A gig economy makes it easy for anyone looking for flexibility in their professional and personal lives, but it also allows people to increase their income with a solid option for a side hustle. In fact, since 2013, the gig economy has grown 15%. Although that might not sound like a lot in a ten year period, that’s fifteen times faster growth than the general job market.
The benefits of adding a side hustle are innumerable. With the extra income, you can pursue your hobbies with more intensity, invest in your home, travel to new locations, and make a grab for opportunities you possibly didn’t have before. In fact, plenty of people have tossed aside their main jobs to pursue their side jobs full-time as independent contractors. Instead of being part of the daily grind of a set schedule, side hustles can truly lead you to a more independent, adventurous life.
If you’re looking for a great way to add a side hustle and added income to support your lifestyle or as a step to becoming freer and more independent, then earning a career certificate through a flexible online program like those offered by Washington Technical Institute might be the way to go. With flexible online career certificate programs, you get to complete the coursework according to your own individual schedule instead of having to attend an in-person course. That means you can keep working in your current role while adding needed skills to your list of experiences.
A paralegal’s primary role is to perform fact-checking, research, and draft legal documents for attorneys and law offices, so for this type of pathway, you’ll want to be sure you have strong writing and organizational skills. You can find flexible contract work as a paralegal pretty easily online, but since contract work will expect that you have a paralegal background, you first need a bit of training in the field of law and a solid foundation in paralegal work to pursue this option.
If you’re ready to join the 73.3 million freelancers working in the U.S., then check out some of the best career certificate paths available for finding contract work.
Paralegal Certificates
Earning a paralegal certificate is a great way to ensure that you have the background knowledge and credibility to land one of these remote, contract-based gigs. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, paralegals make around $27 an hour, and the field is set to grow at a rate of 14%, much faster than average job growth. With a growth rate like this, law offices have a difficult time finding enough full time paralegal workers to fulfill their needs, so they’ve started searching for contract workers to bridge that gap.
Medical Billing & Coding
If you’re a quick study about all things in the medical field and have a talent for organization and details, then earning a career certificate in Medical Billing and Coding might be the right move to make. By taking some key courses in Anatomy & Physiology, Medical Terminology, Medical Insurance, and Medical Coding, you can easily find a gig position working from home as a Medical Billing & Coding specialist.
With average job growth (7%), this career certificate can give you a solid field to add to your current income and experiences. Medical Billing and Coding experts make a national average of $22 an hour, so your training can begin to pay off right away when you land your first contract.
Web Development
Web development is a hot field right now, and will continue to be in the future. Every business needs someone in the field of website development to get their business’s online presence launched and ready to attract buyers or clients. Earning a certificate in Web Development can provide you with the skills you need to launch your own side hustle as the go-to person in your own small business.
You don’t need background in IT to earn a Web Development certificate either. You can get solid training in web design as well as exposure to JavaScript, HTML, and C++ coding languages through flexible, self-paced online certificate programs that you can finish on your own time in the comfort of your own home or wherever your adventures take you.
Gig economy workers have a flexibility like never before, so finding the niche that works best for you is essential if you want to move toward the freedom and independence a side hustle can give you. Whether you’re looking for a way to add extra income and provide you with financial freedom or you’re looking for a stepping stone toward adventure and travel, adding a career certificate from a self-paced, flexible online program is a step toward achieving those goals.
Washington Technical Institute
Washington Technical Institute’s fully online certificates can be completed in a matter of months, with daily or bi-weekly start dates. Such flexible start dates make these programs unique and much more accessible for our students. Most of our certificates can be earned as a self-paced program, meaning that you can work at your own pace to complete your work, even finishing early if you have the time and motivation to do so. An additional benefit of WTI’s programs is that we offer affordable pricing and a variety of payment plans to help our students leave school without debt.
Although our goal is to help our students graduate their programs with little to no debt, we also recognize that some students might need to utilize a loan for their educational investment. We are excited to announce our partnerships with Meritize Financial Assistance, Climb Credit, or Ascent, student lending companies focused on financing career-building programs.
If you’re ready to enroll and start working on a plan for the personal and professional benefit of professional development, you can register for your program online through our website. Still have questions about our programs? Feel free to call us at 800-371-5581 or text us at 952-465-3702 to speak with an admissions specialist.
