Abby B. Looking for some of the best side hustles for mathematicians and math majors? Unsure what you can do with your knowledge of numbers? Here’s 13 ideas!
As someone who loves mathematics and did super well in it (almost all my life), I only wished others could pick up the subject as easy as I did. Life would probably be easier for them and for me – I don’t have to teach anyone anything!
If you’re a mathematician or a math major, just know that you have so many options to make an extra income online and offline. Even if your genius brain don’t feel that way, I’m here to encourage you otherwise.
In this article, I’ll be sharing 13 side hustles for mathematicians where some are suitable for math majors, plus 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 someone who loves mathematics!
*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!
13 Best Side Hustles For Mathematicians
1. Data analysis on a freelance basis
People who are good at mathematics usually should be able to work with large chunk of data. You’re also more likely to understand any given data better and faster – which allows you to better interpret it than others.
So if you don’t mind becoming a freelancer to take on jobs in your free time, consider becoming a data analyst on the side. You’ll need to spend some time to pick up relevant certifications and skills to use tools like Tableau or Power BI to create data-driven dashboards.
Learning data should open you to a world of opportunities beyond just numbers – your work may be used in real life business decision-making. If you’ve figured data is the way to go for you, you can also go into data visualization, data cleaning, data modelling and research.
| hat do I need to start? | – Skills for a specific data related task – Platform to market your services |
2. Create Excel digital products for Etsy
If you’re looking for a way to make passive income on the side, I highly recommend selling these 18 digital products on Etsy. But to put your math skills to good use, you should focus on creating digital products for Excel instead.
This can include budget spreadsheets, income trackers, simple data dashboards and also forecasting templates. These products can only be created once then sold over and over again without needing you to put in any extra work.
You’ll only need to keep your shop updated with new digital products and answer any questions customers may have before or after their purchase. Hence, there is almost no production cost involved with any additional sale!
Check out my guide on creating a digital product listing on Etsy. It’s simple and straightforward as customers will be able to download the file immediately (ZIP or PDF format) once they make the purchase. No shipping on your end!
To give you more product ideas, look at business needs where staffs use spreadsheets on daily basis. Almost every company and department does some form of data entry – but they don’t have the right spreadsheet to work with.
| What do I need to start? | – A digital product idea for Excel – Tools to create the digital product – Platform to sell on |
3. Teach mathematics on your own YouTube channel
Interested in teaching mathematics but unsure if you have enough time or patience to deal with customers directly? Play the long term game by starting a YouTube channel instead.
Although you won’t make money in the beginning, you’ll be able to run your side job passively while having a full-time job. Growing on YouTube is not impossible if you’re uploading helpful content!
Focus on a single audience in the beginning i.e. young school kids or high school seniors. You’ll find it more manageable to plan your content this way and won’t get burn out easily.
Stay consistent even if that’s just one posting per week!
A YouTube channel enables you to earn from multiple resources – possible even with a few thousand subscribers. Aside from earning from advertisements shown to people who watch your videos, you can also earn from affiliate income, sponsorships and sale of your own digital products.
Interesting YouTube channels in the mathematics 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
Affiliate products or services allows you to earn a commission when someone makes a purchase or signs up using your affiliate link. It’s not just any link and not all products/services have it.
Though you can be promoting 1001 items using social media like Twitter, TikTok, Instagram or Pinterest – I do not encourage you to do that. Choose a main niche to go all in e.g. mathematic studies or gardening, then find a suitable affiliate program based on your audience.
People are always more inclined to make a purchase when you repeatedly remind them to. That’s the reason why it’s important that all your content sticks to your main niche.
Some affiliate marketplaces to check out are Amazon Associates, CJ affiliate, Clickbank, Share-a-sale and Rakuten Advertising. Start by signing up for an account!
| What do I need to start? | – Affiliate products or services you can promote – Social media account with growing followers |
5. Take photos to sell online as stock images
Feel like you’re an introvert that’s looking for a creative side hustle? I would recommend learning photography to take professional photos and selling them online on stock websites.
Your photos can be sold at any time of day and if you have enough photos, it could bring in a good amount of monthly passive income. It’ll take some time for you to master good photography and recognize your niche – it can be food, landscapes or people.
Put in the work to build your portfolio as not all photos will be approved for sales and get sold. Content creators and websites usually purchase stock photos for use within their content.
Of course, if taking event photos is something you don’t mind doing, it’s another way of making extra income with photography – although not as passive!
