The days when we only used the internet to browse Yahoo pages for news and entertain are dead and long gone. The web is vast today, with new technologies arising and online job opportunities increasing by leaps and bounds.
Every day, ordinary people like you and myself are killing it with different types of online jobs that pay real money. So why not be a part of the bandwagon that puts you right in the spot of living the American dream?
To be clear:
I’m not against a nine to five office job. I’ve been there and done that, and a paycheck month after month wasn’t bad at all.
But if you need more flexibility, be away from the dull office sceneries, and make money from the comfort of your home or rented workspace, consider freelance and online work.
Take it from me when I say that the different types of online jobs listed in this post can make you a ton of money every month. And as long as you put in the hard work, I’m confident that you can make more than you currently earn in your fixed hours office job.
1. Proofreading
There’s a notion that only professional English teachers can do proofreading jobs. But that’s far from the truth in my opinion.
As long as you have what it takes to become a proofreader, you’re good to go. In terms of educational requirements, companies may need you to have a degree in English and Communications, certifications in editing, or a degree in journalism.
In terms of experience, companies and individual client won’t mind hiring you if you have excellent writing skills, eyes that easily spot grammatical mistakes, and the ability to common writing errors that many writers make.
The proofreading anywhere training can even help to you to become a better proofreader if you feel like you need to sharpen your proofing skills. And that’s so even if you’re a novice starting from complete scratch.
2. Surveys
My take on surveys is this:
It is the simplest type of online job that you can do right now to earn some money on the side. And it can be quite rewarding if you dedicate your time to it.
You can find survey jobs on platforms such as Harris Poll Online, Swagbucks, Survey Junkie, and Inbox Dollars.
Having completed a ton of survey jobs on different platforms myself, I realized that the average cost per questionnaire falls between $1 and $5, with many of these questions taking roughly 3 to 5 minutes to complete.
To be clear, survey websites won’t earn you a lot of money per se. But the amount you get is still going to be better than no cents at all.
3. Transcription
Converting speech to text is something I haven’t tried myself, but I do have a few friends who’re seriously killing it with this. So if you’re someone who has ears that can’t miss a word, you should consider transcribing for money.
There’s no cap on how much money you can make as a transcriber. Often, the amount of money you can make depends on the transcription site you use, the quote from a direct client, and the length of an audio file.
4. Translation
While algorithmic translators are good at what they do, they’re far off from being perfect for the job. In my opinion, there would be no demand for translators if software tools like Google Translator were robust.
In other words, the demand for online translator has been there ever since working online became possible. So if you’re someone who’s passionate about translating content from one language to another, you can work online as a translator.
Many companies look for translators for different languages, and this means you can easily get a job to translate several language.
While a multi linguist can benefit the most from this kind of work, you can still make some decent cash if you can find translation jobs that match your description.
5. Web Developer
The web needs more web developers than it already have and you could be part of the architect that makes the difference.
And get this clearly:
You need to be really good in different web development languages to get this right. So this type of online job is for the professionals that can write, debug, and fix codes.
How much you can make as a web developer depends on the complexity of the project, the budget of the hiring client or company, your experience, personal portfolio, and sometimes your charges.
6. Freelance Writer
Freelance writers are all over the place, but the web never gets enough of us to say the least.
If you’re someone who’s good with wants and want to sell words for cash, becoming a freelance writer should be your next big thing.
7. Social Media Manager
Thousands of businesses across the world leverage social media to reach their target audience. However, not all these businesses are able to engage their audience because they don’t have professionals to manage their social media accounts.
From what I’ve learned across the board, such enterprises look for professional and dedicated social media manager online, and they’re willing to pay well for the best skills. And they’re willing to pay well for professional social media management skills.
So if you have what it takes to manage the social media accounts of established, growing, and upcoming brands, you should jump into this opportunity and start making money right away.
8. Data Entry
Data entry is the easiest type of online and you can make some decent income from it if you put in the hard work.
