How much is a Secret clearance worth? How much can you earn with a Top Secret security clearance? These are questions many want to know, especially when preparing to retire or separate from military jobs that require such clearances.

If you are currently serving and need to know how much of a pay jump (or pay cut, depending on circumstances) you might get by switching to a civilian job that requires a security clearance, there is good news from a report by ClearanceJobs.com that indicates that after years of “frozen” wages, pay rates and certain opportunities are on the rise.

---

What Is A Military Security Clearance Worth?

Unfortunately, there is no real way to place a specific dollar value on a Confidential clearance, Secret security clearance, or Top Secret Clearance since jobs, requirements, and credentialing will vary. However, some studies (including the report by ClearanceJobs.com) do find a dollar amount range to be more or less accurate.

ClearanceJobs.com reports that the “average total compensation” for professionals with security clearances approximately is $90,000. It is important to note that the dollar amount listed here is the average of “total” compensation, not necessarily the pay grade or dollar amount you might see in a monthly paycheck.

“Total compensation” may include the value of insurance benefits, employee contributions to retirement packages, and other benefits along with your salary.

Once Top Secret, Always Top Secret?

Some want to know whether they are entitled to “keep” their clearance once it is obtained, even when moving on from a career in uniform to the private sector, civil service, or federal job opportunities outside the civil service arena. The short answer is, no, you don’t get a Top Secret clearance for life.

Part of the reason for this is the way clearances are handled; in addition to being required to recertify or be re-investigated for your clearance years down the road after your initial procedure, your military security clearance cannot “travel” with you to another agency without certain consideration made by your new employers. In order to have your current clearance recognized at another job there must be reciprocity from the gaining agency.

The U.S. Department of State defines this as “the acknowledgement and acceptance of an existing background investigation conducted by an authorized investigative agency.”

Reciprocity is also the acceptance of “a national security eligibility adjudication determined by an authorized adjudicative agency” and/or another agency’s acceptance of “an active national security eligibility determination granted by an executive branch agency.”

The ultimate worth of a security clearance-having one currently and/or being able to obtain a new clearance with few problems-is that it provides access to jobs which may be statistically higher paying than those that do not require such clearances.

More On Security Clearance Reciprocity

As mentioned above, the security clearance you obtain for military duty purposes is technically only good for the agency that granted the clearance unless there is reciprocity issued from a new hiring agency. The U.S. Department of State says a federal agency will “normally” take your security clearance if it is current.

That means the background check or re-investigation must have taken place in the last five years for a Top Secret clearance, and within the last 10 years for a secret clearance.

Normally this also requires there be no break in service of more than two years. Your gaining agency may be required to take certain steps or perform due diligence when hiring in this manner that includes certain “adjudicative procedures” that may or may not resemble those performed during your original clearance.

---

Recent Trends In Security Clearance Jobs

In the wake of high-profile classified data leaks including the controversies surrounding Julian Assange and Edward Snowden, a 2013 White House review suggested reforms to the security clearance process.

One part of those suggested reforms was a reduction in the number of federally employed people with security clearances. How big was that reduction? According to the ClearanceJobs.com report, as high as thirty percent.

The same report suggests that processing times for security clearances have increased to their highest levels in recent memory. It may take more than a full year to fully complete the background check and clearance review process for Top Secret-level workers. Clearance investigations are said to have piled up into a backlog some sources say is more than 700 thousand cases.

That means those considering a transition into civilian life should expect to wait longer for clearance jobs, encounter higher competition for those jobs, and planning for career transitions will need to start much earlier.

Things To Remember About Jobs That Require Security Clearances

There are many reasons why a job may require a security clearance, and not all of those jobs require handling of classified government information. Clearance may be required just to work in the same room with equipment used to store, process, or display classified information.

The employee does not pay for security clearance procedures-your employer will shoulder the cost of this process. There should be no financial burden for the applicant.

