Work from Home Jobs that are Legitimate and Flexible
What are work-from-home jobs that pay well?
Work-from-home jobs seem like an impossible dream, especially for those raised when the internet was still becoming a thing or something accessible at school or the public library.
But nowadays, with easy access to the internet in our homes and on our devices, there are plenty of legitimate work-from-home jobs that pay very well.
So, it should come as no surprise that there are many ways to achieve the dream of having:
- Flexible hours: You choose your hours and work as little or as often as you’d like. You can work part-time, full-time, or on a contract.
- Earn $100,000+/year: Even though you’re working part-time, you don’t need to earn part-time income. These work-from-home jobs are in demand so you can earn a good paycheck.
- No commute: The beauty of work-from-home jobs is that most of them can be done online, so you only need your computer and the Internet. You don’t have to deal with traffic.
- Increased savings: When working from home, you save on gas, eating out, clothing, and possibly daycare. You save time from commuting.
- Control over your business: You’re going to be your own boss, which means you don’t have to request vacation time or report to anyone.
- Work-Life Balance: Working from home allows you to manage your personal and professional life better, making it easier to juggle responsibilities like family, hobbies, or self-care.
- Customized Work Environment: You can create a workspace that suits your needs and preferences, whether it’s a quiet corner in your home or a vibrant, creative space.
- Increased Productivity: Many people find they are more productive at home without the usual office distractions, allowing them to focus better and get more done in less time.
Plus, many of these jobs can be done online, so you only need a laptop and an internet connection.
Rest assured, most of these jobs require little to no experience or startup fees.
So, if you’re looking for work-from-home jobs because you need the flexibility with little ones at home or you’re just sick of your 9-5 office environment, here are 13 work-from-home jobs hiring now!
This is a long list! I’ve covered a wide range of options so that you can select the ones that make sense for you.
17 Legitimate Work-From-Home Jobs
1. Become a Virtual Assistant
When you first start looking for work-from-home jobs, I wouldn’t be surprised if starting your own virtual assistant company is one of the first options you see because they are so popular!
And for good reason – there is a massive need for them across various industries!
However, there is a misunderstanding about what a Virtual Assistant does.
The easy, broken-down definition of a Virtual Assistant is someone who offers a service to a client for money.
What those services could be will vary from industry to industry, person to person.
Here are some examples to get your ideas flowing.
- Managing email
- Scheduling appointments
- Customer support
- Basic bookkeeping
- Project management
- Graphic design
- Social media management
- Content creation
- Copywriting
- Ghostwriting
- Research
- Data entry
- Video editing
- Podcast editing
- Website building/management
- Event planning
- Transcription services
- Technical support
- Personal assistant
These were just a few suggestions. For even more ideas, check out this list of over 275 services you could offer as a Virtual Assistant.
You might wonder why someone would hire a virtual assistant when they could create a role within their company that embodies these tasks.
The reason companies are hiring virtual assistance is:
- They can just buy packages with the necessary hours, saving them time and money.
- They have the added business savings of not paying additional taxes or employee benefits.
If you’re interested in this field, Gina is an expert and talks about everything you need to know to become a virtual assistant here.
Here’s my interview with Gina, in which she shares how she made up to $100/hour as a Virtual Assistant.
Related Notes:
- Due to Gina’s success, she started teaching others her secrets to starting a virtual assistant business. I’ve interviewed one of Gina’s students from her 30 Days or Less to Virtual Assistant Success (now called Fully Booked VA) course here. In this interview, her student talks about the most valuable knowledge she gained from the training and how long it took her to get her first client.
- If you love Pinterest, you can also be a Pinterest Virtual Assistant. Check out my interviews with successful Pinterest VAs Megan Haskin and Yi Ming Lai.
- If you love Real Estate, check out how to be a Real Estate Virtual Assistant.
2. Become a Transcriber
If you have a good handle on English, transcribing is a great gig to look into working from home.
Transcription is the process of writing down what someone is saying.