This kind of job requires that you have a good common in English, excellent typing skill and attention to details. Moreover, you’ll need to pay close attention to deadlines because many data entry jobs tend to have strict deadlines.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, data entry jobs can earn you a median annual wage of $33,490, which isn’t a bad figure for someone working online.
9. Blogger
Do you find yourself writing a lot about different things on a daily basis? Or maybe you’re passionate about a particular subject and you can share expert knowledge on the same?
Blogging maniacs like Gael Breton and Mark Webster blog about SEO and Affiliate Marketing at Authority Hacker and they’re killing it. Jeff Campbell from the Middle Class Dad blogs about family and he makes decent money from it.
And you can, too.
So what’s stopping you from becoming a blogger?
Your blog won’t become a hit in the first month of launching, but if you create high quality content that people actually want to read, you can become a valuable source of information and make decent money.
10. Virtual Assistant
I’ve made thousands of dollars as a virtual assistant in the last 3 years. And I can say with utmost confidence that it’s one of the most lucrative online jobs that you can do from home.
It doesn’t matter what skills you have. Whether you’re an accountant, a research analyst, a Photoshop pro, a travel planner, a copywriter, or a multitalented individual, companies out there are looking for someone like you to help them with tasks.
The secret to creating an inviting and job winning profile is to focus on what you can do best. If you have a wider skillset the better, because you can build a vast profile and earn as much money as possible.
11. Become an Online Tutor
Online education started small, and none of us even knew it would become a big thing. Fast forward since Udemy and Coursea appeared, people can learn different skills from the comfort of their homes.
Platforms like this run successfully because of professional and passionate individuals who have skills to teach others. And there’s money to make while at it.
So if you can teach people just about anything, from languages and life skills to business and economics, you can make money as an online tutor. All you have to do is to determine what you are good in, create a course, and upload it to education websites such as Coursea and Udemy.
12. YouTuber
Vlogging can be a great way to make money if done right. And no, you don’t have to be the best person on camera; you just need to have create content to share with people.
You can read this post to learn to start a successful video blog and start growing your YouTube channel.
13. Search Engine Optimization
Can you rank pages on search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo? Search Engine Optimization can be a good online job to consider.
Companies and individuals will hire you to help them with on-site and off-site SEO. And as long as you can give them the results they need, they’ll be more than willing to make a deal with you.
SEO is a tricky kind of online job, though.
You don’t want to get into this with the promises that you’ll give your clients results within a given period. Rather, you should make it clear that while your SEO skills can yield results, ranking on Google may not be a guarantee.
It sounds scary and maybe even rude for me to give this kind of an advice. But if you meet an SEO client who expects superb results in a week, drop their offer fast.
14. Product Testing
Perhaps the quickest way to make money online, this type of job lets you test different products and actually get paid for it. Many product companies use sites such as Survey Junkie to collect feedback from people like you so that they can improve their products.
So if you love testing product and sharing your genuine feedback, you should consider become a product tester.
15. Graphic Designer
As long as the web and mobile app exists, the need for graphic designers will always be on high demand. So if you’re a creative, and you want to make money by designing cool graphics, from brochures and flyers to business cards and logos, you should consider becoming a graphic designer.
16. Theme Developer
Instead of being a stack developer who creates any type of website from the ground up, you can consider becoming a theme developer.
Here’s why:
According to Tech Jury, WordPress powers over 75 million websites on the internet. If anything, it means that premium theme development is something that’s here to stay for as long as the Internet and WordPress exist.
If you can build a fast loading, SEO optimized, and UX friendly theme from scratch, you can sell them for at least $50 per install. However, I do suggest that you study the market to understand your competition before you decide the selling price of the theme.
17. Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is the type of online job where you do a lot of work upfront to get paid later. So if the thought of making money passively has ever crossed your mind before, you should consider creating niche websites.
There are five step to becoming a successful affiliate marketer. You have to choose a niche, do keyword research, create what Google considers to be good content, build high quality links, and track your rankings.
