Welcome to year 2022, where it seems like everyone you know is working some sort of side hustle.
Some of these jobs are hobbies turned into a means of making a few extra dollars while others can be lucrative enough to challenge the income of your full-time job.
In either case, the financial impact of this extra income can be lifechanging. After all, working side hustles made it possible for me to pay off over $300,000 in physical therapy student loans, financially prepare for the arrival of our first baby, and fund our retirement accounts.
In other words, working side hustles helped me regain control over the financial aspects of my life – and you can too.
That’s why I created this list of potential side hustles opportunities for physical therapists like you.
For your convenience, the list is broken down into 3 separate categories so you can more easily find a side hustle that best suits you:
- Side hustles that utilize your physical therapy degree for direct patient treatment
- Side hustles that utilize your physical therapy degree outside of providing patient direct treatment
- Side Hustles that don’t utilize your physical therapy degree at all
The list also includes one bonus category, covering ideas on how to better maximize the income potential from your current full-time job.
While the list is extensive, it is certainly not exhaustive. If you have any side hustle ideas that I have failed to include, please share them in the comments section below so I can consider adding them to the list.
Without further ado, take a look at the list of side hustles below!
SIDE HUSTLES THAT UTILIZE YOUR PHYSICAL THERAPY DEGREE FOR DIRECT PATIENT CARE
Working a side hustle that involves direct patient treatment can be a great way to leverage your physical therapy degree for extra income.
If you choose to work in the same setting as your full-time job, then you can utilize your same skillset and focus on learning the logistical workflow.
On the other hand, working your side hustle in a different clinical setting can provide a nice change of pace.
Of course, you can also decide to take on a side hustle in a clinical setting in which you don’t have previous experience. In fact, sometimes these opportunities can end up being the most lucrative.
1. PRN Home Health Independent Contractor
Of the direct patient care side hustle options, this one is my personal favorite. As described in Getting Started in PRN Home Health Physical/Occupational Therapy – Part 1 and Part 2, there are significant benefits to working prn home health including maintaining flexibility with your work schedule and getting a nice change of pace from your full-time job’s setting.
Most importantly, though, if you follow the recommendations provided in How I Make As Much As An Extra $8,000 Per Month Working PRN Home Health Physical Therapy – Part 1 and Part 2, the income you generate by working prn home health can be life-changing.
2. PRN In-Home Outpatient Physical Therapy
If you are more comfortable working outpatient physical therapy then home health physical therapy but looking to get away from spending more hours in a clinic, you should consider treating patients inside of their homes on an outpatient basis.
3. Per Diem Inpatient Acute Care/Outpatient/SNF
Working per diem in one of these settings can provide opportunities for career growth while decreasing the stress that working a side hustle often brings. However, the income potential can be limited by how many hours you are asked to work.
4. Per Diem Telehealth Physical Therapy
With COVID-19 bringing new changes to both healthcare and the world in general, using telehealth to treat patients has become more common practice. Some of these companies focus on treating a specific patient population while others are more generalized.
Although new companies continue to pop up, here are a few that already have their name out there:
5. Cash Paying Private Clients
Clients willing to pay physical therapists cash for treatment is becoming more and more common. Just check out the articles that the American Physical Therapy Association has written on the topic.
Some physical therapists have picked up a cash-pay private client to treat as a side hustle. I used this option to supplement my prn home health and prn in-home outpatient physical therapy side hustles.
Others have taken this even further and created full-time jobs by building cash-only-pay practices. If this sounds appealing to you, here are a few colleague gurus in the area of cash-based practice you should check out:
SIDE HUSTLES THAT UTILIZE YOUR PHYSICAL THERAPY DEGREE WITHOUT PROVIDING DIRECT PATIENT CARE:
If you’re feeling burned out from direct patient care altogether, you may consider a side hustle that is related to physical therapy. These side hustles can allow you to still leverage your physical therapy degree to earn a higher hourly rate when compared many to side hustles that do not utilize your physical therapy degree.
1. Start a Blog
Like the idea of making more money while working from home? Starting your own blog is worth considering.
If you’re not sure what to blog about, having a physical therapy degree can open up a lot of possible options.
Ideas can range from educating colleagues to educating the general public. If you specialize, you can even leverage that to niche down to a specific readership. You can also blog about having a certain expertise relating to physical therapists but not directly related to patient care. The Money Mobilizer is an example of this concept.
