Chris Pyle spends the entirety of his workdays wearing a white tank top and boxer shorts, sitting in a recliner.

It's an unusual setting for a mechanic, but a profitable one. Pyle started answering strangers' questions about their gas and diesel engines on JustAnswer as a side hustle in October 2006.

It was quickly lucrative: He made $500 in his first month, then doubled it in November, then doubled it again. He quit his full-time $75,000-per-year job at Ford Motors when JustAnswer outpaced his salary in 2012, Pyle says.

Pyle made $170,500 in 2023, an average of $14,200 per month, on JustAnswer, according to documents reviewed by CNBC Make It. His monthly income is more than three times as much as the national median monthly side hustle earnings and mechanic's salary combined.

The job has also shaped his life: He and his wife bought a 34-acre plot of land for $130,000 in Dickson County, Tennessee, where he lives with his family. Pyle also bought an RV and is building a second home, largely by himself, on the property — all funded by his JustAnswer work.

While he works eight to 10 hours per day, seven days per week, he sets his own schedule, allowing him to be present for his family, he says.

"I was a Cub Scout master for eight years … I was a soccer coach," Pyle, 45, tells Make It. "I could log off right now and go play a video game with my son, or go swim in the pool."

Here's how Pyle built his clientele and stays successful on JustAnswer.

Building a well-oiled business

Pyle discovered the side hustle organically: Ford hired and trained him as a transmission tech, and funded his certifications. He was virtually researching how to fix a transmission and found an answer supplied by another mechanic on Just Answer, he says.

He signed up and started answering a handful of questions in the afternoon after work, he says. He liked the challenge of diagnosing a motor he "couldn't see, touch or smell," and realized he had a knack for virtually helping people solve their mechanical problems, he says.

After he made $1,000 in his second month on JustAnswer, he took his wife to the mall, gave her half of the earnings and said, "Do not come back with any cash in your hand," Pyle recalls.

He spent his half in 15 minutes at Bass Pro Shop, he adds.

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As Pyle's earnings became more consistent, he realized he could use the side hustle to fund more than just mall runs, he says. He started spending more time on the platform. By 2012, he was spending three hours answering close to 40 questions per day, he says.

"For six years, my paycheck was very consistent working here," Pyle says. "I was like, 'Well, if I throw in some more hours, that [check] will increase.'"

Saving up, standing out

Pyle's JustAnswer paycheck remains consistent and has increased every year. He has the most work in the summers, he says, when people are mowing their lawns and traveling.

His schedule remains flexible in that he can log on and off whenever he wants — but because he is paid by the answer, he still has to work at least 40 to 60 hours a week to maintain his income, he says. He works every single day, including Christmas and birthdays.

Pyle doesn't mind the tradeoffs. His working hours on JustAnswer have helped him build a career, home and life without a boss, he says.

His earnings also support his wife, who quit her nursing job, and their two sons, who she homeschools, Pyle says. While he has to file his own taxes and pay for his family's medical insurance, he also can write off things like his phone, internet, his HP laptop and 10% of his utilities bill, he says.

There are some cons, though. Despite his 12 years working on the site, Pyle is not an actual JustAnswer employee. The platform reviews its "experts" on a weekly basis, and their grade affects how much they make per answer. The company does not openly share the criteria, but Pyle says his answers and customer service skills usually receive a high rating.

Still, he has no plans to drastically change his day-to-day work, he says. Once Pyle's house is finished, he wants to cut back on his JustAnswer work, but he'll likely still be online at least 30 hours per week, he says.

"I have zero plans to go back for a real job, unless I'm the boss," Pyle says. "Between my work attire and the environment that I work in, [life] is pretty good."

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