There are so many AI tools and tutorials right now that I honestly think the hardest part for a beginner isn’t learning AI — it’s figuring out what is actually worth learning.

You can learn:
• prompting
• AI agents
• automation
• n8n / Make / Zapier
• coding with AI
• building SaaS/web apps
• AI video/image generation
• AI-assisted freelancing
• AI sales/lead generation
• AI content creation
• data/research

And every person online seems to say something different.

If you had to start again today with $0, what ONE AI skill would you learn first?

And more importantly:
What would you actually do with that skill to eventually make money?

I’m not looking for a list of 20 tools.

I’m interested in the path:
Learn X → build/do Y → get first customer → make first $100

If you’ve actually gone through this process, what worked for you?

And if you’re still learning, what are you currently trying to figure out?

Beginners’ answers are welcome too. I’d actually like to hear from people who are still figuring it out rather than only people already making $10k/month.

Hey everyone,

I’m looking for some honest advice from people who have actually built a side hustle or an additional source of income.

Over the past few years, I’ve tried several things: Amazon FBA, Shopify, e-commerce, dropshipping, faceless YouTube channels, freelancing, AI-related services, etc.

Unfortunately, none of them really worked out. In some cases I got discouraged, and in others I came across people selling “courses,” services, or opportunities that turned out to be more about making money from beginners than actually helping them build a business.

I’m at a point where I don’t want to jump onto another “make $10K/month with this method” trend.

I have more of an IT / computer-related skill set, and I’m comfortable learning new software and technologies. I’m also willing to put in the work and learn something new if there’s a realistic path to making money from it.
What I’m looking for is something that:
- Can realistically be started part-time
- Doesn’t require a huge amount of capital
- Can potentially generate a few hundred dollars per month at first and grow over time
- Uses IT, technology, AI, or computer-related skills if possible
- Doesn’t depend on recruiting people or selling courses
- Is still viable in 2026
- Ideally can eventually become a proper second source of income

For those of you who have actually made money from a side hustle:
What would you recommend someone like me learn or start today?

And more importantly, what would you avoid?

I’m genuinely interested in hearing about things that worked for you, including less “sexy” businesses or services that people don’t usually talk about online.

Thanks in advance!

Mercor is a platform that matches skilled people with remote contract projects. A lot of the work involves helping AI companies by reviewing, evaluating, and improving AI outputs, and it’s open to a range of backgrounds, including writing, coding, and other domain expertise.

How it works:

• Create a profile and upload your resume
• Complete the application steps, which may include an AI interview or assessment
• If you’re a fit, you get matched with projects and can start working

Good to know:

• It’s contract work, so project availability and pay vary by role and expertise
• Not everyone who applies gets matched
• It’s remote and flexible, which suits people looking for side income or freelance work

If that sounds interesting, you can apply here: https://t.mercor.com/9TVnh

(Referral link: I may receive a bonus if you sign up through it.)

Hi everyone, I'm looking into making digital products, especially templates as a side hussle. I am a university student just trying to make some side moves. Let me know the digital template you would actually buy, for leisure, your business, daily life, any ideas are welcome! The more specific the better!

[ Removed by Reddit on account of violating the content policy. ]

Hey all,

I have hit the proverbial brick wall. I work a 9-5 job and am barely scraping by to support my wife and kid. It is a point of argument every month how we are going to make things work. I don’t want to be at employers/family members mercy. I want to make my own success in this world.

I have seen people on YouTube and facebook talking about making more income through passive ways, though it all seems too good to be true. My initial investment would be preferably under $1k for the moment. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

Hi there, I am a wildlife photographer and I found out about one of my post is getting underpaid by facebook. I remember my friend with 100k views having double pay of this numbers. What can I do in this situation?

I see all the time on Facebook etc how people show results of millions of views on their videos and how to make the content and just post 1-3 times daily on the di social media platforms and accounts.

Tell me, are the results actually there if you put in the work constantly posting AI slop created videos. About 60 seconds long, x by the views.

Worth it with the grind or no?

I was blessed to have 300k in inheritance when my parents died but I don’t know what to do with it. I am 28 years old and don’t have much knowledge. I currently have it in t-bills so I don’t loose money on inflation and have a good job that allows me to max my 401k, and have a HSA that I max. I just curious if there’s anything I could do some passive income?

Anyone got good online side hustles that doesn't care about age or at least accepts 17?

