Side Hustle Ideas: How $200 Became $227,000 for a NASA Engineer

In March 2022, a newly divorced single mother in Houston wanted just $200 extra a month, roughly ₹19,000, to take her six-year-old daughter for ice cream without guilt. So she Googled single mom side hustles.

That search turned up voiceover acting. Today Eryn Andrews, a 41-year-old NASA engineer, has earned more than $227,000 from it in 2026 so far, according to documents reviewed by CNBC Make It. It is one of the more unusual side hustle ideas to go viral this week.

Quick answer

• Eryn Andrews started voiceover work with about $200 spent on a class, a microphone and a mattress topper.
• She earned $1,000 in her first month on Fiverr by charging less than other voice actors, around $5 per 100 words.
• Her side income now averages roughly $32,400 (about ₹30.5 lakh) a month, from 1-8 hours of work a week.
• Her result is rare. Work is feast or famine, and nothing here is a typical outcome.

From a NASA lab to a bedroom closet

By day, Andrews works at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. As a human performance engineer, she analyses data on how astronauts move in their spacesuits. She has been at NASA since 2008.

By night, she records in a makeshift sound booth inside her guest bedroom closet. Mattress toppers line the walls to block out noise.

Her clients are not film studios. She mostly voices internal corporate announcements, company voicemail boxes and workplace training videos for clients like Coca-Cola, PetSmart, the University of Mississippi and Apple.

The $200 starter kit

Andrews did not buy a studio. She spent roughly $200 on a voiceover class, a microphone and a 1-inch mattress topper from Walmart.

She built a small recording room out of cardboard and Velcroed the mattress topper to its side for soundproofing. CNBC reports it was too small for her to stand up in while recording.

Then she made a profile on Fiverr, the online freelance marketplace, hoping to attract almost any paying client.

Bar chart: she wanted $200 a month, earned $1,000 in her first month and now averages about $32,400 a month

Source: CNBC Make It; Mint

How her pricing changed

With no track record, she set lower prices than other voiceover actors on Fiverr. That brought in $1,000 in her first month from a handful of small gigs.

Back then she charged $5 per 100 words. Now, she told CNBC, she will not turn on her computer for less than $200.

Her voiceover earnings started beating her six-figure NASA salary in the summer of 2025. Most of her clients, including Apple, still book her through Fiverr, with other work coming from her website and referrals.

The part that does not go viral

The income is lumpy. "I'll go sometimes weeks hearing nothing, then suddenly, out of the woodwork, here comes a half dozen different clients within 24 hours," she told CNBC.

The work also takes longer than it sounds. For every minute of audio a client asks for, she says it takes about three minutes to record and edit.

She avoids longer jobs like audiobooks, even though they pay more, because they would cut into time with her daughter. She also says she never relied on this money to pay bills. That safety net is a big reason she could wait out the slow weeks.

Why real voices still sell in the AI era

You might expect AI voices to kill this kind of work. Andrews thinks the opposite is happening for now.

She says the last couple of years of AI produced very polished voices, and many buyers now want the authenticity of a real voice with natural variation and texture. She credits her gravelly voice as part of her popularity.

Voice acting is a wide field. Wikipedia lists work across films, dubbing, video games, documentaries, commercials, audiobooks and the automated announcements you hear in stores, elevators and public transport.

Is voiceover a side hustle idea for India?

Andrews' story is American, but the setup is not. A class, a decent microphone and a quiet corner are things many Indian readers can arrange at home, and Fiverr is open to sellers worldwide.

If you want to test it, start small:

1. Record a short demo first. Read a sample corporate script and a voicemail greeting. These are the plain jobs Andrews built on, not cartoon voices.
2. Fix your room before your mic. Her first booth was cardboard and a mattress topper. Echo control mattered more than gear.
3. Price low only to start. She began cheap to get reviews, then raised her minimum once clients came back.
4. Use your languages. Hindi, English and regional-language reads can set you apart from sellers who offer one accent.
5. Keep your day job. Like Andrews, treat early income as extra, not as rent money.

Check your employment contract for moonlighting clauses before taking paid gigs. Freelance income is taxable, and getting paid in dollars has its own rules, so check with a CA for your situation.

FAQs

How much did the NASA engineer spend to start her voiceover side hustle? About $200, on a voiceover class, a microphone and a 1-inch mattress topper, according to CNBC Make It.

How much does Eryn Andrews earn from voiceover work? More than $227,000 in 2026 so far, with roughly $32,400 a month on average, per documents reviewed by CNBC. Mint puts the monthly figure at about ₹30.5 lakh.

Which platform did she use to find clients? Fiverr. Most of her clients still book her there, along with some from her website and referrals.

How many hours a week does she work on it? Between one and eight hours a week, alongside her full-time NASA job.

Which side hustle ideas have you tried from home? Tell us what worked in the comments.

Results vary; nothing here is a promise of income.

Sources

• The Economic Times: A NASA engineer wanted an extra $200 a month to treat her daughter. Now her voiceover side hustle has earned $227,000 in 2026 so far
• Mint: NASA engineer by day, voiceover artist at night
• CNBC Make It: How NASA engineer built lucrative voiceover acting side hustle
• Wikipedia: Voice acting