Abby B. Wondering what are some of the best side hustles for historians? Unsure what you can do with your love for history? Here’s 19 ideas!
As someone who loves history and was really good at it (for exams at least), I find great respect for those who live and breathe history for a living. It’s not an easy field to get into and although it’s rewarding for most history lovers, it can be challenging to make money with.
In this article, I’ll be sharing 19 suitable side hustles for historians and history majors, with recommendations of what you’ll need to start. At the end of the post, you can find more tailored options for making money on the side as a historian.
*This post may contain affiliate links. This means I may earn a small commission (at no cost to you) if you sign up for a program or make a purchase using my link!
19 Best Side Hustles For Historians
1. Write your own e-book and self-publish with Amazon
One of the most popular side hustle routes for established historians is to write and publish their own book. However, with the traditional publishing methods, it can take a long time for your work to be ready for sales and it’s quite uncertain of how much you can make with it.
If you’re just starting out with book writing, it may be a wise move to try self-publishing it with Amazon. It’s possible to set up on your own and takes lesser time to be ready for sales. You can still be paid a good commission for every sale made!
I would suggest creating picture books for kids reading and learning. People are more inclined to purchase activity books for self-learning.
Publishing your own book has many benefits including earning a higher recognition in the field. This would open opportunities for you including being paid to talk at conferences or engagements.
Alternatively, you can offer ghostwriting services on sites like Upwork or Fiverr for history books specifically. Not everyone has the time or expertise to create their own so they’re willing to pay others!
| What do I need to start? | – Book writing skills – Join an online self-publishing platform |
2. Offer services for professional beta reading
As a historian, you probably love reading books and don’t mind going through a load of reading materials. If that’s you, another side hustle you can explore is offering professional beta reading services for others that’s looking for feedback on their writing.
A beta reader usually reads through drafts and unpublished books to then provide feedback to the author with any suggestions for change.
You can take it as practice for when you’ll publish your own book. Til then, learn the do’s-and-don’ts of book writing to understand your own style!
Sign up for an Upwork account and apply to available jobs there – here’s a sample of professional beta reading services on Upwork you can refer to. It’s a great side hustle to start even with no prior experience.
Other sites you can look into are Goodreads Beta Reader Group and Critique Circle (if you want to be a critique instead of a beta reader).
| What do I need to start? | – Experience reading a lot of books – Ability to provide detailed feedback for improvement |
Looking to do something more creative as a side hustle? I personally believe that anyone can build thousands of followers by just being consistent with uploading good content on YouTube.
If history is still something you want to pursue with YouTube, you can start a channel that talks primarily about history. It’s best to stick to a few prime topics in the beginning that relates to one another e.g. the history of South America. This would make your content planning so much easier!
With any personal projects, it’s important to have a schedule so you stay disciplined and able to achieve your goals. Uploading one video a week prevents you from burning out easily and has worked for many YouTubers.
Having your own monetized YouTube channel allows you to earn through advertising income, affiliate income, sponsorships and sales of your own products.
Interesting YouTube channels in the history niche:
| What do I need to start? | – A camera to record – Portable microphone for better sound – A video editing software |
Read: What I spent for my vlogging gear in first 6 months
4. Build a podcast to talk about history
If you can go on hours talking about history, it’s a good idea to start a podcast of your own. A podcast allows you to earn from downloads and brand sponsorships.
Podcasting isn’t as stressful as making videos for YouTube. Editing audios should be more straightforward and takes less time than videos. So even if you have a really tight schedule, you should be able to manage a podcast on your own!
You’ll have to purchase a good microphone, headsets and learn how to use an audio editing software. Just like having a YouTube studio, you should set up your own podcast studio in a small room or corner at home.
