These days, more and more people are working from home, as well as finding themselves out of work. While this is an unfortunate situation, there has actually never been a better time to start working remotely.
There are a range of jobs that you can do from the comfort of your own home, that will never need to be based in an office or other workplace. Some of these are for companies that hire remotely – others involve starting your own platform. Furthermore, some of these are small jobs that you can do as and when, whereas others are ones you can forge a career out of.
10 Home Based Jobs that You Can Do Today
- English Teacher
Online English teaching has really taken off over the last few years. If you are UK based, there are a few different platforms available to teach on. Most require a degree certificate and a TEFL or TESOL English teaching qualification – these can be completely done online.
Some platforms to try are:
- PalFish – this has an official kid’s course, which you must have a TEFL for, and a free talk programme for adults, which you do not need any particular qualification for.
- ITutor – you can get your TEFL within 3 months of joining this platform, and the lessons range for 25 minute sessions for kids to 45 minute classes for adults.
- Whales English – known as a very well paying English school, Whales English focuses on kids’ classes.
- iTalki – you set your own rates on iTalki and the lessons are done informally. iTalki can also be used to learn and teach other languages.
All of these are fully online companies. Other businesses, like English First, are English teaching companies that normally operate for physical jobs, but also have an online jobs section.
- Transcription
If you are a fast typist, you might be interested in a job in transcription. This involves copying out audio into text. There are a few different transcription companies that offer jobs for a range of material, and typically these pay very well. Transcription is a bit different to normal typing, so you might need to do some training, but it’s not too hard to pick up.
- Blogger
Blogging has risen to fame in recent years as a great way to make an income. Some people use it as a supplementary income, however, many people blog full time and make a very impressive salary from it.
Blogging takes time; so it’s unlikely that you’ll be making money in your first few months. However, once you’re established, you’ll be able to make money through advertising companies (these are display cookie-based ads that appear on every page), affiliate links (links to a recommended company in which you get commission for any sales), and sponsored posts (a particular post that acts as an advert). Many bloggers also make money by selling ebooks or other merchandise on their blog.
To get started, create a blog with wordpress, choose a topic that you love and are knowledgeable about, work out your business plan (will you focus on growing social media or getting traffic through search engines with SEO), invest some time, and get going!
- YouTuber
Being a YouTuber – or vlogger – is quite similar to blogging, in that it can be a good way to make an income, but it takes a considerable amount of time. Once you reach 1000 subscribers and 4000 watch hours on YouTube, you can get some money through YouTube ads. Income from this can vary greatly, and it’s not a huge amount until your channel grows substantially, but it could be a nice supplementary income.
YouTubers also make money through affiliate links and specific product advertisements. Again, these are unlikely to make a huge amount of money until you have a lot of subscribers, but if you are passionate about making videos, and think you have something that people would like to see, then why not get started while you’re at home!
- Website Testing
Website testing isn’t really a fruitful career, but it’s a good way to make some extra pocket money. UserTesting offers a range of different tests; they often require specific participants so not every test is applicable to everyone, but it is quite easy to get about one or two tests each day on here. Each test takes about 15 minutes and pays $10.
Usability Hub offers short tests, which take less than a minute to complete, and pay $0.10-$0.20 per test. Not a get rich quick scheme, but if you are strategic about when you test, definitely a way to make some cash on the side.
- Content Writing
If you are a good writer, you could make some money by content writing for different websites. Websites like Upwork and Fiverr are great for finding freelance clients. Upwork lets you applies for posted jobs and Fiverr allows you to advertise your skills for clients to pitch to you.
There are content writing jobs available in almost any field; using these websites is a great ‘middle man’ way to find them. If you want to forge a career as a freelance writer while at home, it’s best if you have some previous writing experience – even if this is a personal blog.
- Selling Photography
Do you have loads of cool photos that you’ve taken over the years, that are just sitting there gathering virtual dust? Why not take them off your hard drive and edit them to a sellable quality? There are many websites where you can sell your photos. Shutterstock is the most famous one; you can upload your photos and just receive an income every time they are sold. You could also try Udemy and Adobe Stock.
- Sell Crafts on Etsy
If you are an artistic person, you could think about creating some products to sell on Etsy. This could be anything – from clothes to wall hangings! It is easy to set up an Etsy store and then you could advertise your products on social media for a boost in sales. Make sure that you ask your buyers to write you a review to help your store grow!
- Advertise Belongings on Ebay
Similarly, if you have a lot of stuff laying around your house, you could set up an Ebay store – one man’s trash is another man’s treasure, after all! This is a win win situation – you get a good clear out of your house and someone else gets some new possessions. It’s also great for the environment as selling on any products is recycling!
- Surveys
Taking surveys online is another easy way to make some money while at home. There are many websites where you can register to take surveys: these include Swagbucks, Toluna and OnePoll.
Some of these websites only offer vouchers in return for your time, however, if you are the kind of person who is constantly making Amazon purchases this might still be useful! Furthermore, some survey websites offer cash payment into your PayPal account.
Conclusion
In 2020, there are plenty of ways that you can work online. Whether these be by using your skills to find an appropriate job, or making some casual money by selling items or taking surveys, you shouldn’t be at a loss of ways to make cash today from the comfort of your own home!
