Work from home jobs may have a bit of a bad rep as they are often not really all that they are sold to be, but real online jobs are a whole different ball game. If you are tired of the daily commute and can’t stop counting the clock once you actually make it to the office, it may be time for you to consider a career change via the very real and potentially highly profitable online jobs that are out there.
Online jobs that pay well are not necessarily ones that you can just walk into, but if you’ve got the motivation to do some basic study, you will certainly have options. Here is a little breakdown of five online jobs that could see you ditch the commute and develop a brand new career.
1. Virtual Assistant
Are you great at organising? If you are, it might surprise you to learn that a lot of people are really not all that good at it. The shift to more and more business being carried out online also means that there are now many people looking for virtual assistants.
This means that the whole structure of business has changed. Secretary and PA jobs are now very much positions that can be done without you ever having to go to any office. Email, Skype, and high-speed internet connections everywhere mean that Virtual Assistants are in increasing demand.
Online jobs such as this are great as they don’t restrict you to working with only one client at a time. If you really are good at organising, there is no reason why you couldn’t be a Virtual Assistant for a number of people at the same time.
2. Online Reseller
This is one of the more interesting online jobs that you could do, but it’s also a bit more difficult to make consistent work. It’s one of those online jobs that you could dip into part-time at the outset. If you find that it’s working out for you, go all in. If not, keep searching for something you do like and that you can make work.
Basically, an online reseller is somebody that sells stuff for people who are too busy to do it for themselves. If you’re already a bit of an Ebay whizz, this could be perfect for you. It’s also something that you will be able to get into more easily if you already have a strong profile on sites where people buy and sell goods online.
3. Online Teacher
If you would love to teach but don’t really like the idea of going to a school every day, this could be one of the best online jobs for you. This isn’t the simplest of online jobs to get into, as you you’ll need to have success with finding students, and you’ll almost certainly need to be qualified in the subject you’d like to teach. Having said that, after years of working in the real world, you may now be a specialist in your field and this could be turned into a very lucrative gig for you.
Typically, online teachers will most often be tutoring children who need extra work to keep up or get ahead at school. With this in mind, you should be expecting to do most of your work once schools are out for the day, and you also have to be financially prepared for the holidays when work will often dry up.
4. Web Designer
The global business landscape changed forever with the arrival of the internet. Now, even the smallest businesses can set themselves up online. To do this properly, they need a good web designer who will make them stand out from the competition. With everybody needing a website, this means that becoming a web designer is one of the most lucrative online jobs out there.
An eye for design and creativity generally tends to help if you want to make a mark in this field. It is also highly advisable for you to consider taking a course, either one led by a teacher or a self-taught one that you can do at your own pace. Those people who are already relatively computer literate and creatively minded will soon get the hang of this kind of role. Once you do, it’s time to start pitching clients and building up a portfolio of work.
When you get fully initiated into this online world, you’ll discover that there are many connected areas that you could spread your expertise to once you’ve gotten the lay of the land. Then again, web design is a highly interesting role in itself. You could build upon your knowledge to become an absolute website master, but it’s probably not really all that necessary.
5. Content Writer
For budding writers, this may sound like one of the great online jobs to get into. It is, but it’s also a lot more hard work than it might seem from the outside. If you can get good clients who provide you with interesting assignments, it’s awesome. If you don’t have a portfolio of work and have to work on boring pieces for pennies, it’s quite the slog.
Getting the negatives out of the way, however, this is definitely one of the online jobs that you can turn into a career if you have patience and just persevere with it. You will have to take the low-end jobs at first, but there is good work out there if you can prove yourself. That’s the other little problem — there are just so many people competing for the same jobs.
Luckily, there is also a lot of work to be had. Once you learn how to recognise the time wasters from the people who are genuinely looking for quality collaborators, the interesting, well-paid work can start flowing in!