You can work from home, take breaks whenever you want, and work as little or as much as you’d like – it’s entirely up to you.
Legal transcriptionists make, on average, $65,000.
And if you own a transcription business and subcontract, some make over $100,000.
Now, you might be thinking two things right now:
- Isn’t there a decline in the need for this with everything going digital?
- Wouldn’t AI take care of most of this for companies?
Addressing concern number one first, this is precisely why transcriptionists are in demand right now!
There are years of audio and video recordings that all need to be transcribed.
Plus, court reporters use transcriptionists for their audio recordings because it’s more efficient!
Next, regarding concern number two, we just aren’t quite there yet with artificial technology.
These tools still can’t punctuate correctly, recognize all names and places with complete accuracy, and usually fail to understand the context.
Its capabilities are limited, meaning your services are significantly in need!
If you want transcription done properly, you need a transcriber.
While some companies like TranscribeMe don’t require transcription certification or prior experience, the pay is minimal.
If you want to make good money, Transcribe Anywhere offers courses that will teach you how to transcribe properly. It’ll take approximately 2-4 months. If you’d like to get a taste of the Transcribe Anywhere course, you can try their FREE general transcription class.
Here’s a Transcribe Anywhere review, including interviews with two program graduates.
There’s a graduate who took the general transcription course and a graduate who took the legal transcription course, so you can learn what they thought was valuable and how long it took them to make their money back from the course.
3. Become a Proofreader
Along the same lines, you can work from home as a proofreader.
Proofreading is taking content others have written and editing it to make it perfect.
If you’re the type of person who is always catching typos and cringe when you see things misspelled, proofreading might be for you.
It takes a certain, sharp eye for proofreading.
Plus, due to the popularity of self-publishing, proofreading is an up-and-coming profession.
An exciting thing about proofreading is that you can even do it from your tablet!
Like transcription, there is a course that will teach you how to proofread well, but more importantly, how to become a profitable proofreading business.
At Proofread Anywhere, you’ll learn exactly how to find clients, structure your work days, and run a successful proofreading business.
It has a FREE mini-intro course that you can try out.
Here’s my interview with successful proofreader Caitlin Pyle, who made over $40,000 in part-time proofreading early in her career.
Here’s a review of Caitlin’s Proofread Anywhere course, including an interview with one of her students!
4. Become a Scopist
Scoping is probably the only work-at-home job most people haven’t heard of because it’s not largely discussed.
Yet, the value is immeasurable, which is why this is an excellent work-from-home option!
Scoping is editing legal transcripts for court reporters.
It’s different from proofreading in that scopers often work on the initial draft, whereas proofreaders work on the final draft.
This profession has been around for over 30 years, and now it’s possible to do it completely from the comfort of your home office.
Court reporters hire Scopists to help them save time to take on more jobs (and make more money) or just have more time for themselves.
As scoping is a niche field, you need formal training.
The Internet Scoping School offers a FREE mini-intro course to learn about scoping.
From there, you can decide if you want to commit to the full course and pursue a career in scoping.
The Internet Scoping School is unique because it is the only scoping course that includes lifetime access to support and all content updates in its tuition fee.
Check out my interview with successful scopist Robin Newberger for more information about scoping.
5. Start a Blog
Millions of blogs are online, and many fail or take years to succeed.
But there are also many blogs that have earned a full-time income within one year!
These bloggers are people who:
- have no prior experience blogging;
- don’t have technical expertise (which is something I was concerned about because I’m not tech-savvy!)
- And do it in their spare time!
Blogging is rarely their full-time job, even though they earn a full-time income.
Does this sound intriguing? Keep reading!
You don’t even need to be an expert to write about specific topics because you’re sharing insights, tips, and strategies from your unique perspective and lessons learned.
(This differs with specific topics, such as legal and medical advice.)
They’re writing about everyday topics from their own unique perspective.
You can write about subjects like:
- Saving money
- Parenthood
- Food
- Fashion
- Hobbies (like art, photography, woodworking, etc.)