Stock websites you can join to start:
| What do I need to start? | – A good camera – Photo editing skills – Consistency to upload photos frequently |
6. Write for educational blogs and websites
Another freelance job you can explore as a mathematician or a math major is freelance content writing for blogs and websites. It’s usually a remote job to easily fit in your schedule and can be applied online on sites like Upwork.
You can also search for websites or firms that needs textbooks to be reviewed or edited. The pay varies depending on length and scope of job – whether it’s just a chapter or a whole book.
Generally, freelance content writers can earn up to $100 writing a single online article and can raise their fees by specializing in a niche e.g. education, math studies or statistics.
Although you can start your own blog around mathematics, it’s much more practical to be writing for other big established sites. In my experience, learning mathematics would require watching a lot of videos as opposed to reading articles.
| What do I need to start? | – Writing skills – Good command of English – Promote your freelance writing service |
7. Create paid pre-recorded online courses for mathematics
Since I’m a huge believer in learning mathematics via videos, I would highly recommend you start creating your own online courses for math studies.
Like I’ve mentioned above, it’s always easier to niche down in the beginning by making courses for a specific audience e.g. age 13-17, compared to stressing yourself out trying to teach everyone.
So, decide on the first audience you want to tap into. If you recently graduated, you might find it easier to create courses for your juniors that may need an extra helping hand to ace their exams.
By publishing your own online courses on learning platforms (listed below), you are able to make an extra income passively without sacrificing more hours working. It’s also common for YouTubers to promote their paid courses alongside free videos so people have a choice to purchase structured lesson plans.
The usual charges for a short online course are $30, $47 and $67. Aside from math studies, you’re free to create courses for anything you want e.g. embroidery or cooking – if you have a passion for them.
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!
8. Tutor kids and adults online for mathematics
Interested in teaching students directly outside YouTube and online courses? You can sign up as an online tutor for mathematics for the platforms I’ve listed down below.
Compared to the two previous options, tutoring requires great patience as you’re dealing with individuals that really needs help with mathematics. So even if you’re great at math studies, there’s no certainty you’ll be a great tutor!
Regardless, the key to being good at anything is to be consistent. Although tutoring is something you can do on the side, you’ll still need to ensure your clients are getting better at their studies.
Depending on your skills and the type of students you want to teach, you can charge anywhere between $40-$100 per hour. Consider volunteering first if you’re unsure then decide on your ideal target audience. This can be elementary school kids, high schoolers, college students or you can focus solely on high-level test preps or remedial programs.
Online tutoring platforms tend to have fees for hosting your classes so once you’re more established, consider giving your students a discount if they pay in cash. It’s easier to get referrals when you’re in the field and have repeat students.
There are tons of opportunities you can explore with teaching and tutoring including summer classes, guest lectures, workshops and orientations. You just need to build connections if you love your teaching gig!
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 |
9. Apply to freelance jobs or tasks
If you want to try something different than your profession but want to get paid doing so, you can apply to freelance jobs online. Your skills with numbers can be useful!
Assess what you’re able to do based on your past experiences and computer skills. Almost every job that can be done remotely online needs computer literacy and curiosity.
These services can be as simple as making presentation slides, data entry, copywriting, social media management and online administrative tasks. Almost everyone starts with Upwork or LinkedIn but there are so many ways to get your first client – including via social media.
Even if you’re not entirely confident with your skills, you can start by offering a lower rate compared to experienced individuals and take your time to build your collection of good reviews.
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 market your services |
10. Offer pet-sitting or home boarding services
Looking for something that doesn’t require you to work with numbers, computers or other people? You can make a good side income from pet-sitting for others in your neighborhood using apps like Rover.
Pet sitters are able to make about $15-20 per visit and would earn more from additional services like walking or travelling trips. If you prefer to have pets sent to your home i.e. home boarding, you would be able to make even more as pet owners are essentially using your facility.
Home boarding would also allow you to relax in your own space instead of trying to figure out someone else’s home. I highly recommend this side hustle for anyone who loves pets and can manage multiple pets at once with care & patience!
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 |
11. Become a part-time college professor or do instructional design
Want to embark on a professional journey of teaching? You can start by becoming a part-time teaching assistant or college professor for mathematics.
Teaching for college or universities would require some networking on your end as these jobs are usually made known through referrals. If you’re keen enough, send an email directly to the school head just to let them know of your availability.
