Next page
Many people who work from home get their start in customer service. It’s an easy entry point because the jobs are readily available and are hired frequently. Lots of online retailers (even Amazon) hire their own customer service agents, and there are even companies that manage virtual call centers for other businesses.
Next page
Most of these remote jobs require high-speed internet access and a landline to receive incoming calls. While customer service may not be your dream job, it’s legitimate work, and the pay is usually pretty good. That $10 to $15 per hour can certainly help pay the bills while you find your perfect side hustle. Some customer service jobs
Next page
are seasonal, making them a favorite way to earn extra cash for Christmas or summer break.
Next page
Many people really enjoy working as a search engine evaluator, looking over web search results and rating online ads for quality. No phone is involved, and the pay is pretty good — usually about $13 to $15 per hour. As a web search evaluator, your schedule is flexible, which allows you to work around other commitments like
Next page
pediatrician appointments and dinner prep. The only complaint is that the work isn’t as readily available as many people would like. Search engine evaluation probably isn’t something you can depend on to cover all of your bills. But it’s still a good gig to bring in extra cash. (Be aware that you usually cannot hold a search engine evaluator job with more than one company.)
Next page
Transcription jobs involve listening to an audio or video file and converting it into text. You don’t need to be an experienced transcriptionist to be considered at many companies, but you do need to have excellent typing speed and accuracy. Transcription is almost always production-based, meaning you get paid by the audio minute
Next page
and not by how long it takes you to type something. The faster you type, the higher your hourly income. You can also get paid extra money in the specialized fields of legal and medical transcription. (If you’re interested in becoming a medical transcriptionist, Career Step is my go-to training resource for this specialized industry.)
Next page
If you think an online transcription job sounds fun but you aren’t sure about your typing skills, take the free typing test at TypingTest.com. Need to brush up? Use the free online course available at Typing.com to practice your skills.
Next page
Usually, people who don’t want to work in customer service by phone don’t mind doing so by chat. Unfortunately, that means the competition for an online chat job can be tough. Like most independent contractor customer service positions, most online chat jobs only pay for the minutes you’re actually interacting with customers, as opposed to the
Next page
hours you’re logged in. With most companies, that averages out to about $10 per hour, but some companies pay minimum wage. As with transcription work, you need to be able to type well if you’re going to succeed as a chat support agent. Aim for 60 words per minute to do well, although some jobs only require a minimum speed of 30 to 40 wpm.
Next page
Even though many of us have moved our online conversations to private groups on Facebook and Google+, there are still plenty of booming public forums out there. Those online forums need moderators to answer questions, enforce guidelines, and keep out spam. Some of these gigs also carry over to social networks and even blogs.
Next page
There is a lot of competition for an online moderator job, and the pay isn’t always great — usually about $8 to $10 per hour. But it’s an easy, flexible job and can usually be done with other activities.
Next page
There is an endless amount of freelance writing work for people with the right skill set. That doesn’t necessarily mean you need a degree in journalism or English — it simply means you need to have good grammar and research skills. Becoming a freelance writer is one of my top recommendations for people looking for a flexible work-at-home
Next page
schedule. You can learn more about it in this post on freelance writing for beginners. What’s more, freelance writing can be very good money once you break out on your own and get away from the “content mills” (sites that offer articles for sale cheap and pay their writers accordingly). If you are looking to dabble in online content writing without
Next page
any commitment, check out the beginner-friendly options below.
Next page
Becoming a VA is one of the hottest work-at-home trends. If you have an administrative assistant background (or even if you’re just super organized — right, moms?), you may want to consider becoming a virtual assistant. In this position, you help small businesses and “solo-preneurs” handle their day-to-day tasks, which may include providing
Next page
customer service, being a social media manager, coordinating travel arrangements, being a virtual bookkeeper, and more. The variety of job opportunities available as a VA is huge! Just from running this blog, I can tell you that there are bloggers out there looking to fill freelance virtual assistant roles like a content writer, proofreader, Pinterest manager, and even graphic designer.
Next page
If you’re skilled at something others want to learn – from playing the piano or speaking a foreign language to basic high school geometry – you can start tutoring from home (or near home) and make a great hourly rate. There’s nothing stopping you from putting up fliers and contacting the local schools, PTAs, or college departments
Next page
to advertise your tutoring services. You can also post an ad on Craigslist or community websites and publications for a tutoring job. These days, tutoring is also something you can easily do online. Quite a few online tutoring companies hire at-home teachers to give lessons using a computer with video or chat.
Next page
You need reliable, high-speed internet service to tutor from home, and most (but not all) companies have a minimum education requirement.
Next page
Even if you don’t have a teaching degree, you can still make money tutoring online by teaching English as a second language (ESL). These jobs may require a bachelor’s degree, but they can often be in any subject. Many online language-learning companies cater to Chinese students. Therefore, the shifts are often very early in the
Next page
morning in the U.S., plus on weekends. That being said, many people in my community love the flexibility these jobs offer. And the pay is good in many cases!
Next page
Grading tests from home is a favorite gig in the work-from-home community. In this position, you may be scoring tests, essays, and more. Most of this work is seasonal in the spring and fall, when standardized testing is in full swing, though there are occasional opportunities at other times, too.
Next page
If you have an accounting or bookkeeping background, those skills easily transfer to remote work. You can find virtual bookkeeping jobs with a number of companies. You might even consider starting your own bookkeeping company from home.