Working from home has been great for me. I never liked commuting to work or not being able to drop my son off at school or be there to pick him up. But I remember when I was wondering are work from home jobs legit and if so, how I can really make this work? While there are some scams out there, I’m happy to report that there are indeed many legit work from home opportunities.
Starting my blog and launching my freelance writing career was one of the best things I could have done because it allowed me to legitimately start working from home.
Even if you’re not exactly sure what type of work you’re interested in yet, I know it can be challenging to know where to start. I wanted to share the top 10 high-paying part-time work-from-home opportunities I’d recommend you start with.
1. Virtual Customer Service Representative
Many companies in the U.S. hire home-based workers to work as virtual customer service representatives. It is a huge and growing industry. If you are a great communicator and have excellent telephone skills, a part-time work-from-home job as a customer service representative is a great way to earn extra money.
This job essentially involves you providing customer service from your home on behalf of your company or employer to its clients via inbound calls and emails. You may also be responsible for researching and responding to inquiries.
This is an ideal part-time job for stay-at-home moms and dads or even students because sometimes the schedule requirements can fluctuate, and you may be asked to work mornings, evenings, and weekends. Some of the best companies hiring for customer service representative jobs are:
Related: The Best Work From Home Customer Service Jobs
2. Freelance Writing
If you have a knack for writing and good research skills, you can make good money writing for websites and blogs. Many e-commerce websites need product descriptions and reviews on the products they sell as well. You can also write guides, digital course content, and technical copy as well.
However, the most common types of writing jobs include writing web copy, articles, and blog posts for company sites and blogs.
Products and services-based websites look for SEO-optimized content, so if you know your way around SEO, this could be a great opportunity for you to land many writing jobs. You can find writing jobs via freelance bidding sites, article or content writing jobs sites, online job boards, content marketplaces, and websites and blogs that accept submissions from writers.
However, I prefer sending warm and cold pitches to potential clients for writing jobs. You can connect with prospects on social media, interact with their blog first, or even ask for referrals. In the beginning stages, you should charge at least $50 – $100 per article, but there is the potential to earn much more.
Related: 22+ Websites That Will Pay For Guest Posts
Is Freelancing Sustainable? Interview with a Freelance Writer for 15 Years
4 Common Misconceptions About Freelance Writers
3. Freelance Graphic Designer
Graphic designers develop educational, marketing, and fundraising website graphics and materials for their clients. If you have graphic design skills, you can work part-time from home as a graphic designer to earn good money.
You may be able to design websites or create logos on the side. You can find freelance graphic design jobs on sites like Upwork, PeoplePerHour, Freelancer, Guru, FlexJobs, Fiverr, Indeed, DesignCrowd, etc.
Another option is to pitch to clients to find out if they will be interested in your graphic design services. According to PayScale, freelance graphic designers can make around $30 per hour on average, or they can charge per project as well.
4. Tutoring Online
High school and college students who need help preparing for term, final exams, or standardized tests often turn to online tutors. If you have teaching experience or/and certifications, you will find more success with online tutoring jobs because you can charge more per hour or session.
If you join an online tutoring agency or site, you will be able to find clients or the site can assign clients to you. Another place to find tutoring jobs is Fiverr, where you can advertise your skills or services so potential clients can hire you for your services. Many tutoring jobs can also be found on Craigslist.
Your specialty doesn’t have to be high school and college exams either. If you are bilingual, you can teach English to non-native speakers of the language, or you can even help elementary and middle school subjects. According to PayScale, online tutors can expect to earn around $11 to $40 per hour. Skooli will pay online tutors a starting rate of $20/hr.
Other legitimate sites you can use to find online tutoring jobs include:
I also highly recommend checking out Varsity Tutors. They offer over 2,500 subjects to teach and three ways for you to tutor, meaning you have more money-making opportunities.
5. Social Media Assistant
Social media marketing assistants typically work from home online managing social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and others for companies or businesses and people online. You may be responsible for content marketing, moderating comments on social media sites, engaging the users, increasing email subscriptions, and performing more tasks for their clients.
If you have a strong understanding of how social media sites work, excellent communication skills, and are able to promote the services or products your client sells or encourage customers to purchase the services or products, then you could make good money working as a social media assistant.
My friend Sarah actually used her social media skills to launch her own social media marketing business that provides her with a full-time income. I was grateful to have the chance to interview her about it. The average salary for this role ranges between $20,000 to $60,000.
Here are some sites that particularly hire for social media assistant jobs:
You can also find social media assistant jobs on Fiverr, Upwork, Indeed, Freelancer, and FlexJobs. As a freelancer, you can earn up to $25 per hour as a social media assistant.
6. Translation Jobs
Are you fluent in a second language? Whether it’s Spanish, French, or Japanese, you could consider becoming a work from home translator. There is a huge demand for people who can speak another language because many translation websites or companies online are looking for bilingual people to work as translators for their clients.
You will be responsible for translating documents and speeches for various types of clients. Good translators are in high demand so if you think you know a second language well, you can make up to $50 or more per hour depending on your experience and the client or company you will work for.