One of the more popular topics to talk about on podcasts are war history – people listen to these for hours on end. You can find some inspiration from other podcasts by clicking the link I’ve included below.
| What do I need to start? | – Good desk microphone – Set of quality earphones – An audio editing software |
Check out: 20+ best history podcasts to listen to
5. Write educational content with your own blog
Another way of content creation that most don’t talk about is to become a blogger by writing for your own blog. Blogs work just like YouTube where you can earn from sharing educational content on history but in written format.
Through blogs, you can make an income from advertisements, affiliates, sponsorships and product sales. Best part is a reader doesn’t have to be buying anything for you to earn!
So, if you’re into book writing but unsure if anyone would buy from you, you can try out blogging to see if anyone enjoys the things you write about. You can later sell your book directly on your blog without going through Amazon or any marketplace.
You can super-charge your growth with this beginner blogging course or check out my free article on how to set up a blog from scratch.
| What do I need to start? | – A WordPress Website – Domain name & hosting – Passion to write for a specific niche |
Read: Why I invested in a blogging coach before doing anything else
6. Earn commission by promoting affiliate products and services
If you love using social media and have a considerable amount of followers, promoting affiliate links may work for you!
Compared to making content for YouTube, a podcast or a blog, being active on social media is a faster way to make a quick income. Other than the usual sponsorships, social media allows you to earn passively from affiliate links.
You’ll just have to promote the right products or services to your audience and make genuine content – be it photos or videos. Once someone clicks on a link and make a purchase, you’ll earn a commission which is usually a percentage of the sale amount.
Affiliate marketplaces you can check out are Amazon Associates, CJ affiliate, Clickbank, Share-a-sale and Rakuten Advertising. Create an account, choose a product/service and start sharing them!
| What do I need to start? | – Affiliate products or services you can promote – Social media account with growing followers |
7. Learn photography to take photos for online stock websites
Historians can be pretty sentimental people (correct me if I’m wrong) but it’s a trait I personally have and I owe it to my appreciation for history. I also find myself taking too many photos of my travels for the same reason – “what is life but fleeting moments…”?
If you’re like me, you may love the idea of being able to make money from just selling photos you take on a daily basis. Although it takes time to build your portfolio and make a good amount of money every month, it’s a way to make passive income in the long run.
There is a demand for free and paid stock photos online so while it’s best to build exposure by offering free photos, paid ones are the real deal! There is an option for voluntary donations on free stock photo sites so that’s another possibility.
Your photos can be sold repeatedly to other content creators and large websites – even as you’re asleep!
Stock websites you can join to start:
| What do I need to start? | – A good camera – Photo editing skills – Consistency to upload photos frequently |
8. Get paid as a freelance writer for other blogs and websites
Another method of making money through content writing is to offer freelance writing services. Established blogs and large websites are always looking for content writers to hire per project basis.
Since you’re a history major, you can write for online publications on topics of history. It’s a quicker way to earn an income compared to writing for your own blog.
I highly recommend this beginner freelance writing course which is super affordable. You get to learn the right ways to pitch a topic, the methods to write for a client’s content website and how to make money doing it remotely.
Freelance writers can earn beyond the usual $100 per article if they’re specialized in a niche topic. So I really believe you can do it with your expertise of history.
You can also work on becoming a writer on Medium and earning through their Medium Partner Program.
| What do I need to start? | – Content writing skills – Good command of English or language you’re writing for – Platform to promote your service |
9. Sell digital products for history on Etsy
I will always be advising people to sell digital products whether it’s related to their profession or not. Although it’s best to make something that taps into your unique passion or knowledge, it’s not the requirement to make money.
As a historian, there’s ample of ways you can explore to make money with digital products. You can be making classroom posters, infographics for learning, cards with inspiring quotes and even digital planners for history studies.
Compared to physical products, digital products can only be made once and sold repeatedly at no extra cost. So dedicate a week to creating your resources and follow these 8 steps to list the digital product on Etsy.
Once someone makes a purchase, Etsy will make the file immediately available for download – no shipping operations on your end. Yay to passive income!
Here’s a sample of digital products you can make as a historian to sell on Etsy.
