Ways You Can Work from Home and Make Money
From the most popular online jobs to the most unusual careers. Learn all the different ways you can work at home
The popularity of work from home jobs keeps rising as more and more industries allow workers the option of telecommuting. The so-called 'gig economy' allows more people to access jobs from home than ever before. Aside from the non-existent commute, the main benefit of work from home jobs is the flexibility they offer. Imagine being able to work on your schedule, putting in the hours whenever they happen to fit your busy life.
Often, work at home opportunities are ones we turn to when looking for part-time work or just a side hustle that will help pay the bills and provide a bit of extra money. Whether you're looking for remote jobs or virtual assistant roles at top companies, or plan on creating your own business, there are thousands of jobs where you can work from home. From entry-level online data entry jobs and transcriptionist opportunities to customer service representative positions, the internet provides countless options to try to work from home, no experience required.
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Best Work from Home Jobs
Whether you're looking for part-time, full-time, or just occasional flex jobs, finding opportunities that allow you to start work immediately is vital for those making ends meet. There are hundreds of startups looking to put you to work today as a delivery driver, secret shopper, grocery buyer, e-scooter charger, and more. Finding job listings where you can be home-based and start immediately is a bit harder to find. Call center, customer support jobs, search engine marketing, and social media manager roles often require extensive training and/or previous experience. At a minimum, many work at home jobs will need an internet connection.
The best online job posting sites like Indeed, Glassdoor and LinkedIn will provide more formal listings of openings at top companies, finding opportunities that are hiring immediately often requires thinking more broadly about the kinds of jobs you can do from home. Flexjobs and Remote.co are job boards that cater specifically to online and remote careers. Make sure you keep your profile public and submit resumes at the beginning of your job search to let recruiters know that you're looking. Set up job alerts so that you'll never miss a new job opportunity.
Freelancing Careers
Freelancer job opportunities exist on e-commerce service sites like Fiverr, UpWork, Freelancer.com, Surplus Hands, and Toptal. It's a great place to find new clients to run and grow your own freelance business. You have the freedom to choose from inbound projects that interest you and get paid at the rate that you'd want to make. Many of the job postings require previous experience, but with more work samples and good reviews, you'll be able to earn more for every assignment. With freelancing in the digital era, you have the flexibility to control when, where, and how you work.
Virtual Assistant Jobs
Virtual assistants, also known as VAs, are generally professional assistants that work remotely from a home office. There are VAs for every task imaginable, from administrative, technical to creative projects. Often the only thing you need is great internet access. Virtual assistants are highly in demand by single entrepreneurs and small online businesses that are not large enough to hire a formal employee. These companies often don't have a human resources department, so you'll often be working directly with the CEO or executives. Make sure to put your best foot forward and learn more about the company and expectations of the role. You can get started with sites like VAnetworking, Peopleperhour, Work Better Now, Virtual Employee and Zirtual.
Selling Items Online
If you can create a handmade item, we'd recommend that you check out Etsy to peddle your expertise and crafting skills directly to consumers. You'll be getting paid directly for every item you sell. You can also consider selling on eBay, Amazon, or locally on sites like Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace.
Dropshipping is another booming industry of e-commerce. Dropshippers don't keep stock or own inventory; instead, they purchase the product as needed. Even shipping to customers is the responsibility of a third-party vendor. There is little overhead to dropshipping, and because you don't need warehouse space, it can be a business that runs anywhere. Shopify has an intensive guide on how to start a dropshipping business.
Start Blogging
Another option to start working from home immediately is to get into freelance writing or become a blogger who gets into affiliate marketing. With a highly engaged audience, you can make a great living from your living room by blogging about your life and linking to other sites that might pay you for the traffic you send them. If you enjoy research assignments and writing essays, become a professional essay writer with EssayPro. Build your portfolio and client base to get more contracts. Earn even more by becoming a freelance writer and syndicating your blog content on other websites, where you will get paid from $150 to $750 for every article they accept.
App and Website Tester
With sites like Usertesting, Testerwork, Userbrain, you can earn money testing apps and websites. Users will typically perform a required task on the app or site and share their thoughts in real-time. Those that can continuously narrate their actions and the opinions behind them will find this job easy. Companies are looking for users who can provide useful comments to improve their experience. These tests can vary from a payout of $3 to $60. If you're an experienced user tester with QA experience, you could make even more money by reporting bugs.
Paid Online Surveys and Reviews
Surveys are a great work from home option for stay at home moms. While working from home can suit any lifestyle, moms and other caretakers need a level of flexibility that traditional office jobs often can't provide. Being available for an infant on demand, or being able to change schedules to meet the needs of kids' playdates and sports practice is as important as what the hourly rate is of any job. What's more, the 'gig economy' revolution that brought us flexible work options Uber and DoorDash, often leaves out stay-at-home moms who aren't able to run around town delivering things.
Online rewards sites like Swagbucks, InboxDollars, MyPoints, and others, are often referred to as the "gig economy solution for the stay-at-home mom" because of their ability to unlock on-demand earning opportunities from your couch.
