Hematology is a specialty built on pattern recognition, complex diagnostics, and high-stakes decisions. As a hematologist, you may spend the morning interpreting bone marrow findings, the afternoon managing anticoagulation complexity, and the evening coordinating cancer care across a fragmented healthcare system. That workload is cognitively heavy, emotionally intense, and administratively loud.
So it’s not surprising that more physicians are exploring side hustles and side gigs—it’s not just for Gen Z anymore—as a practical response to burnout, stricter reimbursements, and the desire for more professional autonomy. In a Sermo poll, over half (54%) of physicians said they have a side hustle.
Your medical expertise is rare, highly specialized, and directly relevant to industries that need real-world feedback, providing ample opportunities for lucrative side jobs.
Why do hematologists seek a side gig?
As a hematologist, you diagnose and treat disorders of the blood, including benign hematology (anemia, coagulation disorders) and malignant hematology (leukemia, lymphoma, myeloma), often partnering closely with oncology teams.
The combination of deep clinical complexity and cross-disciplinary experience is exactly why hematologist side gigs can be both flexible and lucrative when chosen strategically.
Hematologists may pursue side hustles for a variety of reasons, including that clinic work is increasingly demanding and the healthcare system can often make it feel harder than it needs to be. Below are several other key drivers of the decision:
High cognitive and emotional load
Hematology and hematology oncology work routinely involves uncertainty, long arcs of care, and emotionally challenging diagnoses. Even in benign hematology, the stakes can be high—bleeding risk, thrombosis, pregnancy-related anticoagulation dilemmas, transfusion decisions, and chronic disease management. Hematologists also work with rapidly evolving therapies and complex diagnostics (including bone marrow evaluation and specialized lab interpretation).
Many physicians can relate to the feeling of burnout, as an otolaryngologist shares on Sermo, “It’s hard for me to get a good work-life balance. I have my shift at the hospital and private practice, so I spend all week working all day and half day on Saturdays, and that seems to be the case for most doctors.”
Side gigs allow hematologists to earn for their expertise without adding to the cognitive and emotional loads they experience in their day-to-day life.
Monetizing complex protocols
Your specialist knowledge on transfusion thresholds, thrombosis pathways, transplant and cellular therapy workflows, adverse event interpretation, and guideline nuance is valuable well beyond the hospital. Biotech, pharmaceutical, diagnostics, and digital health teams pay hematologists handsomely for translating clinical reality into safer products and better decisions.
Financial disparity
Even when hematology compensation is strong, many hematologists still feel the gap when comparing cognitive specialties to top procedural fields. Medscape’s 2025 compensation report places hematology in the high-earning tier, with salaries ranging from $413,000 to $472,000.
High income doesn’t necessarily translate to high control. A side job can be less about chasing dollars and more about buying back time, flexibility, and sanity. Salaries also vary widely by country. As a hematologist from Nigeria explains on Sermo, “Side hustles are necessary with the current state of the world economy.”
Now zoom in on what physicians actually want from side gigs. In our Sermo poll, the top perceived benefits of a side gig were: earning extra income (41%), improving skill set (21%), expanding network (17%), and building reputation (12%).
Income goals vary widely: 40% of respondents want $50–$1,000/year, 19% aim for $1,001 to $5,000, 19% aim for $5,001 to $15,000, 12% want $15,001 to $50,000, while 10% want $50,001+/year from a side hustle.
That spread matters. The “best” side hustle for a hematologist depends on your individual goal:
- quick, low-friction income,
- long-term reputation building,
- network expansion,
- or a bridge to a future non-clinical role.
Best side gigs for hematologists in 2026
Below are high-fit side hustles for hematologists that leverage your clinic experience and specialty knowledge without adding extra stress to your already busy schedule.
Sermo paid medical surveys
Sermo provides a straightforward opportunity for physicians, including hematologists, to earn supplemental income. Participating in paid medical surveys is the most popular side hustle among doctors, with Sermo poll data showing that it was the most voted choice of side gigs.
By completing paid medical surveys, physicians use their clinical expertise to assist pharmaceutical companies, medical device manufacturers, and healthcare researchers, all while earning money on a flexible schedule. Since the surveys only take minutes, they can be easily fit in during downtime, such as between patients, during lunch, or in the evenings. Survey honoraria can range from $5 to $500+ and with a sound strategy, the earnings can quickly accumulate.
Medical surveys offer exceptional flexibility compared to other physician side gigs, as there are no long-term commitments, additional certifications, or complex onboarding processes required.
Get started with your first paid medical survey on Sermo now (it only takes a few minutes).
Clinical trial advisor/consultant
Survey data on Sermo shows that among doctors who have taken secondary jobs, 40% have tried medical consulting. Hematologists are highly sought after as clinical trial advisors and consultants, particularly within the rapidly evolving fields of cellular and gene therapy, hematologic malignancies, and complex coagulation disorders.
In this role, you can leverage your deep clinical expertise to consult for pharmaceutical companies, biotech firms, and contract research organizations (CROs), not only increasing your income but also your impact. As one physician on Sermo explains, “I do primary care advocacy, as a healthcare consultant type of role. It helps me remember why I went into the field, and it keeps my passion going. It’s a way to contribute to our field at large and help make a difference on a larger scale. I do it for fun, but also enjoy and appreciate extra income as I do need it.”
Common responsibilities include protocol review, assessing clinical trial feasibility, providing input on inclusion/exclusion criteria, advising on adverse event monitoring and safety signals, and translating complex clinical practice into operational reality for trials. While compensation varies significantly based on experience, company stage, and engagement type (retainer vs. hourly), high consulting rates for physician specialists make this a lucrative, non-clinical side gig.
