At one point in our adult-ish life, Jarden and I were both unemployed. We were both finishing up our time in college, living with Jarden’s parents, and we had no interest in getting full-time jobs. Working isn’t our favorite.
During this time though we still managed to travel, go out with our friends, occasionally indulge in a fancy restaurant dinner, etc. How did we do this? By discovering the mysterious realm of ODD JOBS!
I remember mindlessly searching through Craigslist, knowing we needed money but not wanting to commit to 40+ hours a week. Under “Gigs” we found our first “odd job”, and by word of mouth and more Craigslist searching, Jarden and I have ended up working for a countless numbers of companies, making a pretty decent chunk of change. (Most jobs paid $15-$25/hr!) Here are 5 odd jobs we’ve taken to make some extra money.
1. Arranging Gift Baskets
One of our first odd jobs ever included arranging chocolate and fruit gift baskets. This was our lowest paying odd job at $9/hr, but ok for a first time gig. The company we worked for needed extra staff for the Valentine’s Day rush, so we basically stuck fruit on sticks for 8 hours straight. Not our favorite gig, but we did get free gift baskets at the end, so that was super cool!
2. Traffic Counting
We actually heard about this gig though another “odd job couple” we met at the gift basket arranging gig. Ever see people sitting on the side of the road with weird devices in their hands? They might be counting traffic! We literally sat in chairs for 3 hours, counting the number of cars and pedestrians that drove/crossed in a certain directions. Sounds mind numbing, but it was actually pretty relaxing, and it paid well!
3. Passing Out Keys to Millionaires
I’ve actually worked an odd job where I was part of a team that handed out the keys to new condo owners here in Hawaii. The new condos started at around 1.5 million dollars….so basically I was handing out keys to millionaires all day! Needless to say it was a very interesting event.
4. Directing Runners at Marathons
Another gig we found on Craigslist! For this job we worked at a marathon, and all we did was direct the runners to the photo taking area. Seriously. Very easy money!
5. Brand Ambassador
This has been my most profitable job yet, and since the schedule is very flexible, I still work with some of the brand ambassador companies from time to time. I’ve been a brand ambassador for over 20+ brands, and the jobs are usually very fun, and super easy! I’ve passed out food samples at Costco, cooked waffles at trade shows, hosted giveaways at store grand openings, and even poured alcohol at VIP events. (And I ain’t no bartender!) Definitely my favorite odd job ever!
Have you ever worked an odd job for extra cash?