The option of creating another income stream while getting away from direct patient care is what initially motivated me to start my own blog. So far, blogging has also provided me with a creative outlet that I did not easily satisfy with my direct patient care full-time job and side hustles.
That said, what you put into blogging is likely what you will get out of it. If you ask my wife, starting and maintaining a blog can even more closely resemble having another full-time job rather than just a side hustle.
Physical therapists interested in starting their own blog often ask me for advice on how to get started. I recommend the blog courses offered by Create and Go. Not only will they give you information that you should learn, but they will format it in a way that will give you a direction on how to move forward so that you avoid “analysis paralysis.”
Below are the links to the courses offered by Create and Go. Of note, you can either purchase these courses one at a time or you can purchase all of them as a bundle by clicking on the Blog Biz Bundle listed last. If you are just starting out, I recommend beginning with the Launch Your Blog Business Course or you can purchase the Blog Business Bundle if you are planning on taking all of the courses.
- Launch Your Blog Business Course
- Six-Figure Creator Course
- Pinterest Traffic Avalanche Course
- SEO Blueprint For Bloggers Course
- Blog Business Bundle
If having control over something you create sounds appealing to you, don’t let the notion of hard work deter you. After all, if you enjoy what you do, it doesn’t feel like work at all.
2. Create an Online Course
If blogging sounds like too much work to start and maintain, creating an online course can be an excellent one-and-done extra source of income. Sure, a lot of hard work must go into creating the course, but once it is done you can make money without having to create more content.
Teachable is a company commonly used to create courses:
3. Create a Study Guide to Help Others Pass Physical Therapy Exams
If you’d prefer to create a one-and-done source of income that doesn’t require putting your face on a video for others to watch, creating a written study guide can be a good option.
4. Start a Podcast
These days, it seems like everyone you know has a favorite side hustle they work, a favorite streaming television show they watch, and a favorite podcast they listen to.
Podcast Insights summarized statistics from various sources noting that there are over 2,000,000 podcasts currently in circulation.
While this number may lead you to believe that podcasting is a saturated market, the article also stated how Nielsen Rating Company estimated that 50% of American households listen to podcasts. That’s over 60 million households!
What’s more, the number of people listening to podcasts has continued to grow, most recently from 51% in 2019 to 55% in 2020.
Surely, if you’d like to start your own podcast, there is room for you too.
A couple of successful podcasts hosted by physical therapists include the PT Pintcast podcast with Jimmy McKay and the All Things Physical Therapy podcast with DPT Steph.
Keep in mind that just because a podcast has a large following doesn’t mean is has the goal of making money. For example, as of writing this article, the All Things Physical Therapy podcast does not make money.
5. Expert Witness
Interested in working as an expert witness but have no idea where to start?
You can look for an opportunity to work as an expert witness with these companies:
6. Utilization Reviewer
Interested in reviewing medical records from the comfort of your home? Physical therapist Phillip Magee can teach you how.
Check out his Nonclinical Utilization Review Course!
7. Teaching Assistant at a Physical Therapy Program
Enjoy teaching and prefer in-person interaction? Working as a teaching assistant may be an option to consider.
Check out my interview with physical therapist Luke Snyder who has first hand experience teaching at a DPT program.
8. Tutoring PT Students
If you’d still prefer teaching students face to face, but you’d rather work in a setting less formal than a physical therapy program, tutoring might suit you well.
This can be a great option if you recently graduated and the coursework is still fresh in your mind. Current students from your program can especially benefit from your expertise since you just finished taking the same courses from the same instructors. Just be sure to keep things ethical by not sharing past exams.
Outside of tutoring current physical therapy students, you can also consider tutoring recent physical therapy graduates on the best study habits to pass the National Physical Therapy Exam (NPTE).
The same concept can be applied for passing a specialty board certification or other physical-therapy related certification.
9. Online Physical Therapy Surveys
Completing surveys may not sound like an option that has as much income potential as some of the other options already covered, but it does offer the opportunity to make extra money at your convenience.
Unfortunately, it can be tough to find companies that work with physical therapists.
First, there are a lot of companies providing survey opportunities on generalized topics. Some of these companies specialize in providing surveys for healthcare professionals.
These are the companies that offer survey opportunities for physical therapists:
SIDE HUSTLE OPTIONS NOT RELATED TO PHYSICAL THERAPY:
Taking on a side hustle without leveraging your physical therapy degree can allow you the opportunity to explore and monetize a passion you may discover outside of physical therapy.