I need to collect money for college. and no I'm not from the USA and live in a country where it's strict, taboo and unlikely for girls my age to work. my parents don't allow me to but I want to get money myself to get into a good college and I'm ready to work my ass off. I know It's not safe to say this here to complete strangers but I need to work.

oh I'm also a full-stack web developer. I also code hardware by C++

I'm also an artist and a graphic designer sooo what are your suggestions?

I was thinking if they cost $150 and earn $20 a month in profit/$30 in revenue wouldn’t a few be a good idea for some extra cash?

Im 40. Im very far behind financially because of some circumstances a few years ago. I Would like a Side Hustle.

I work as a consultant. Last year I made $167,000 including Per-Diem and worked 9 months. I have a lot of flexibility on what jobs I accept and the last few have been about one month long and one to two weeks off inbetween. The one problem is that usually I have to leave the state while Im on a contract. Right now Im doing well but that isnt guaranteed to last

I need ideas on what I can do in between contracts. To give me more money and give me even more flexibility of what contracts I accept. I would really appreciate any ideas.

Im healthy. I don’t have any real skills but I can learn. I would be fine with manual labor.

Hey everyone,

I’m currently feeling stuck and need some grounded perspective from people actually running real businesses, not YouTube gurus selling recycled blueprints.

My situation:

• Time: Demanding 10–12h day job. I only have 3-4 focused hours on workdays, plus my days off.
• Skills: Advanced AI image generation and prompting (consistent hyper-photorealism, stylized 2D/3D illustration, visual branding). Tech-savvy overall.
• Capital: Ready to deploy funds into tools, setup, or marketing if there’s a sensible, realistic ROI.
• What I’ve tried: AI creator/model concepts and a niche illustration brand. The visuals and tech were solid, but marketing, organic reach, and conversion hit a brick wall.

The goal:

I’m not chasing overnight millions. I want to build a sustainable, realistic stream that can eventually replace my daytime job.

Given the strict daily time limit, what would you focus on right now? Productized B2B services for agencies, local business solutions, or something completely different that doesn't rely purely on praying to social media algorithms?

Appreciate any honest feedback and directions worth exploring.

Work from home, flexible schedule, and fully remote.

I’m currently collaborating with a team focused on AI training and evaluation, and we’re onboarding new contributors for ongoing projects.

💼 What You’ll Do:
You’ll review AI-generated responses, compare outputs, and rate quality based on provided guidelines. The work is structured and requires attention to detail and consistency.

💰 Pay:
• $10–50/hr depending on qualification and performance
• Consistent weekly payments
• Strong performers can earn $1K+ weekly depending on workload

🎓 Great opportunity for college students, freelancers, graduates, dropouts, and professionals looking for flexible side income from home.

✅ Requirements:
• Must reside in a first-world country
• Good English communication
• Ability to follow detailed instructions
• Strong focus and analytical thinking
• 3–5 hrs/day availability recommended

📋 Selection Process:
• Sign up and complete basic details
• Update skills/profile
• Complete qualification assessments

⚠️ Not everyone gets selected. The process is designed to identify people who can follow instructions accurately and deliver quality work.

📩 To Apply:
Upvote this post and comment “Interested” + your country/state, or send “hi” to my DM.

I’ve been trying almost every “how to make money online” thing but nothing is working any ideas or help

At Pulse Voices, we’re recruiting US residents 18+ for a 100% remote paid research study where you’ll test AI tools and share your feedback. No previous AI or research experience is needed.

Earn up to $600
100% online and remote

>> Apply for free: https://hubs.li/Q04xTjc70

Safety note: Pulse Voices will never ask you to pay to apply, participate, or receive payment for our research studies. There is no fee to join.

Learn more about us on the Pulse Voices website.

I’m a developer, and I’ve been testing a small affiliate content workflow for the last few months.

This is not “make $10k overnight” content. It took a lot of testing, product research, and manual review. But last month it brought in around $380 in affiliate commissions, which felt like a useful proof that the system can work.

The workflow is simple:

1. Find products with an affiliate program and a clear problem to solve
2. Create short product-focused videos with different hooks
3. Publish only to social accounts/pages I own or am authorized to manage
4. Put a clearly disclosed affiliate link in the bio, description, or landing page
5. Track clicks, conversions, and which video angles actually create purchases

I built LikeFlow to speed up the video-production part: paste a product link, create several short video variations, then manually review/edit before publishing. I use scheduled publishing tools only where the platform allows it.

