Every student enrolled at the University of Miami is pursuing a degree of some sort. For many, the lessons learned at UM will pave the path to future careers. However, amidst all the classes and career-building endeavors, some students branch out, taking on “side hustles” to earn extra cash or pursue peripheral passions. After all, it’s not like the tuition is cheap.
Wondering what a side hustle is and how to pick one up? You’ve come to the right place.
Side hustles assume all different forms — there is no standard hustle. Whether you are babysitting on the weekends, doing stand-up comedy at a local club or running an on-campus student org, you are participating in a side hustle. Think of it this way: any endeavor that is not directly on the path to your future career can be considered a side hustle. There also is no “typical” reason for pursuing a side hustle. While some people pursue side hustles to pick up extra cash, others pursue side hustles related to their hobbies or passions.
So now that you know what a side hustle is, how do you find one that’s right for you? Learn from a few UM students who are actively embarking on their own side quests about how they found their perfect gig.
Sayde Beltran-Alvaro, a senior majoring in exercise physiology, is a student by day and a nanny by night. After finishing her classes each weekday, Beltran-Alvaro said she drives to pick up the 4-year-old she watches, Miles, from school. After making him dinner and taking him through his nighttime routine, Beltran-Alvaro waits for his parents to get home.
“When he [Miles] is happy and excited, it’s the best feeling in the world,” said Beltran-Alvaro of her job. “I love getting to see his happy face and his smile because I get to know that what I’m doing has an impact on how he grows up.”
Two years ago, Isabella Pizza’s mother called her asking if she could dog sit for a family friend local to the Coral Gables area. Since then, Pizza, who is a senior majoring in biology and chemistry, has been dog-sitting whenever she can.
“I basically just hang out with a dog for however long their owner needs me to. I will feed them, walk them, play with them and just entertain them,” said Pizza.
After graduating in May, Pizza plans to become a biomedical research assistant as she gears up for medical school. While she said that her dog-sitting side hustle does not relate to her plans to become a doctor, she still sees her side hustle as a productive step forward.
“I love animals and haven’t been able to have one of my own because of my family’s allergies,” said Pizza. “Being able to hang out with a dog for a few hours without all of the responsibility is really fun for me.”
When she was in high school, senior broadcast journalism major Regina Potenza began posting short-form videos on TikTok covering whichever topics were on her mind. It wasn’t until the summer after her first year at UM, when she was sick in her bed with COVID, that her TikToks blew up because of her “book versus TV-show” comparisons of Amazon Prime Video’s “The Summer I Turned Pretty” — a popular short series full of teenage drama and romance.
“I spend a few hours posting and even more scrolling through social media looking for story ideas,” said Potenza. “Some days, I’m just posting TikToks that I film in my bedroom, while others, I am traveling two hours away to film videos.”
Unlike Beltran-Alvaro and Pizza, whose side hustles are more peripheral to their chosen career paths, Potenza said that her pursuit of micro-influencing goes hand-in-hand with her passion for journalism.
“You’re talking to a camera, or you’re talking to people and recording it and telling a story, and that’s exactly what journalism is,” said Potenza. “You see something happen and then you talk to people, you film it, and post the story. The two are not mutually exclusive — in fact, they go hand-in-hand.”
While Beltran Alvaro’s skill set acquired from her side hustle is not directly transferable to her pursuit of a career as a physician’s assistant, she said she has learned many meaningful lessons while working as a nanny.
“This job has taught me so much about patience and kindness — genuinely, you learn to be so much kinder to people because you don’t know if they know how to express themselves,” said Beltran-Alvaro.
Starting Your Side
In terms of starting a side hustle, the entire UM campus is your oyster. If you’re looking for a part-time gig, UM uses Job X to post on-campus job availability. Students can filter job postings based on skills and interests to find part-time roles where they can work 20-25 hours a week. From simple desk jobs to tutoring or working for the football team, students can use Job X to sort through hundreds of jobs.
If you’re looking for something more flexible, why not pursue a hobby you’re passionate about? Think of products you could sell or services you could give. Many students start their businesses to pick up some extra cash, whether starting a band or a jewelry business. If you love what you do, it might not feel like work.
For those not looking to work on campus or take on a passion project, there are many reliable job sites to connect you with local employers. Websites like Indeed, Glassdoor and Care.com can help students find job postings from local businesses like restaurants, gyms and boutiques.
Regardless of which side hustle you may pursue, most gigs will equip you with soft skills transferable to your resume for any chosen field. For example, food servers must be good at teamwork, multitasking and customer service. These skills are widely transferable and can help you excel in future career paths.
While it may be challenging for many students to balance a job and academics, the benefits of side hustles can stretch far beyond some extra pocket money. Whether it’s pursuing a passion or learning essential soft skills, side hustles can shape more than just your bank account.
words_caleigh russo. photo_valeria barbaglio. design_lizzie kristal.
This article was published in Distraction’s Spring 2025 print issue.
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