Security clearances are not issued for life. They are subject to review and may be revoked at any time. Those who obtain security clearances should follow the advice of their employers for avoiding life choices and/or situations that may call their clearances into question, and as we have learned in recent years even social media activity may be grounds for reconsidering an active clearance.

In some cases it’s not even whether or not questionable activity actually occurred, but situations that lend even the appearance of impropriety may be problematic.

---

Top Paying Security Clearance Jobs and Industries

Surveys suggest that the engineering career field (for careers that require security clearances) pays an average total compensation of approximately $100 thousand a year, with information technology (IT) a close second with a total compensation average of just below $100 thousand.

Specific top paying security clearance jobs themselves include Systems Engineer jobs with an average total compensation in the $120 thousand range, with IT software jobs at or near a similar range. Remember, the dollar amounts mentioned here are not limited to gross income, but may include benefits packages, retirement plans, etc.

Other Security Clearance Job Salary Information

The amount of compensation you are offered in a job requiring a security clearance at any level (Confidential, Secret, or Top Secret) will vary depending on where you are at in your career. Surveys and published reports on these figures include a rough estimate of just over $50 thousand per year for entry level workers with security clearances.

By the time you are at or near five years of experience, those numbers go up significantly-as high as $75 thousand in total compensation according to a ClearanceJobs.com infographic. Up to ten years or higher and these compensation packages are in the six figures.

The top paying clearance job industries include (listed in order from most lucrative to least):

• Engineering
• IT
• Finance
• Intel
• Emergency Management
• Construction
• Health/Science
• Business Security not related to IT
• Visual/Creative
• Logistics

Logistics may be in the “least lucrative” position at the bottom of this list, but some reports note that security clearance workers earn as much as $40 thousand more per year in some locations compared to similar jobs without the security clearance requirement.

---

Joe Wallace is a 13-year veteran of the United States Air Force and a former reporter for Air Force Television News

---

Related Articles
Cannabis & Security Clearance	Security Clearance Disqualifiers
Rejection of Security Clearance	Guidelines For Security Clearance Eligibility
Security Clearance Jobs After the Military	Transferring And Maintaining Security Clearances

What should service members should know about employment and their military service? Picking career options, translating your military experience into civilian equivalents, and working a resume for a civilian market are all important aspects of making the jump from life in uniform to a career outside the United States military.

All those about to retire or separate from the Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, and Marine Corps should start by taking full advantage of transition assistance programs offered by their branch of the military.

These may be offered at scheduled times during the year at bases with heavy PCS seasons, or they may be provided on a more individual basis depending on demand. Transition assistance includes help with resumes, advice on your earliest moves in your post-military life, information about available benefits and resources and much more.

A November 2017 report issued by the Government Accountability Office shows 85% of active-duty service members are listed as having attended transition assistance programs before separation from the military, only 15% of transitioning enlisted members and a mere 9% of officers actually took advantage of these sessions. Don’t make the same mistakes a larger number of transitioning troops make by skipping such assistance.

Always take full advantage of any transition help your branch of service will provide, you never know where it might lead you.

---

Career Path Options

There is obviously no one-size-fits-all career pathway for those leaving military service. Some career fields and military occupational specialties don’t translate as easily to the civilian world as others, which is why it is a very good idea to network with others in your field who have left or are planning to leave military service in search of a job in a similar capacity “on the outside.”

It’s hard to specify for an individual career field what may be out there waiting, but there are some general resources you can use to figure out your career path options. One excellent resource is the government’s own hiring website, USAJobs.gov, which lists federal job openings across a wide range of career fields.

Searching this website can help you get an idea of what federal employment opportunities await you after serving; you may (or may not) find some jobs translate more or less directly from military service to federal employment; others may require some on-the-job training or certification requirements you can anticipate before you get out.

There are state-level equivalent job boards, too – if you are more interested in applying for a state job rather than a federal position, do a Google search for “state job hiring board” and the name of your state and explore from there.