Online Teaching and Tutoring
If you have a skill that you can teach, consider sites like skillshare or teachable. If you're interested in teaching but would like more training and guidance, teaching English online with teachaway or VIPkid is a great option. Education has moved online, and students are getting more comfortable with learning anywhere. There are options to record a single video for download or to do live instruction with students in real-time.
If you prefer to tutor rather than instruct, there are dozens of ways to find students to tutor in any topic. Parents and students are looking for on-demand help throughout the day, you'll be able to find students who fit into your own schedule. Become an online tutor through sites like tutor.com, Tutor Me, Chegg, Club Z, Skooli, and Wyzant. Some programs like The Princeton Review and Pearson offer extensive training so that you can gain the confidence to work effectively. If you have a passion or experience working with special needs students, Special Ed Tutoring is always looking for those with special ed experience.
Online Sales Representative
There is a wide variety of industries that require sales agents. From Advertising, Manufacturing, Logistics, Financial Services, and Insurance. These industries are moving their activities online and hiring remote workers across the globe to better serve their customers.
Depending on the needs of the economy, some industries might be hiring more than others. Covid-19 has led to a huge need for sales agents in private health insurance companies and Medicare. This is driven by the frequent changes in healthcare, the number of layoffs across industries, and boomers entering retirement. Roles like this may only require a high school diploma. According to Monster.com, Insurance Sales Agents make an average of $45K a year while the top 10% earn more than $122K.
Remote Customer Service Agent
Customer care is critical for companies of all sizes and backgrounds. Amazon and LiveOps are frequently hiring for customer service roles specific to retail. Sutherland and Transcom and Vivint Smart Home tend to hire customer service roles in the realm of technical support. Sites like Liveops, Nexrep, ttec, and Arise connect Customer Service Representatives with companies that are looking to build or maintain their call centers and customer support team.
Data Entry Jobs
Scribe, workingsolutions, clickworker, and capital typing are some of the reputable data entry jobs available on the internet. There are positions for transcribing, research, cleaning data, and other microtasks. We would recommend always to be wary of work-at-home ads. Do not ever pay for kits or software and generally data entry doesn't pay as much so avoid any posting that promises large payouts. Amazon's Mturk has plenty of these suspicious job offers.
Reasons Amazon Data Entry Jobs Aren't Worth It
There's a lot of misleading content on the internet about schemes to make up to $7000/mo doing data entry work for Amazon. While Amazon does offer a wide array of remote and virtual positions as part of their workforce, these are often for highly specialized and competitive roles that require years of experience. Keep these three things in mind if you're interested in data entry roles from Amazon:
Most of the jobs are fake
There are also hundreds of impostors trying to scam you into giving up valuable information by pretending they are working on behalf of Amazon. Remember to always do your research before applying to anything, and if something sounds too good to be true, it likely is. At the very least, you should never have to pay to access job listings or applications. Any sites that ask you for money in order to show you Amazon Data Entry Jobs are scamming you.
Amazon MTurk Will Bore You To Death
Amazon MTurk Will Bore You To Death: Many articles that advertise 'Amazon Data Entry Jobs' are actually referring to Amazon's MTurk site, where users can complete menial tasks, called Hits, for small amounts of Amazon credits or cash. Note that you aren't working for Amazon in this scenario, but instead are helping to complete someone else's data entry project ‐ Amazon is just serving as the marketplace. While you might find exaggerated claims of people's income on MTurk, most find the experience dull, repetitive, and low paying. Trustpilot reviewers rate their MTurk experience as 3.7 out of ten
There are better options for making money online
If data entry sounds appealing, why not consider taking online paid surveys instead of hunting for an Amazon job? A quick Google search for "paid surveys" brings up so many opportunities to answer a few simple questions and get paid for giving your honest opinion, rather than transcribing spreadsheets or solving computer riddles like traditional data entry jobs. What's more, legit paid survey sites pay significantly better than menial data entry roles, so you'll be more rewarded for your time with this route.
How to Find Legitimate Work at Home Job That Really Pay
The internet is full of scams, more so when promises of money are involved. It's essential always to be vigilant and avoid sharing your personal information to any site for the first time. That said, there really are plenty of legitimate online sites that really do pay you cash for your time, effort, and energy. Do your homework, read reviews, and ask around to make sure that any company you decide to help is well established with a solid reputation. Note that for many work from home gigs, your earnings will classify you as an independent contractor and very few contractor opportunities come with benefits, so there are additional tax hurdles to consider. A few simple rules will help you stay out of trouble. When looking for work at home opportunities, there are a few that you should never accept:
- Pyramid schemes/multi-level marketing programs
- Anything involving wiring funds or cashing checks
- Envelope stuffing and home assembly kits are never what they seem
- Stock trading systems are more likely than not to be legally suspect
Last, never pay for opportunities. Remember that you're trying to make money, not lose it. Anyone asking for your credit card or bank details upfront is just trying to take you for a ride.
Our #1 Recommendation: How to Work from Home with Swagbucks
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What's more, Swagbucks offers the biggest selection of paid surveys. There are other opportunities to make money like watching videos, playing games, printing coupons, even shopping online and in-store! The best part is, you'll never be waiting a long time for your next paycheck with Swagbucks. The site lets you cash out with as little as $3, and sweepstakes entries available starting at just $0.01!