Top 10 Online Jobs for Everyone
If work-from-home or remote jobs were still questionable (and most likely a scam) a few years ago, online jobs are now highly desirable because of the flexibility, comfort of working from anywhere and anytime, as well as a decent salary they bring. Thanks to advanced technology, there are many more online work options available. We’ve compiled a list of top 10 online jobs for everyone – from digital nomads, stay-at-home parents, caretakers, retirees, students and beyond.
Beyond the remote-jobs listed, there is greater pay for skilled ones including web developers, software engineers, UI/UX designers, digital marketing, accounting, and bookkeepers, etc. According to Indeed, the average entry-level front end web developer makes $55k a year working full-time in the United States and experienced full-stack developers earn $110k+ per year on average.
1. Online ESL Teacher
There are tons of online ESL companies that hire English teachers every day. You don’t even need to have prior teaching experience, but a Bachelor’s degree is usually required, and preferably a TEFL/TESOL teaching certificate as well. You’ll need a stable Internet connection, a laptop or tablet equipped with mic and headset, and a quiet place to work at. Overall, if you’re a native English speaker or have a near-native accent, you can definitely teach English online.
Find a job teaching English online here >
The pay for teaching ESL online depends on the company you’re working for, but most people start out at around $13 or $14 per hour. The top-paying online ESL companies pay up to $30 an hour. The schedule is quite flexible since the students are from all over the world, so if you can only work at nights or during weekends, it’s absolutely fine. Here’re some tips to Make the Most Money Teaching English Online.
Skill Set
2. Graphic & UI/UX Designer
If you’re an artist with design skills, working as a virtual graphic designer is a great way to make money off your hobby. Many businesses need professionally designed documents, flyers, PowerPoint presentations, emails, social media images, websites, etc. There are tons of work available for talented graphic designers. Here are some tips by Skillcrush about starting a career in web design.
If you have an eye for design and the necessary skills such as Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator, and PowerPoint, you can easily find an online graphic design job via websites such as UpWork or Freelancer. It helps to have your own portfolio of sample works you’ve done in the past. The pay starts at $25 to $40 for beginners. If you’re experienced and have knowledge in branding and marketing as well, you could charge as much as $100 per hour or charge by the project.
Skill Set
Designing tools – Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator, and PowerPoint
Good understanding of UI (user interface) and UX (user experience).
Prototyping, mockups, and wireframing
3. Video Editor
Video is another hot online trend that is rising fast each year. Lots of businesses need freelancers to create engaging videos for their websites, social media, and YouTube channels. If you know how to edit videos using Final Cut Pro or Adobe Premiere, for example, the pay is quite promising. You can earn between $25 to $35 an hour as a beginner, and over $50 per hour if you’re experienced.
If you have your own hobbies and ideas that are worth sharing, you can even monetize your own YouTube channel. Lots of vloggers film themselves talking about cosmetics, makeup, yoga, healthy living, video games, and so on, while earning money through the YouTube Partner Program.
4. Social Media Manager
Most businesses are switching away from TV, print or radio ads to invest more on social media since that’s where lots of their customers “hang out” these days. However, many of them aren’t sure what to do, while the workload is tremendous: posting frequently on multiple social media channels, responding to messages, engaging with the audience through comments, managing the ads, etc. Therefore, you can easily find many listings for social media manager positions online.
You can also proactively reach out to companies whose social accounts have a rather small number of followers. The pay for social media managers is typically from $15 to $50 an hour, or you can charge a flat monthly fee.
Skill Set
social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, etc)
content writing skills whether for blog posting or short engaging posts. Including content management system like WordPress
SEO and website traffic analytics understanding
Some basic knowledge about HTML and CSS
5. Freelance Writer & Copywriter
Writers are in high demand to create new content, blog articles, website copy, and product descriptions on e-commerce channels. People all over the globe are consuming a huge amount of content on the Internet every minute. Though big companies and websites have in-house writers, many smaller sites hire freelance writers and content creators. You can be hired easily if you have some writing samples or a solid portfolio to include with your resume and cover letter. The pay varies depending on your location, writing quality, and who you’re writing for. If you’re a competent writer, you may earn at least $100 per 1,000-word article. For landing pages copy, you can even make $1,000 per finished piece. However, please note that the competition is fierce these days and you’ll probably earn a lot less initially.