City-level employment works in much the same way – the official site of the city you plan to start your civilian career in will have job listings that cover seasonal work, part-time, temp jobs and full-time city positions.

The Common Denominator For Federal, State, and City Job Listings You Should Know

Most typical government jobs at any level offer some kind of hiring advantage for veterans in the form of bonus points on hiring exams, added consideration, or priority placement.

But you should know that most, if not all of these require documentation to support the preference applied. Disabled veterans may be eligible to more consideration than other vets; supporting documentation is required in most cases including discharge paperwork, VA award letters, etc.

Don’t assume you won’t need your DD Form 214 or equivalent discharge paperwork, VA award letters, and other documents. Chances are they will be required especially if you need to claim hiring preference.

Attend Job Fairs

If you are looking for non-government jobs, job fairs are among the best places to see and be seen in the job market. It’s one thing to send a resume to a potential employer. It’s quite another to meet them in person, see if there is chemistry between you and the company’s representatives, and learn more about a potential job than just the job ad.

Finding a job fair can be as simple as doing an internet search for “job fairs” in your city, but doing a more specific search that is veteran-specific may also help. There is a growing interest in online job fairs, but you should research these carefully and compare their options to the in-person versions.

What career path options do military members have aside from government jobs? Much depends on the time spent in military service, the number of career fields the service member has experience in, and other variables. Many veterans have considered and pursued the following options:

• Becoming an entrepreneur
• Consultant work
• Freelance or contractor work
• Working at private Veteran Service Organizations
• Teaching
• Management
• Skilled labor
• Contract employment for overseas companies
• Veteran liaison work (schools, human resources departments, etc)
• Temp agency / placement agency work (especially for technical and creative skills)

Search Job Boards

Job boards such as Monster.com, Indeed, LinkedIn and others can be tricky to navigate and often it pays to NOT apply directly via these third-party sites but through a potential employer’s own employment gateway instead, but you can get a lead on good jobs by using military-related keywords to search for those who may be hiring with a specific need for your military background.

Remember that the older a job listing is on these boards, the more likely it is to be filled already by the time you view it, but it never hurts to submit a resume within the advertised application period.

---

Military Experience Translation

The timeless question about making the transition from military to civilian jobs goes more or less like this: “How can I take my highly specialized military skills and apply them to a civilian job market?” Published reports say more than half of all veterans consider this one of the toughest things about moving into civilian life.

The first thing to do is to assess your skill sets in a non-military context. If you ever worked as a supervisor, even for a single soldier, sailor, airman, or marine, you have management experience. If you have ever planned a retirement, promotion party, or military dining-in, or other functions, you have experience as an event planner. It some cases it really is that simple. In others, a bit more thinking time may be required.

For example, how does an Air Force missileer-a military officer who sits in a closed room with nuclear launch keys and codes and responsible for taking the call to launch a nuclear weapon should the need arise-list such a duty on their resume in a way that makes sense to a non-military employer?

The key is to break down the duties and find civilian equivalents. The nuclear silo job makes these people responsible for millions of dollars of highly classified hardware and software; that’s a responsibility worth money on the outside. There are security clearances issued to these workers, and this can be worth more, too, though security clearances don’t “travel” and the level of clearance you had in uniform may not be the same one you work with at different job.

Separating the experience from military life means looking at what all jobs have in common-they require supervisors and subordinates, they require certain people skills and technical training. To get the most out of your skill sets, you need to know how what you did in uniform matches up with other jobs with or without those skills. Start there, and then review your specific skills to get a better idea how you will approach the resume, the job interview, and working your first post-military job.

Resume

The most important thing you should pay attention to when initially working on your resume? Eliminating military jargon from your writing. Those outside your military experience don’t know what COMSEC is, they don’t understand the difference between a TDY and a PCS, and no resume should contain military acronyms such as BUPERS, “indoc”, FTX, etc.

