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Online jobs that pay well are available in Marketing, Content, Education, and Web Management (just to name a few) areas. We’ll go over several high paying jobs, which are the best mix of being in-demand and frequently available.
Today we’ll explore several legitimate online jobs that pay well, like around $50,000.00 or more a year well. And you won’t get them everywhere else.
You’ll see what each job pays, what you need to get the job, and who’s hiring.
Specifically, we’ll go into the details of these jobs:
The Top High Paying Online Jobs
These are some of the best online jobs that pay well. They don’t require an advanced degree and not everyone else is talking about them.
And the best part is, you won’t find any survey ‘jobs’, delivery/driving jobs, or micro jobs here.
What you will find ?
Real online jobs that pay well.
Like this one…
#1 Content Creator: $48,000
A Content Creator produces engaging material for a specific audience on a brand’s behalf. In other words, they create information used for online and offline mediums, with the majority of online jobs working on websites and blogs. The content created may include blog posts, images, books, article writing, videos and social media posts.
And this is worth mentioning: Content Creators are often called Content Marketers.
How much do Content Creators make ?
A Content Creator is one of the best online jobs that pay well because you can work from home and get paid just under $23.00 an hour, which comes to around $48,000.00 a year. It’s possible to make even more if you’re able to expand your skills and provide more content creation channels to a customer or employer.
What do you need to be a Content Creator ?
Most Content Creators develop a thorough understanding of a specific industry and immerse themselves in related news and trends. To bring the best information to your target audience, you’ll have to become an pro in your industry…which doesn’t happen overnight. For example, are you passionate about technology ? If so, are you up on the latest gadgets ?
Along with specializing in an industry, Content Creators need to have the ability to pivot between different types of content and thrives in a detail-driven environment.
A great deal of content creation is geared towards blogs and websites therefore you need to have excellent writing, copywriting, and editing skills. And with your writing skills, you should have search engine optimization (SEO) knowledge because…well…SEO is a vital aspect of blog and website exposure.
Where to get a Content Creator job:
There are a couple ways to get work as a Content Creator – as an employee or a freelancer.
First, let’s talk about companies that hire Content Creators:
Companies like Animalz, Aha Media, HotJar, and AuthO frequently hire Content Creators to either add value to their business or work on the behalf of their clients.
Now, let’s talk about being a freelance Content Creator
Freelancing as a Content Creator brings a great deal of opportunities to work with a huge field of industries. Upwork is a popular starting point for getting paying jobs creating content for blogs and developing content strategies for entrepreneurs. Another option is Problogger’s job board; it has a lot of writing / copywriting opportunities worth checking out.
#2 Digital Marketing Specialist: $52,000 – $79,000
A Digital Marketing Specialist has hands-on experience in managing online advertising and social media accounts. Digital Marketing Specialists also identify advertising opportunities, develop and implement campaigns, and optimize paid media campaigns to target conversion, acquisition, and ROI goals.
How much do Digital Marketing Specialists make ?
Zip Recruiter tells us that Digital Marketing Specialists have an average salary of just over $52,000.00 while an experienced Digital Marketer can earn $79,000.00.
A Digital Marketing Specialist is one of the highest paying online jobs that doesn’t require an advanced degree.
What you need to be a Digital Marketing Specialist
In addition to the typical remote job requirements of being e a results-oriented self-starter, a clear and strategic thinker, and have excellent communication an prioritization skills, here are the most common requirements to become a Digital Marketing Specialist:
- At least 2 years of experience working hands-on in paid search (Google Adwords, Bing Ads), paid social, native, display (agency experience a plus).
- Extensive familiarity with direct response campaigns with precise KPIs.
- Aptitude for rigorous quantitative analysis.
- Experience with analytics platforms (Google Analytics, Mixpanel, etc), and ability to report regularly and consistently on campaign metrics.
- Willingness to learn about new marketing channels and strategies.
- Have lead generation experience
- Google AdWords, Google Analytics, or similar certification is desired but not always necessary.
Where to get a job as a Digital Marketing Specialist
If you’re looking for a job in Digital Marketing, AuthO, Articulate, In Vision, Packlane, Zapier are some awesome – benefits included – companies to check out.
And, if you want to have more freedom (as if those companies weren’t flexible enough 🙂 ), you can take a look at Toptal. It’s a trusted network of the top 3% freelance talents so you know you’ll get good paying jobs. Just click the ‘Apply as a Freelancer’ button at the upper right corner to get started.
#3 Online Educator: $41,000
Online Educators use the internet to teach ‘distant learning’ one-on-one or to small groups. The category of Online Educator covers a few areas and is one of the best ways to legitimately make a nice income for anyone with a background in teaching and mentoring.
