There are plenty of side hustles for engineers to earn money in 2026. Side hustles are no longer limited to just freelance coding or technical consulting. Whether you want to earn an extra $500 a month or create a profitable income stream of more than $15,000, this includes options like creating online courses, designing products, providing special services for engineering companies, and blogging here. The right side hustle can take advantage of your technical skills, creativity, and problem-solving abilities. If you want to know all these side hustles for engineers, then you are on the right website. We will tell you the 31 best side hustles for engineers, from which you can generate extra income in the USA in 2026. This article will be very helpful for you.
31 Best Side Hustles for Engineers to Make Extra Money in the USA
1. Providing 3D printing services
Providing 3D printing services is one of the great side hustles for engineers, especially in 2026, as the demand for custom parts and small-quantity manufacturing is increasing. For this job, all you need is a good 3D printer and a fire-up work ethic. Here, platforms like online and local engineering groups are needed to receive orders. You can usually earn around $20 to $200 from this. Clients usually like to print creative designs here, such as custom boxes, broken boxes, product samples, and usually, an engineer can earn between $500 and $3,000 per month from a side hustle job, and if they want to increase that, they will have to print them on an industrial scale.
2. Providing Freelance Technical Writing Services
Freelance technical writing is one of the most profitable side hustles for engineers in 2026. You can earn $30 to $200 per hour by finding clients on platforms like LinkedIn and Upwork, and engineers can share their technical knowledge with tech companies. Or you can use it to create manuals, white papers, and documents for engineering blogs. This is a side hustle that offers you flexible hours, and gradually you can build a good and professional reputation in it, and also start earning a good income. Create a portfolio of your technical writing skills. And send your portfolio to industries like software and hardware manufacturing.
3. Product Licensing Service
Product Licensing is one of the best side hustles for engineers. This is a low-risk side hustle because once the license is signed, you get a monthly income without having to handle production. Engineers can earn extra income by licensing their inventions or products to their own companies. This means that the product will remain yours, and the company will pay you a fee to use the product or give you the right to sell it. This fee can usually be five percent or 15 percent of the sale. Engineers can contact companies and use platforms like InnoCentive or Edison Nation.
4. Teaching Engineering Students
One of the good side hustles for engineers is teaching students. You can easily go to any local college and do your job and teach your subjects, like electronics, mechanics, and programming, and can easily earn $20 to $50 per hour by teaching subjects like these.
5. Creating Online Courses
One of the most money-making side hustles for engineers in 2026 is to create online courses. You can create your own course in which you can teach subjects. You can earn $4,000 to $9,000 from this, but when you start, you won’t have that much experience, so you can earn $500 to $900.
6. Virtual Assistant
One of the famous side hustles for engineers in 2026 is to be employed as a virtual assistant. You can earn $20 to $25 per hour in this, and once you have experience, you can easily earn $30 to $50 per hour. You can start this part-time. As soon as you gain experience and build your portfolio, you can make it full-time.
7. Coding and Web Development
One of the most paying side hustles for engineers in 2026 is coding and web development. You can earn from $20 to $100 per hour from this, but you can also use your coding skills to create websites, apps, and automation tools for your clients, and to get started, you will have to search for online platforms that provide remote online jobs, such as Freelancer, Upwork, Fiverr, and other platforms. You can work from home whenever you have time and increase your earnings.
8. IT Support
One of the easy side hustles for engineers in today’s era also has IT support in 2026. In this, you can earn from $20 to more than $80 per hour, in which you can help businesses online or go to their physical location and install software or solve their problems, or give them some technical help. You can earn even better side income from this. This is a good way to find clients on online platforms such as Fiverr, Freelancer, Upwork, and other websites to find clients.
9. Data Entry
Engineers can easily do data entry jobs because they do not require any advanced skills, and they can also do it part-time. You can earn from $10 to $25 per hour from this, in which you only have to type information in spreadsheets, update databases, fill forms, etc. This includes you. You can also get clients for this from freelancing platforms and offer your services.
10. Graphic Design
As a side hustle for engineers in the United States, freelance graphic design is a workable option. You can earn around $20 to $150 per hour in this, in which you can earn by creating social media visuals, marketing content, and logos for companies and people. You can also start by learning Adobe Illustrator, Figma, or Canva to learn this, and as you know, where to get online remote jobs, as you must know about these platforms, Upwork, Fiver, Freelancer, and Dribbble, etc.
11. Freelance Writing
One of the easy side hustles for engineers is to offer your services as a freelance writer. This is very easy, and you can do it without spending any money. You can earn between $25 and $120 per hour, depending on the project’s size. To find clients, first create your portfolio, then find your clients on platforms that provide remote jobs, such as Freelancer, Fiverr, and LinkedIn, and offer your services.
