Should you start a side hustle?
The pros and cons of popular Gen Z side hustles you might have heard of.

You are scrolling through social media. A few posts in, you see content about a new lucrative side hustle. You assume this side hustle is easy work and wonder why no one else is doing it, then find that the person promoting it is also selling a course on how to get started.

Despite this red flag, you are drawn in. After learning that Canada’s youth unemployment rate climbed to 14.7 per cent in September 2025, the idea of starting a side hustle suddenly becomes a lot more appealing.

To satisfy your curiosity, let’s look at some of the popular side hustles amongst Generation Z (Gen Z) and see if they are worth getting into.

Content creation 

With Gen Z being one of the first generations to grow up with social media, it is no surprise that, in youth career polls, becoming a content creator often comes up as a dream career choice. Despite what older generations may say about this being an unrealistic career choice, Goldman Sachs predicts that the content creation economy can be a US$480 billion industry by 2027.

This prediction may be true, as more creators are joining the industry. According to YouTube trend reports, 65 per cent of Gen Z users self-identify as content creators, showing the popularity of content creation amongst young people.

This comes as no surprise, as the benefits of content creation are alluring. You work on your own time, make content on topics of your interest, all whilst getting paid. Sounds too good to be true? It probably is. Around 48 per cent of creators see revenue of US$15,000 or less, and only 15 per cent make US$100,000 annually. Periodic algorithm changes can also impact the revenue of one’s content. In some cases, it could even make it obsolete.

With many factors to consider, content creation may fall on the side of a long-term craft to perfect, as opposed to being a means for a quick buck.

Tutoring 

Albert Einstein once said, “If you cannot explain something simply, you do not understand it well enough.” Well, if there is a topic which you can explain well, it would be a good idea to get paid for it by tutoring.

University students can resonate well with this, as we are constantly surrounded by teachers, professors and tutors. The idea of being paid to help someone else understand course material feels far more grounded than trying to go viral online.

If you manage to become a teaching assistant at the University of Toronto Mississauga, you can expect to earn around C$53 per hour. This hourly rate is higher than most full-time jobs, though work hours are significantly less. If you did not manage to get that TA position, no worries. 

According to Indeed, the average salary for tutors is around C$25.19 per hour. If you choose to become a private tutor, you would have the freedom and flexibility to increase your own work hours.

Not only does tutoring help strengthen your understanding of course concepts, but it is also something that you can confidently put on your resume to impress potential employers. If you like stability, predictability and structure, this could be a side hustle to look into.

Reselling 

Buying second-hand has become popular not just with Gen Z but also with Millennials. Therefore, it’s no surprise that resellers have made entire careers in this market, let alone keeping it as a side hustle.

You can find entire curated profiles on Postmark, Vinted or eBay catering to a specific niche. If, for example, you have always had a deep knowledge of fashion and are familiar with market values, you could try reselling fashionable clothing pieces. What’s more, consistently practicing negotiation whilst assessing risk and reward is a great exposure to entrepreneurship.

The biggest downside to reselling is that you can easily incur a financial loss. Unlike content creation and tutoring, reselling can cost a significant amount since it often requires an investment in inventory. If you do not break even with your business, you could end up with a pile of unwanted items, all whilst cursing yourself for trying this in the first place.

Investing and cryptocurrency  

You may have heard a friend talk about making quick money from coins like Pepe Coin or Dogecoin. They might even insist that if you buy in now and hold on long enough, you could earn more than you ever dreamed of.

Given how the crypto market has little to no regulation, you can easily be scammed into losing all of your investment. For instance, the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre reported that in 2024, more than 5,000 people lost over C$170 million to cryptocurrency-related fraud.

Say you don’t go into crypto and try your hand at day trading stocks and commodities. This seems safer until you remember that you are going up against investment banks like J.P Morgan and Goldman Sachs. These companies control assets in the trillions, and their top traders make millions. Depending on where you look, you will see that most casual day traders rarely make a profit.

That being said, it could be beneficial to have a long-term investment portfolio through purchasing index funds or bonds. However, as a side hustle, trading may not be your best bet. And it is better to tune out the media that claim investment as a quick and easy way to make money.

Is it worth it? 

The side hustles mentioned above are just a few players in today’s economic pantomime. Before asking whether they’re truly worth it, it may be more important to ask why this culture has grown so rapidly in the first place. Is the economy and job market failing to provide young people with enough opportunities? Or are many simply dissatisfied with the limits of traditional corporate work?

Whatever it may be, if you pick a side hustle, make sure it is worth your time and energy. After all, it is better to invest in yourself rather than give in to trends.