How much do Online Educators make ?
This is an online job that pays hourly, earning anywhere from $10.00 an hour up to $24.00 an hour…depending on how many hours you work and what you teach.
For example, one-subject online tutors make an average of $10.00 an hour while English-as-a-second-language teachers can earn up to $24.00 an hour.
According to the employment marketplace zipRecruiter, online teachers have the potential to make over $41,000.00 annually with some actually earning over $60,000.00
What do you need to be an Online Educator ?
Besides a new-ish computer (or laptop), the things you need to get started in this high-paying online job are a reliable internet connection, a webcam, a good microphone, and a headset. Additional items and props depend on what, who and how you want to teach.
Let’s break it down by teaching type:
#1 ESL teacher (teach English as a second language to foreigners):
When teaching English as a second language you’re actually teaching to people in one of these scenarios:
1…You’re teaching people from other countries, where English is not their primary language, how to speak conversational English. These students are typically business men/women who need to know enough English well so they can efficiently communicate with other individuals.
and
2…You’re teaching children from other countries how to fluently speak English. Typically, your students are taught in a one-on-one setting and the majority of them are from China.
In addition to the things you need that I mentioned earlier, to teach English as a second language you also need props. Puppets, a white board, letter blocks are a few things other ESL teachers use.
There are some non-tangible things you need too. Like the right personality, the know-how to find inspiration, and the ability to prove to parents that you’re a good fit for their children. In fact, here’s my post on the things you need to be an ESL teacher.
Now let’s go over where you can find work as an ESL teacher:
There are many language platforms out there, like VIPKID, MagicEars, Verbling and iTalki, that are always looking for new teachers to perform one-on-one English speaking sessions – done via Skype or their own educational platform. And the nice thing is, the curriculum is already set up for you.
Some of these platforms require previous teaching experience, some don’t. Additionally, some may require a teaching certificate while some only want mentoring experience.
For example, VIPKID is pretty strict on wanting their applicants to have a Bachelor’s degree and they seem to be one of the highest payers out there at up to $22.00 an hour.
MagicEars, on the other hand, does not require teachers hold a Bachelor’s degree and they claim to pay up to $26.00 an hour, although my research has found the average pay to be around $22.00 an hour. This is a platform that typically teaches English to 5-12 year old children in China.
Verbling wants their teachers to have previous experience but they say a certificate is not required.
iTalki is a bit different: they have two teaching options, 1) Community Tutor, where you don’t need previous experience or certifications, and 2) Professional Teacher, where you do need to prove you have a degree and teaching certification.
#2 Academic Tutor
With companies like Tutor.com, Course Hero, and Brain Fuse, you tutor students from all over the world in a subject you specialize in…as long as you have teaching certification. For instance, if you have a background in Chemistry, you can sign up to be a teacher. If math is your thing, there are plenty of students who need your knowledge.
#3 Online Teacher
As an Online Teacher you participate in distance education via the internet. In other words, you provide instruction, dictate assignments, and communicate with your class through your computer.
Similar to an Academic Tutor, an Online Teacher must have certification. Additionally, you need an advanced degree and your students may be of any grade level.
Where to get an Online Educator job
Earlier, I mentioned a few places to get jobs as an online teacher; I’ll list them here and add a few others.
ESL Teaching Jobs:
Online Tutoring Jobs:
Online Teacher Jobs:
#4 SEO Specialist: $49,000.00
Not only is an SEO Specialist job one that can be done on a flexible schedule, a lot of companies don’t require you have a degree.
How much do SEO Specialists make ?
The salary for an online SEO Specialist varies from state to state and company to company but Indeed tells us that the average base salary is over $3,700.00 per month.
What do you need to be an SEO Specialist ?
To specialize in SEO, the main requirement is you know how Search Engines work. Additionally, you need to know how to source proper keywords and perform competitor analysis. Knowing how to use WordPress is also helpful.
Where to get an SEO Specialist job:
The Search Guru always seems to have SEO Specialist job openings and the remote job site WeWorkRemotely does a great job of curating current SEO jobs as seen in this sample:
Interested in learning SEO so you can get a high-paying online job that doesn’t require a degree? Check out this inexpensive SEO Training Course
#5 Interpreter / Translator: $49,930
Interpreters and Translators perform similar jobs converting information from one language to another, however, there is a difference. Interpreters work with spoken communication and Translators work with written communication. If you’re fluent in at least two languages, a work from home job as an Interpreter or Translator is a great option for you.
How much do Interpreters and Translators make ?
