NASA engineer by day, voiceover artist at night: How a ₹19,000 deficit led to a ₹30.5 lakh side hustle from closet

Eryn Andrews, a full-time NASA human performance engineer at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, spends her 5-9 in a closet as a voiceover artist, according to a CNBC Make It report.

Eryn told CNBC that she records voiceovers as a side hustle from a makeshift sound booth lined with mattress toppers to block out noise in her guest bedroom closet.

Her side hustle primarily involves voicing internal corporate announcements, company voicemail boxes and workplace training videos for clients like Coca-Cola, PetSmart and the University of Mississippi.

As a voiceover artist, Eryn earns six figures per year, working 1-8 hours per week. Her 2026 earnings already surpass $2,27,000 ( ₹2.16 crore), according to documents reviewed by CNBC Make It.

Eryn said that her earnings as a voice artist started outpacing her six-figure NASA salary during the summer of 2025.

How did it start?

Eryn, who has worked with NASA since 2008, found herself struggling to spare $200 ( ₹19,000) for her child after her divorce in 2022. She told CNBC that all she wanted was an extra $200 a month to be able to treat her then-six-year-old daughter to ice cream or take her to a museum without guilt.

So she did what we all do—Google “single mom side hustles” and found her answer.

Eryn began her voice acting career with a $200 investment, which she spent on a voiceover class, a microphone, and a 1-inch mattress topper. She then built a mini-recording room for herself out of cardboard and attached the mattress topper to one side to soundproof it.

How did she land voice-acting gigs?

Eryn, who has a master’s degree in space studies, used an online freelance marketplace Fiverr to find gigs. Initially, she said, she set lower prices than other voiceover actors because she had no track record.

In her first month, she earned $1,000 through a number of smaller gigs. But now, Eryn said, she doesn’t take up any assignment paying less than $200. “[I don’t] turn on my computer for less than $200,” she said.

She also shared that longer projects, like audiobooks, pay more, but she avoids them because they cut into her time with her daughter.

For every minute of audio a client requests, “it takes me three minutes to record it, then edit it and be just a little neurotic about it before sending it off,” Eryn said.

The voiceover work can be “feast or famine,” Eryn noted. “I’ll go sometimes weeks hearing nothing, then suddenly, out of the woodwork, here comes a half dozen different clients within 24 hours.”

Most of her clients, including Apple, still book through Fiverr. However, she told CNBC that she also gets some bookings through her website and referrals.

“I’m a NASA engineer by day and a professional voiceover artist by passion,” Eryn said about herself on her website. “With over a decade in aerospace, I’ve learned the art of precision, persistence, and clear communication; skills that translate seamlessly into my voiceover work.”

‘Gives me breathing room’

She told CNBC that she never relied on her side hustle to pay bills, but said that it helps her feel a greater sense of financial freedom as living costs soar.

Eryn said that she has used her extra income, roughly $32,400 ( ₹30.5 lakh) per month, to travel, buy a used 2025 Toyota car and start a savings account for her child’s future college tuition.

“To have a second income stream that, at this point, has far surpassed my main salary in a completely different industry, really gives me some breathing room,” she said. “I’m probably the most relaxed I’ve ever been in my adult life … I don’t have to count every penny.”