6. Software Developer
This probably one of the best paying freelance jobs you can get working remotely? Web Developers are in great demand and lucrative compensation. According to the US Bureau of labor statistics, the 2018 Median Pay for a web developer is $69,430 per year or $33.38 per hour. It also has a bright prospect, where the employment rate is projected to grow 13% from 2018 to 2028. As a result, there are vast online learning resources throughout the Internet to enhance your career shift in becoming a web developer. Here are some of the popular job boards for online/remote software developer jobs, Upwork, Indeed, Jooble, etc.
7. Blogger
It’s similar to being a freelance writer, yet if you’re confident in your writing skill and want to be your own boss, you can start a blog and build an audience, grow the site and start monetizing it with affiliate advertising, sponsored posts, Google Adsense or product sales. While it doesn’t cost much to start your own blog, you should expect to invest lots of time and effort to grow the blog at first while making no money until it becomes established.
Skill Set
Good content writing skill
Content management and publishing tools – WordPress, Wix, etc
8. Virtual Assistant
Many people run their businesses online these days and end up hiring virtual assistants to help with administrative tasks and keep things organized. The duties of this particular online job vary from answering and sending emails, doing reports, scheduling appointments, creating documents, responding to media inquiries, and more. Virtual assistants typically charge $15 to $35 an hour, depending on years of experience, level of skill required, and who they work for. Some virtual assistants take on multiple clients, allowing quite a comfortable salary.
Search the term “virtual assistant” or “VA” to find the positions on the job sites like Upwork and Fiverr.
Skill Set
Familiar with industry-standard communication and collaboration tools
Word-processing and spreadsheets such as Microsoft standard suite and G Suite by Google,
Cloud drives like Google Drive and Dropbox,
Email service such as Gmail
Audio and video conferencing software such as Skype, Slack, Zoom, or Google Hangouts, and screen sharing feature to facilitate collaboration
9. Transcriptionist
If your Word Per Minute (WPM) typing speed is good and your grammar is solid, then transcription job may be for you. All you need to do is to turn audio files into texts. You can get the job done anywhere, anytime, with your computer and perhaps a good headset. Some of the popular transcription sites include TranscribeMe and Scribie. The pay is around $15 to $25 per audio hour.
10. Customer Service Representative & Support
Many companies hire virtual customer service representatives to answer the phone or email to assist customers, process orders and deal with returns. You’ll need to have a computer and possibly a specific software or equipment provided by the company. It’d help to have a good phone voice, friendly attitude and patience to work with various customers. Some companies offer 24/7 customer service, so you can find shifts at various hours.
However, lots of companies hire call-center representatives overseas for less, thus it’s competitive and the pay isn’t that high. According to Glassdoor.com, a customer service representative typically gets paid around $30,000 per year.
Search the term “customer service representative”, “customer support”, or even “help desk associate” to find the related positions.
If you’re good at tech, you might want to check out this Google IT support professional certificate on Coursera. This five-course certificate, developed by Google, is designed to prepare you for an entry-level role in IT support, where you will able to land in-person or remote help desk work with responsibilities like troubleshooting, customer service, networking, operating systems, system administration, security. Upon completion of the certificate, you can share your information with top employers like GE Digital, H&R Block, Hulu, J.M. Smucker, Infosys, Intel, KForce, PNC Bank, RICOH USA, Sprint, TEKSystems, etc, and of course, Google.
Bonus…
Here is a list of Extra Income gigs, not formal jobs, but collect bucks here and there.
Polish your resume and interview pitch
Grow Your Career – Web Developer
This list hopefully helps you find a suitable online job for yourself. If you do choose to become an online ESL teacher, you can join our Facebook groups, Online ESL Reviews, Online English Teaching Jobs, and Online English Teaching Jobs Facebook group where you can find many supportive and experienced teachers.
