Tiffany Raiford
What kind of future do you have without a 401k, benefits and traditional hours? If you take into account what Slate’s research, the answer is a pretty successful one. Turns out that 20-somethings looking for work tend to do better in the world of freelancing than they do in a traditional office working 9-5 for someone else. At the moment, approximately 34% of Americans are working in the freelance industry. What’s that saying? If you don’t follow your dreams, someone else is going to hire you to help make their own dreams come true? It seems that this could not be closer to the truth, with more and more young people breaking into the world of the 1099 instead of the W-2, and it’s a profitable business. Right now, freelancing is trendy. It’s hot. It means making your own hours, being your own boss and fitting your job into your lifestyle. It allows you more time to do what needs to be done (parenting? School?) while also earning a decent income. We’ve rounded up some of the trendiest and most financially promising freelance jobs available right now for those interested in losing the 9 to 5 for something a bit more flexible.
Uber Driver – $$
You can make as little or as much as you want driving for Uber. You have no boss, no set hours, and you get to choose when and where you work. You must have a four-door car that’s a year 2000 or newer (some cities require you have a car that’s a 2006 or newer), a driver license, insurance and you must pass a background check. Once you do this you will be hired as a drive and able to make as much or as little as you want working when you want. You can accept calls, or move on when you’re unable or unwilling to drive. You’re a glorified cab driver that gets calls from home or wherever you are. The application process is a bit simple, but the job allows for unlimited income.
Task Rabbit – $$
There is unlimited income potential here, but it’s not always easy to find the work that you want. You have to have some serious skills and a great concept of marketing yourself. This site is great because you can choose your pay, what you do and when you work and the tasks can range from anything from delivering goods to mowing lawns to fixing leaky faucets. You set your hours. You set your income and you accept or deny as many job offers as you can. The application process is simple once you understand how the company works. You need only to have some skills and the desire to use them to make money.
Travel Photographer – $
There is no limit to how much you can earn as a travel photographer, but the process could take some time. Brendan van Son, a travel photographer, recently published a piece with PetaPixel detailing how he got into the business of travel photography and how he makes $2000 per month in the business. He provides advice on where to look for clients, how to keep a clientele that pays well and how to live your life making money taking photos while traveling. With a great camera, some marketing skills and a little bit of photography knowledge, you can do the same.
Virtual Assistant – $15+ per hour
It’s a job that allows you to work when you want and from where you want doing typical office-like jobs. You might book travel for corporate types, input data, send invoices, type reports, etc. A designated office space is going to make this job a lot simpler, but it’s something that you can do from home so long as the work is done. The premise is that many companies cannot afford to hire a full time assistant, so hiring someone to do simple tasks for them at home is a much more financially beneficial option. These jobs are exceptionally easy to find on sites such as Careerbuilder.com and Flexjobs.com. The hours for this job vary widely based on what you want to work, but they’re typically office-hour type jobs.
Medical Transcriptionist – $16+ per hour
This is always a trending job because there are so many needed. Working from home, you’ll receive medical tapes that need to be transcribed. The skills required are a computer and an ability to type very quickly. Some of the companies looking to hire transcriptionists want you to have special education and certain college degrees, but others just want you go through training. The average pay is around $16 per hour, but many people earn far more. This job can be done any time of day or night so long as you meet the deadlines given to you by each client. These jobs are often found on sites such as Indeed.com.
Lawn Service – $$
Yet another job that’s always trending that is based solely on contract work. This is a job that might not work everywhere in the country except in the summer, but it’s worth it if you’re good. By offering a range of services such as lawn mowing, hedging, landscaping and other yard-maintenance, you can make a killing. These people hand out cards, use signs in their yards and make a killing based on word of mouth. You set your hours and your rates, and you work when you can and want. It’s a very simple and very trendy job because it’s creative, it’s good exercise and it gives you the chance to be outside.
Handyman – $$
Do you have some skills that you can use to make the lives of other people easier? If you do, you can become a handyman. There are a few simple ways to do this. Make cards, hand them out. Go door to do, send flyers in the mail, and keep a yard that’s amazing with a business sign in the yard and you’ll actually do really well. It helps to start a website, get customer tutorials and market your business. You can do anything from mow lawns to paint rooms to assemble furniture for that new baby’s nursery and everything in between. It’s a job that might take a little time to build, but it’s one that’s currently trending as so many professionals are looking to outsource their small jobs to save time and money. Those of us who work from home know that time is money, and every time I have to stop working to do something little, like paint a bedroom, I lose money. It’s cheaper for me to hire someone to do it and work through the time they’re painting or landscaping or whatever. This job has unlimited income potential, and it’s actually quite simple.
Blogger – $$
Bloggers can work anywhere, anytime and make as much or as little as they put into the work. There are plenty of ways to become a blogger, and we have some suggestions. First, check with sites such as freelancewritinggigs.com every morning for new blogging jobs. You can start your own blog, taking advice from professionals who make a lot of money in the blogging industry here. You need to have social media accounts everywhere so that you can market your work. You need to share your work, become friendly with other bloggers and network like crazy to make your job easier and more profitable. You’ll be surprised how quickly you can earn money and make a great living with this job.
Online Tutor – $15+ per hour
According to Entrepreneur.com, the online tutoring business is a $115 million industry. Colleges and even elementary schools require that kids know more than ever to pass, and that means that more and more parents are looking for tutors to help their kids learn as much as possible. With this job, you get to choose your market, your specialty. You get to choose your hours, your rates and when you work and with whom you work. It can be quite successful and profitable for those who are good at what they do, and there are many opportunities out there for this kind of contract work when you follow these simple rules.
Technical Support – $12+ per hour
If you are proficient with electronics and have certifications from some of the major companies that work in the IT industry, this is a perfect job for you. You get to choose your working hours, and you get to work from home. Any job site is going to have ample tech support jobs available if you only look for them. Flexjobs.com, indeed.com, careerbuilder.com, jobs.com, monster.com, etc, all have contract tech support jobs. You need only search for topics such as “work from home tech support” “remote IT” “remote tech support” and apply for the thousands of available positions.
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