I often wonder about this given that we do more things online nowadays. I myself have an office job that pays just enough for my daily expenses and monthly bills, but I really would like to find extra work and be able to save up more for my dream home and maybe set aside money for investments. I can also imagine people looking for extra work for other reasons, such as to earn some extra cash while they are still students, to help pay the bills in between regular jobs, to pay off debt, or to continue earning during retirement.
A quick Google search led me to thousands of internet job listings, which made me realize that there are plenty of short and long term career options for people who need or want to work from home. These remote jobs don’t require you to be in an office every day for 9 hours but have the potential to be high paying work, as long as you have the skill and patience for it. As for materials, the bare minimum is a computer with a stable internet connection, which in this day and age have become ubiquitous. In some cases, some of these jobs can start as part-time gigs or hobbies and have the potential to turn into high-paying, full time work.
Through my research, I found these potentially high paying work-from-home jobs (listed in no particular order):
1. Blogger
2. Baker / Chef
3. Affiliate Marketer
4. Virtual Realtor / Realtor’s Assistant
5. Copy Writer
6. E-Commerce Store Owner
7. Editor and Proofreader
8. Programmer
9. Graphic Designer
10. Online TeacherBlogger
Blogger:
Blogging has come a long way from being your personal online journal. Nowadays, writing about your favorite music, movies, food, and even social causes can now help you generate money. A good percentage of bloggers earn more than $100 per month, while the minimum one could earn is $5. That might not seem like much, but if you consider the low startup cost and the freedom to work at your own time, it could be a great way to supplement your income. I wouldn’t give a day job with a high salary, especially if I’m just starting out as a blogger, but if you can find an interesting and relevant topic, have decent writing and photography skills, and a good social network to help spread the word, you could have the paid ads rolling in after just a few months. You can also look into microblogging, as is done on Pinterest and Instagram, and be an online influencer. If you have enough social media followers, you could earn anywhere from $175 to $1000+ per post. As for vloggers (video bloggers), starting rates are at $500 per video, depending on the number of views and subscribers.
Baker/Chef
Everybody loves food, so there will always be a market for restaurants, catering businesses, and cafes. For employed chefs, the income is typically at $22,000-$32,000 a year. But if you have a natural talent for putting ingredients together, even without a culinary degree, you can open a catering business or even start small by selling your products online. All you really need is the time and patience to fulfill food orders. Custom-made baked goods and made-to-order pastries are becoming a hit these days too, as long as you can make your goodies Instagram-worthy. In fact, you should take full advantage of all the social media platforms at your disposal. Just take a look at companies like Tasty. They post all sorts of food-related content on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube which foodies all around the world like and share. Another strategy would be to focus on a specific market, such as special events (catering for weddings, for example), mothers (healthy food delivery platforms), and more.
Affiliate Marketer
If you already have a blog, a podcast, or just a lot of followers on your social media accounts, you could earn a significant amount of money through affiliate marketing. In simpler terms, it’s referral marketing but done online. For instance, if you have a blog about motherhood and you make a reference to an item from a baby supplies e-commerce site, you could include a link to it on your blog. When one of your readers decides to buy the item and clicks on the link, you get a commission from the sale. Affiliate marketing is one of the many ways that bloggers, website owners, and social media influencers earn, with about 65 percent of them making 5% to 20% of their revenue from affiliate marketing programs. The key is to know your audience well and to know which products or services they would be most interested in. Also, be sure to do your research on the many affiliate programs to ensure you get the best fit for your site.
Virtual Realtor or Realtor’s Assistant
If you have a real estate’s license from your state, you can sell houses and apartments in the comfort of your own home. You can make all the same commissions from traditional real estate marketing, without having to physically show the client around different houses. Fortunately, it is so easy now to give virtual tours through a webcam or site. You will, however, also need a good camera, preferably one which can take 360-degree shots of the houses in order to give the clients an immersive experience (Most mid- and high-end smartphones already have this feature, though.). Once you have all the equipment, it’s as simple as post your listing on a real estate forum. Some real estate companies also offer software for a more sophisticated tour. If you aren’t a licensed real estate agent, you can take a course at a community college or sign up to be a virtual real estate assistant. Virtual real estate assistants can earn $55,000 a year or more from organizing listings and other administrative work.
Copy Writer
There are some people who don’t want the glamour and attention involved with being an online influencer but want to do work online and in their own time. In these cases writing “copy” for various businesses is a great way to earn some extra cash. Since every business needs a website these days, online copywriters need not worry about finding work, because there will always be a site somewhere that needs someone to write their promotional or marketing content. There are certain skills needed for this job, though. Obviously language proficiency is one of them, as well as good editing and proofreading skills. Most web sites also require a certain tone to the writing which the writer will have to adopt, so you will need to be flexible. Some sites also require skills in search engine optimization, which is basically inserting certain keywords in the article such that it will most likely come out first in, say, a Google search. This is arguably one of the more challenging parts of being an online copywriter, but master this and you could be earning six figures easily. If you need any help, there are plenty of resources on SEO optimization. If writing is really your thing, this could be a lucrative long term career.
