Overnight remote jobs are great for night owls. They’re also a good option for anyone who needs an alternative schedule. However, third-shift gigs aren’t always easy to come by.
But, there are still plenty of options to choose from. For starters, certain industries have more overnight opportunities than others. Plus, there’s always the option of creating your own flexible remote-friendly job.
Let’s cover the basics of overnight work before we get into the nitty gritty.
What is Considered an Overnight Remote Job?
First, let’s discuss what overnight remote jobs actually are. In the US, work schedules are split into three different shifts:
- First Shift – 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
- Second Shift – 5:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m.
- Third Shift – 12:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m.
So, a business open 24 hours a day has three sets of workers to cover all three shifts. In this case, we’re talking about the third shift which runs from 12:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. As a result, it’s commonly referred to as “overnight” or the “graveyard” shift.
Types of Overnight Remote Jobs
Like all remote jobs, overnight ones are broken down into two main types:
- Employee
- Self-Employment
As a reminder, an employee position is like a traditional job. In other words, you work for a company. As a result, you are given specific rights like:
- Steady pay
- Benefits eligibility
- Taxes withheld from pay
However, you (as the employee) are expected to follow the company’s policies and procedures like working assigned shifts and requesting time off.
On the other hand, self-employment is working for yourself. That is you are your own boss. For example, business owners, freelancers, and independent contractors are all self-employed.
As a self-employed worker you’re responsible for:
- Finding work
- Paying estimated taxes
- Collecting payments
- Health insurance
As a result, you create your schedule and come and go as you please.
Of course, each type have their pros and cons, and you’re likely to come across both while searching for overnight remote work. So, it’s important to know the difference ahead of time. Needless to say, please know your remote work type BEFORE you start your remote job search.
Remember, knowing your “type” (besides tall, dark, and handsome or Henry Cavill) simplifies your job search and makes it easier to find work.
Which Industries Hire Overnight Remote Workers?
Next, let’s consider some remote-friendly overnight positions. But first, it’s helpful to think of industries that would hire overnight workers in the first place.
After all, not all businesses are open 24/7. However, tons of companies with online or virtual footprints are “open” any time, day or night.
Healthcare & Social Work
Medical questions pop up at any time. As a result, many insurance companies and medical centers have 24-hour hotlines patients can call to ask questions. And, thanks to telehealth, more and more users readily turn to phones and computers to solve health concerns without going to the hospital.
Tele-nurse, phone-triage, counselors, therapists, and crisis line operators are all common healthcare overnight remote jobs. Of course, a medical background or social work experience is required!
Tech Support
Many software companies have around the clock support for its users. For example, Apple provides 24/7/365 for its products and iTunes. (Check out Apple work from home jobs to learn more about working remotely for the tech giant!).
Additionally, hosting providers, internet services, online schools, and financial institutions employ overnight tech support professionals to assist website owners, students, and customers.
Help desk, service desk, and tech support representative are readily available remote positions. As a bonus, many are entry-level and provide room for advancement.
Insurance
Is there ever a good time for an accident? Of course not. However, it seems like many accidents happen at the most inopportune times like, say, overnight. As a result, insurance companies have agents available 24/7 to answer calls and help policyholders file claims. There’s also a need for all hours roadside assistance. For example, U-Haul and AAA have remote overnight dispatchers to assist stranded motorists.
Customer Service
As always, there are a lot of remote customer service jobs. And this includes overnight remote jobs too. Banks, like Discover and American Express, offer 24/7 support for card holders. As a matter of fact, there are a number of work from home American Express jobs.
Similarly, online retailers, like Amazon, and shipping companies, like FedEx, employ constant customer support teams. Additionally, work from home staffing agencies contract with corporations to provide day and night support.
When it comes to remote customer service, you never know what you’ll find. For example, there are even third-shift Customer Care Associate positions with dating apps:
Writers
The news never sleeps! In fact, news outlets follow a 24/7 coverage cycle. So, it makes sense that online publications look for writers to post breaking news no matter what time it is.
As a result, there are journalist, blogger, and content writing positions open to night-loving remote workers. Additionally, freelance writing is so flexible that assignments can be completed day or night!
Hospitality
Likewise, the hospitality industry operates nonstop. As such, hotels and airlines use remote agents to answer guest questions and make reservations. Plus, large agencies have travel agents on staff 24/7 to make travel arrangements.
Needless to say, overnight remote jobs in hospitality include Travel Agent, Reservations, Ticketing, and Travel Consultant.
Community Engagement, Social Media, & Moderation
Lastly, there’s the nonstop world of social media to consider. In fact, many companies use social media as a means of support and customer service. A recent survey of US consumers found 80% turned to a brand’s social media for support.
Accordingly, brands rely on community managers and moderators to respond to social mentions at any given time. As a matter of fact, ModSquad is in the business of hiring overnight remote jobs in social media moderation!
Remote Overnight Jobs: Create Your Own
Companies aren’t always hiring remote overnight workers. In that case, create your own. By that I mean freelance.
What is Freelancing?
As I mentioned earlier, there are two types of remote jobs:
- Employee
- Self-Employment
Freelancing falls under the self-employment category. Additionally, freelancers sell services and bill for those services. For example, a client hires a freelance writer to create 500-word blog posts at $50 per post. Now, the beauty of freelancing is the ability to set a schedule that works for you.
In other words, you create your own overnight remote jobs. In fact, freelancing offers enough flexibility that work can be done at 2:00 a.m. or 2:00 p.m. or any time in between.