- Gardening
- Homesteading
- And so much more!
Blogging has a low startup fee to start. You can get Siteground web hosting for a WordPress site for as low as $3.95/month.
In terms of the blog monetization potential, the possibilities are limitless!
You could create a mini-course that teaches people how to do something, sell printables that help your readers, do affiliate marketing with the products you recommend (more on that in the next section), work with sponsors, and so much more!
If you’re interested in learning how to start a blog, I’ve detailed my strategies and steps for starting a blog here.
6. Become a Referrer or Affiliate for a Program
Is there a product or service you recommend to a lot of people because it’s just that worthwhile, and you want the people in your life to benefit from it, too?
Consider becoming a referrer or affiliate for it.
Since you’re already raving about it, you might as well get paid for it.
I’ve heard stories of people crushing it with affiliate marketing, turning their recommendations into a steady income stream.
They spread the word through emails, social media, and their websites.
You might have noticed I’m dipping my toes into it, too, right here on my own site.
One thing I would caution you about is not signing up for every affiliate program available.
You want to be known for recommending products that you genuinely use and stand behind, not just any product that will offer you a commission.
This makes you much more credible to your audience, increasing your trustworthiness.
I also make a point to only sign up for affiliate programs I’ve done my research on.
Some companies have strict rules on where they allow affiliate promotion, e.g., some don’t allow for promotion on social media pages.
Make sure you read through the program rules to ensure you’re abiding by them.
When you start looking for affiliate programs, you’ll be pleased to learn that many companies have structured affiliate programs, from large familiar household names like Amazon Associates to affiliate marketing networks like ShareASale that partner with over 4000 merchants, including NBAStore.com.
A program I like is Rakuten (formerly Ebates.com) (if you’re a U.S. resident) or Rakuten.ca (if you’re Canadian).
Rakuten is a site that companies can advertise on, and these companies pay Rakuten a commission for sending customers to them.
Each time you refer a friend to Rakuten, you get $5, and if you refer more than ten people, you get additional bonuses!
It’s a win-win because the friend that you referred also makes money.
For U.S. residents, Rakuten will give them a welcome bonus of $10 after making their first online purchase of $25 or more!
In Canada, Rakuten will give them a welcome bonus of $5.
Rakuten is affiliated with over 2500 affiliated companies (in the U.S.) and 750 companies (in Canada), including Amazon, eBay, Expedia, and Groupon.
Your friend is probably already shopping with them on a regular basis or will be over the holiday season. Sending them to Rakuten ensures they don’t leave money on the table.
Related Affiliate Program articles:
- The affiliate programs I got approved for and rejected from as a new blogger
- How I made my first affiliate sale from a blog
7. Become a Graphic Designer
If you have an eye for design and a knack for creativity, working as a graphic designer from home can be a fulfilling and lucrative career.
Especially now that you can do this from home!
While there are many ways that you can be a graphic designer who works from home, here are some popular options and services to consider offering:
- Create visual content for businesses and brands, such as their brochures, packaging, social media graphics, etc.
- Design the branding for a new company, such as logo design, colour concepts, web design, etc.
- Freelance design for product creation, promotional materials, etc.
And graphic design services don’t even need to be limited to businesses.
There are women who make a full-time income by helping consumers with things like wedding invitation designs, custom artwork, etc.
In addition to being creative and getting to work from home, the beauty of this job is in the flexibility it offers.
You can work with multiple clients across various industries, from startups to well-established companies, all from the comfort of your own home.
With a good portfolio and the right software, you can turn your design skills into a thriving home-based business!
8. Buy and Sell items
Buying and selling items is something I’ve done on a small scale for the past year, such as finding things in my house and selling them.
It’s great because there is no startup fee!
You can start by selling your unused items and eventually work your way up to buying things from yard sales, Kijiji, Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, etc, revitalizing them, and then reselling them through those same channels.
Related: Here’s a blog post with a list of apps to sell your items online.