It is a very good idea to write your resume and show it to a friend or relative with no military experience and ask if they understand what you have written, whether there are any acronyms or jargon creeping into the writing, etc. This is a very good way to screen your resume for problem areas that might come up when a potential employer looks at your work history.

Another important area is making sure you are current on the latest preferred resume format and information requirements. These may vary by career field; some jobs hire in such a way that listing non-career specific job experience on a resume can be detrimental.

For example, if you are applying for a teaching position, your time spent as an entry-level cook would not look right on the resume. Weed out the irrelevant information and keep the details that apply directly to the employer’s needs, especially if you have management experience and need to apply for a job where you are expected to use that experience.

You can get resume help from local Veteran Service Organizations, the VA official site, veteran-friendly colleges, and many other resources including military transition assistance programs. Look into all of the above long before you out process.

Resources And Benefits

At the state level, veterans will find many career-related resources at the state government’s official site. For example, the Oklahoma Department of Veterans Affairs, which is a state agency rather than a regional office of the federal Department of Veterans Affairs. All states have such an agency, which may or may not be known as a Department of Veterans’ Affairs, Bureau of Veterans’ Affairs, Division of, etc.

These sites typically offer veterans job advice, resume help, and in many cases programs that put veterans and small business owners together as well as information about veteran preference hiring policies for that state’s municipal level jobs and beyond.

The federal Department of Veterans Affairs offers an entire section of the VA official site dedicated to employment services.These services include helping disabled veterans, giving career counseling and job advice to vets, learning how to apply for federal jobs, apprenticeships, and much more.

You can also explore career options with local campuses and universities, especially state-funded colleges that have programs especially for veterans. Don’t neglect the college’s own job boards, internal hiring announcements, and student job opportunities. There may be plenty of help for those considering a new academic career as well as new employment opportunities in such places.

And finally, it’s always smart to reach out to your nearest chapter of a trusted Veteran Service Organization such as the USO, DAV, Veterans of Foreign Wars, etc. to see if there are veteran-specific job fairs, job counseling, resume writing help, or other types of programs sponsored or supported by those agencies.

---

Joe Wallace is a 13-year veteran of the United States Air Force and a former reporter for Air Force Television News

---

Related Articles
Military Transition Assistance & Career Help	Transition Assistance Program – TAP Overview
Veteran Employment Transition Problem	Military Job Assistance Programs
Veterans Employment and Training Service	5 Tips For A Successful  Transition

Getting a security clearance is a very important part of many federal service jobs and military occupational specialties. It doesn’t matter if you are a member of the United States Army, Air Force, Navy, Coast Guard, or Marine Corps; if you need a security clearance you will be required to undergo a background check and screening process.

That process is a lengthy one; you will be required to provide information about old home addresses you may have forgotten, ex-spouses or former colleagues, vehicle ownership, home loans and other debts, medical bills, and other highly detailed data.

There are many misconceptions about this process; many security clearance blogs, federal job blogs, and other publications make statements that may or may not be 100% true. And there are some realities that some must assume are not true-realities that are learned the hard way in certain cases.

One security clearance blog has a post that includes the following as related to the question of whether there is an “automatic disqualifier” for security clearances; “Outside of citizenship, there is only one thing that is an automatic disqualifier for obtaining a federal security clearance – that is current, ongoing use of an illegal drug.”

That article also references something called the Bond Amendment of 2008 which includes four vital areas that can interfere with a security clearance screening. Those include criminal convictions that lead to a prison sentence of a year or longer, receiving a dishonorable discharge, “criminal incompetence,” and drug addiction.

The blog refers to “automatic disqualifiers” for security clearance applications, but in reality the reason many people may find themselves in trouble or needing to provide further information for the security clearance screening has nothing to do with what that particular blog identifies as an “automatic disqualifier.” It can be as simple as a problem with personal finances which appears to be a recurring issue, personal conduct, etc.

