It’s hard to make money when you can’t go to work. Or is it? Plenty of virtual vocations offer opportunities to rake in some cash while still practicing social distancing.
Virtual Assistant
VAs do what assistants do, just virtually. They’re responsible for checking email, arranging travel, everything but making coffee for the boss. Unfortunately, many people are willing to do this job for small potatoes, so that’s what it pays. Reputable sites that offer VA jobs include Freelancer and Upwork.
Tutoring/Teaching
Lots of parents are finding themselves at their wit’s end having to homeschool during the Coronavirus pandemic. If you fancy yourself an academic, try tutoring online. Chegg Tutors starts at $20/hr for tutoring in various subjects, from calculus to zoology.
Here are some more resources:
Skooli : Requires a Master’s degree
Tutor Me: Starts at $16/hr
VIPKID: Earn up to $22/hr teaching English online
Do Online Activities
Websites will pay you to do activities online, like taking surveys, watching videos, or surfing the web. Sites like Survey Junkie
pay via Paypal, while others like Swagbucks pay in gift cards.
Here are some more resources:
Test Websites
UserTesting pays you to use websites and/or apps. Simply apply, take a short sample test, enter your demographic info, then start testing websites. All you have to do is complete a set of tasks and say what you think out loud. (Your screen and your voice will be recorded while you’re using the website.) Every 20-minute video completed earns you $10 via PayPal.
Freelance Writer
The best way to get started as a freelance writer is through a freelancing platform like Upwork. All you have to do is create your profile, then you can start finding clients, or sometimes they’ll find you. Tip: The Grammarly extension can make anyone’s writing look professional.
Other writer resources include:
Contently: Mostly B2B writing for the heathcare and finance industries
Great Content: Multilingual SEO and e-commerce content creation
Verblio :Marketing content
Listverse: Get paid $100 a list, if it gets published. Pick your own subject. Topics can range from unsolved mysteries to common misconceptions.
Data Entry
Can you type quickly and accurately? If so, data entry may be for you. It’s basically just copy/pasting, so you don’t have to have any experience to get started. Lionbridge offers competitive rates and pays monthly. You must complete at least one placement evaluation to be considered for work. Lionbridge also has the following part-time remote job opportunities:
Mobile and Desktop Internet Search Reviewer
Personalized Internet Assessor
Transcription
If you can hear and you’ve got mad typing skills, transcription may be for you. This remote position involves converting audio or video files to written format. All kinds of industries use transcription services, but there are three main categories: general, medical, and legal. The latter two pay more, but general transcription requires little to no experience. Simply listen to a recording such as an interview or lecture, and type it out. If you get really serious about it, invest in a foot pedal to make pausing, fast-forwarding, and rewinding audio a breeze. There are many companies who employee freelance transcriptionists:
Net Transcripts: experience required, 70 WPM min
Perform Microtasks
Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk) can make a couple bucks an hour performing menial “Human Intelligence Tasks (HITs)”. Such tasks can include selecting correct spelling of a search term, answering whether a website is suitable for all audiences, and finding an item number for a product. It’s easy, but doesn’t pay very well.
Microworkers.com is similar, but has more complex tasks, such as sequencing, image tagging, and transcription, and therefore it pays more. After you register, click on the Tasks link to browse available tasks. Each has its own instructions and estimated completion time. Then all you have to do is accept the job and provide the proof required by the employer that you completed it.
Clickworker is another similar digital task provider. Projects can include translation, survey participation, creating or correcting texts, searching and categorizing data, and more. Qualification assessments, previous work assessments, education, language abilities, and interests determine which projects will be offered to an individual Clickworker, then they can choose to work on whichever task they wish for the amount stated. Payment is made as each task is completed.
Editing and Proofreading
Editors review documents for sentence structure, clarity, and flow. Proofreaders make sure a document is flawless before publishing or sending to a client. Documents can include essays, dissertations, business documents, journal articles, essays, resumes, blog entries, novels, screenplays, and more. Most of these postitions require a degree and at least some experience. Search for editing and proofreading gigs on sites like Freelancer and Upwork and/or check with these resources:
EditorLive.com: Proof academic and business papers with a tight turnaround time at 72 hours or less
Scribbr: Enhance the language, structure and clarity of term papers, essays and theses. Requirements: Native English speaker, Bachelor’s degree, available a min. of 10hrs/wk.
Scribendi: degree and three years of experience
Editor World: Bachelor’s degree and some experience required
Microstock
No, this doesn’t have to do with tiny trading on Wall Street. Microstock agencies accept media, such as photos, vector illustrations, video animation, music tracks, sound effects, logos, and more from contributors. Make money off of your photos at stock photo websites like 123rf, Alamy, Shutterstock, iStockphoto, and Snapwire. For a comprehensive list, see Everything Microstock’s Agency Media Chart.
Other Online Employers
Working from home is not just for coders, social media managers, and website designers. From accountants to customer support representatives, there are a wealth of online employment opportunities available that fall under many categories:
CACTUS: Medical writing and editing, translation, medical communications, technology, academic editing, publication support, marketing and sales, customer service, technology, operations management, and finance
Fiverr: Freelance design, graphics, marketing, and web programming jobs
Rat Race Rebellion: Work from home database with lots of customer service job listings
Virtual Vocations: Tons of different vocations covered from account management to writing and everything in between.