E-Commerce Store Owner
When it comes to e-commerce, Amazon is king, with $79.48 billion in net retail sales as of 2014. Even Home Depot, whose online sales make up less than 5% of its total revenue, earned $3.76 billion dollars that same year. Clearly, online marketplaces have great potential, especially with online shopping becoming more and more prevalent, so whether or not you have a physical shop, you are pretty much required to have an e-commerce platform. But, as with any income-generating website, increasing site traffic is key. This is made easier with the help of social media, so to start you will really need to maximize all of your contacts. Another way to increase traffic is to look into PPC or pay-per-click marketing. This helps to increase awareness, which ultimately can help to increase sales. Sites like Google, Bing, and Facebook offer specific rates to display your ad, so depending on your target market, you can choose which platform works best for you. Facebook, in particular, gives you information such as your audience’s age and gender, so you can develop and improve your products based on that. You may also need to invest in a good website-making platform or hire a web designer to provide the best site browsing experience for your customer.
Editor and Proofreader
Since there are plenty of job opportunities for online writers and content creators, there is an equally big market for proofreaders and editors. This job is not only limited to online content; a good number of job listings are for proofreading academic papers and other types of written work, so you will most likely find a job no matter what. In order to be successful at this, you will need to have a good command of the language you will use. You should also note the difference between proofreading and editing. Simple proofreading jobs only require you to catch grammatical errors, but editing jobs likely require you to rearrange and change words to arrive at the same meaning. In those cases, you should be prepared to do additional research on a variety of different topics. The good news is that there are so many resources out there to help you brush up on your editing skills, so If you’re willing to put in the extra effort, you could make a good living ($36,000 on the average for full-time proofreaders) out of proofreading and editing.
Programmer
This is another job that is extremely relevant today, and its scope is quite broad. Every business in the world uses some kind of computer software to handle their day-to-day tasks. For example, web development is essential to almost every company. Establishments like government offices, banks, and many others need programmers to create efficient and secure systems. App development is also a growing field, as everyone now uses either smartphones and tablets on a daily basis. That being said, the amount of money a programmer makes depends on what kind of programming language they are skilled at. For example, web designers can earn around $50,000-$75,000 a year, making extra if they branch out to SEO or content writing. At the least, a programmer with basic knowledge (C++) earns around $10,000 a year.
Graphic Designer
In relation to website making, companies are also looking for ways to entice customers. One of the best ways to do this is by hiring a graphic designer to make logos, posters, and other visual materials. Also, there are many types of graphic designers proficient at different kinds of software, such as Photoshop, Javascript, and more. Depending on your skill level, you could earn around $40,000 per year doing this. And the best part? Graphic designers don’t even have to step out of their houses to show their work to potential clients because they can easily get the designs approved online.
Online Teacher
Even education can be done online nowadays. If you have a skill (such as proficiency in a certain language), the time, and the passion for teaching, sites like VIPKID and Rarejob allow you to make a decent living by being an online teacher. All you need is a Skype account, a laptop, and a decent internet connection to start earning an average of $15-20 per hour. Classes are done via Skype or another video calling app and can either be one-on-one or a simulated classroom setting. While a huge part of the market are people hoping to learn a language from native speakers, online education certainly isn’t limited to that. An increasing number of universities, colleges, and secondary schools are now offering courses online, with the teachers holding such classes likely to earn as much as those who teach on campus.
How Do You Find These Work-From-Home Jobs?
Like I said before, all I needed to do was a quick search online. I personally found thousands of jobs that match my skills and interests. The main things to look out for are scammers who will make you work and not give you your due compensation. For writers, editors, and programmers be sure to look for jobs on reputable sites such as LinkedIn or Ziprecruiter, which helps you find good employers from around the world. For freelancers, sites like Odesk or Fiverr have safe payment systems to ensure that you get properly compensated for all your hard work. Plus, these sites are fairly easy to use for beginners and veterans alike. They can also be a good stepping stone to finding your regular clients. For those planning on building their own e-commerce platform or launching a new blog, the process is similar to opening a new business: find a good product, research on your target market, and build your site.
Can You Really Make Six Figures With These Remote Jobs?
Of course, you can! The thing with virtual and remote jobs is that the goal is the same as traditional office work: get the job done and earn money. The difference lies in the platform and the methods being used. Now, with the internet being such a big part of our lives, it is so easy to get information and communicate with employers and clients from all over the world, so you can be getting assignments from someone miles away. At the end of the day, the amount of money you can make depends on how hard you work and the quality of the work you do. For people who plan to make websites or e-commerce platforms, they still need to put in the effort to generate traffic, but once they do, they can earn a lot of money passively. Just look at our previous example, Amazon, who technically doesn’t have to spend time or money developing products in the same way as a traditional business. They simply provide their service that helps manufacturers sell their goods, and yet they are now one of the fastest-growing companies in the world.
What Is The Future of Virtual Jobs?
Virtual jobs are here to stay. As it is, there are so many people who have left their office jobs, working and earning money from anywhere. Even traditional offices are seeing the value of being able to do work remotely, implementing policies that allow working from home on certain days of the week. They even develop tools to be able to collaborate on projects from anywhere around the world. So, as long as you can be reached by phone or via the internet, you can be productive even if you are outside the office. Also, as our world becomes more technological, the demand for IT professionals, web developers, and content creators will only increase. Every day, new websites and new articles are being made, which means every day someone needs to get paid to make a site, write an article, or create a new design. With virtual jobs on the rise, you will never run out of work.
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