If you are self-motivated and consider yourself a go-getter, a work from home career may be a great option for you.
Work from home jobs have become extremely popular.
115% more popular according to a recent study by FlexJobs and Global Workplace Analytics.
As such, it’s no surprise that the 1.8 million Americans that left their jobs between 2005 and 2017 cited greater flexibility, increased happiness, and better pay as primary factors in their decision to ditch the traditional 9-to-5 grind and work from home.
If you are self-motivated and consider yourself a go-getter, a work-from-home career may be a great option for you.
From customer service reps and social media managers, to travel agents and transcriptionists, work-from-home jobs provide the opportunity to earn a living from anywhere.
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Employee Positions
One of the easiest ways to get started working from home is to work for someone else, and there are a number of real careers you can consider.
1. Online teacher
Potential earnings: $30,000 to $40,000 per year
Schools and other educational institutions are beginning to realize the importance and role of online education. Whether you’re a licensed teacher or not, you can earn an income teaching classes online.
Demand is growing for online education solutions as a supplement to in-class schooling or, in some cases, a replacement altogether. Subjects in the highest demand are English, science, and math. Classes are usually taught via Skype, Zoom, or pre-recorded sessions.
K12 is one option for teaching online. One perk to working for the company is that your job will likely include benefits like health insurance, retirement savings accounts, and paid time off. Since you’ll be working with kids, you still need to go through the typical hiring process for a teacher: background check, reference check, interviews, etc.
If you want to supplement your teaching income or you’re not a licensed teacher, you can create courses on platforms like Outschool. With these courses, you have more flexibility in your rates, your hours, and what subjects you teach.
Related: How to Get Paid to Teach With Outschool (Even with Zero Experience)
2. Online tutor
Potential earnings: $14 to $22 per hour
If you’d prefer a more flexible teaching job, consider tutoring through Education First or VIPKid. The service is incredibly flexible. You get to set your own hours, and there’s no lesson planning involved. They provide the lesson materials and communicate with the parents; all you need is a laptop and a desire to help teach children.
Related: How to Make Money with VIPKid
3. Transcriptionist
Potential earnings: $15 to $30 per hour, depending on experience
Transcriptionists take audio and video content and turn it into written text. It sounds simple enough, but this work requires a certain level of skill. You’ll need to know how to type efficiently and accurately. Some transcriptionists even use special equipment like a foot pedal to start and stop audio recordings.
Still, there are so many unique opportunities to land remote transcription work. If you’re a beginner, your best option is to sign up with transcription job sites like Rev or Scribie to find paying jobs that you can do on a contractor basis. You can also offer your services on Fiverr or reach out to companies and entrepreneurs to pitch them your services. For example, if you like a specific podcast, see if it needs someone to transcribe episodes.
4. Medical coder
Potential earnings: $60,000 per year
Medical coding is a popular work-from-home career field. Remote medical coders review patients’ records and services for the correct diagnosis and procedure codes so the provider can bill the patient and insurance companies for the correct amount.
You will need some training for this job, which you can find through in-person courses or an online program. Having some training or certification can help you land an entry-level role. Some companies hire remote medical coders on a contract basis or even as a part- or full-time employee.
5. Virtual nurse/telemedicine
Potential earnings: approximately $61,000 per year
If you have a nursing degree, you can work as a virtual nurse helping people over the phone or via the internet. Virtual nurses use the internet to monitor vital signs, connect with virtual command centers to communicate with doctors, advise patients online, and perform other similar duties.
You can find these jobs at hospitals and health centers and apply just like you would for a traditional nursing job.
6. Call center agent
Potential earnings: $30,000 to $40,000 per year
Remote center agents do everything they would in a traditional call center: sales, telemarketing, customer service, and customer support.
You may have to handle incoming or make outgoing calls, depending on the nature of the job. Some companies that hire work-from-home agents prefer some call center experience, but most will offer training so don’t worry if you’ve never done this work before.
You can work either full- or part-time in this role.
7. Customer service representative
Potential earnings: $28,000 per year
If you know you want to work from home but have no idea where to start, customer service can be a good choice. Most companies need customer service representatives to field customer questions, concerns, and complaints; and a lot of them, such as Apple, American Express, and U-Haul, hire remote employees to perform this role.
Training is usually provided, and you’ll receive a set schedule. However, your schedule can rotate, especially if it’s a 24-hour business. Similar to call center agents, you can work either full- or part-time as a customer service representative.
Related: 19 Online Chat Jobs You Can Do from Home (No Phone Required)
8. Amazon remote employee
Potential earnings: anywhere from $10 per hour to $50,000 per year depending on the job and experience
It’s possible to make money with Amazon in a number of ways, including work-from-home positions ranging from customer service agents and technical support to data entry, or even all the way to supply chain managers.