The hourly wage for Interpreters and Translators is reported as low as $10.00 an hour and as high as $24.00 an hour. In fact, the Bureau of Labor Statistics tells us that Interpreters and Translators make a median income of 49,930 USD per year, which is $24.00 an hour.
As you can see, this is an online job that pays well. But how well depends mainly on the language combination you offer and the need for that combination. If your language combination is in high demand you can earn on the higher end of the estimated hourly wage.
What you need to be a Translator:
Even though you should have a Bachelor’s degree, you don’t need work experience in a related occupation. And with the projected job outlook growing 19% over the next few years, this opens the door for more opportunities.
With tech companies launching new applications that require translation, Spanish, Mandarin, and German are the most in-demand languages for translators.
But being bilingual is not enough to become a competent Interpreter or Translator. In fact, you must be an excellent writer in both languages and understand the many cultural nuances of the language.
Picking a translation niche or specialty will dictate additional skills and abilities you’ll need to develop before your career (and pay) takes off. For instance, are you interested in translating tourism, lifestyle, or technology websites ? For a competitive edge, learning and reading about those topics in both languages should be part of your career development.
Where to get a translation job:
When it comes to getting work, you have a couple options:
#1 Freelance
If you’re simply trying to get some translation experience then Upwork, PeoplePerHour and Fiverr are good options to find freelance translation jobs. You can find small jobs or projects such as translating restaurant menus, which can not only help with real-world practice but can serve as excellent networking opportunities.
Now I will say this: There’s a lot of competition on those freelance platforms, therefore a lot of low-paying jobs. But for someone just starting out, they’re suitable for getting started in this field.
And when you have built up some experience, you can go on to option #2.
#2 You can find online translation jobs at:
These are some of the best companies for Online Translator jobs but they do require you to have experience – which is why the first option, freelancing, is a good way to start.
#6 Virtual Office Assistant: $37,500
Have office experience ?
Awesome !
No office experience ?
Don’t worry, you can still become a Virtual Assistant.
But wait…
…What is a Virtual Assistant ?
Working from a virtual location, a Virtual Assistant (VA) supports individuals, entrepreneurs, and business owners with a variety of office activities. This could include email management, customer service, social media management, bookkeeping, content creation, appointment setting, travel arrangements…whatever you feel like doing.
And thanks to the internet, this is a legitimate online job that can pay extremely well. With the use of document sharing and video conferencing, it’s super easy to be a Virtual Assistant. Not only that, there’s a lot of demand for VAs among entrepreneurs who don’t want to hire a staff.
How much do Virtual Assistants make ?
A Virtual Assistant can make anywhere from $5.00 per task to $65.00 an hour. How much you earn depends on if you’re working for a task-based company or independent freelancer.
The average base pay for a Virtual Assistant working for a legitimate company is over $37,000.00, however, freelance Virtual Assistants can earn considerably more than that if they have a steady base of clients and set their rate of pay to what they feel they will be paid.
What you need to be a Virtual Assistant
To be a Virtual Assistant you need to have clear communication abilities, professional written and verbal communication skills, be able to multi-task and effectively prioritize tasks. Additionally, you should be proficient with office software suites and email platforms.
Every Virtual Assistant has their own set of services with many specializing in certain areas.
For instance, take a look at these freelance VAs. See what services they offer ?
So think about it: What office-y things do you like doing ? Are there any new skills you’d like to learn, like social media management ?
This is what I suggest:
First, take a look at my list of the most in-demand services a Virtual Assistant should offer. Specialize in one of those niches and offer that service.
Then, learn the skills to perform those in-demand services.
Soon, you’ll become an pro in your niche and therefore get paid more per job.
Where to get a Virtual Assistant job:
There are two options to becoming a Virtual Assistant:
Option #1 Working for a reputable company
Some of the most reputable companies hiring Virtual Assistants are:
- Boldly hires VAs who have at least 7 years experience in an administrative role and they offer flexible schedules and a variety of benefits. Pay starts at $20.00 an hour and they’re currently hiring in 23 states.
- Fancy Hands hires Virtual Assistants to do a variety of small tasks, including making phone calls (such as canceling cable), price tracking and data entry. To start, tasks are worth anywhere from $3.00 to $7 per task and go up from there.
- Red Butler hires U.S. based, full time W2 employees that have direct access to clients. Your duties will consist of performing customer service, making travel arrangements, organizing emails and calendars and paying expenses.
- VaVa Virtual Assistants pays their VAs $15.00 an hour to do things like web/graphic design, digital marketing, and social media management.
