It is impossible to give you a definitive list of the ‘highest paying weekend jobs in Brisbane’. I can give you a rundown of readily available jobs that will provide an income above the minimum wage. Some of the jobs will also possess the ability of one person to charge more for the service than others due to experience level factors or having a monopoly on a specific area of expertise. So with that out of the way, let’s look at some of the weekend jobs you can undertake to earn some extra cash to fill the coffers.
Top 5 Weekend Jobs in Brisbane
1. Café Barista
Okay, so it is not going to make you an instant Bill Gates, but the demand for qualified baristas continues to expand, keeping pace with the growing demand for the daily coffee to go from the local café or coffee houses popping up every day. Ideally, owning your own coffee house is the goldmine, but you need to save the money first to build the business and buy the necessary merchandise and machinery.
Taking a barista course is a short and relatively cost-friendly option you can take in advance of applying for jobs in your area. The National Training College runs an intense five-hour crash course in all things barista for under $150! Upon completion, you will be awarded nationally recognised barista certifications you can use in any state or territory in Australia. Let’s be honest; if you intend to take a gap year to travel and work abroad, this is also a super handy skill to have in your employment arsenal, as the entire world loves a good barista and a fantastic cup of coffee!
2. Handyman
If you are an experienced and certified tradesman, then the world is your oyster! There is a massive gap in the marketplace for the weekend handyman to do the little jobs. Now, that might sound like a hassle. Who wants to spend the weekend driving to people’s places for an hour’s work and then call it a job done? Apparently, not too many tradies, so the demand for their services can be exceptionally lucrative, and the option to charge more per hour to do less has to be considered a fantastic work perk!
Surprisingly, it is the little things, like not having the right tools for a quick and simple job. An example of a recent issue I had was I needed an extra-long ladder in a rental property that allowed me to change the external light bulbs. The job itself would take less than five minutes to do. It would take more time to unload the ladder and set it up than to install the replacement bulbs physically. However, when you need the job done, the cost of buying a ladder and having it delivered to the door because it won’t fit into your car is often equivalent to hiring a handyman who already has the necessary tools to do it. I am always going to opt for the paid service, and there are thousands of people like me. Who doesn’t want $50 bucks to change a lightbulb? Things like installing a doorbell or replacing an old clothesline. The elderly market is growing each year, and often the need for a handyman is not a lack of knowledge, but a lack of equipment, time, the correct tools, or an extra set of hands for a two-person job. What starts as a side hustle can quickly turn into a full-blown business.
It can quickly fill the coffers with an average hourly rate of between $25 – $130, depending on the trade required. Handypersons who do a great job and are friendly and presentable often get word-of-mouth business. All it takes is for one lady to mention your work at church or the social club, and, hey presto, you will be advertising for employees in no time! Can you say franchise options?
Try your search engine for handyman websites as a reference, or look to professional apps that offer to be the broker. Note that brokers will charge a fee and a percentage of the agreed price, but you have to start somewhere.
3. Dog Walkers
The growing trend of referring to your canine as a ‘Fur baby’ suggests the amount of money people with a disposable income will spend on their pets is akin to that of a living child. Most notably, the rise in the number of dog walkers and pet carers getting paid $20-$40 per hour to walk your dog and clean up after it. Others still will teach your dog obedience, and groomers will keep their nails and fur trimmed and tidy.
Dog walkers do not need any experience, only the ability to work with dogs of all sizes and, depending on the location, possibly have transport to move them to a suitable exercise environment specifically for dogs to socialise and exercise. Queensland has a lot of pet-friendly beaches, and the number of dog walkers increases monthly. So, if you love dogs and exercise, you can make good money doing what you love on the weekends.
I would also suggest you take a First Aid Course certifying you nationally. Given the unpredictable nature of dogs, there is a significant chance that a dog under your control could bite an innocent person or another dog. Having the skills to treat the dog bite correctly will be an additional selling point for you on your resume.
4. Rideshare/Uber Driver
Being behind the wheel of a car with strangers in your vehicle is not high on the list of jobs most people would be lining up to undertake. However, the popularity of ride-sharing services and Uber drivers has remained fairly consistent since their arrival in Australia. Satellite navigation will direct you to your chosen destination, and the parent company handles all of the interaction before you pick up the client through the Uber Application.
If you are vehicle proud and love to chauffer people to and from places, you are the right kind of social butterfly, and you have a full licence and insurance on your vehicle, then this might be a way for you to earn weekend cash.
5. Security Guard
Long gone are the days when any meat head could be hired to stand on a venue door and take on the former role of a bouncer. These days, the industry has become an elite service, and the terminology has been given the PC paintbrush. Bouncers are now Venue Crowd Controllers. Mall cops are called Facility Security Agents. Roving home security patrols are called Estate Security Agents. The cost of obtaining a licence to enter the security industry is staggering. The initial outlay and overheads are prohibitive for most people. As a result, the call for qualified security personnel is increasing, with a supply and demand crisis looming without industry reforms.
That said, if you are willing to spend the cash to get your RSA, RSG, First Aid, and Certificate II in Security Operations, you will likely get immediate employment. To gain all the certifications you require, you are looking at around the $2000 mark, give or take any deals and price-beat guarantees you might find with rival companies. Try to book courses that combine the packages or will provide you with a discount on the overall cost of each course if you take all of them with the same Nationally Accredited Training Provider.
Do your due diligence and research all the viable options, and only choose a Registered Training Organisation that has been government certified and accredited to provide the course in your area. Don’t be afraid to play them against each other to get the best discount on the day. It might turn out that it costs you less to use a different provider for each certificate or the same provider for all of them if you like continuity.
Summary
There are hundreds of options to undertake if you seek quick money but do not want to do the job every weekend. Look at becoming an online survey taker. They pay between $20-$50 per survey, and the amount can add up quickly. There are catches, so read the fine print and every word of any contract. While they are a legitimate form of income, some are a little less ‘professional’ than others. An engine search for paid surveys online will bring up multiple options. I suggest you check out Mums Money for a more in-depth overview of the legitimate ones.