Job responsibilities vary according to the position you’re applying to, so you’ll have to carefully and thoroughly read the job listing to get an accurate picture of what’s required. You can find open listings by visiting its Virtual Locations jobs page.
Positions can be hourly, part-time, or full-time.
9. Search engine evaluator
Potential earnings: $37,00 per year
If you’re looking for a legitimate, non-phone based remote job, consider looking for work as a search engine evaluator. In this position, you’ll spend your time evaluating results for search engines like Google, Yahoo, and Bing to help improve the overall user experience.
Web research skills, analytical abilities, and excellent communication are important for this position. Note that you typically need to pass an exam before you start working as an evaluator.
The hours are pretty flexible, but you can expect to work around 35 hours per week.
Related: 6 Google Jobs From Home That You Can Apply to Now
10. Data entry clerk
Potential earnings: $27,000 per year for full-time work
Data entry is a flexible entry-level work-from-home job. Companies may hire you to input data to a software system, transfer information, and update records.
It helps if you’re detail-oriented, can easily navigate spreadsheets, have strong organizational skills, and are a fast and accurate typist.
Related: 7 Best Places to Find Data Entry Jobs You Can Do from Home
11. Insurance claims investigator
Potential earnings: $47,000-$66,000 per year for full-time work
As an insurance claims investigator, you’ll work for insurance companies to investigate and validate claims made by policyholders to protect the companies from fraud. Although you’ll primarily work from home, you might need to go into the field to conduct interviews or take pictures.
You don’t need any formal education or training, but it generally requires excellent communication, research, and interview skills. Many companies provide on-the-job training and continuing education.
12. Camp counselor
Potential earnings: $11-$17 per hour
Although typically an outdoor, in-person job, there are some remote camp counselor jobs, particularly for STEM-based camps. You’ll work with campers teaching them coding, performing science experiments, digital art, and more.
These are seasonal positions. It can be a good opportunity for college students studying to become teachers or stay-at-home parents to earn money.
Related: 13 Legit Online Jobs for College Students
13. Test proctor
Potential earnings: $12 per hour on average
Similar to an in-person proctor, a remote test proctor will verify a test taker’s ID and monitor them throughout the exam to ensure that they don’t cheat and maintain the integrity of the exam. This is typically done via a webcam, so it’s important that you have a good internet connection and a quality camera and microphone.
The hours vary depending on the company you work for and when the students schedule their exams.
Contract Positions
If you want the benefit of working for someone else but prefer the flexibility of making your own schedule, there are many ways to work from home as a contractor.
16. Freelance proofreader
Potential earnings: Approximately $50,000 per year, depending on rates, experience, number of clients, and type of project
If you’ve got a knack for grammar, can spot typos, and can fix egregious misspellings, proofreading may be an option for you. As a freelance proofreader, you’ll work for a variety of clients helping them identify errors in their written and printed content.
After finding success as a proofreader, Caitlin Pyle started to teach others how to do the same. She launched her course, Proofread Anywhere, that covers the tools and skills you need to be an effective proofreader including, how to get started and where to find clients. To see if proofreading is a good fit for you, check out her free online workshop.
17. Virtual assistant
Potential earnings: $15 to $75 per hour, depending on experience
Virtual assistants, commonly referred to as VAs, are hired to help business owners with online administrative tasks. They help with tasks like email, calendar management, social media management, transcribing calls, and managing customer service.
You can fast-track your virtual assistant job search by taking a training class that’ll teach you the skills needed to become a virtual assistant. To find your first clients, you can contact some small business owners or browse sites such as Upwork and Freelancer. You can also apply to work for virtual assistant companies that pay hourly.
16. Dog walker or pet sitter
Potential earnings: $20 to $30 per walk and anywhere from $20 to $40 for overnight pet sitting services.
If you love animals, or want a pet but can’t have one, get paid to spend time with someone else’s by working as a dog walker or pet sitter. You can start your own business or sign up with Rover, which connects pet owners with dog walkers and pet sitters in their area.
The site allows you to create your own profile, as well as set your rates and availability. You can communicate with prospective clients and book paying gigs directly from the app.
Note that Rover collects a 20% service charge that’s deducted from your earnings, so keep that in mind when you set your fees.
Related: How to Launch Your Own Dog Sitting Business
17. Freelance writer
Potential earnings: $30 to $500+ per assignment, depending on difficulty, experience level, subject, and the length of the material
Freelance writers are writers contracted by websites, newspapers, magazines, blogs, and other businesses to write content on a particular topic. If you’re a strong writer but don’t want to run your own blog or website, hire yourself out and write for others.
