Remote working or working from home (WFH) is a concept that popped up and became a reality in the early 2000s, thanks to the advancement of technology. Remote jobs became popular in 2020 because of the COVID-19 outbreak and the temporary shutdown of office or on-site locations forced by the pandemic. As a result of the pandemic, millions of employees were restricted and began working remotely for the first time, and the practice has continued to date.
Meaning of remote working
Remote working or work from home (WFH) is the practice of employees doing their jobs from a location other than a central office operated by the employer. The locations utilised by the employees include but are not limited to the following: an employee’s home, a friend’s home, co-working or workplace stations, coffee shops, restaurants, malls, tourist/leisure places, or any other place outside of the traditional corporate office building or setting. The working arrangement can either be temporary or permanent, part-time or full-time.
Remote jobs are conducted via handheld devices such as mobile phones, tablets, laptops, and desktop computers which can be connected to safe and viable Internet networks. Rather than being held at the office, in-office departmental meetings are done through video conferencing call apps or software such as Skype, Zoom, Google Meet, Cisco Webex, Microsoft Teams, and WhatsApp. Documents and other forms of communications are transmitted through email, messaging apps like WhatsApp, Telegram, and iMessage, and online workspace stations such as Trello, Slack, Discord, Google Hangouts, and Spike.
WFH has been hailed because it provides flexibility to employees to define their working hours and, helps create a balance between their personal and professional lives, reduces the cost of transportation (for employees) and resources (for employers), the ability to manage responsibilities and duties, and increases employee satisfaction.
Remote jobs to complement employees’ hustle and for students
With most organisations globally now implementing either a predominantly remote work or hybrid work structure, many employees now work from their homes. Also, students attending tertiary institutions in the western world have to finance or pay back their student loans, while their counterparts in Nigeria are currently at home due to ASUU strike carried out by their lecturers, who are protesting against the government over purported poor welfare.
Opportune by having some spare hours, employees can, therefore, boost their income, and students can earn some money by engaging in the following select jobs while at home or other remote locations:
Freelance writer/journalist/blogger
Working as a freelance writer or journalist is one of the best remote jobs available worldwide. Trained people who are passionate about words and creating content can write, copy edit, fact-check, update, and organise content (news and feature stories, opinion-editorials, columns, and blog posts) in a way that is compelling to their clients (public relations/advertising) and audience (journalism).
A technical writer can also create content remotely, ranging from researching, developing, and writing documents on investment and finance to software technology, crafting a white paper report and documenting technical design specifications and test scripts.
Writers and journalists can even go further by setting up shop, creating their blogs, and becoming their bosses. They can decide which content they want to publish online and make money from it.
Proofreader and editor
People who are very skilled and accomplished as writers and journalists can also work as proofreaders. They must have excellent grammar and spelling skills to check for potential mistakes and ensure that the finished piece looks professional.
Furthermore, every website and publication has an editor or a team of editors. All forms of articles published on a reputable website or blog must pass through an editor. Editors are persons in charge of the editing and often the policy of a newspaper, magazine, or periodical. They read, edit, and restructure articles when necessary to ensure their factual and grammatical accuracy. For public relations, editors produce, edit and customise content for all social media platforms and pitch articles to third-party websites for publication.
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Customer service representative/call service agent
Many companies are now outsourcing their customer service to home-based representatives. Customer service representatives or call service agents are responsible for capturing customer information, documenting their complaints and enquires, and providing first-line responses to customers’ needs.
These representatives handle inquiries from their homes by text messages, email, social media, and instant messaging apps. In some cases, they are given dedicated phones by the companies to respond to phone calls. This is a good way for employees to earn extra money, as many of these jobs can be done remotely, and most have a flexible schedule.
Virtual assistant
This is closely related to the immediate mentioned job. Virtual assistants are deemed personal assistants to political leaders, business executives, and prominent societal figures. They also provide professional technical and administrative support to businesses remotely.
Virtual assistants must be organised and have excellent communication skills because they engage in activities such as answering emails, phone calls booking appointments, filing and monitoring paperwork, and other assigned tasks for their principals or their companies.
Social media manager
Following the advancement of technology, as mentioned in the prologue, communication has been revolutionised with the existence of social media. Businesses and organisations are eager to open social media accounts and publicise their interests on such platforms.
Therefore, most business owners are looking for persons who are proficient in the management of social media platforms to utilise their expertise, particularly in maintaining their presence, building a community for them, and engaging with followers and all users on these platforms. Persons interested in getting such a job need to know how to use all the major social media platforms (including all the “business” or “pro” features).
Online academic and language tutor/teacher
As a result of the pandemic, learning and education largely shifted online, with teachers or tutors providing classes to their students via the Internet. Apart from schools setting up their online learning systems, many e-learning platforms have emerged in various countries, providing education services.
Therefore, if you are an expert in any school subject, have experience with teaching, or are a good student with a high GPA, online tutoring may be the perfect opportunity for you to earn extra income. You can tutor students in elementary/primary schools, secondary/high schools and in college/universities on various subjects or courses. Just ensure that you are in tune with the curriculum or outline of the subjects or courses and the format of the video conferencing app to be used and have a functioning handheld device and a strong internet connection.
In addition, people also seek language teachers or instructors online. Being able to fluently speak and teach people in-demand foreign languages such as English, French, Spanish, Mandarin, or Arabic is a big deal that can translate to big bucks in your pockets.