12. Podcasting
In my opinion, one of the best side hustles for engineers in 2026 is podcasting, which is a powerful and easy way to create your own podcast and sell it on the Apple Store, Apple Podcast, or Spotify. Your earnings are also good, but you can earn from $110 per month to $18,000 to $19,000.
13. Dropshipping
Dropshipping is one of the most popular and prominent side hustles for engineers in 2026. However, it requires you to run the right ad and continue learning. First, let me tell you how it works. When a customer comes to your online shop and buys a product from you, you don’t need to keep that product with you. The direct supplier will deliver it to the customer, and you will get the profit margin that you make. Usually, people earn between $400 and $ 1,900 from this, but those with more experience can earn more than $10,000.
14. Affiliate Marketing (Best Side Hustles for Engineers in 2026)
Affiliate marketing is one of the most popular and easiest side hustles for engineers. In which an experienced person can earn from $10 to $ 10,000 per month, and someone with some experience can earn up to $11,000 per month. Many people in the USA are earning more than $12,000 per month. In which you promote other people’s products online, such as sharing the link of any product and telling other people to sign up with it, or telling them to buy something through this link, then when they buy or sign up, you get a commission from it.
15. Selling Digital Products
Selling digital products is one of the great side hustles for engineers. Usually, people can earn from $100 to more than $20,000 from this, but it all depends on experience. You don’t need to create the same thing over and over again. You can create it once and send it over and over again, for example, an e-book, online courses, etc.
16. Online Teaching Service
Online teaching is one of the good side hustles for engineers in the USA, where you can earn from $25 to $90 per hour by teaching common subjects, and if you teach advanced or difficult subjects, you can earn more than $140 from this dollar. In this, you can also create courses by recording videos, and you can also give your lectures on direct live video calls, i.e., Zoom meetings, etc. You can also invite students who are already there on your tutoring websites, like Preply, Chegg, etc.
17. Social Media Management
Social media management is one of the good side hustles for engineers; you can earn from $400 to $4,000. You don’t need to spend much on it; all you need is a laptop and internet, and you can provide remote service to clients in the USA. In this, you have to post content about people’s businesses, increase their following, and provide them with weekly or monthly reports.
18. YouTube or Blogging
One of the top-class side hustles for engineers in 2026 also includes a YouTube channel and blogging. Engineers can use their skills to create content on YouTube and write articles on blogging, earning a starting income of $400 to $10,000. And the most important thing is that people’s rail problems also have to be solved by civil means. Post videos once or twice a week, write articles, and be sure to take care of SEO for growth.
19. Offer Consulting Services
Engineers can use their skills to offer consulting services, as many freelancers in the USA charge between $40 and $190 per hour. They can help you with software development, AI, or automation. To start an up-and-coming career, you can find clients on platforms like Upwork, LinkedIn, and Fiverr. This is one of the good side hustles for engineers in 2026.
20. Part-time Delivery Service Job
Doing delivery jobs is also one of the great side hustles for engineers, in which you can earn an average of $15 to $30 per hour. You can also do part-time jobs through an app like DoorDash, Upside App, Instacart, etc. Your earning tips depend on the demand of clients and your location. And you can easily do this job from your car or bike, or any scooter.
21. Website/Product Testing
One of the best side hustles for engineers is part-time website and product testing. Typically, people earn between $ 10 and $ 60 from this, and if you utilize as many platforms as possible, you can easily earn between $ 200 and $ 900 per month. In which companies allow you to check their websites and digital products, and you tell them whether there is any problem with it, and how the design is, then you also get money for it.
22. Photography
There is a practical side hustle for engineers is photography in the USA, in which you can charge from $70 to $200, and you can get royalties from $0.25 to $2 on online stock photos, and if you take on projects as an expert in weddings, you can earn more than $2000. For this job, you need a good camera and photo editing, which you can do in Adobe or Photoshop. You can also sell your photos on websites like Fiverr, Upwork, and here on websites like Shutterstock.
23. Self-Writing Books or Publishing
Self-writing books or publishing books with the help of AI has become a trending topic in the USA and a good side hustle for engineers. Engineers can earn $500 to $3,000 per month and even more than $10,000 per year by working on trending topics like tech skills, career guides, automation, and productivity etc, according to 2026. You can use AI tools like ChatGPT and Gemini to write non-fiction books with the help of AI and then publish them to Amazon KDP or Apple Books.
