Flexible, remote jobs well suited for frequently relocating military spouses
Married to someone in the military? You already know to never throw away your moving boxes. You’re going to need them. The typical military family moves every two or three years. And with all that moving around, it’s helpful if your job can pick up and go whenever and wherever you do.
Today’s increasingly digital world offers plenty of opportunity. Flexible, remote jobs are burgeoning. If you have the right skills, you can make a great living too. Here are six jobs, which generally pay well above minimum wage, and the online platforms where you can find them.
Write
Freelance writing is among the best jobs for military spouses because it can be done from anywhere and is time-flexible. In other words, you may have a deadline, but it doesn’t matter whether you write at 2 a.m. or during more traditional work hours. You do not need a degree in journalism — or even writing experience. All this job requires is talent with words and passion about a topic of interest, which can be anything, maybe parenting or finance.
There are lots of different ways to find and land writing jobs online. If you have favorite publications that you read regularly, seek out the publication’s editor and ask whether they take freelance contributions and what they pay. There are also dozens of online platforms that connect writers with work. And, if you have experience, you can sign up for even more lucrative editing jobs.
Some sites where you can find work: Contently and Skyword enlist freelance writers to provide articles and blogs for corporate websites that focus on a variety of topics such as finance or medicine.
Cracked is a comedy site that pays freelancers to write funny-but-true pieces. Sometimes they’re about history, science, little known facts, movies or everyday ironies. If you’re funny and possess some arcane knowledge, it may be worth hitting up Cracked’s editors, who pay between $150 and $250 per article. ProBlogger offers a job board with hundreds of opportunities. Freelancers must register to apply for jobs listed on the site, but registration is free.
Edit
If you’ve got editing chops, there are two sites that can provide well-paid opportunities.
Reedsy is a site for self-published authors to find editors, graphic designers and book marketers. Freelancers must have significant experience to sign up. However, once accepted, they set their own rates and terms and pay just 10% of their fees for Reedsy’s help with marketing and collection.
ServiceScape enlists freelancers to edit everything from academic papers to resumes. Freelancers set their own rates, but pay 50% to the platform. Although those fees are high, so are freelance rates. And high rates don’t seem to discourage potential clients.
Virtually assist
Articulate and organized? You may be able to earn a nice living as a virtual assistant. Virtual assistants manage client schedules and email, update websites and social media accounts and more.
They typically earn between $15 and $25 an hour. But those who handle more skilled services — such as website and social media updates — can earn considerably more.
Sites that can help you find work as a virtual assistant include Robert Half, Boldly, Belay and Fiverr.
Translate
Online translators are in demand more than ever before because of globalization. There are no specific credentials required other than speaking another in-demand language fluently.
Depending on your skills, you can translate books, lectures, legal documents, brochures, videos, conversations, websites, blog posts or other written material. Two good sites to find this work are SmartCat and ProZ.
Transcribe
Transcription is a good job for military spouses who have a good ear, fast and accurate typing skills and good command of the English language. Generally speaking, you can work on your own schedule and from your own home. And few companies require prior experience to get started.
That said, most transcription jobs pay by the audio minute. And each audio minute could take up to 10 minutes to transcribe, depending on the clarity of the tape and the number of people speaking. Good sites to find transcription work are Rev, GMR Transcription and Transcription Outsourcing.
Provide tech help
Whether designing or updating websites or helping with user experience and coding, people with tech skills have a nearly limitless number of job options. Few of these jobs require college degrees or in-person attendance. And most of them pay generously.
If you want to build simple websites, Fiverr is a good choice to find clients. It draws millions of customers and you design and price your own service packages.
However, if you want to offer more sophisticated services, you may want to sign up with FreeUp, TopTal or Braintrust. All three sites connect tech experts with highly paid opportunities.
Kathy Kristof is the editor of SideHusl.com, an independent website that reviews moneymaking opportunities in the gig economy.