As long as you follow the five steps correctly, it should take you roughly 6 months to start making money with affiliate marketing. And what’s even good about it is that it’s quite easy to scale.
18. Dropshipping
Did you know that it’s possible to sell physical products directly to customers without worrying about inventory or handling products yourself?
Enter Dropshipping.
This type of online business isn’t as technical as many of the wannabe online gurus make it look like.
But there’s a lot of work to do upfront if you want to succeed with it.
More often than not, starting your drop shipping business you can start in just five steps.
Find a profitable niche and analyze the competition in that space. Create a niche site and drive traffic to it from search engines and social media.
Next, find reliable dropshipping suppliers to work with. Build an ecommerce store, send traffic to it from your growing niche site and track your business’s progress.
It looks simple on the surface, and it is provided you do everything right.
19. Online Consultant
Can you give individuals and business professional guidance that can help them to become better with time?
Then consider becoming an online consultant.
This a good online business idea because not only can you do it straight from the comfort of your home, it also gives you the opportunity to share your knowledge and skills with the people and businesses that need them the most.
Examples of consulting jobs include marketing, SEO, health and fitness, and accounting consultant.
20. Video, Photo, and Audio Editing
Can you edit media, such as videos and photos, and make them better than they are? Are you skilled in Photoshop, online media editors, and Adobe Premier Pro?
Then you should consider being a video, photo, and audio editor. This type of online job requires creative thinking, attention to details, and good listening ears in addition to
21. Mobile App Developer
You’ve probably read or heard someone say that code is poetry. What they mean, in my opinion, is that code is a language that makes things happen in the technology sphere.
And if you think about it, there are so many app developer jobs online than there are professional coders. So if you can write clean mobile app codes that make things happen, you should consider becoming an Android or iOS developer.
This type of online job involves creating different categories of apps from scratch, updating existing applications, and contributing to existing projects to make them better.
22. Cryptocurrency Trader
Have you ever thought of trading currencies and wondering if it’s a profitable business? Or maybe you’ve reached right at the point where you were about to start trading crypto and paused for a moment to give it a second thought?
Here’s what you need to know:
Crypto trading can earn you a huge profit, especially when the value of Bitcoins goes high. But the volatility in the value of Bitcoins and other currencies also means it’s a risky business.
Therefore, it’s as easy to win big as it is to lose a lot of money in the process.
Unfortunately, there’s no foolproof formula for crypto trading. This business is like playing an online casino where you’re putting money on the table but you hardly know the outcome.
So my advice is only try this type of online business if you understand the risks.
23. Online Personal Trainer
With fitness wannabes looking for help right left and center, becoming an online personal trainer and making more money from it is something possible.
This type of online job is perfect for you if you can push people beyond their limits by pushing them to make achievable fitness goals and work towards achieving them.
And there’s no cap on how much money you can earn as a virtual fitness trainer. That’s because you can reach out to dozens of prospects, work with as many clients as you like, and at your own time.
Here’s the best part:
There are many ways to sell your service and talent as a fitness instructor. You can:
- Create and sell a course online
- Host paid webinars and run paid seminars
- Create eBook and sell on your site, on Goodreads, or on Amazon
You can even become an Instagram influencer if you have a large following of fitness maniacs who want to follow your lead and profit from your experience.
24. Email Marketing
Email marketing is an exciting online job to consider if you have way with words. In other words, if you can connect with individuals at a personal level through email communication, there’s no reason not to sink your head deep into this career.
To be clear:
Email marketing isn’t just about designing call-to-action lead magnets and stopping for the day. There’s always going to be a “what next?” question and your job will be to keep in close touch with your contacts.
Before you can subscribe to the idea of becoming an email marketer for startups or already established business, you should be good in:
- Writing subject lines that grabs the attention of an email audience
- Understanding analytics related to email marketing
- Building and growing an email list
- Writing copies that can capture attention and convert
25. Social Media Influencer
Are you popular on social media with a large following? And do you know that you can monetize your following and make money out of it?