- Zirtual is a popular company for entrepreneurs because their base of VAs do the small office related tasks business owners don’t have time to do. Working for Zirtual, you might organize email inboxes, book travel, perform research, and manage social media. Although this company pay $13.00 to $18.00 an hour and only hires U.S. residents in certain states, they do provide employee benefits.
Option #2 Becoming a freelance Virtual Assistant
This, no doubt, is the best way to make a lot more money as a Virtual Assistant.
You can…
…Set your pay rate
…Set your specialty
…And work with whomever you choose.
BUT it’s a little harder to get started. Mainly because you have to market yourself.
So here’s what you can do:
First, think about your virtual assistant specialty (we talked about this in the ‘what you need to be a VA section above’).
Next, go to Upwork and create a profile.
I could go on and on and on talking about how to set up your freelance Virtual Assistant profile but the best way to do it is to replicate those who are already successful VAs. So take a look at the professional VA profiles on Upwork to get an idea of how to sell yourself.
Here are a couple examples pulled from Upwork:
Then, still on Upwork, take a look through the projects that are related to your VA specialty and send that ‘client’ a compelling job proposal.
But what if you don’t have much experience doing administrative tasks ?
What if you want to be a successful Virtual Assistant with more exposure ?
And most importantly, you want to make a lot more money ?!?
What you need, then, is more training.
In fact, I wrote a post on the best Virtual Assistant training courses. Check it out.
#7 Email or Chat Support Specialist: $50,000
An Email /Chat Support Specialist provides top-notch customer service through email or chat platforms. Which is a double plus: not only does this line of work pay well, it’s a great option if you’re an introvert.
I have to be honest here, though. Jobs in the online customer service sector pay just under $33,000.00 a year BUT, if you’re able to snag one of these highly coveted email or chat support jobs with the right company you just increased your chances of making closer to $50,000.00.
What you need to be an Email or Chat Support Specialist
To be an email or chat specialist you absolutely need customer service experience. Fortunately, ‘experience’ can be in the form of telephone call-center experience and even past retail experience.
Similar to any job in customer service, Email and Chat Support Specialists need to be organized, compassionate, computer literate, smart problem solvers, someone who can think on their feet, and be cool-headed.
Companies who hire remote Chat and Email Support Specialists expect you to know their product inside-and-out so you provide the best service possible.
Where to get an Email or Chat Support Specialist job
Aha!, Articulate, Recharge, Hot Jar, Zapier, and Automattic are awesome companies who often have legitimate online jobs job in customer support. And because they are remote-first companies, they communicate with their customers via email and chat.
#8 Blog Manager (not your blog): $49,000 – $52,000
A Blog Manager’s role is divided into two categories:
#1 content, which includes coordinating the entire front-end of the blog, including what is published, optimized, and promoted.
…and…
#2 technology, where you’ll take care of the blog platform, updating the style of the blog and ensuring the blog continues to operate smoothly.
How much do Blog Managers make ?
The average salary for a Blog Manager ranges from $48,000.00 to $52,000.00 a year. While there are A LOT of companies who hire experienced web and blog managers, people who have knowledge in the programs behind the scenes are often paid a lot more than $52,000.00 a year…like closer to $80,000.00 a year.
What do you need to be a Blog Manager ?
Furtunately, you can work online from home and get paid to manage blogs with little experience.
However, just being able to put in some ‘stuff’ on WordPress isn’t enough.
A Blog Manager must be able to manage the entire project and obviously have strong communication skills. Additionally, you should have a thorough understanding of blogging best practices and search engine optimization (SEO) as well as have an eye for graphic design.
But the must crucial skill: the ability to strategically analyze data. You need to know your employer’s sales process inside and out and think strategically from the end-user perspective. You need to understand where the company is headed as a whole and work toward that outcome while meeting deadlines.
Don’t get too hung up on the back-end of a blog, like the coding. That’s for the developers.
But you should be proficient in a lot of blog-related programs used for editing images and updating posts.
Here are a few courses that’ll help you with that:
- Learn Photoshop, Web Design & Profitable Freelancing
- Master WordPress Quickly
- Web Design In Affinity Designer Masterclass
Where to get a Blog Manager job
Because there are a lot of different parts to managing a blog, the online jobs in this field vary by specialty. For instance, one company might need a Blog Manager to handle all the optimization of their blog while another company is looking for someone to focus on business growth strategies.
Here’s an example:
Cro Metrics needs an Optimization Program Manager.
And another example:
10 Up is looking for a Web Strategist.
So, we know that companies like Cro Metrics and 10Up hire people to manage their web presence.
We also know that you can pitch your skills and find clients as a freelancer, just like these people did on Upwork:
#9 Social Media Manager: $48,000 – $70,000
One of the best online jobs from home is also the most sought-after. A legitimate job for social media junkies is that of a Social Media Manager. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves here; if you want to do this kind of work professionally, you need some experience.
