in a daily fitness routine can be tough. Between long commute times and long working hours, people are hard-pressed to find time to squeeze a gym session in. Even for those who work from home, finding the motivation to get up and get moving can be difficult enough. For both of these groups, knowing which exercises to do and how to eat in order to reach their fitness goals can be a challenge. However, this isn’t so much of a struggle if they have a personal trainer to guide them through each step and act as their accountability partner.
Whether you have a degree in a fitness-related field or you’re simply passionate about fitness and have some work experience under your belt, you can typically find work either at a local gym or work independently online or in-person with those who need support from a trainer. If you’re very successful, you can even expand in the future, offering your services full-time and creating your own programs, merch, and guides to help people get the most out of their fitness regimen.
4. Tutor
Tutoring? Early in the morning? While this doesn’t sound like the best way to make money, the truth is that the opportunities don’t typically lie in your area. Those who need help abroad with certain subjects will be on a schedule ahead of yours, making their afternoons your mornings.
If you choose the right platform (platforms that pay the most generally require experience or a degree to prove that you have experience in the subject you’re teaching) and you only aim to tutor students in other countries, you can create a tutoring schedule that works for you and have students sign up for sessions with you early in the morning.
Expanding on this idea, another one you could pursue is creating online courses in the morning instead. This way, all you have to do is flesh out the content, create the course itself, and post it on a platform like Teachable. Then, you earn passive income as people come to you for your expertise. If your online courses are a hit, you can start creating series where you teach more as you go along or even create resources like e-books that your students can use to get the most out of your course offerings.
5. Blogger
Nowadays, it seems like everyone owns a blog. This is due to the fact that hosting and domain names are cheap, and there are multiple website builders out there that can help you create the ideal blog without having to have prior coding experience. If you love writing, have a topic that you’re an expert in, and can pique the interest of others with your work, blogging may be the best fit for you.
Once you have your website set up and you have your blog design and plan laid out, it’s just a matter of pumping out great content and making sure that you’re adhering to best digital marketing practices and necessary SEO guidelines. This can be a bit of a learning curve, but if you’re just a hobby blogger at first, you’re going to be able to learn these skills over time. You’ll also want to make sure that you’re monetizing the traffic you have coming to your blog. Whether this is by selling ad space, selling digital products, or finding sponsorships, you’re sure to find ways to bring in revenue.
Some of the top-paying blogs started out as a passion project, which means that yours very well may too if you put in enough work and aim to constantly learn about what it takes to make it as a blogger.
6. Freelancer
Freelancing can be a bit more demanding than gig work, but it gives you full control over your schedule and your income. Unlike gig work, freelancing requires you to monetize your skills, pitch ideas or projects to clients, and make sure that you’re constantly forming relationships that lead to long-term opportunities.
Freelancing is a very broad term that refers to a number of professional pathways. Some ideas include:
- Freelancing writing
- Editing
- Digital marketing
- Graphic design
- Voiceover work
- Photography
- Videography
- And so on…
Ask yourself, what skills do I have? Then, if any of them can make money and you can put together pitches that get clients in the door, schedule in some extra work time in the morning before you go to your main job. Who knows? Your side hustle may even turn into a full-time career if you’re getting enough work to quit your day job.
7. Baker/Waiter
Bakeries and diners, while open all day, generally experience rushes in the morning. In the case of the former, bakeries need someone to take care of all of the baking for the fresh goods the establishment will sell throughout the day.
If you have baking experience and you can convince a bakery to hire you, this is one great part-time morning job to take on that will likely be exciting for you. If you prefer waiting and meeting new people, look for nearby diners or establishments that open early or never close.
8. Barista
If you’re not a morning person, you understand how important a good cup of joe can be in the morning. You can get both your daily fix and help others do the same by picking up an early morning shift at your local coffee shop. The only thing to remember with these types of early morning, part-time positions is that you may not have as much control over your schedule as you would like. Make sure that you express your desire for early morning shifts to prospective employers so that they know exactly what you want. If you have to do a few afternoon shifts here and there, you should still be able to squeeze in all the early morning shifts that you want before work.
9. Newspaper Delivery Person
Local papers are still very much a thing, even though digital news is largely preferred by younger audiences. Additionally, we’re no longer in the age where younger people tend to get newspaper delivery gigs. In today’s world, newspapers need reliable delivery people with cars who are willing to get up early and drive around to each house to make sure papers get delivered. If this is something that appeals to you, you can look around online for these types of job postings for papers in your area or nearby. Bonus points if it’s a paper you love reading.