You can get started with freelance writing by taking a course like Holly Johnson’s Earn More Writing that teaches you how to set your rates and land clients. Make sure you have a portfolio of writing samples to show to prospective clients. If you’re new to freelancing and have a blog, you can use the original blog content you’ve written until you have client work to showcase.
Related: 51 Best Freelance Jobs Sites to Find Paid Gigs
18. Babysitter
Potential earnings: Variable based on rates, number of kids you watch, and how many hours per week you provide care
One of the most reliable and flexible ways to earn money from home, and one that you can start immediately, is by providing child care and babysitting services.
You can offer morning care services to help kids get ready for school, keep an eye on them as parents go off to work, or watch them while mom or dad runs errands. Or you can take advantage of the fact that child care centers are closed during the evenings and weekends and offer your services for those hours.
If you choose this route, decide what age group of kids you prefer to watch and create a profile on Care.com or Sittercity.com to help you find clients. You can also ask friends and neighbors if they need child care.
19. Web designer
Potential earnings: Around $50,000 per year, although you can earn more as a freelancer based on your rates, services, and number of clients
Business owners want professional looking websites for their space on the internet. If you can code and have a good eye for design, you can earn money designing websites for small businesses.
If you want to work as a web designer, Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator are essential pieces of software you’ll need to master. Proficiency in HTML, CSS, and JavaScript are also must-have skills.
20. Social media manager
Potential earnings: $15 to $120+ per hour, depending on experience
If you’re proficient with different social media platforms, you can turn your skill into a work-from-home job by offering services like creating and scheduling posts, running ads, managing private messages, and monitoring online groups.
Creating content and engaging with fans and customers is a time-consuming task that many businesses don’t have the bandwidth to do in-house. As a result, they prefer to outsource the task. While some companies do have full-time in-house social media managers, it’s often cheaper to hire a part-time remote worker for this role. This opens up positions for work-from-home freelancers.
If you favor one platform over the others, focus on becoming an expert in that area so you can offer a specialized service.
Related: How to Become a Social Media Manager
21. Seamstress
Potential earnings: variable
If you’re good with a sewing machine or needle and thread, working from home as a seamstress is a viable job option. You can contract to work with dress shops altering wedding, bridesmaids, or prom dresses and other formal wear. If you prefer, you can work as a freelancer doing custom projects like curtains, slip covers, or offer alterations on jeans and other clothes.
Other Work From Home Gigs
The below opportunities can be great jobs for stay-at-home moms, retired people looking for some extra cash, or as a supplement to a full-time job. You can start most of them immediately.
22. Survey taker
Potential earnings: $5 to $200 per month, depending on eligibility and how many surveys you participate in
Most companies want to better understand potential customers so they can improve products and target their audience more effectively. To do that, sites pay people to take online surveys. Although not technically a job, you can make money taking surveys, and it requires no experience.
There are many different types of surveys and activities to complete. For example, in addition to regular surveys, Branded Surveys rewards users for answering daily polls, participating in challenges, referring friends, and redeeming offers you can find on their social media accounts. You’ll get your first 100 points when you sign up. Once you reach 1,000, you can cash out for gift cards, PayPal cash, or direct deposit (U.S. users only).
23. Facebook ads specialist
Potential earnings: $47,000 per year for full-time work, but freelancers can earn more or less depending on experience, rates, number of clients, and length of ad campaigns
Local businesses in your area likely have a Facebook page but aren’t using Facebook ads to effectively attract more clients. As a Facebook ads specialist, you’ll create ads that reach a target audience, manage advertising budgets, monitor campaigns, and more. You’ll help local businesses grow while simultaneously building your own business.
It’s not difficult to get started as a Facebook ads specialist, but enrolling in a program like the FB Side Hustle Course can help. Courses like this will show you things like how to set up the Facebook ad system and find paying clients.
Related: 16 Online Business Ideas That Anyone Can Start
24. Blogger
Potential earnings: $0 to $150,000+ per month.
If you enjoy writing, love sharing your opinions, expertise, and recommendations, consider starting a blog. Blogs are a great way to teach people about a particular skill, entertain, or share your life experiences. You can blog about anything: books, fitness, organization, fashion — whatever you’re passionate about or skilled in.
There is no experience or technical knowledge needed to start a blog, but you might need a step-by-step tutorial to get started. You’ll also need a domain name and hosting. HostGator is one of the most affordable options to get a blog up and running.
Money-making options for bloggers include: affiliate marketing, accepting paid advertisements, and selling digital or physical products.
Related: How to Make Money Blogging
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25. App or website tester
Potential earnings: variable based on number of tests completed
Similar to taking surveys for money, companies will also pay people to give feedback on their website. Companies want to know how easy and user-friendly their websites are, and the information you provide is extremely valuable.