---

Three Levels Of Security Clearance

There are three levels of clearance;

• Confidential
• Secret
• Top Secret

At any level, the security clearance granted allows the military member to access things classified at the level the worker holds or below. Top Secret is the highest clearance granted and the background check and screening process for Top Secret may be more intensive even if the same information is gathered – the scrutiny on that data may be higher than at the Confidential level.

That is not to imply that requirements are more lax, but rather that the areas that may not get as much scrutiny at the Confidential level may require supporting documentation and further development for those seeking the highest security clearance of the three.

Misconceptions and assumptions about the security clearance screening process can be problematic at best and lead to a rejection of the security clearance application at worst. What are the top disqualifiers for a security clearance and why are they identified as such? Whether you are seeking the lowest clearance (Confidential) or the highest (Top Secret Security Clearance), the following applies to all.

Different Security Clearance Approvals

Those who apply for a security clearance, especially a Top Secret clearance, are required to renew their clearances from time to time-the specific length of time may vary depending on the government agency, the level of clearance, and other circumstances.

Those who re-apply for a clearance may or may not be required (again depending on the nature of the work and the hiring agency’s policy) to submit to the same full background check again, but with every renewal of a security clearance, there is always the potential to be denied based on personal behavior and other issues since the last background check was performed.

Frequency of Security Level Clearance Background Checks/Clearance Approval

In general you may find that for Secret and Top Secret security clearances, a new screening may be required once every five years, though these policies may vary depending on the nature of the employment, the hiring agency’s policies, and federal requirements which are subject to change.

Things That Can Slow Down The Approval Or Denial Of A Security Clearance

Regardless of whether the background check/screenings are done initially or as a follow-up, certain things can delay the processing of a security clearance screening. They include incomplete or badly completed application forms, “poorly collected fingerprints,” and security clearance checks that involve a great deal of follow-up over “extensive overseas activities.”

Areas that need further development including concerns over legal issues, financial problems that are difficult to fully investigate, and in some cases criminal records research may also contribute to a slower process.

---

Areas Of Concern For Security Clearances

• Allegiance to the United States
• Foreign Influence
• Foreign Preference
• Sexual Behavior
• Personal Conduct
• Financial Considerations
• Alcohol Consumption
• Drug Involvement
• Psychological Conditions
• Criminal Conduct
• Handling Protected Information
• Outside Activities
• Use of Information Technology Systems

In general, the government granting an individual access to classified information requires an assessment that includes any factors in a person’s life “that could cause a conflict of interest and place a person in the position of having to choose between his or her commitment to the United States, including the commitment to protect classified information, and any other compelling loyalty”.

That’s according to the Department of Defense, which adds that in cases where an individual’s background reveals patterns of unreliable or untrustworthy behavior, “questions arise whether the person can be relied on and trusted to exercise the responsibility necessary for working in a secure environment where protecting classified information is paramount.”

One-Time Incidents Versus Life Habits

When it is time for a security clearance screening, the person or persons doing the background check are charged with determining if such patterns are life-long habits, the result of circumstances, or other issues.

And the nature of these potentially problematic areas are also reviewed: credit issues, debt problems, and related issues may be the result of things beyond the debtor’s control such as hospital bills or related obligations. One-time credit mistakes or failures require an examination of their causes.

One area that can be troublesome on a background check is financial behavior that indicates the applicant is frequently over-extended on credit, personal debt, etc. Having too much debt and not enough income creates a potential circumstance where those holding security clearances can be compromised.

The presence of debt in and of itself is not the problem; any patterns or life habits that involve financial irresponsibility, carelessness, or the ability to place oneself in a position to be compromised? That’s a different story when it comes to security clearance disqualifiers.

The Most Common Reason For Being Denied A Security Clearance

In spite of published articles stating that substance use is the “instant disqualifier” for a security clearance, drugs and alcohol are NOT the most common reasons clearances are actually denied. The real culprit behind a large number of unsuccessful applications for a security clearance?

