24-03-2025
Five Ways To Make More Money If You're Underpaid at Work
According to Zety's Pay Gaps & Perceptions Report, 32% of Americans feel they get paid less money compared to their peers, with 77% admitting that their dissatisfaction with pay has negatively impacted their productivity levels on the job. The Career Gridlock Report from Resume Now found that 60% of employees have stayed in jobs longer because they felt it would be too challenging to make a career transition. It's worth mentioning that 66% of respondents acknowledged that a career change would improve their happiness, but only 13% have made the switch.
If you feel underpaid and ready to increase your income, here are five ways to make more money even if you're not prepared to switch employers.
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Ben Walker, financial expert and CEO of Ditto, shared that you'll want to focus on trying to negotiate a higher salary by asking for a raise if you feel underpaid. To get a raise, you'll want to get some market research data to back up your request and show that you're objectively underpaid.
'Another data-backed way to show this is negotiating for performance-based bonuses based on specific metrics,' he added. 'You can also go for an internal promotion to another role with higher pay.'
If you find negotiating a higher salary isn't an option, you'll want to pursue the other moves in this article.
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'Employers reward employees who bring greater value to the business,' said Ed Huang, side hustle and finance expert at 'If you pursue certifications, training sessions or online courses — such as Udemy or LinkedIn Learning — in high-demand fields such as data analytics, AI or project management, you'll definitely stand out.'
You'll want to start by looking into certifications and courses that could make you more valuable at your current job or help you land a higher-paying gig. For example, learning about AI chatbots and data analytics could help you land a role in prompt engineering, which can pay between $62,977 and $136,141 annually, according to Coursera.
Some employers offer financial assistance for education so you can upgrade your skills without spending your money. The goal is to find ways to invest in yourself today to make more money tomorrow.
Keith Spencer, career expert at Resume Now, noted that career changes are more socially acceptable and alternative pathways like freelancing are making career transitions more feasible.
'The key to overcoming career gridlock is to take a strategic approach,' he added. 'By building financial stability, leveraging skills-based learning and exploring career shifts through freelancing or contract work, professionals can reduce risk while moving toward more fulfilling roles.'
The best part about freelancing is that you can offer services related to your current field on the side if you're not ready to switch careers and don't want to change employers. Huang added that freelancing work can be done by writers, graphic designers, administrative assistants, customer care representatives, etcetera. You can find work on platforms like Fiverr, Upwork or
According to ZipRecruiter, the pay for freelance graphic design is $35 per hour. However, the amount you earn will depend on the service you offer and your level of expertise. You'll want to ensure that your freelance services are in your area of expertise. If you specialize in human resources, you can help people with resume writing services. If you work in accounting, you can help out during tax season with filing income taxes.
If you're underpaid at your day job, you can turn to side hustles to bring in extra money and try to build a business without giving up your main gig. A side hustle will allow you to boost your income and pursue a passion project.
Here are some common side hustles worth looking into:
Selling digital products online, if you have time to build a business. Selling digital products, like e-books, templates or courses, is a side hustle stream worth looking into. According to ZipRecruiter, average pay for digital sales is $24 per hour, but it will depend on how much you excel at marketing.
Reselling items online. You can make money by reselling items you find on clearance at a higher price. You can find items at thrift shops or clearance sections and then sell them on Facebook Marketplace, eBay or Poshmark. ZipRecruiter states a reseller can make around $33 per hour, depending on what kind of products you can find.
Look into the gig economy. Huang pointed out that the gig economy also provides several additional income sources outside your full-time job if you're looking for instant access to cash. You can make $18 per hour as a food delivery person in your spare time, per ZipRecruiter.
'If you're an expert on a topic — such as fitness, personal finances or graphic design — you can package your expertise into a course and sell it over and over again without much additional effort,' Huang said. 'Platforms such as Gumroad, Teachable or Udemy make this a smooth process.'
The goal is to find a topic you can be an expert in to bring money in your spare time through a side hustle venture.
If you're not getting paid enough and have little spare time, you can consider building passive income streams to make money while you sleep. The good news is that you can start building passive income with minimal risks. Huang pointed out that investing in high-yield savings accounts or dividend stocks makes it easy to earn money without any effort if you want to get started.
If you have the capital, consider investing in real estate or purchasing a business that generates recurring income. You can outsource some management and list your spare room on Airbnb to turn a space into passive income. You can rent out storage space, tools and cameras on platforms like Neighbor or Fat Llama. There's likely a way that you can turn your current resources into passive income. These simple strategies can help you earn money without any additional effort so that you can supplement your salary.
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This article originally appeared on Five Ways To Make More Money If You're Underpaid at Work