Here are some places you can apply for this type of work:
- WhatUsersDo – Pay is $8 (or more) per test. Tests take around 15-20 minutes. You need a Mac or PC and a mic.
- Enroll – Get paid to test websites before they are published. Earn cash rewards.
- Userfeel – This company pays around $10 per test.
- Analysia – Tests take around 15 minutes to complete. Pay is $10 per test.
- TryMyUI – Tests takes around 15-20 minutes to complete. Pay is $10 per test.
You won’t make a full-time living testing websites, but it is an excellent way to earn some extra income.
Related: 14 Best Places to Test Websites for Money
26. Microtasker
Potential earnings: $50 to $130 per task, on average.
Do you like working with your hands and helping your local community? TaskRabbit might be a great way for you to make money working from home.
TaskRabbit is a service-based app that connects customers with people who can help them with things like mounting a TV, moving furniture, or cleaning. Workers can also build furniture, help people move, and do home repairs.
To work with TaskRabbit, you need to submit an online application and attend an informational session in your area. After you’ve completed the registration process, the TaskRabbit app will notify you of jobs in your area.
You set your rates and negotiate job details with the client. Once you’ve completed the job, you can submit your invoice via the TaskRabbit app.
Related: 17 Best Places to Find Small Task or Micro Jobs
27. Ecommerce store owner
Potential earnings: $0-$10,000+ per month
Ecommerce store owners operate a digital storefront to sell merchandise ranging from digital products, like PDFs or printables, to physical products that require inventory. Unlike operating a brick-and-mortar store, you’ll keep and manage the inventory from your home. A site like BigCommerce or Shopify can help you get your storefront up and running quickly and easily.
How much you’ll earn depends on what you sell, how often you make a sale, and how aggressively you market your products. You can work as many or as few hours as you prefer.
Related: How to Start a Dropshipping Business
28. Mock juror
Potential earnings: $20 to $60 per case
As an online mock juror, you’ll participate in a simulated trial, listen to attorneys present evidence, and make judgments based on what you hear. You’ll give the lawyers feedback on their arguments and answer questions that help them identify strengths and weaknesses in their cases.
You can sign up to work with a credible company like OnlineVerdict. The amount of hours you work is entirely up to you.
Note that the decisions you make are not legally binding and do not determine if someone is guilty or not guilty; they’re for informational purposes only. This also does not count as a substitute for actual jury duty.
29. Travel agent
Potential earnings: $47,000 per year but can increase based on tips and commissions
Travel agents help clients find the best deals and experiences for their trips. If you enjoy traveling and helping people brainstorm their dream vacations, you’ll enjoy this job.
Some travel agents become certified, which is not required but does help. If you complete training through a program like The Travel Institute, you’ll learn more skills that can help you better serve clients. You can even consider specializing in specific kinds of travel like cruises or Disney World vacations.
Instead of charging a fee, you’ll earn a commission when your clients book their travel through you. The deals tend to be pretty competitive, making it easy to convince clients to work with you.
Related: 25 Online Jobs That Are Easy, Flexible, and Profitable
Where to Find Full-Time Work-From-Home Jobs
Finding a work-from-home job is similar to finding a traditional job. To get started, you just need to know where to look.
Job boards and sites
If you’re looking for a more traditional job, start by looking on sites like ZipRecruiter, Indeed.com, Glassdoor, or even LinkedIn’s job board. You can filter your searches by type of work, location, hours, and even specific jobs. For instance, if you want to work as a virtual nurse, you can visit ZipRecruiter and type “telemedicine” and your location into the search feature and you’ll get a listing of all available positions with real companies in your area.
Freelancers should consider using sites like Upwork, Freelancer, or Fiverr to find clients. You can also browse job boards like the ones found on ProBlogger and Mediabistro. If you need to create a profile, make sure it’s as complete as possible and includes a way for prospective clients to contact you.
Company websites
If you’re interested in working for a specific company, visit its website and search for its “careers” or “job openings” page. That should provide you with the application process, salary information, and what positions are currently open. If it’s a smaller company, you might want to reach out to the owner if nothing is listed on the website. The website may not have been updated to reflect current openings.
If you work in a specific industry, do some research to find out what companies in that field hire for the job you’re interested in. Companies like SYKES and Appen hire search engine evaluators, and SigTrack, Capital Typing, and DionData Solutions hire data entry clerks.
Networking
You can also find work-from-home jobs by cold calling or emailing businesses in your area, friends who are business owners, or connecting with businesses on social media. Facebook has networking groups for most professions, as does LinkedIn, and if you have a local chamber of commerce or small business group, consider joining them as well.
Don’t rule out job fairs or other types of in-person hiring events. You never know what opportunities you might come across.
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