You can find my full list of digital products to sell on Etsy here.
| What do I need to start? | – A digital product idea – Tools to create your digital product – Platform to sell on |
10. Create your own paid history online courses
If teaching is something you want to explore but unsure if you’ll love the long active hours of work and possibly low pay, consider creating online courses instead.
Although you can’t make a lot of money in the beginning, online courses allows you to earn side income passively without much work (later on).
You do have to dedicate some time to manage your courses on learning platforms and respond to your customers’ inquiries but it should be possible even with a full-time job. No one expects you to be available 24/7!
Start simple by recording lessons of you teaching history instead of making complicated animations and slides. Create bite-sized courses for individual topics as you can price it affordably that way (and get more sales!).
Online courses are a form of digital product and can be sold repeatedly for many years down the road.
Some sites you can host online courses on:
| What do I need to start? | – A niched course idea – Well thought out module – Tools to record your lessons e.g. screen record, microphone |
Creating courses is too much work for you? Here’s a list of digital products you can make to sell on easy platforms like Etsy. I’ve made a quick guide on how to make these products too!
11. Tutor school kids online for history studies
An alternative path you can take to test your teaching skills is to tutor school kids for history studies. You get to choose the time you want to dedicate to tutoring and decide how many hours you want to put in per week.
Tutoring can get you at least $40-$60 per hour depending on your area. I would recommend online tutoring instead of face-to-face classes as you get to save a lot of time not commuting/driving.
You’ll also get to manage your hourly rates better e.g. by tutoring someone that’s from an expensive area (NYC, LA), you can charge higher than what you would normally charge. Tutoring requires a lot patience especially when dealing with kids as their attention span is limited.
You can also teach other subjects like the English language, Spanish or political science if you like. If tutoring is something you love, teaching at local libraries or community colleges can be an option.
Some sites you can join to become a tutor online:
| What do I need to start? | – A subject you’re able to teach – Plan for modules and lessons – Platform to market your services |
12. Apply for freelance online jobs you’re skilled at
Sometimes you’re good at a lot of things and that’s okay. You can start by doing many things then adjust by filtering your choices over time. That’s exactly what I did when starting out my side hustle journey – try everything!
One of the ways you can try multiple things is by offering freelance services online. Think of anything you’re good at that others find valuable and where it helps them save time.
This can be as simple as logo designing, creating presentation slides, writing speeches, data entry and social media management.
Start on Upwork with a cheaper rate so there’s a higher chance you get the job even with zero experience. Give yourself time to try, build reviews and increase your charge over time.
Other ways to promote your services:
- Kolabtree
- Fiverr
- Upwork
- PeoplePerHour
- Indeed
- TikTok (because anything can go viral here)
- Build your own website
| What do I need to start? | – Computer literacy skills for a specific task – Your hourly rate charge – Platform to promote your services |
13. Become a pet-sitter in your free time
If you’re a pet lover and don’t mind taking care of them in your free time, you might love having a side hustle as a pet-sitter. You can sign up as a provider on apps like Rover or WagWalking.
As most pet-sitting jobs involve dogs primarily, it’s best to ask beforehand on the size of the dogs and if they’re easy to manage. If you’re small in size, it can be challenging to take them on walks as you might easily get pulled away.
Apps like Rover ensures these details are included when a customer makes a booking with options for small to giant dogs. Pet-sitting rates are usually $15-$20 for each visit but you can make more with extra services!
Services you can include with pet sitting:
- Walking
- Home boarding
- Sleepovers and night care
- Training
- Bring to vet
- Basic grooming & care
- Travel trips
| What do I need to start? | – Good skills with pets e.g. dogs, cats – Tools for the service you want to offer – Socializing to get clients |
14. Buy and resell vintage items for profit
It’s quite natural to love vintage items if you love history, it’s part of the job. However, loving doesn’t always mean owning, it can mean ensuring these things have a good home.