Medico-legal expert witness and record review
If you’re detail-oriented (most hematologists are), medico-legal work can be one of the top side hustles for you.
Cases often involve:
- thrombosis/bleeding management,
- anticoagulant complications,
- transfusion reactions and blood banking standards,
- delayed diagnosis in hematologic malignancies,
- chemotherapy or supportive care complications,
- causation questions tied to lab trends and medical records.
What does it pay? Medical expert witness rates vary by region, niche, and experience. In SEAK’s 2024 Expert Witness Fee Study, the median hourly fees across medical expert witnesses are about $450/hour for review/prep, $475/hour for depositions, and $500/hour for trial testimony.
Utilization review and physician advisor roles
Utilization review (UR) and clinical utilization management work can feel like “less medicine,” but it’s still clinical reasoning applied to coverage decisions, medical necessity, guideline alignment, and documentation quality. For hematologists, demand is high because hematology often intersects with high-cost therapy decisions, including CAR-T pathways, anticoagulant approvals, transfusion-related utilization, and specialty drugs.
What does it pay? Compensation depends on whether you’re part-time reviewing cases or in a leadership role. According to Ziprecruiter, physician advisor roles can pay up to $120 an hour (with variation by location, experience and employer).
Tele-hematology consulting
Telehealth usage skyrocketed by 766% in the initial three months of the COVID-19 pandemic, transforming it from a specialty tool to a critical care component. 11% of surveyed physicians on Sermo have offered telemedicine as a side hustle.
For hematologists, tele-hematology can include second opinions, triage guidance, lab interpretation support, and longitudinal consult relationships with underserved regions (especially where hematology specialists are scarce). Occasional tele-consults are a low-friction option for earning extra income because they leverage your existing expertise and can be performed remotely on a flexible schedule with many easy-to-use telehealth platforms to choose from.
What does it pay? Rates vary widely based on model (employed telehealth vs contracted consulting, synchronous vs asynchronous). Salary.com reports telemedicine physician hourly rates averaging $111, with significant variation. ZipRecruiter’s estimates are in a similar ballpark for a “telemedicine physician” job title – around $115/hour as an average.
Consultant for molecular diagnostics and genomics labs
Can a hematologist work in gene therapy companies? Yes, and your skill set is highly relevant. Hematologists are central to how gene therapy and cellular therapy programs think about:
- inclusion/exclusion criteria
- adverse event patterns
- lab monitoring and endpoint,
- real-world workflow feasibility
- how clinicians actually adopt new diagnostics.
What does it pay? Consulting compensation varies by company stage and engagement type. According to Physician Side Gigs, hematologists’ minimum consulting rates average $335 per hour.
What role could you play in a clinical trial consulting role?
Common roles include protocol review, feasibility assessment, investigator support, medical monitoring input (especially around safety signals), and translating clinical practice into operational reality. Consulting here can look like advisory work for:
- molecular diagnostics interpretation frameworks,
- hematologic malignancy panels,
- MRD monitoring strategies,
- gene therapy trial feasibility,
- translational medicine input.
Advisor for blood banking/transfusion services tech
Startups and established health tech companies continue to build tools for transfusion medicine workflows, donor management, inventory optimization, transfusion safety, and adverse event reporting. If you’re a hematologist with transfusion medicine experience (or strong exposure to transfusion systems), you can provide highly-sought-after consulting on clinical workflow design, safety protocols, product requirements and quality measures that actually matter clinically.
Some roles may strongly prefer (or require) transfusion medicine expertise or formal training. If you’re not transfusion-focused, consider partnering with a transfusion medicine colleague while you contribute a broader hematology clinical perspective.
Medical writing and editing
12% of physicians have already participated in medical writing as a side hustle. Medical writing can include CME content, educational resources, guideline summaries, patient-facing content (with institutional guardrails), or editing for medical organizations. The North American medical writing market is expected to grow significantly, rising from US$ 1.76 billion in 2024 to US$ 4.23 billion by 2033.
What is the typical fee for a hematologist medical writer?
Medical writing is a lucrative side gig, with hourly rates typically ranging from $100 to $200. Writers with more experience or specialized knowledge can often command higher fees. While building a portfolio requires an initial time investment, securing ongoing content creation contracts with healthcare companies can lead to steady monthly retainers, often between $2,000 and $5,000, for regular articles.
Sermo paid medical surveys as a means to reach your goals
For many physicians, the best side hustle isn’t the one with the highest ceiling—it’s the one you can actually sustain. Sermo paid medical surveys are built for that reality: short-form, flexible, and directly tied to your clinical experience. In a Sermo poll on side hustles, 33% reported participating in medical surveys, and physicians also cited benefits beyond income (network expansion, skill-building, reputation).
If your goal is to cover a recurring expense, accelerate savings, offset childcare costs, fund CME, or simply add breathing room to your physician’s salary, surveys can be a clean, low-lift option, especially compared to building an entire consulting pipeline from scratch.
Next steps for hematologists
Hematology is a specialty where your expertise is both highly specialized and widely applicable. You navigate complex diagnoses, manage chronic disease trajectories, and interpret nuanced lab signals. That combination is exactly why hematologist side gigs can be so effective—when chosen with a clear goal and realistic boundaries.
Whether you’re pursuing medico-legal work, utilization review, tele-hematology, consulting for genomics labs, transfusion-tech advising, or medical writing, the best side hustle is the one that:
- respects your time,
- matches your risk tolerance,
- and supports the life you’re trying to protect outside the hospital.
And if you want a flexible starting point that doesn’t require building a business, Sermo paid medical surveys offer a practical path to supplemental income—while staying connected to real-world clinical questions shaping hematology and the wider healthcare system. Start exploring what fits your schedule and your goals today.
