The other ways are:
1.to buy bitcoin / altcoins directly from sellers or exchanges
2.selling somthing of value/ providing a service in exchange for crypto as payment
3.earning bounties / airdrops from this forum
Each of the methods holds a different appeal. And for sure, u need to choose one that fits u.
..Mining is basically a part time job that u undertake with urself as ur boss. U will incur initial startup costs (cost of mining hardware) and then u have to pay a recurring variable cost (cost of ur electricity). I suggest u also pay urself a small allowance for 'minding the shop'.
..Buying cryptos is basically a 'speculative investment' type approach. When price moves, by somthing like +/- 5% per day, ur investment grows or shrinks accordingly.
..Selling somthing of value for cryptos is a longshot if u ur plan is to sell ur used gear. As for working for crypto, i don't know of specific marketplace for this but i'm sure u can also arrange some kind of ex-deal, such as....
..Bonuses and airdrops from this forum, which have the smallest barrier to entry.
If I may suggest, do this:
..instead of working directly for crypto payments, work some other jobs and use ur income to buy some cryptos
..in ur spare time, work on the airdrops and bounties on this forum
..mining is not really a fire & forget type of venture because u have to make sure ur rig is operational 24x7 which means u need to handle any hardware, software, or connection problems soonest (minimal downtime)
Happy gathering