However, there are a lot of entrepreneurs, start-ups and small companies out there that don’t need people with a ton of know-how. They need people who only take care of their existing social media strategies. And by that I mean people who monitor feeds, answer comments and questions, schedule posts, and maybe even create graphics.
How much can you make as a Social Media Manager ?
According to Sproutsocial what you earn could be anywhere between $30,000 and $70,000 USD per year and, according to Indeed.com, the average salary is over $48,000.00. Of course, how much you make depends on how much you know about managing social media and creating strategies.
What do you need to be a Social Media Manager ?
This job is a specialty that falls under the category of Digital Marketer, however, because it encompasses a lot of different social aspects, I wanted to give it its own listing.
Obviously, a Social Media Manager manages…social media. So it stands to reason that you should know a lot about the most popular platforms; Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Linkedin…and any other network that pops up in the future.
In addition to knowing the networks, you should have the gift of communication, the ability to create and edit images, and some search engine optimization skills.
Where to get a Social Media Manager job ?
These jobs go fast !
So here are my two suggestions:
#1: Go to Indeed.com and follow these steps
- Enter the words ‘social media’ in the what box (without the quotes).
- Enter ‘remote’ in the where box (without the quotes).
- Check out the jobs that come up.
- Do this every day.
#2: Learn a lot of social media skills and market yourself on Upwork to get a ton of paying jobs.
Start out by reading this awesome, and free, online courses that Hootsuite offers.
Then, take these popular and best-selling online courses:
- Social Media Marketing Mastery Class This course focuses on social media marketing from beginner to advanced levels and covers everything related to social media marketing, including strategies, optimizing paid ads, and streamlining your posting process.
- Social Media Management Bootcamp This course gives you in-depth knowledge on social media platforms and shows you how to set up your own freelance business, including setting up a website, setting your prices, finding clients and setting up each client with their own social media goals, payment terms and contracts.
#10 Freelance Writer: Unlimited Earning Potential
Are you a creative thinker? Awesome ! You don’t need any experience to be a freelance writer. Heck, you don’t even have to love doing it. All you need is the ability to write out good instructions or tell a story and your options of earning a nice living as a freelance writer are almost endless. You can write for blogs, be a ghostwriter, publish your own ebooks, write copy for marketing departments…the opportunities go on and on.
Considered one of the best legit. online jobs that pay weekly, freelance writers get to set their own rates – hourly or by the project. And if you specialize in a popular topic, you can charge around 250 USD per hour, according to Copyblogger.
If you’ve always wanted to write, but didn’t get any farther than just dabbling, you can get great insights from this article written by a couple freelance writing pros. They really know their stuff.
#11 Blogger (your own blog): Unlimited Earning Potential
Before you start yelling at me, saying that blogging is not a realistic way to make an income from home because it takes too long, let me just say that you’re right on one point.
It does take a while to make a living as a blogger.
But it is possible. Really !
Don’t believe me? Check out blogging superstars such like Bobby Hoyt of MillenialMonayMan.com, Michelle Schroder-Gardner of MakingSenseofCents.com, and Pat Flynn of SmartPassiveIncome.com. They make up to a six figure profit every month – mainly with ads, affiliate marketing, or selling online courses.
The best thing about making a nice income as a blogger is the fact you don’t need to have any type of experience. And forget about needing a degree or training. All you need is the thirst to learn how it works.
If you want to start a blog but not sure how to get started, you can begin by reading this post I wrote for all wanna-be mom bloggers. It applies to EVERYONE.
#12 Pinterest Manager: Unlimited Earning Potential
There is a ton of power in Pinterest and more companies are realizing this every day. Even with automated Pinning tools, companies still need someone to do the heavy lifting for them.
If you have a knack for creating fantastic Pins and know how to effectively use Pinterest to get targeted traffic to a bog, this just might be your thing. And what’s really great about being a Pinterest Manger is the endless supply of tasks involved in running a successful Pinterest strategy.
Don’t have the skills? Don’t worry, it’s easy to learn. Head over to this post to get a load of resources – most are free.
Are You Ready To Start Making Big Money?
As you can see, working from home doesn’t mean you’re limited to doing the quick little jobs that don’t bring in much money. There are many high-paying jobs, too, that offer a variety of responsibilities.
In fact, you can easily do a job – that is totally online – and earn a great income. And when you focus on a certain area and become an pro in that, you can set your rates higher and make more money.
How do you plan on making at least $50,000.00 working online ? Do any of these ideas interest you?