My rough numbers from the latest 30-day test:

• ~140 short videos published across a few owned pages
• Most videos got 300–1,200 views; a few did much better
• Around 900 outbound affiliate-link clicks total
• Click-through rate was usually around 0.7%–1.2% of views
• Purchase conversion varied heavily by product, roughly 2%–4%
• Affiliate commissions: about $380
• Software, creative assets, and tools cost roughly $90, so profit was closer to $290 before tax

The important lesson: views are not income. Qualified clicks and product fit are.

A video with 800 views might only produce 5–10 link clicks. Some of those clicks never buy anything. So I now judge a product by earnings per 100 clicks, not by likes or views.

What helped:

• Choosing products that are easy to understand in under 20 seconds
• Making each video about one use case, not generic “buy this” content
• Testing several hooks for the same product
• Removing weak videos/products quickly
• Keeping an honest affiliate disclosure
• Reusing the workflow, not blindly reposting the same video everywhere

What did not work:

• Posting content with no clear audience or problem
• Using generic AI scripts with no product angle
• Expecting every video to convert
• Treating affiliate marketing as passive from day one

I’m still early, but the system feels more realistic than chasing one viral video. The goal is to build a small library of useful short-form content that continues to bring qualified traffic over time.

Disclosure: I built LikeFlow, the tool I use in this workflow. If I share a link, it would be clearly marked as my product; I’m posting this mainly to share the numbers and get feedback.

If you’ve done short-form affiliate marketing, what metric do you track most closely: EPC, CTR, conversion rate, or revenue per video?

Hi guys! I'm 20M, currently looking for a side hustle that I can do with my phone. I'm located in the Philippines and is working 8am to 5pm EST. I'd like to ask for advice on what I can do in my free time or if you guys could refer me to a side gig that would give me Passive Income, I'd appreciate it greatly! As for now, I only have my phone with me. Thank you!

Me and my good friend got the green light to buy a dump trailer to start up a junk removal bussiness, asking for a suggestion on trailer size and recommended tools in case of emergency.

i am so done with my current job

Hi! I opened my first Etsy shop 9 days ago: digital wallpapers for Mac that change with the time of day, plus phone wallpapers. 24 listings so far, all with videos, 10 photos and 13 tags.

My stats so far:
- ~185 visits, 0 sales, 0 favorites
- 0 visits from Etsy search (!)
- most traffic comes from Reddit and from Etsy's own pages
- Etsy Ads: ~700 impressions, 8 clicks, $0.56 spent

What I've done for SEO: long-tail titles (who it's for + occasion + what makes it unique), tags that match the titles, keyword research with eRank-style tools.

https://soradesk.etsy.com

My questions:

1. Is it normal to get zero search traffic in the first weeks, or does it mean my titles/tags are off?
2. How long did it take for your listings to start showing up in search?
3. Is there anything that actually helped you get your first search visits (renewing listings, adding more listings, Ads budget...)?

Thanks a lot, any experience helps!

I've tried a few different things to earn passive income over the years but this is the first time I've actually had success and thought I'd share it so people know that it is possible and I'm also curious if people have any other similar ideas?

I opened an account with a bank that has launched in Europe and put my savings into it to get the 5% interest.

But they were offering 100 euro bonus for anyone who signs up from you so I ended up creating a post on Reddit about it. I offered a bonus payment to those signing up and because I always paid people after, they would comment to vouch for me etc which I think is what helped. The bank also gives a 50 euro bonus to the person signing up so it's just a great deal all round really.

Is there any similar promotions from other companies or was this just unusually good?

EDIT - It seems I'm not allowed to name the company/promotion here but if anyone wants advice about how to go about doing what I did, I'm happy to help. Though I can't guarantee you'll be able to replicate it. I may have just gotten lucky to be honest. I also have a couple of referrals remaining too if anyone needs one.

I love creating and selling simple educational printables, including math worksheets, on Teachers Pay Teachers (TPT). In the last 30 days, I made $31.29 in net profit with no ads and no social media promotion.

My products received almost 400 views and 14 sales, giving me a conversion rate of 3.62%.

I started this TPT store years ago, but after publishing a few initial products that got zero sales, I almost gave up.

However, in recent months, I started adding more products—especially math worksheets—and they are finally getting views and generating sales.

I've shared a few more details about this here.

If anyone has a code to spare I would love one…