If you are an average translator and work directly for clients or via a translation site or company translating a common language, you can still expect to make $20 per hour. You can join a translation company or more to land jobs or find and work on jobs yourself through freelance bidding sites and other places online.
Some sites or translation companies online listing or seeking out people for translation jobs include:
7. Medical Transcription
In essence, a medical transcription job involves you listening to audio files of medical practitioners or physicians and typing out what you hear. Companies normally hire medical transcriptionists with some experience.
So all you need is a good working computer with access to the Internet and relevant training to get started. If you are familiar with medical terminology, you can find work as a freelance medical transcriptionist even if you have not received any training.
Many companies hire for home transcription jobs, and you can work with one of these companies. They can also hire medical transcriptionists directly via freelance sites, career sites, etc. sites to get the files transcribed.
If you have very accurate and fast typing, excellent editing and good hearing skills, relevant training or certification, and good command of English with excellent grammar and punctuation skills, this is one of the best part-time jobs to do from home.
Here is a list of some companies/websites that offer legitimate transcription jobs you can work at home:
Pro Tip: If you’re serious about working as a transcriptionist and want to get formal training to increase your earnings and job prospects, I’d recommend the Transcribe Anywhere digital course which will teach you about general and legal transcription. It was created by a professional working transcriptionist who knows that you need to become successful and it’s an online course approved by the American Association of Electronic Reporters and Transcribers.
8. Virtual Assistant
More and more individuals and businesses (especially small business owners) are outsourcing a wide variety of admin, creative and technical tasks to online freelancers, i.e. virtual assistants. Oftentimes, they cannot either afford a full-time in-house employee to do these tasks or they simply do not find it logical to employ a full-time employee to do these tasks.
Typical duties include performing tasks like replying to emails, entering data, web research, scheduling appointments or meetings, managing social media accounts and profiles, writing content (e.g. blog posts, articles, etc.), designing blogs and websites, and more tasks depending on the client’s requirement and the virtual assistant’s skills.
A few sites offering virtual assistant jobs include:
Don’t have these skills? Don’t worry. It’s very easy to adapt and learn how to master some of these marketable skills.
Related: How to Get Started as a Virtual Assistant
9. Proofreader
Have an eye for catching typos and grammar errors? You may enjoy working from home as a proofreader. Proofreaders look over content for blogs, publications, books, and even large projects.
As a writer myself, I know it’s hard to avoid errors in my work and sometimes it’s even harder to spot the errors. This is why a proofreader’s job is so important. The best part is that you can edit all the content online and work from home.
According to Payscale, proofreaders can earn an average of $20 per hour. As with many of these other opportunities, you can go out and pitch to find flexible work, or you can apply to work for a company. This post lists 25 companies that hire work at home proofreaders and editors.
10. Graphic Design
Everyone is longing for a website these days or looking to update their current site. So if you are skilled with Photoshop and creating graphics, this can be a great way to earn money. Before I quit my job to become self-employed, I worked at a small web design company and we were often overloaded with work. Our custom websites were ‘affordable’ and around $800. That’s good money for someone who’s working solo or even part-time.
There are free graphic design classes available online or you can invest in one at your local community college if you need to develop your skills. You can start by creating logos for others on sites like and marketing your services on social media or even taking on a few pro-bono clients to beef up your portfolio.
11. Bookkeeper
Have you always had a knack for math? Can you multitask and are you organized? If so, you can provide small business owners with record-keeping solutions as a bookkeeper.
As a virtual bookkeeper, you may work from home while offering these services to as many clients as you need or want.
Basic bookkeeping skills include creating invoices, paying bills, creating monthly financial statements, adding transaction information to a debit and credit sheet, and creating a summary of transactions. These bookkeeping abilities can be learned through many different online courses.
Payscale notes that the average pay for bookkeepers is around $20 an hour, but you can earn more if you’re in business for yourself.
12. Search Engine Evaluator
Search engine evaluators analyze and score the results that appear after typing in a certain question or term. You might score the accuracy of the map, the usefulness of the top search results, or whether you found what you were looking for, depending on the assignment.
High-speed internet access, a laptop or desktop computer, the ability to follow instructions, and outstanding research abilities are the primary prerequisites to work as a search engine evaluator. Still, luckily, you don’t need a degree.
You should also be tech-savvy, which includes being able to share papers and have strong email abilities. But you also need to be an expert with search engines! There won’t be just one type of search engine you utilize. Therefore, you must be aware of how to carry out advanced searches for particular projects.
Two of the most popular sites for search engine evaluators include:
Final Word
So, are work-from-home jobs legit? I’d say yes.
Whether you’re a stay-at-home parent, retiree, student, or just looking to earn some extra income flexibly, these 12 high-paying part-time jobs listed above are a great way to make decent money working from home. Keep in mind that your skill level is an important factor that helps determine how much you can earn.
Work-from-home opportunities that promise you’ll make a ton of money with little to no experience or effort are often scams. Location-independent jobs still require actual work and you must have the skill set necessary to succeed.
Don’t be afraid to invest in yourself and your knowledge if you want to make more money and enjoy a flexible schedule.
Have you ever tried any of these part-time work-from-home jobs? Which one is your favorite from this list and why?
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