Here are remote jobs that could keep you working through the coronavirus era
As the coronavirus continues to spread, you may be reluctant to take a people-centric job for fear of getting sick. But if you don’t want your finances to expire while you sit out the pandemic, you’ll need an alternative. Consider remote jobs for the coronavirus era.
What kind of jobs are these? They vary widely, from professional to trade positions. What they have in common is that they can be done from home — anywhere, really. And you can generally signal your availability to do them online, without ever having to meet in person. Perfect for a time when “social distancing” is trending.
What can you do from the relative safety of your own home? Naturally, the answer depends on your skills. The opportunities are decidedly better in fields that require intellect and creativity, rather than physical strength. Still, there are options for nearly everyone.
Here are 20 online platforms that offer remote jobs for the coronavirus era.
Teach English
If you are a native English speaker without a discernable accent, you can teach English to Chinese kids through one of several online platforms. VIPKid, Qkids, and Magic Ears all hire native English speakers to teach after dinner and on weekends — Beijing time.
These jobs work particularly well for people who don’t mind working at odd hours. That’s because Beijing time is 15 hours ahead of Pacific time right now. In other words, to teach a Chinese child 6 p.m. Monday Beijing time, a California-based tutor would need to embrace their insomnia to make it work, given that they’d need to be awake and perky at 3 a.m.
Pay and requirements for teaching vary by platform. VIPKid, which requires a bachelor’s degree but no teaching experience, pays between $14 and $22 an hour. Magic Ears requires some teaching experience, though it can be informal, and a certificate in teaching English as a second language. (These generally can be earned online.) Magic Ears pays $18 to $26 an hour. Qkids, which requires an audition but has few education requirements, pays between $16 and $20 an hour.
Tutor
If you have mad skills in almost anything — English, science, math, music — you can make good money tutoring online. Wyzant, Varsity Tutors and Chelsea International Education all offer to connect tutors with students needing academic help. If you teach art, dance, drama or music, you can tutor online through LessonFace and TakeLessons.
Write
No job is quite as amenable to working remotely as writing. And dozens of online platforms will pay you to do it. The one caveat: A number of these companies are content mills that will try to convince you to write for pennies a word. Even if you’re prolific, that’s no way to make a living.
Platforms where you can find better-paid writing jobs include Contently, Skyword and Cracked. You can find information about each platform’s specialty and rates in their reviews on SideHusl.com.
Edit
If you have experience editing books or manuscripts for content or errors, you may be able to make decent money editing for Reedsy. This platform primarily works with self-published authors who need advice and copy editing.
Work as a virtual assistant
If you’ve got a penchant for organization, look into becoming a virtual assistant. Virtual assistants can do everything remotely that executive assistants do in an office, short of fetching coffee. Some schedule meetings, travel and conferences. Others handle social media or update company websites.
Because duties and experience vary widely, so does the pay. Virtual assistants can earn anywhere from $15 to $75 an hour. However, the higher pay tends to go to assistants with exceptional social media or technical skills. You can find virtual assistant work through Boldly or Belay.
WAHVE users like the flexibility, but the pay is less than you may be used to. And while some jobs are full-time, they do not come with benefits.
Professional services
If your skills fall on the professional side — business development, marketing, web development, design, etc. — there are a variety of platforms that can connect you with well-paid work.
FreeUp is a marketplace where all sorts of professionals — content creators, accountants, marketing experts, web developers and administrators — can find work that pays $10 to $75 an hour.
SkipTheDrive is a free curated job board for telecommuters. FlexJobs charges for access to its curated telecommuting jobs. But some users say the fees are well worth the price because the site does an exceptional job of making sure the job listings are current and legitimate.
Meanwhile, Remote is a bit of a hybrid. Like the other two, it finds work-at-home positions for people in a variety of professional fields. Freelancers can list their services for free, but if they want to apply for a job that hasn’t specifically “invited” them to apply, they’ll need to upgrade to a paid membership.
Working Not Working finds positions for digital creatives in advertising, film, and web and game design.
Work at Home Vintage Experts, or Wahve, connects seasoned executives in insurance, human resources and accounting with small businesses that need regular help.
Kathy Kristof is the editor of SideHusl.com, an independent website that reviews money-making opportunities in the gig economy.
