I Quit My Office Job and Now Make $10K a Month at 24 – Here’s How You Can Too

A 24-year-old has revealed how she quit her full-time administration role and still earns $10,000 a month.

Amy Coulston, from the Sunshine Coast, was working in a remote admin role for a car dealership in New South Wales earning $83,000 a year – including bonuses – before tax.

But she has now given up that job and is working exclusively on side jobs, saying she has been looking for extra ways to earn money since she was a teenager.

“I’ve been doing side hustles pretty much my entire adult life, I needed them to help me through my university days,” she told news.com.au.

But I remember being 15/16 and looking for ways to make money online and I wanted to be old enough to sign up to all the sites I use today so it’s always been something I’ve been interested in doing.â€

Initially, it started with freelance work on Airtasker such as receiving articles and proofreading assignments before moving on to other side hustles such as market research and surveys.

When she started full-time, she tried to get in an hour or two on weekdays and up to five hours on weekends. She also opened a TikTok account – @amy.coul – where she documents how much she earns and from what.

She started posting over a year ago after seeing people in the US doing the same, but realized no one was sharing platforms where Aussies could make a little extra money.

Now, she gets messages every day from people who share when they make their first $100 from the sites she recommends.

Recently, she made $10,000 in a month from her side hustle – something she had been aiming for for a long time.

“When I finally hit it, I was absolutely thrilled. It seemed like such a massive goal, so I was definitely shocked when I saw that number on the screen at the end of the month,” Ms Coulsen said.

“Sharing all the sites I use on social media absolutely has a massive impact on that number and I never want to shy away from that fact.

“Many of the sites I use offer referral programs that give me 30 cents on $1 when someone signs up through me, so that definitely helps a lot.”

She said she also has a few branding deals with different hustle companies that pay her to share their sites, saying it allows her to try our different sites and only recommend the ones she thinks are worth it.

It allowed her to step down from her full-time role so she could focus solely on her side job, saying she made the move as she was able to match her income full time for six months.

“The thought of being able to work for myself has always been a dream of mine and it felt achievable, so I just took the plunge,” she said.

“I started by cutting back from five days a week to four at my job and noticed a huge increase in income from the rush, so I finally decided to go out on my own.

“It’s been less than a week since I officially finished my job, but it’s already been such a liberating feeling to be able to decide when and where to work.”

Now, she’s trying to keep building her income and match the $10,000 a month she’s been making while still having the freedom to work around what she loves to do.

“I’m working hard on my side hustles every day, but it’s amazing to be able to choose and have that flexibility in my schedule the hours I want.

“It’s given me a lot more time to try new sites. I’m constantly looking for new ones, so now that I have more time, I can start going through my list faster.

She said her favorite side hustle right now is market research, especially when she gets paid to give her opinion on products she’s likely to buy in the future. It’s also one of the highest paying roles when it comes to hourly rate.

Amy realizes there can be a dozen reasons why people are hesitant to try lateral moves, saying it often comes down to misunderstandings.

She said one of the biggest misconceptions is that people need to have a great understanding of the technology to be able to do them.

“Most of the sites I use are just super easy apps that anyone can use! For things like market research, they specifically want people who have no real knowledge of the product most of the time, so they can get the opinion of the general population,” she said.

“Another one I hear a lot is that people think it’s going to take a long time to start a side hustle, when really you can find something that fits most people’s lifestyles.”