10. Mail Carrier
Mail carriers and other postal worker jobs are great for early risers because there’s a lot of work that goes on behind the scenes prior to getting everything delivered. Whether you’re taking on the task of organizing mail and preparing it to go out, taking on some of the delivery responsibilities yourself, or taking on another job, there’s likely an early shift waiting for you. If you do end up going full-time, these types of jobs offer some excellent benefits that can be harder to find these days.
11. Airport Ticket Agent
As with mail carriers, airport ticket agents have a relatively easy job and can get some great benefits if they decide to move past part-time. However, if you live near an airport and you’re up early enough to get a shift, this is likely a job you can find fairly easily. Once you’re finished, you’ll be ready to go back to your regular job or rest up at home for a bit. If you really love the airport and travel, you may even find a job where you can travel the skies and see new places while earning money in the process.
12. Life Coach
Life coaches, and similar coaches, are there to offer support to individuals so that they can learn the skills they need to live their best lives. While the schedule of a life coach may vary from client to client, those accepting clients internationally or those who work with people in the morning to establish goals and schedules may find luck squeezing this type of work solely in the morning. Better yet, you don’t need a certification to become a life coach.
As long as you can motivate people, offer them actionable advice so that they can create real change in their lives, and develop a brand with positive testimonials to demonstrate your efficacy and experience, you too can become a life coach or another type of coach and help people become the best version of themselves.
13. Stockperson
Places like grocery stores and other stores often need people early in the morning who are willing to stock the shelves and get everything ready for customers. While these jobs are needed throughout the day, there may not be as many people willing to take these early morning shifts, leaving them available for you. As long as you can lift large boxes and you have some free time, you should be able to find these types of jobs near you.
14. Landscaper (Yard Work)
Those with a passion for clean lawns and curb appeal can definitely find a job doing yard work in the area. These jobs are done early in the morning to avoid the heat of the afternoon and the daily hustle and bustle of life. One option is to offer your services by yourself or with a team of people. This might be hard as there are likely established landscapers in your area who already have these customers subscribed to their services. If that’s the case, see if there are any businesses that are looking to hire. This will eliminate the difficulty of trying to start your own business and compete with others who already have the clients that you’re looking to attract.
15. Online Seller/Flipper
Back to side hustles, becoming an online seller or flipper is a great way to control your schedule and take care of your essential business activities in the morning. If you’re someone who likes making homemade items like candles or soap, you can take care of this in the evening then fulfill orders in the morning. You can also get an easy start on a platform like Etsy.
If you’re someone who has an eye for antique items, collectibles, or things like vintage fashion, you could instead look at local yardsales or estate sales, get these items, and flip them for a profit. You could do this through platforms like eBay or you could use local platforms like OfferUp or Facebook Marketplace. No matter what appeals most to you, this is an excellent gig to have.
16. Farm Worker
Farm work is hard work, and a lot of the work on the farm takes place at the crack of dawn, if not earlier. Whether it’s milking the cows or operating the equipment, farmers need a lot of help from their farmhands. While knowing how to work around a farm and potentially having a degree can help, it’s always best to see what requirements local farmers have and what type of support they need. If you can offer the help they require and you like working on farms, you should be a great fit.
17. Warehouse Worker
There are some places that are open 24/7, such as warehouses. Because of this, they often have a host of shifts to fill, especially graveyard shifts. Warehouse workers are responsible for unloading, inspecting, and making sure they go where they need to in stores or distribution centers. The hours can be long and there are some requirements when it comes to heavy lifting, but it’s not a hard job to find. You might even be able to make more if you know how to operate the heavy machinery used in warehouses.
18. Part-Time Caregiver
Part-time caregiving early in the morning may be a little bit hard to find. Instead, you should focus on overnight and early morning shifts for those who have daytime caregivers but need someone to fill in during the evening and right before their afternoon caregivers show up. If you have the availability and experience (medical degrees are likely required), chances are that there’s someone near you who needs the help. If you like jobs that are fulfilling, this is sure to be an excellent fit for you.
No Matter What You’re Good at, There’s an Early Morning Job for You
There are only so many hours in the day, and finding extra time to make money during the afternoon isn’t always as easy as it seems. Fortunately, there are plenty of ideas out there to help you bring in more money during a time period that works for you. If you’re an early bird that’s always ready to tackle the day and energized to do the best you possibly can, the list of 18 early morning jobs above will give you some insight and inspiration to help you find your next gig, side-hustle, or part-time job!