Financial issues.

Financial considerations are among the highest causes of having a security clearance application denied. In 2017, the Defense Office of Hearing and Appeals Board heard 2,054 appeals from those who were denied a security clearance following the background check; of that number, more than 1400 were denied because of financial problems. Compare that to only roughly 400 appeals for denial of clearance based on personal conduct.

What kinds of problems led to these denials? In general they can and often do include:

• Poor credit choices over a prolonged period of time;
• Theft, embezzlement, tax evasion, and other financial violations;
• Recognizable patterns of unpaid debt
• Recognizable patterns of paying consistently late
• Recent acquisitions of cash or assets with no supporting documentation;
• Financial trouble related to gambling or drugs.

Appealing A Denial Of A Top Secret Security Clearance

According to the official site of the U.S. Department of State, those denied a security clearance or have had their existing clearance revoked will be notified of both the reasons why and the availability of an appeal to the decision to deny or revoke the clearance.

“You will be given the opportunity to address derogatory information that is provided as the basis for denial or revocation”, the U.S Department of State official site says, but much may depend on the procedures established by the hiring entity.

In other words, there is no one-size-fits-all process, it will be necessary to discuss the situation with the persons responsible for initiating and/or administering both the investigation and the appeals process. For help with any background check issue, it will be necessary to work with the hiring agency.

Getting A Top Secret Security Clearance Reinstated After It Has Been Revoked

For some, it may be possible to have a revoked clearance reinstated. The investigation that led to the revoked clearance must not out be of date. A revoked clearance “can be revalidated by the agency that originally granted the clearance, or it can be accepted and reciprocally granted by a different agency” according to the U.S. Department of State, but with the following caveats:

• No break in service lasting two years or more;
• the requested security clearance level is the same or lower;
• No significant changes in an individual’s situation since the last investigation.

Such reinstatements would be handled on a case-by-case basis and reinstatement of a revoked clearance is not guaranteed. The policies of the hiring agency, changes in federal law, and other variables will also affect whether or not a security clearance reinstatement is possible.

---

Joe Wallace is a 13-year veteran of the United States Air Force and a former reporter for Air Force Television News

---

Related Articles
Security Clearance Levels	Rejection of Security Clearance
Guidelines For Security Clearance Eligibility	Security Clearance Jobs After the Military
Transferring & Maintaining Security Clearances	3 Tips for Finding Federal Jobs for Veterans

As an active duty military spouse, I can attest to the notion that being employed can sometimes feel like a privilege. Though we are an educated and hard-working group, frequent moves and military schedules – while raising a family, no less – make it increasingly difficult to find meaningful employment and earn income. In fact, according to a recent survey by Blue Star Families, 30 percent of military spouses reported that they were unemployed and 56 percent said they were underemployed in 2018, making spouse employment the top obstacle to financial security among military families. No surprise there.

Thankfully, the technology age has brought with it the opportunity for military spouses to take employment into our own hands by starting side hustles.

What is a side hustle? Simply put, a side hustle allows you the flexibility to pursue what you’re most interested in while making some extra cash. Depending on what you want to do, you can spend four or 40 hours a week working your hustle – the time commitment is completely up to you. Best of all, you’re your own boss and can manage your schedule according to the needs of you and your family.

If you’re looking to make some extra money and need ideas for how start a side hustle, here are some tips to get you started:

---

First, assess your skills, background, and expertise. Leave no stone unturned – your side hustle can incorporate your professional experience, your knack for making DIY crafts, and/or your gift for socializing.

Make your professional experience work for you by freelancing.