A side hustle you can explore as a historian is to purchase second hand goods or vintage items to fix, make them look good then resell for profit. People are even more inclined to purchase from you if you’re able to give good explanations on the history of the items.
I have personally fixed old furniture and refurbished them to use in my current home. It’s a way of preserving our family’s treasures!
As a start, you can visit local flea markets to source these items or look on Facebook Marketplace and eBay. You can also make your first sale by selling things you no longer use at home.
| What do I need to start? | – An eye to spot underpriced valued goods – Skills and platform to sell online or offline – A small budget to purchase your first second hand item |
Check out: How to start reselling things as a side hustle
15. Offer copywriting services for businesses
Interested in writing but don’t want to spend hours on a single article? You can be a copywriter or copyeditor instead.
Copywriters are typically well paid depending on the areas they’re serving! This includes writing for advertisements, social media posts and ensuring proper language is used for media including websites and sales pages.
More experienced copywriters usually focus on a single type of copywriting e.g. landing page copywriting, ecommerce copywriting or social media copywriting. These areas are different as they expect different outcomes from the audience!
| What do I need to start? | – Copywriting/editing skills – Hourly rate charge – Platform to market your services |
16. Proofread and copyedit professional papers
If you don’t want to be writing at all but still want to put your knowledge of language to good use, you can offer proofreading services instead.
Proofreading is often needed for college assignments, professional papers, thesis and alike. It’s a popular service on sites like Upwork or even Fiverr and it’s quite straightforward to get done.
Aside from language skills, you’ll need to have good attention to details as small errors are usually overlooked. You don’t need to be editing your client’s work as they will edit their work themselves but if you want to, you can add copyediting to your list of extra services.
You can get your clients to refer you to their friends in exchange for a small discount on their next project.
| What do I need to start? | – Great written and spoken command of primary language – Attention to details – Platform to promote your service |
17. Get a part-time or freelance archivist job
Looking for something that will look good on your resume? Get an archivist job whether it’s on a part-time or freelance basis.
Large corporates hire archivists to collect and maintain proper record-keeping of their company’s past history for use of PR. This is done to preserve the culture which is important for corporate branding years down the road.
You can also get roles in library management, patent management, research and conservation or inspection of historical buildings. Historians can even find side jobs with non-profits that work on policy making for preservation of history!
Of course, these roles are not the easiest to come by but it’s not impossible. You’ll need a good resume and be able to take some time to find the right job fit.
| What do I need to start? | – Relevant experience to become an archivist – Job openings to apply to |
18. Become a part-time teaching assistant for college history
Becoming a college professor is probably the most popular route of making an income for professional historians. The pay may not be as much but it opens doors to tons other opportunities that can be fulfilling for your career.
If you have a personal passion for research, getting yourself acquainted with academia is a good way to get funding. Aside from private foundations, you can be awarded grants and fellowships from the government – which is much easier at well-recognized institutions.
With enough experience, you may even be the one to approve grant proposals for other aspiring history researchers!
To get started, you can look into part-time teaching roles during weekday nights or weekends for history subjects. It can be a big leap to quit your full-time job for something you’re unsure of.
| What do I need to start? | – Relevant sufficient experience to teach others – Job openings to apply to |
Love buying quirky clothes, mugs and tote bags with quotes of history? What if you’re the one to design and sell them?
For anyone who’s interested in starting an ecommerce business, I highly suggest trying out print on demand first – read my seven reasons why. It works pretty much like dropshipping where you don’t have to handle your own stock but is less demanding.
Working with POD suppliers like Printify or Printful allows you to minimize shipping times as your orders are printed as close as possible to the destination country (customer’s address). They have multiple printing locations in the USA with a few across the world.
You can be selling on various ecommerce platforms including Etsy! Once an order comes in, your chosen POD supplier will print the product and ship it to your customer directly – you don’t have to do anything.