Buying and selling is a great way to get rid of clutter in the house and make a hundred dollars or more each month.
And if you want to earn a full-time income from this, know it is 100% possible!
Check out Melissa and Rob at Flea Market Flipper, who are experts in this field. In 2015, they made just over $42,000 only working 5-15 hours/week.
In 2015, they made just over $42,000, only working 5-15 hours/week, and in 2016, they made $133,000 flipping items, working 20-30 hours per week.
Here are some of the items they’ve flipped:
- Old radio: bought for $15, sold for $200
- Base jumping vest: bought for $10, sold for $200
- Double stroller: bought for $90, sold for $380
- Carousel horse: bought for $175, sold for $1299
- Patio set: bought for $50, sold for $2100
Whether you’re just starting or are ready to up your selling game, they have a few courses where they teach you their secrets.
They have their signature courses at Flipper University.
If you want to hone specific skills, they have furniture flipping, freight and general shipping courses.
Check out their website to learn more about their courses and how to become a successful flipper.
Related: Yard sale tips: How to host a successful garage sale
9. Sell T-Shirt Designs
If you love to doodle and make your own unique designs, you could sell t-shirt designs online.
While it certainly helps if you have graphic design skills and know how to use Photoshop, it’s not 100% necessary.
In fact, you can learn most of these skills through free YouTube videos, online courses on platforms like Skillshare, or simply by practicing and experimenting.
But seriously, you don’t have to be a graphic designer to create designs that sell on Redbubble.
Redbubble is an online marketplace that sells designs on various products.
How it works is:
- Designers start a shop and upload their designs (which are all free for you to do)
- Customers find a design for a product they want (the design can go on a shirt, pillow case, phone case, etc.)
- Redbubble prints and ships it
- Designers get paid a 10-20% royalty
Redbubble takes care of all customer service, including handling complaints and returns, as well as managing the marketing and remarketing of your products.
If you have an existing portfolio on your other social media accounts or website, you can indicate these on your shop page and build your customer base.
You can learn more about Redbubble here.
10. Become an English Tutor
Another great option is to become an English tutor, which you can do entirely from home.
The start-up costs are meagre, making it possible for anyone to get started with this work-from-home job.
With that said, to be a successful tutor, ideally, you’ll:
- Enjoy hanging out with kids.
- Have a passion for education.
- Be able to communicate clearly.
- Always be willing to learn and grow your knowledge to match the current school curriculums.
Qkids offers an opportunity to make $16-20 USD/hour (I’m in Canada, so that’s up to $26/hour!) as an English Tutor.
Qkids is an online education platform that connects people with 4-to 12-year-old students in China. Other great benefits of the job include:
- No minimum time commitment per week (lots of flexibility with working hours so you can work for Qkids while doing other jobs)
- Interactive platform with games and characters
- Preset curriculum, so there’s no lesson planning required
If you already know that Qkids is right for you and have an excellent understanding of the opportunity, you can apply to work as a Qkids teacher here.
If you’re looking for more information about Qkids, check out my detailed analysis of Qkids, including an interview with 3 Qkids teachers who talk about their typical day, biggest challenge, and top tips for being successful in the Qkids interview process.
11. Become a Virtual Bookkeeper
If you like working with numbers, have a strong attention to detail, and love to help clients, look into virtual bookkeeping!
While bookkeeping used to be highly technical and advanced with things like carbon copy books and ledgers that were almost always out of balance, online bookkeeping software makes this task much easier.
But, truthfully, most small business owners fail to make time to keep up with their books and often find themselves scrambling at year-end to get it all done.
That’s where you would come in as a virtual bookkeeper.
Check out my interview with Ben Robinson, where he disclosed how he made $60+/hour as a virtual bookkeeper.
Ben is actually teaching people how to be bookkeepers from home now. You can check out Ben’s FREE training to see if it’s the right fit for you.
Here are two reviews from graduates from his Bookkeeper Launch signature course.
