4 Work-From-Home Gigs That Can Make You Richer Than a Full-Time Job
Written by
Caitlyn Moorhead
Edited by
Jenna Klaverweiden
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For many employees, the biggest perk of working from home is the flexibility and improved work-life balance it provides. Some entrepreneurial professionals have even discovered that certain part-time, remote roles can actually make you more money than a traditional full-time office job.
If you’re interested in making the switch to a home-based side hustle, here are a few lucrative options for you to consider.
Social Media Management
- Average annual salary, according to ZipRecruiter: $64,845
The digital age is ripe with online remote work, and one of the highest paying has to be social media management. Utilizing social media platforms is simply too important for businesses to ignore, yet handling all those channels is extremely time-consuming for company owners, which puts this position in high demand.
As a social media manager, you can create your own schedule, which provides flexibility, while charging rates that reflect the high value of your skilled services. The average salary for this gig only slightly edges out the general national average salary of $63,795, but this work can also often be done as a side gig in your spare time. Not only is it a great work-from-home job, but it’s also a true-blue extra income earner.
Virtual Assistant
- Average hourly wage, according to ZipRecruiter: $24
Being a virtual assistant offers the freedom of setting your own hours and working from any location with an internet connection. At the same time, you handle a wide variety of tasks that allow you to build new skills, including everything from basic administrative duties to specializations like social media marketing or graphic design.
Though you technically work for someone else, because of the work-life balance this virtual gig gives you, you will still feel like your own boss.
YouTube Content Creation
- Average annual salary, according to ZipRecruiter: $120,226
Though it can be quite a saturated market, YouTube got that way for a reason, as you can make a killing making videos that include authentic advice, tutorials or even comedic relief. Once you grow your following, you can monetize your content through YouTube’s ad revenue sharing. You can also earn money with company sponsorships or by promoting another company’s products. If you have a loyal audience, you can start selling your own products, services or courses.
Yes, creating a YouTube channel requires patience and you have to develop skills like video editing, but the earning potential is limitless. With a little persistence and dedication to improving your content strategy, you can build a YouTube audience and make much more than a full-time income from your channel alone.
Building Passive Income Sites
For those looking to create long-term passive income streams, you might want to consider building your own websites. It doesn’t require a huge upfront investment to build a helpful site that ranks well in search engines. You can build up the traffic and visibility, then either sell the domain for a profit down the road or monetize through affiliate marketing by promoting other companies’ products.
Depending on your skill level and the initial traffic your site drives, your pay can vary widely. Here are some examples of what you might expect to make through affiliate marketing, according to Refersion:
- Beginner sites: $0 to $1,000 per month.
- Intermediate sites: $1,000 to $10,000 per month. You can reach this level typically after a few years of building content and an audience.
- Advanced sites: $10,000 to $100,000 or more per month. Successful, high-traffic, affiliate websites can become extremely valuable assets.
Final Take To GO: Having a Lucrative Work-From-Home Career
If you want to make money working from home, focus on building skills in an in-demand area that you actually enjoy. If you become an expert in your respective field, you can truly work from anywhere and make just as much as you’d make in a traditional full-time job — or even more.
Of course, it’s always smart to focus on things that are done primarily online — think social media and technology. If you provide a stellar service that few others are bringing to the table, you will reap the rewards.
Laura Beck contributed to the reporting for this article.
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