
For half of us, working from home is ideal. Whether this is because you’re an unsociable person or because working in retail just isn’t worth the risk of COVID, self-sufficiency is important. The reality of getting a job during a pandemic and economic instability isn’t great, but the outlook on working from home is actually looking up.
Here are the 10 best jobs you can do from home this summer:
1. Tutoring
With schools being closed, many parents will be looking to home-school their children. To keep them brushed up on their Maths, Economics or whatever it may be, paying a tutor for online classes is their go-to option right now. Or, if you’re looking to teach English, parents in China pay a very handsome sum – but beware, the hours are odd.
2. Content Writer
There’s always content to be written, no matter the political or sociological climate. The beauty of content writing is that it can be for any student, no matter what they’re studying. Your best bet is to try and get started on Upwork, and then contact businesses and outlets directly after having built up a portfolio.
3. Customer Service
Given that most businesses have turned to working from home, even more customer interaction is done online at the moment. This is why there are so many opportunities to work in online customer service, such as answering customers on the Live Chat, or on emails or even social media. Pay usually isn’t very high, but then the work isn’t very hard…
4. Video Editor
If you have great video editing skills or animation experience, then freelance work is a great option. This market is only growing, particularly because social media (Youtube in particular) is being watched even more due to lockdown. There are lots of medium-sized channels out there looking for extra editing support, and pay a fair amount.
5. Programming and IT
Programming is an extremely general term, but it’s included because the opportunities are also a wide net. Money will be made from whatever you’re good at. Backend developers and database engineers will get better money and have less competition than front end, but you’re best off checking for yourself. Type the language or software that you’re an expert in to Fiverr or Upwork and see what kind, how many, and what pay the job posts that arise are.
6. Virtual Assistant
There are a lot of virtual Assistant jobs online, and all you need for them is some general, basic IT skills as well as good soft skills. You’ll often get at least the US minimum wage for sending emails, data entry and other basic admin tasks.
7. Translation work
If you’re fluent in two or more languages, then you’re almost guaranteed to be able to find some translation work. The pay can vary, but this is a good way to keep on top of your writing or speaking skills in both languages. Plus, if you’re fast at reading and typing, you can earn good money. If you’re not bilingual, you can still make money transcribing English audio. You have to be a fast and accurate touch typist, but you can easily make $20 per hour.
8. Start a website and create a brand
If you’re able to do almost any of the above, or perhaps you’re just looking to start a blog, then creating a website and branding it is a fantastic use of time. It doesn’t matter if you’re trying to sell writing services, photographs, programming, tutoring… Building up a following on social media and developing a website will be an exercise in SEO, branding, and many other skills that will look great on your CV — and maybe you can start monetizing it within a few months.
9. Drop Serving
If you’re entrepreneurially inclined, there’s certainly some opportunities in dropshipping. It’s like Drop Shipping, only not with physical products. So, when you receive payment on your website for services, such as web building or graphic design, you outsource the work to someone else — so you’re just the middleman. It takes some time setting up, but it can scale much larger than the other options.
10. Rent out what you’re not using
Okay, so this is only one that isn’t a “job” per se, but it’s a good money-making opportunity. There’s plenty of things that Coronavirus has put an abrupt end to, and these are the things you could be renting out. For example, public transports have been mostly put on hold, and you’re likely not using your car much right now — so why not rent it out? Likewise, you can also rent out your parking space too.
At the end of the day, it will heavily depend on what skills you have and what you’re studying for. The best paid jobs will be skill-specific, so you’re best off leveraging what you’re studying for and try to work freelance (i.e. web developer, bookkeeper, graphic designer, and so on).