I quit my 9-5 for my streaming side hustle – now I earn up to £9,000 a month

A WOMAN has transformed her “favourite hobby” into a full-time job, and has made more than $215,000 (£175k) since making the switch.

Having been a teaching assistant in 2020, Jessica Herring now manages to rake in as much as $12,00 (£9.6k) a month – despite never going to university.

1

“I found myself in a predicament where, here I am, in my 30s, and I don’t have a college diploma, I have little work experience,” she told CNBC earlier this year.

“I was like, how am I going to take care of my kid?”

The 37-year-old decided to try offering graphic design packages on freelance work site Fiverr, alongside her full-time job in 2019.

She began with small projects, like images saying ‘be right back’ or ‘offline’ to be used while gamers were live streaming.

It was all a side hustle until the long-time video game lover was laid off from her teacher’s aide job in September 2020.

But by then, she was making significantly more editing videos than she was working for the local school.

With the extra ‘free time’, Herring widened her services and began making intro videos for Twitch streamers and offering social media video editing.

“I do the TikToks, the [Instagram] reels, the [YouTube] shorts,” she added. 

Her weekly breakdown is about “90% regular video edits,” she explained.

“And then I would say, like, 9% social and maybe 1% Twitch channel trailers.” 

The American now makes between $5,000 (£4k) and about $12,000 (£9.6k) per month on the site, depending on the time of year.

Since 2019 and January of this year, Herring has made more than $215,000 (£175k).

“I grew up in poverty,” she said.

“This is the first time in my life I can buy something and I don’t have to budget for it. If I need something or if I want to spoil my son, I can do that.”

But it’s not a get rich quick scheme. Herring puts in the work.

The designer typically works seven days a week, and between eight and 12 hours per day.

It’s worth it, she said. Because now she can provide for her child and do what she loves.

Best Phone and Gadget tips and hacks

Looking for tips and hacks for your phone? Want to find those secret features within social media apps? We have you covered…

We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online Tech & Science team? Email us at [email protected]