Web designer/developer and software engineer/app developer
Web design and the development of apps are skills that will serve you well to gain extra income. These people build, develop and maintain websites and apps, and configure their functionality for the various devices.
People who possess such skills are in high demand across the world. The most interesting thing is that those who are specialists in this field can fully work from home with their devices and Internet connection.
Transcriptionist
Transcription involves listening to audio and video files and arraigning what you hear in written or printed form. It requires prior little experience at the start of the job. However, transcriptionists are expected to have typing accuracy and pay attention to detail to hear the faintest of audio sounds. They are mostly utilised in the media and health industries.
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Graphic designer
Freelance graphic designers develop posters, flyers, logos, PDF designers, or online advertisements for companies or clients that cannot do so themselves. As freelancers, they have control over the projects as they work from home or anywhere else to meet the deadline and submit their creative works.
Video editing
Video editing is one of the most important and treasured skills that anyone can have at the moment. Asides from being proficient with video editor software, specialists in this area can also make tons of money if they know how to edit videos with their phones. Many business owners or chief executives need professional and creative video editors to cut and edit their videos to enable them to look professional.
Vlogger
Are you a social media or YouTube sensation, and are people interested in your everyday life or the stories you tell through videos? Then vlogging is your calling to earn you more income. A vlogger must feel comfortable in front of the camera and have a charismatic presence that appeals to the viewers.
Vloggers usually have a YouTube page, which is expected to be followed by tons of subscribers. Payment depends on how many people click on your video and how many subscribers. The higher the number of views and subscribers, the higher payment a vlogger receives. They also get income through sponsorship and advertisement on their vlogs.
Influencer
This is closely related to the last job as mentioned earlier. Influencers make money by posting content that their followers love on social media. This content may, however, be posted by influencers on social media on behalf of a business, brand, product, or organisation. Because of their large following, brands will pay these influencers to promote their products or services, and the money rolls in when their followers clink and view the messages posted by their favourite online persona.
People in this area are corporate officials in the morning and bloggers by night. They fulfil their expected work obligations while pursuing their interest and earning more money as influencers.
Content marketer and SEO specialist
Content marketing is creating and distributing content and acquiring new leads and customers for a business. However, for this content to be deployed successfully and become a useful marketing tool, the content marketer must be conversant with Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) or engage an SEO specialist to work on such content and ensure it is SEO-friendly.
This job entails that content marketers and SEO specialists utilise different analytics tools to evaluate and improve the efficiency and effectiveness of their marketing campaigns and online news publication. Highly qualified SEO specialists work on content to be published online to make sure that such articles are listed on the first five pages of Google or any other search engine. Articles on the first five pages will likely be more visible to the audience.
Translator
Translators convey the full meaning of statements made in a specific language and translate it into the desired language of the targeted listeners or readers. These translations are produced to be grammatically compliant with target language rules. They also consider and produce idiomatic translations of the message’s source, considering the type of material and readers’ and listeners’ viewpoints.
Translators are often required to translate documents or audio recordings from one language into another. Payment depends on what language is being translated and how in-demand it is.
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Airbnb host
For those who have no problem sharing a space with people, converting their homes into an Airbnb facility is a great way to earn more income. Airbnb, as in “Air Bed and Breakfast,” is a service that lets property owners rent out their spaces to travellers or guests looking for a place to stay.
Airbnb hosts usually share spaces on their property with travellers, with some persons partitioning such homes to demarcate where the section where visitors reside. To be an Airbnb host, prospective participants are to list their property on short-rental sites and advertise their places as great places for guests looking for a place to stay in town. Just ensure that your house is well-designed and decorated, always tidy, and your culinary skills are top-notch.
Baby sitter/caregiver (especially for freelancers and students)
Well, paid employees may not certainly have the time for these even while remotely working, but this is an avenue for freelancers who are not committed to any employer and for students who spend a substantial amount of hours at home doing nothing (especially when they are on an official semester break or forced holidays, i.e., strikes) to rake in money.
Such persons, however, should be ready to love the kids and the elderly people they will cater to and exercise great patience when dealing with them.
Realtors
Realtors, also known as real estate agents, help people buy and sell their properties. They bring clients to properties on the market and make offers or negotiate the terms of property purchases on behalf of their clients. Wherever you are, you can have a successful real estate career working from remote locations and connecting with clients, thanks to technology and communication gadgets.
Ride-hailing driver
Employees who have spare time after their jobs and students who have learnt how to drive can generate income by becoming ride-hailing drivers. Ride-hailing drivers do not operate from a centralised office location; rather, they operate in a mobile way courtesy of cars.
There are numerous ride-hailing platforms across the world seeking drivers. These drivers take their passengers to their various locations and majorly communicate with their superiors via telephone and email.
Product designer
A product designer takes an idea or concept through to becoming a real product that is ready to be sold. They work with prototypes and sketches, all the way through to testing and finalising a product before it is launched into the markets for consumers to purchase.
This is another great job that can be done from home and earn money for people.
UX/UI designer
User experience and user interface designers are in demand across the world at the moment. They design the visual template that an online user sees when interacting with a company’s software and website. However, both jobs require specific knowledge and experience.
UX/UI designers can operate independently from employers and can choose to work from other locations other than an office. It is also one of the highest-paying remote jobs available worldwide.
Asides from the jobs mentioned above, there are also other jobs that people can do remotely and earn money. You can check them out and make your own choice.
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