Aside from teaching, you can also work with publishers to review textbooks and manuals for education. Talk to them on your math skills and offer to get some sample work done. The field isn’t a popular one so there’s a huge chance of getting referred to other clients in the future.
Once you’ve gained enough experience working with education materials, you can progress to become a freelance instructional designer. This role would allow you to develop learning experiences from scratch including activities and assessments for education.
Bottom line is, you don’t always have to be teaching mathematics as an mathematician!
| What do I need to start? | – Enough experience or skills to teach others – Connections with professionals in education industry – Platform to market your services |
12. Learn coding to become a programmer
Looking for something more challenging than just creating Excel dashboards for budget trackers? You can learn how to code as a programmer and create real apps for financial use.
My partner who’s from a chemical engineering background is pivoting towards coding in Phyton and SQL. He self-studies via online courses from DataCamp, Udemy and Coursera then practices coding in his own free time.
No pressure to make it fast! We all should do things at our own pace, especially if you have a full-time job.
People have talked about building side hustles in blockchain and trading applications. These two uses a great chunk of coding and skills for mathematics i.e. good with numbers.
| What do I need to start? | – Knowledge and skills for coding with portfolio – Interest in app-building – Platform to market your services |
13. Sell designed merchandise with print on demand
Interested in dropshipping and setting up your own ecommerce store but unsure how to start? I would recommend trying out print on demand first as a beginner – here’s seven reasons why POD can work for you.
Compared to dropshipping where most products are sourced from overseas e.g. China, you don’t need to worry about shipment delays with print on demand. Most POD suppliers like Printify and Printful have multiple printing centers across the world to ensure fastest shipping to your customers.
As a seller, you just need to create an Etsy store to sell your print on demand merchandise. Create designs with Canva or Kittl, then upload it to your POD supplier account (Printify or Printful).
All products will sync seamlessly to your Etsy store and once orders come in, they’re picked up automatically by your fulfillment supplier. You don’t have to be doing anything other than just monitoring your orders – your suppliers will print and ship it out to customers for you.
You can also find inspiration or purchase ready designs on creative marketplaces like Envato Elements or Creative Fabrica.
Here’s some inspiration on printed tote bags inspired by mathematics! You can be selling similar ones on Etsy using Printify and Printful.
| 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
11 Side Hustles For Math Teachers
Here are 11 side hustle ideas for math teachers:
- Complete math questions online
- Teach mathematics on YouTube
- Create paid online courses for structured math lessons
- Write for other educational blogs and websites
- Become a part-time teaching assistant at colleges
- Tutor school kids mathematics online
- Sell digital products for Excel sheets on Etsy
- Review textbooks and education materials
- Design your own print on demand merch
- Create children workbooks to sell on Amazon KDP
- Apply to become an online examiner for standard exams
How To Make Money As A Mathematician
Here’s a thought process you should go through to make money as a mathematician:
- Understand that mathematics is quite a broad skill set that needs to be filtered down.
- Think beyond your skills in mathematics, what other passion do you have? Is that cooking, travelling, playing games or learning finance?
- If teaching is something that interest you, try it out by volunteering to teach mathematics.
- If you’re seeking a remote lifestyle, online tutoring and creating online courses is more viable.
- Understand that some of these options can bring in an income in the short term or long term – strategize your plan.
- Ultimately, there’s so many things you can explore when you’re talented in education!
- Give yourself time and courage to try things out, decide fast.
Which Side Hustle Should I Choose?
Unsure which side hustles for mathematicians 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
It’s always easier to start a new side hustle if you’re leveraging a skill you already have. When I lost my job and didn’t know what side gig I should get into, I started with what I had then.
With enough curiosity and time, you’ll eventually find something that resonates with your heart and soul – plus your skills!
So don’t give up too soon and continue trying new things. I would always recommend building passive income streams even if you have a full-time job to rely to – I no longer do.
Here are 13 best side hustles for mathematicians & math majors:
- Data analysis on a freelance basis
- Create Excel digital products for Etsy
- Teach mathematics on your own YouTube channel
- Use your socials to promote affiliate products and services
- Take photos to sell online as stock images
- Write for educational blogs and websites
- Create paid pre-recorded online courses for mathematics
- Tutor kids and adults online for mathematics
- Apply to freelance jobs or tasks
- Offer pet-sitting or home boarding services
- Become a part-time college professor or do instructional design
- Learn coding to become a programmer
- Sell designed merchandise 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
Photo by Bernice Chan