1. Start a Blog
Yes, the option of starting a blog was mentioned under the list of physical therapy side hustles. However, you can also blog on topics that do not relate to physical therapy. This can still be lucrative and provide a nice outlet away from the physical therapy profession.
The courses offered by Create and Go that I mentioned earlier are a great option for getting started:
- Launch Your Blog Business Course
- Six-Figure Creator Course
- Pinterest Traffic Avalanche Course
- SEO Blueprint For Bloggers Course
- Blog Business Bundle
2. Crowdfunding
Crowdfunding provides an avenue for individuals to invest in real estate.
Crowd Wise provides statistics on just how popular crowdfunding has become.
For more details, check out the websites of three of the most commonly use companies:
3. Renting Out Your Home
Renting out property that you own is another way to potentially make money off of real estate.
Below are a few common examples you can explore:
4. Filling Out Non-PT Related Surveys
Although filling out surveys related to physical therapy was mentioned before, you can also consider filling out surveys not related to physical therapy.
Below are a few common examples you can explore:
5. Delivering Items for Money
It’s hard to find someone at this point that hasn’t worked for or received items from an app-based delivery company. Despite this, beginning to sort out which one might be best to work for can be quite overwhelming.
Thankfully, Side Hustle Nation has written extensively on what to expect. A good place to start reading on this topic is Postmates Drive Review: Up to $20 an Hour Making Deliveries in Your Spare Time. This article also has links to some of the other delivery side hustle options listed below:
6. Place Ads on Your Car
You typically have to drive a minimum number of miles in order to qualify for making money by placing ads on your car. However, if your current full-time job or side hustle already requires that you drive a lot, adding an add to your car may present as a good opportunity without requiring too much extra effort.
Check out some one the commonly used companies below:
7. Rent Out Your Car
Have a car but not using it too often? Why not rent it out for extra income?
8. Donate Your Plasma
Never donated plasma before? Don’t know where to start? This article from Millennial Money Man will help you learn the ins and outs of how and where you can donate plasma.
9. Tutoring Students in Non-Physical Therapy Subjects
10. Dog Walks/Pet Sitting
11. Freelance Online
Have a skill you’d like to sell as a service? Here are a couple of popular companies to look into when getting started:
12. Sell Your Items on Etsy
Already making items that others may be interested in purchasing? Why not turn it into a business? Already 4 million people have already done so.
Check out my interview with physical therapy student Sydney Pincus who has created and runs her own Etsy shop as a side hustle all while in DPT school!
You can start learning how to sell items on Etsy here.
13. Transcription Services
If you type quickly, transcribing may be an option to consider.
Here are a few companies to look into:
14. Gym Class Instructor
Find participating in group exercise gym classes both a great way to stay in shape and a nice outlet after work? Why not teach one of these classes yourself and make it another source of income?
15. Rent Out Your Driveway or Parking Spot
16. Test Apps and Websites
Test the apps of companies to help ensure a quality experience for future app users
17. Be an Audiobook Narrator
18. Sell Things Online
Got stuff you don’t need? Make them available to the world and sell them online! This can be a great way to dispose of some of those required physical therapy text books you likely don’t need anymore.
IDEAS ON HOW TO INCREASE INCOME AT YOUR FULL-TIME JOB:
If you want to make extra money but you don’t want to pick up a side hustle at all, there are still ways to increase your income at your full-time job. Of course, not all of these options will apply to all full-time physical therapy jobs, but if any of these apply to yours, consider it a way to make extra money without having to learn anything new. No new documentation system at a different workplace, no new clinical skills in a different physical therapy setting, and no new investments to start something new.
1. Pick Up Holiday Shifts
Some work places pay physical therapists at a higher rate to work on certain holidays. If your boss allows, try picking some of these shifts up. I make thousands of dollars extra doing this every year.
2. Pick Up Extra Shifts
If things get busy, some work places would prefer that a physical therapist already working for them pick up extra shifts rather than commit to the expense of hiring another physical therapist.
3. Work Overtime
Again, some work places would prefer that a physical therapist already working for them stay a little late to see an extra patient or finish work rather than commit to the expense of hiring another physical therapist. Of course, if you are salaried then overtime might not be an option. But if you are paid hourly, overtime can be quite lucrative.
FINAL THOUGHTS. . .
I hope you found this list helpful. Please share this list with other physical therapists looking for the right side hustle.
Do you have a favorite side hustle? Share below! Before moving on, please help make the Money Mobilizer a supportive and welcoming community for our current and future colleagues by leaving a question or sharing your knowledge below!