24. Sell your Crafts or Notes
If you are an engineer and looking for a profitable side hustle, then selling crafts online could be a good option for you. You can earn from $400 to more than $10,000 from this, and it depends on how you work. Pay attention to SEO and keep listening. It doesn’t cost anything to start this business. Many engineers create digital products like CAD tutorials, templates for STEM projects, cheat sheets, and engineering notes, etc. They create them once and then sell them on websites like Etsy or Teachers Pay Teachers.
25. Local Tool & Knife Services
Providing tools and knife services, i.e., sharpening knives, is also a very easy side hustle for engineers, in which your initial tool expenses range from $400 to $2000, and the rest of the time they are not that much, and then you sharpen kitchen knives, and other blades, etc., by machine or by hand. You can earn from $20 to $2500 from this.
26. Resell Mechanical Items
You can easily earn more than $1,000 to $3,000 by reselling mechanical and industrial items, including chainsaws, mechanical tool sets, etc., and this is going to be a very profitable side hustle for engineers in the USA in 2026. This includes items sold, such as power tools, hand tools, chains, and mechanic tool sets. These items are consistently in high demand and trending in the USA on popular sites like eBay and Facebook Marketplace. Engineers can purchase these items from places like garage sales, estate sales, and local boy-outs, thrift shops, clean them, test them, and list them online. You can easily make about $100 to $200 from a single item this way.
27. Small Engineering Jobs Online
I have told you about many side hustles for engineers in the previous points; among them, many jobs can give you an online income, such as CAD or 3D modeling work. In the USA, people can earn a lot of money from this side hustle, and you can earn from $30 to $200 by designing or drawing. You can provide all this on websites like online teaching, selling online courses, and consulting freelancing, and you can earn more than $1200 a month.
28. Real Estate Side Hustles
Real estate is the best side hustle for engineers to get rich in 2026, where you can earn from $5,000 to $15,000 per project. The first way is to buy a small house and rent it out. In this, most part-time investors easily earn up to $3,500 per month after deducting expenses. And the second option is to find cheap property deals with contract investors and sell them to them, and in this, you don’t need to buy a house, and you also get good fees.
29. AI & Prompt Engineering Jobs (Best Side Hustles for Engineers in 2026)
In 2026, engineers will write AI applications using their skills, such as ChatGPT, GIMINI, etc. It is a trending or high-scope side hustle for engineers. You write any instructions so that they give you the best results. You share whatever knowledge you have related to engineers. According to that, they write an AIPrompt for you, then you can design, test this prompt. In the USA, the salary of Prompt engineers is around $70,000 to $1,80,000 annually. And if you use your skills on websites like Freelance and provide services, make prompt templates, and create courses, then you can earn more than $80 to $200 per hour.
30. Technical Sales Side Hustles
Technical sales could become a good side hustle for engineers in 2026. You can earn around $60 to $140 per hour in the USA. If you get regular clients, you can earn more than $5,000 per month. You can use your communication skills and technical knowledge to earn part-time money along with your regular job. Common examples of this are freelance technical sales consulting or contract sales engineer jobs, where you help small tech companies to sell their complex products. In this job, you usually explain the technical features of the product to customers in simple language, give product demos, and explain how it works. To get started, build a portfolio of your technical skills, create a profile on freelance websites like Upwork, Fiverr, network on LinkedIn, and connect directly with new tech companies.
31. SEO for Engineering Companies
In 2026, in the USA, engineering companies invest more in SEO because more people visit their websites, their websites get good and serious clients, their sales also increase, and revenue is generated. In this work, you first have to find keywords, then you have to fix the description and title of the website, etc. Engineering service-related contents also have to be written, and backlinks are also included. Most SEO experts give monthly packages; they can earn from $700 to $5000, and those who are freelance consultants charge you from $ 50 to $ 200 per project and can charge from $ 1,000 to $ 9,000 plus. If it is seen as the best side hustle for engineers, then SEO services or a consulting side business are quite profitable. It can give good earnings. Once you build clients, you can earn from $2,500 to more than $12,000 per month, especially when you focus on the engineering niche where you already understand the language and problems of the engineering industry.
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Best Side Hustles for Engineers in 2026 (Final Recommendation)
In 2026, there are more opportunities for engineers than just side hustles or extra income that are in line with their skills and interests. You can earn from $500 to more than $15,000 per month, whether it is from cutting-edge technical software consulting, creating online courses, providing SEO services or content writing, blogging, YouTube, and online teaching, affiliate marketing, or whatever it is. And it depends on your hard work, experience, and clients. It is most important that you choose an area where your engineering knowledge of code will be useful. People in the USA who want extra income. For those who want to maximize their profits, 2026 is the perfect year to use their technical expertise to start a side hustle that will provide both financial and professional growth.