Benefits of Freelance Overnight Remote Jobs
Additional benefits of freelancing include:
Unlimited earning potential – Pay rates are not set in stone. Therefore, freelancers aren’t stuck making a fixed amount per hour or annual salary. As a result, freelancers earn more per hour than 70% of traditional (employee) workers in the US.
Greater satisfaction – A study by IBM determined freelancers are generally happier and more engaged than employees! And, not to state the obvious, but I’m all about finding work from home happiness around these parts.
Accessibility – Freelancing offers an opportunity for individuals limited by personal circumstances, i.e., health, the ability to work. For example, workers living with chronic illnesses, autoimmune diseases, or disabilities often find it difficult to work outside the home or maintain a traditional schedule. Fortunately, freelance jobs allow work to happen at odd hours or different locations like a hospital or health center.
Freelance Resources for Beginners
I previously mentioned how flexible freelancing. As a result, freelancing lends itself well to working any time and anywhere, including overnight and remotely. However, I always want to be super transparent about the difficulties freelancers face. Although freelancers are higher paid, generally happier, and enjoy flexibility – it takes a lot of work to get there.
Back in the day, I quit my well-paying corporate job to freelance full time. At the time, I had no professional writing experience or any clue how to properly manage myself as a business of one.
Unfortunately, I learned the ins and outs of freelancing the hard way. My first year was rough. At times, I was ready to throw in the towel and crawl back to my cubicle begging for mercy and a paycheck.
But, I kept myself afloat with remote jobs hiring immediately and eventually learned enough about freelancing to make it on my own.
So, please learn from my experience and educate yourself about freelancing before you jump in. Or, better yet, invest in freelance training that teaches you a freelance skill AND how to run a successful freelance business – win, win.
TranscribeAnywhere
TranscribeAnywhere teaches aspiring typists how to start their own freelance transcription biz. First, students pass a series of transcription lessons. Then they’re prepared for the reality of freelancing full time. As a matter of fact, get a glimpse into the world of remote transcribing by signing up for the Free Seven-Lesson Mini Course.
ProofreadAnywhere
Another program built with freelancers in mind is ProofreadAnywhere. To start, students learn the ins and outs of proofreading professionally. From there, lessons teach business building skills like finding clients and tackling finances.
Sit on on a free 76-minute proofreading workshop to discover what makes a good proofreader and how to attract your ideal clients!
Bookkeepers
Admittedly, I’m not the best with numbers and that’s exactly why I’m not a bookkeeper. However, bookkeeping may just be right up your alley. To find out, take a free three-part training series to learn about building a bookkeeping business. Hurry! Seats are limited:
Virtual Assistant
Similarly, tackling to-do lists isn’t my forte. Thankfully, Virtual Assistants (VAs) exist! VAs help professionals manage day-to-day happenings. For example, clearing inboxes, reservations, customer service, social media, and more. Needless to say, it’s a big business in the world of freelancing. And you can get it on it too by learning how to become a VA.
Edit Republic
My friend, Phon, is a self-employed editor (and nice human being). Her career first started as a professional romance novel reader. Then she launched her own freelance proofreading and copyediting business. Now she teaches others how to turn their love of reading into an online editorial business. Sign up for the free masterclass for the 4-step framework needed to start a freelance editorial biz of your own.
SmartBlogger
As I previously mentioned, writing lends itself well to overnight remote jobs. In fact, I’ve written at odd hours for the better part of a decade as a self-employed blogger. However, it wasn’t exactly smooth sailing to get to that point. So, I highly recommend joining the Paid to Write Club. The program provides the support you need (and wish I had at the time!) to get your first paying freelance writing client.
Where Can I Search for Overnight Remote Jobs?
Finally, let’s quickly talk about places to search for overnight remote jobs on your own. But, first, let’s recap what we’ve learned so far…
- Some industries have more overnight remote jobs than others
- Freelancing is flexible enough that you can create your own overnight remote job
- You should always determine your remote work type BEFORE you start a job search
Got it? Good!
Now, here are places you can look for remote overnight jobs on your own.
Remote Job Boards
Previously, I’ve written a lot about remote job boards. Please check out Top 10 Remote Job Boards for Thousands of Real Leads. This list will keep you plenty busy no matter your remote work type.
However, there are two standouts I highly recommend: FlexJobs and SolidGigs. Both sites are paid membership sites. For the most part, these two sites have greater quality leads than others and thus save time for job seekers.
FlexJobs
First is FlexJobs. This is a membership site but it’s well worth the monthly fee. To start, FlexJobs hand screens every single listing (and there are a lot of them). It’s guaranteed that all posted positions are 100% legit. In other words, you don’t have to worry about scams. Plus, there are both employee and self-employment job leads here. So, no matter your remote work type, there are plenty of leads!
SolidGigs
Next up is SolidGigs. This is a job leads website specifically built for freelancers. As I said before, it takes a lot of work to get started and stay afloat as a freelancer. After all, you have to find clients and spend countless hours looking for leads. That’s where SolidGigs comes in. They take care of lead generation by providing a roundup of high-quality freelance gigs in your inbox every single day. Now you can focus on producing great work and less time scouring job boards.
How Can I Help You Find Remote Overnight Jobs?
Lastly, how can I help? It’s never easy to look for a new job. Please feel free to reach out to me and introduce yourself. I’m always happy to help point you in the right direction.
You’ve got this!
Happily,
Ashlee
PS This post contains affiliate links. Please read my disclosure statement to learn more.