The only thing you need to do is to make designs using Canva or Kittl then upload them to merchandise you want to sell (list below). Another option is to purchase ready designs on creative marketplaces like Envato Elements or Creative Fabrica!
Since you’re a historian, make your merchandise collection unique by creating your own infographics of history!
| What do I need to start? | – Basic designing skills – A laptop to work with – An initial niche and product |
Can’t decide what product to design and sell? Check out my product guides before deciding!
- Tote bags for print on demand
- Tumblers for print on demand
- Phone cases for print on demand
- Posters for print on demand
- Leggings for print on demand
- Jewelry for print on demand
- Candles for print on demand
- Doormats for print on demand
- Hoodies for print on demand
- Pet products for print on demand
- Socks for print on demand
- Pajamas for print on demand
- Blankets for print on demand
- Baby clothes for print on demand
- Wrapping paper for print on demand
- Puzzles for print on demand
- Stickers for print on demand
- Athletic wear for print on demand
- Hats for print on demand
- Journals for print on demand
- Greeting cards for print on demand
- Mugs for print on demand
9 Creative Careers In History
Here are 9 creative careers in history you can explore:
- Freelance writer
- Journalist
- Copywriter
- Screenwriter
- Reporter
- Vlogger
- Art seller
- Photographer
- Podcaster
11 Online Jobs For History Lovers
Here are 11 ideas on online remote jobs for history lovers:
- Research assistant
- Online tutor
- Proofreader
- Digital librarian
- Blogger
- Copywriter
- Ghostwriter
- Course creator
- Beta reader
- Merchandise designer
- Content editor
Which Side Hustle Should I Choose?
Unsure which side hustles for historians you should go for? Here are the top 6 things to consider when deciding which is best for you.
- How much time can you commit to it?
- Consider how much time you can set aside for your side hustle for weekdays and weekends
- What type of income are you looking for?
- Do you want to make income actively or passively while you sleep?
- What sparks interest & passion in you?
- Choose a side hustle that aligns to your personal goals and interests as it keeps you motivated
- Are you an extrovert or an introvert?
- Different side hustles requires different level of communication with the outside world, are you comfortable meeting new people every day?
- What is your current partner or friend up to that you can leverage on?
- Doing something with a friend or partner makes things easier and more manageable
- How soon do you need to make extra money?
- Not all side hustles make the same amount of money in the same pace, do you need money today or in a year’s time?
Bottom Line
I get it, history is a huge field to get into and now that you’re in it – you’re unsure what to focus on and what can you make money from.
You probably didn’t know but many politicians are historians and graduated in humanities. The key is to choose one thing, go all in and start with the knowledge you have at the moment. You need nothing more!
You can always change course later on as life is about exploring new things. If you asked me, I would focus on building passive income streams while having a full-time job.
Here are 19 best side hustles for historians:
- Write your own e-book and self-publish with Amazon
- Offer services for professional beta reading
- Share stories with a personal YouTube channel
- Build a podcast to talk about history
- Write educational content with your own blog
- Earn commission by promoting affiliate products and services
- Learn photography to take photos for online stock websites
- Get paid as a freelance writer for other blogs and websites
- Sell digital products for history on Etsy
- Create your own paid history online courses
- Tutor school kids online for history studies
- Apply for freelance online jobs you’re skilled at
- Become a pet-sitter in your free time
- Buy and resell vintage items for profit
- Offer copywriting services for businesses
- Proofread and copyedit professional papers
- Get a part-time or freelance archivist job
- Become a part-time teaching assistant for college history
- Make history-related merchandise to sell with print on demand
I’m not one to brag, but blogging has changed my life. I’ve been able to earn an income passively while on a coffee date and traveling with my family. With everything, it takes time to learn and not an overnight success – to speed things up, get yourself a blogging coach before starting.
These are my blogging resources to help you out:
- Step-by-step guide how to start blogging in your free time
- Why you need a blogging coach right from the start
- Worried of exposing yourself? You can blog anonymously