Look:
Many big brands are willing to pay people like you if you can help them put information about their products right in the eyes of your followers.
If you’re willing to take up this kind of an offer, consider becoming a social media influencer.
And when I say social media, I don’t mean just Facebook. You can also be an influencer if you have a large following on Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram.
Often, big brands will approach you with a decent offer to promote their product on your social media pages. Even Amazon has an influencer program that lets you make money by recommending products on social.
26. Online Moderator
The comment section of blog, social media, and forums can get heated with all kinds of conversations all the time.
And in the age where user generated content is something we have to put up with all the time, it’s hard to filter out what people write without employing the skills of online moderators.
These days, big companies and growing startups hire moderators to help them keep their platforms clean, and this is an opportunity for you to make money if you can handle the pressure that comes with this type of job.
27. Customer Service Representative
As more and more business go online, the demand for customer support representatives also rise. And this is important because companies don’t just want to acquire new customers; they also want to retain the current ones.
So if you’re good at talking to people and you can help companies answer questions that customers struggle with, you should consider becoming a customer support representative.
The advantage to this kind of online job is that you can set your working hours depending on your time zone. You can also quote your price per hour, and clients who’re interested in working with you definitely get in touch with you.
28. Copywriting
Are you a copywriter who can easily draw the attention of a reader from the title of a copy to the introduction all the way to the conclusion? Can you write sales copies, product descriptions, email opt-ins, and landing pages that can easily convert?
Then you should consider making money online as copy blogger.
Every day, clients post many copywriting jobs online. That means writing is an opportunity that’s not only growing but also one that can be quite rewarding.
29. Internet Security Specialist
The Internet is a network of its kind. As some people work hard to make it as safe place for this and the future generation, others are busy working hard to hack into private information for their own monetary gain.
And when personal information gets in the wrong hand, and it has so many times, things can get ugly really quickly.
That’s why there’s a growing demand for internet security specialists. So if you’re skilled in ethical hacking, you can do penetration testing, and ensure the safety of private information, this is undoubtedly the job for you.
30. Virtual Recruiter
If you’ve worked in the Human Resource department before and you have an experience in recruiting people, you should consider becoming an online recruiter. This is a great way to make some extra income from the web while still keeping your day job.
The Indeed Crowd was one of the growing recruiting program where you could work for Indeed to find the right candidate for clients who posted jobs on the platform. However, the program shut down in 2018, so the platform currently doesn’t have an active recruiting program.
Still, there are many listings online that seek to hire the skills of professional recruiters. So if you’re passionate about helping companies find the right candidates for open positions, there’s still an opportunity for you to make money online.
Being an online recruiter isn’t different from what you’d do in a day job, as the recruitment process is more or less the same. In other words, you have to browse the job listing, search for the right candidates, and then recommend them to the relevant department.
The only difference is the work setup. You’ll be working online full time, which means you can sign up to as many recruiting jobs on the internet as you can handle.
31. Sell Your Designs on Online
Are you a graphic designer who can create professional brochures and flyers? Can you build SEO friendly WordPress and HTML themes? Or maybe you are good in making a bundle of editable fonts that you’d like the world to see?
Whatever your design skills are, you can sell your designs online and make a lot of money from your creation.
Popular online platforms such as Creative Market allow you to sell just about anything you like, provided it falls into the design category.
32. Build an E-Commerce Site
If you want to reach more than just your local market, consider starting an ecommerce website. This type of online job lets you set up a business with the lowest capital possible.
Unlike setting up or renting store location, which cost thousands of dollars, your store is mostly online and many, if not all, of your employees can work from home.
The potential income of running an online store isn’t that bad either. How much you make will depend on the amount of time you’ve actually spent marketing your business on the web and the customer base that you’ve built so far.
If you built an e-commerce website, nothing will meet your market reach. Your business is easily accessible from any part of the world, and that means you can sell and ship internationally.
