7 popular tech side hustles in 2024

App development

Due to its flexibility and income potential, app development is a popular side gig for IT pros and others in the tech industry. This side hustle merges creative and technical skills, since it encompasses the design, build and testing of mobile apps, such as phone games for iOS or Android, or web-based applications.

To be an app developer, there are several essential skills, including the following:

• Programming knowledge. Based on the specifications of the app, familiarity with different programming languages is advantageous, such as Swift for iOS, Kotlin or Java for Android, or cross-platform languages such as JavaScript.
• Back-end development experience. Other technical proficiencies are needed for the back end of the app, including expertise with application programming interfaces (APIs), Structured Query Language (SQL) and Not Only SQL, along with languages such as Python.
• Understanding of design principles. User interface and user experience design are integral parts of app development, leading to visually appealing and user-friendly apps.
• Testing and debugging abilities. Proper app development requires rigorous testing to identify and rectify issues such as software bugs.

Because app development is such a broad industry, consider a niche with high demand, such as fitness, productivity or gaming, that aligns with personal skills.

Data analysis

From virtually any location, data analysis is a flexible side hustle for IT professionals who possess the right tools and software. These analysts collect, clean and ultimately organize data into a comprehensive visualization for stakeholders.

Data analysis requires several technical and analytical abilities, including experience with the following:

• Data visualization. Data visualization tools such as Tableau or Google's Looker Studio are essential to transforming data into charts and graphs.
• Spreadsheets. Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets are popular tools to enter and analyze data, requiring proficiency in their functions.
• Programming languages. Programs such as Python and SQL manipulate and analyze data.

Data analysis is also used in digital marketing, as well as other side hustles that require the ability to represent and understand data and its underlying importance.

Prompt engineering

As the AI boom continues, prompt engineering is a coveted tech side hustle. Prompt engineering is the process of designing prompts for AI chatbots such as ChatGPT. Of course, AI is only as powerful as the prompts fed into it, explaining prompt engineering's rise as a lucrative side hustle.

AI prompt engineering requires the following technical and soft skills:

• AI proficiency. A comprehensive knowledge of AI, including different language models such as GPT-3 and GPT-4, is necessary. Understanding how AI interprets prompts is a fundamental element of prompt engineering.
• Programming knowledge. Although no real programming skills are needed, a working knowledge of basic languages, such as Python, helps when using APIs with AI.
• Iteration testing expertise. Many AI prompts need to be reworked over and over to maximize the AI's output, making iterative skills crucial to high-quality prompt engineering.

Many who want to harness AI's capabilities don't have the skills to engineer prompts that yield effective results, so expect demand for this job to continue to grow.

Quality assurance testing

Quality assurance (QA) testing is a popular tech side hustle option because it's an essential step in software development. It involves testing a product -- a website, application or software program -- for any QA issues, such as bugs or flaws in coding, then providing feedback to developers.

Although QA testers aren't writing the code, there are still plenty of technical skills needed for QA testing:

• Software development knowledge. General knowledge about the software development lifecycle and QA's role in its different stages improves testing process outcomes.
• Testing skills. Expertise in performing manual and automated tests -- checking for bugs, measuring outcomes and knowing when to run each test -- is necessary for QA testing. Demonstrated competence with testing tools -- Jira, Trello and Selenium among them -- improves the QA process.
• Automation experience. Automated tests are typically part of the QA process, so knowing how to automate -- including basic programming knowledge -- is essential.

QA testing also requires attention to detail and strong analytical thinking skills.

SEO consulting

Search engine optimization (SEO) consulting is another popular tech side hustle. SEO improves webpage rankings on search engines such as Google. Search engines crawl and index webpages looking for certain SEO elements, which, if present, boost the page ranking for those searching relevant topics.

Consultants guide companies on website structure to improve their search rankings. Consultancy requires skills such as the following:

• SEO knowledge. Technical SEO knowledge, including XML sitemaps, tags and website architecture, is imperative, as well as an awareness of key SEO concepts such as on- and off-page optimization.
• Familiarity with analytics tools. Experienced professionals evaluate and review SEO metrics through analytics tools such as Google Analytics or SEO-specific tools such as Moz or Semrush.
• Understanding of HTML/CSS. A basic grasp of HTML and cascading style sheets (CSS) is needed to scrutinize website structure and make changes to optimize webpages.

Although SEO involves many elements, there are free courses online covering both basic and advanced concepts for anyone who wants to become an SEO expert.

Virtual tech support

Tech support is one of the most popular side hustles for IT or tech professionals. It involves remote assistance, through remote device access or over-the-phone help, to individuals or organizations with tech issues, including diagnostic problems or the presence of malware.

Virtual tech support employs a range of skills, including the following:

• Operating system knowledge. Depending on the type of support, a working knowledge of most major operating systems is preferable, including Windows, macOS and Linux.
• Troubleshooting skills. Competent troubleshooters have a broad knowledge of common issues and problems, as well as the ability to fix system crashes and other minor issues.
• Competence with remote tools. At times, virtual tech support demands remote access to desktops, so familiarity with remote access tools, such as AnyDesk, is helpful.

Web development

Web development is a popular, in-demand side hustle for tech professionals. It involves the development of websites in one of the following roles: a front-end developer, back-end developer or full-stack developer.

Web development's range of skills includes the following:

• HTML/CSS. A proficiency in HTML and CSS is essential to web development since these are the building blocks of any website.
• Back-end management. Back-end management includes server-side languages, database management and APIs.
• DevOps. A basic understanding of DevOps, including deployment and application containerization, is required for full-stack development jobs.

Web development's wide range of opportunities features building and selling websites, tutoring and designing website templates.

Where to find tech side hustles

Finding a side hustle that complements a professional's skills and expertise is difficult, but landing one of these jobs can be even more challenging.

When looking for top tech side hustles, here are some places to start:

• Job boards. Look at job boards and freelance marketplaces, such as Upwork or Fiverr, to find companies hiring for freelance or contract positions.
• Networking. Reach out to connections and make them aware of the services they're missing. Even if immediate work is unavailable, connections often give referrals or reach out when their needs dictate.
• Specialized postings. Some more niche tech skills have specific job boards, such as Stack Overflow jobs or GitHub jobs.

Check out these top tech job boards.

Alison Roller is a freelance writer with experience in tech, HR and marketing.