Side Hustles as Career Labs

When most people think of side hustles, they envision a supplementary income stream. But what if side hustles could serve a deeper, more transformative role in your career?

With 30 years in healthcare technology, I’ve come to see side hustles as my “safe offline learning” lab—a sandbox to test, fail, learn, and ultimately, grow my career.

The Dual Purpose of Side Hustles

The tech world is constantly evolving, and keeping up can feel like running on a treadmill. While formal training has its merits, there’s a limit to how much you can learn from simulations and case studies.

This is where side hustles come in. They offer real-world experiences and, in my case, have served as a low-risk setting for hands-on learning.

Learning by Doing: My Experience with Amazon FBA

A few years back, I ventured into selling products on Amazon FBA. You might wonder what Amazon FBA has to do with healthcare technology. On the surface, not much.

But it taught me invaluable lessons in marketing and e-commerce—skills that are increasingly relevant in a healthcare sector undergoing digital transformation. Supply chain logistics, customer acquisition, conversion optimization. These aren’t abstract concepts when your own money is on the line.

The Chatbot Experiment

In another endeavor, I created online chatbots for my e-commerce store. What started as a side project became a stepping stone for joining a chatbot team at my full-time healthcare tech job.

I was able to walk into that role with firsthand experience, something that not only boosted my credibility but also fast-tracked my learning curve. While others were learning the basics, I’d already made the beginner mistakes on my own time.

Embracing Failure in a Controlled Environment

In a field as critical as healthcare tech, there’s little room for error. This is where the beauty of a side hustle shines.

When I faced setbacks in my Amazon FBA venture or while tinkering with chatbots, the stakes were low. Each failure was a lesson learned, without jeopardizing my primary career.

I could experiment with pricing strategies that flopped. I could build chatbot flows that frustrated users. I could try marketing approaches that went nowhere. And each failure taught me something I couldn’t have learned from a course or a book.

The Financial Upside: An Added Bonus

While the focus of my side hustles has been learning, the financial benefits are a welcome bonus. They’ve not only padded my savings but also provided the financial freedom to invest in further learning and skill development.

One side hustle helped me buy my daughter her first car. The goal was to understand product-market fit firsthand—the car was a happy side effect.

How to Create Your Own Learning-Centric Side Hustle

Align with career goals. Your side hustle should complement your primary career, even if the connection isn’t immediately obvious. Amazon FBA taught me e-commerce. Chatbots got me on a chatbot team. The link doesn’t have to be direct—it just has to exist.

Start small. The aim is to learn, not to become an overnight millionaire. Low stakes mean you can take risks you’d never take at work.

Iterate and adapt. Use your side hustle as a feedback loop. What lessons can you transfer to your primary job? What skills are you building that your employer doesn’t know you have?

The Bottom Line

Side hustles can be so much more than just an income supplement.

In my decades-long career, they’ve been a safe haven for practical learning and skill enhancement. They’ve allowed me to test waters I wouldn’t dare enter in my main job, offering a unique form of career development that’s as enriching as it is lucrative.

Nothing teaches product-market fit like having your own money on the line.