Have you had any formal training? Do you have a college degree? Have you held any full-time jobs? Are you great at administrative tasks? Do you have professional certifications and licenses? A lot of your past job experience will probably translate into opportunities to freelance. For example, marketers can take up freelance editing, writing, or social media management. Accountants can help with small business bookkeeping. People great at organizing and communicating can do administrative tasks like answering phones or managing emails. Photoshop enthusiasts can develop logos. The possibilities are endless!

If you’re not sure how your past experience would apply to freelance work, think about your skills like you would when job searching. What keywords do you typically type in to the job search engine – customer service, marketing, accounting, etc.? Once you’ve got your keyword, visit freelancing job platforms like Upwork and type it into the search field and see what comes up. This will help you determine what types of freelance projects are available, what the typical rate is for those projects, and give you a better idea of how to utilize your existing skills.

Before you begin, you’ll want to gather your portfolio or clean up your resume and tailor it to the types of projects you’re interested in doing. If heading directly to Upwork seems intimidating, try asking family and friends if they know someone who needs help with the service you’re offering. This can also help you build up your confidence – as well as your portfolio – before diving into the more competitive freelance market.

---

Earn money while getting creative with artisan crafts.

Making specialty crafts and goods has become an increasingly popular market, especially with sites like Etsy making it easier than ever to make handcrafted items accessible to the public. If you’re one of those people who finds themselves looking at picture frames and saying to yourself, I could make this, or even if you just enjoy making something from nothing, doing something where you can let your creative side shine – and making money from it – might be a great side hustle for you.

From t-shirts to pillows to tumblers to bath bombs to jewelry, there’s no limit on types of artisan crafts you can make. Best of all, you don’t need to figure out a precise methodology to get started as there are plenty of templates available online to help you in your creations. Plus, besides startup costs for materials, all you need is a little imagination and a can-do attitude!

When you are ready to sell, head to sites like Etsy or Facebook to spread the word – both sites are an inexpensive alternative to creating a website and also help with marketing to potential buyers.

---

Monetize your social skills with on-demand jobs.

Staying at home by yourself all day can be really isolating. If you love being around people (or pets … more on that in a minute) and find yourself needing some socialization, on-demand jobs might be the perfect fit for you.

If you own your car and are over 21 years old, you can sign up for Lyft or Uber to help people reach their destination and get there safely. Similarly, apps like UberEATS and Door Dash need take-out delivery drivers. Do you love animals? Sites like Wag! and Rover connect pet owners with daytime dog walkers (bonus points for exercise!) and pet sitters. Are you organized and good with your hands? Task Rabbit enlists the help of everyday people to assist with tasks like home repair, housecleaning, yard work, and furniture installation.

On-demand jobs also allow you to work as little or as much as you want and on your own schedule – from anywhere in the country. That can come in handy when tagging along to your spouse’s training conference in another state.

---

Need more side-hustle business ideas?

Opportunities to earn income with a side-hustle are in no way limited to what’s listed above.

If you’re a teacher, or even if you’ve always wanted to teach, you can sign up to teach English with VIPKid, become an adjunct professor, tutor neighborhood kids, or create your own curriculum by teaching online with Udemy. For less than $100, you can earn your Notary certification and charge your own fee to notarize documents. If you enjoy taking surveys and giving feedback, some companies pay up to $35 per survey to help with research. In the same vein, companies also pay up to $100 an hour for focus group participants.

There are hundreds of side-hustles you can capitalize on depending on your interests. Plus, if you find that one side-hustle isn’t really working for you or you discover a new opportunity, you can always switch your focus – you’re your own boss after all. If none of the ideas outlined here sparked your interest, here are 99 side hustle business ideas.

---

Kristen Baker-Geczy is a communications specialist, active duty military spouse, and former MWR marketing coordinator. She was also deployed to Southwest Asia as an Air Force contractor.

---

Related Articles
Teaching English As A Second Language Overseas	Military Spouse: Tailoring Your Resume
Financial Advice for New Military Spouses	Military Spouse Tuition Assistance
Military Spouse Employment Preference	Scholarships For Military Spouses