With access to customer data from around the world, you’re even able to know what sells the most and the products that aren’t performing well.
33. Turn ON Ads on Your Blog
You’ve invested sweat, tears, blood, money, and sleepless nights to grow your website into a blog that people want to read. Now it’s constantly getting a good flow of traffic, which means your hard work is paying off.
Except there’s one thing you aren’t seeing yet. Your hard work hasn’t earned you a penny and there’s nothing in your bank account to show for it.
But don’t worry, because you can turn your traffic-generating blog into a moneymaking machine. And the simplest way to do that is to sell advertising space on the platform.
The oldest and the most popular ad monetization model is the Pay Per Click. In simple terms, CPC means that an advertiser will pay you a certain amount of money when visitors to your blog click their advertisement.
Some of the best advertisement networks to use include Info Links, Mediavine, and Media.net.
Another option would be to rent ad space on your blog to companies that want to reach out to a wider audience. Be as relevant as possible when considering this option, only making sure that you sell ad space that are in line with or closely related to your blog’s theme.
34. Create Marketing Video Content
Video marketing is becoming quite popular these days, which is why companies are searching for the best talents to create engaging video content that can easily resonate with their target market. So if you’re confident that you have what it takes to create high quality video content, this is the right type of online job to consider.
But what exactly does it takes to create engaging video content? And what do potential clients expect from a professional video marketing content creator?
First, potential hirers expect you to know video SEO because, in addition to creating marketing videos that can convert, they also want to be sure that you can rank the videos on YouTube.
Second, they want to be sure that you can easily optimize the videos for conversion without sounding as if you’re forcing viewers to take action. So if you can naturally convince readers to take action without forcing a product or service down their throat, you’re the man or woman for this kind of job.
35. Web Hosting Reseller
Web hosting is a multibillion-dollar business on the internet right now. Only that setting up your own company, putting it in front of the audience that matter, and maintaining the system can cost you an arm and a leg, especially at the infant stage.
The good thing is that you don’t need to own a web hosting company to make money. All you have to do is to become a reseller web hosting service and you’re good to get started.
The advantage with being a reseller web hosting service is that you create an opportunity for recurring revenue stream without spending a lot of money in the process. All you need is to complete the initial setup and you’re good to go.
If you don’t know what reseller web hosting service is, it’s simply refers to the process of buying a reseller package from a big company such as Namecheap and then selling that space to your own clients.
You sell the space as your own hosting company. This means you have the opportunity to set your own prices and features so that clients can choose the package they wish to buy.
36. Teach Language Online
Professionals with proficient communication skills are teaching languages right left and center.
Look at this category page on Udemy, for example. Or this language courses on Coursea.
What’s the takeaway?
Simple, you, too, can start teaching people a new language online and make money out of it.
And it doesn’t matter if you’re a fresh graduate from a literature and journalism school or you’ve already taught language in several school in the past.
You can exercise your passion for helping people learn new language and make money on the side while doing so.
You can teach languages such as English and French on Coursea, Udemy, YouTube, and your own website.
37. Online Accountant
Are you tired of searching for accounting jobs locally and you feel like giving up your job hunt?
Maybe you’ve landed an opportunity in an auditing firm but their gross income offer isn’t in line with your expectations?
Look:
I’m not an accountant myself. But I know the feeling of not getting a job locally when you need it the most.
The question is:
Do you know you can actually work online as an accountant from the comfort of your home?
With many skilled professionals adjusting to the new normal after the covid-19 pandemic struck, many businesses that ate going online might just be looking for accounting skills and knowledge of someone like you.
Conclusion
This is by no means an exhaustive list of the types of online jobs that you can do in 2021 and beyond. But they’re the most popular ones that you can do to make money either full time or on the side.
And the best part is this:
You can set your own hourly rates and make more money, especially in the case where you’re using professional job boards like Upwork, Freelancer, and Fiverr.