Of course, you don’t technically need to be certified to be a bookkeeper.
However, I strongly encourage you to take an online course to be knowledgeable enough to do the job accurately!
12. Open an Etsy Shop
You would be wrong if you think that Etsy is not a platform you can use to generate a full-time income.
Many people have had legitimate success working from home on Etsy.
Here’s the story of one mom who makes $1500-3000/week on Etsy.
She was able to do what many people dream of – work from home only a few days a week and spend the rest of her time doing whatever she wanted to do.
I’ve also interviewed a mom who makes passive income selling printables on Etsy. Printables are digital downloads. When a customer places an order, Etsy automatically sends them the product.
Once she’s created the printable and uploaded it, there’s very little active work. What a great work-from-home job!
If you’re looking for ideas about what to sell on Etsy:
13. Become an SEO Writer
Are you one of those people who think that SEO is just a buzzword, or on the flip side, have no idea what it means?
Well, if you’re a little nerdy, like to look at numbers and data, experiment with different strategies to see what works, and want to work from home, you might love being an SEO writer.
Listen up, SEO is not going anywhere!
(By the way, SEO stands for search engine optimization, and it’s what platforms like YouTube and Google use to help users find the content that will help them answer their questions.)
As businesses need SEO content, SEO writing is in demand!
Naturally, the salary potential is huge.
There are SEO writers earning $5000-10,000/month consistently, while some earn upwards of $20,000+/month by hiring other writers.
I interviewed successful SEO writer Yuwanda Black on this website. In this article, she shares what a typical day looks like for her, how to find work as an SEO writer and other tips and advice for SEO writing here.
14. Become A Web Designer/Developer
In the digital age, web development is one of the most in-demand work-from-home jobs.
Because, let’s face it, almost every modern business should have a website!
And most business owners don’t want to bother themselves with learning how to set it all up, so they hire a web designer or developer instead!
As a web developer, you’ll be responsible for building and maintaining websites, ensuring they are functional, user-friendly, and visually appealing.
Whether you specialize in front-end development (the parts of the website users interact with) or back-end development (the server, application, and database), there’s a constant need for skilled developers.
And the best part?
You can work with clients globally, creating websites for a wide range of businesses and organizations, all without leaving your home office.
If this sounds appealing, but you’re worried you don’t have the right skill set, fear not!
To get started, you can watch free videos on YouTube, short courses on Skillshare, or even buy longer programs through online platforms like Udemy or Masterclass.
15. Be a Pet Sitter
If you’re an animal lover, dog walking or pet sitting offers a flexible way to work from home.
While you can advertise your services on Facebook or Kijiji, Rover has been specifically designed to connect pet sitters with pet owners.
It’s in 34,000+ cities, and millions of pet-sitting jobs have been booked through this platform.
The advantage of going with Rover is reaching clients and having 24/7 vet assistance and the “Rover Guarantee.” (Which is insurance coverage for specific injuries or damages during the visit.)
At Rover, you can set your own schedule, pricing and pet preferences to work for you.
Here’s an interview with a person who’s a Rover Pet Sitter who shares your tips on how to get started.
You can sign up to become a Rover Sitter here.
16. Be a Permanent Jeweler
There’s something exciting about starting a business from home that still allows you to connect with customers on your own terms.
A permanent jewelry business can do just that and more.
Permanent jewelry offers a distinctive and long-lasting form of self-expression in less invasive ways than tattoos or piercings.
Unlike traditional jewelry, these “permanent jewelry” bracelets, anklets, and necklaces are clasp-free and welded directly onto your customers’ wrists, ankles, or necks.
This innovative approach allows the jewelry to remain securely in place “forever” (or until the customer removes it).
The allure of this type of business is that you can operate from many locations as a “pop-up” vendor.
From a small corner of your home to the front patio, a permanent jewelry business has so much potential to provide lucrative work from home.
You can also work with local businesses and vendor markets to set up your service for a few hours in town.
The beauty of a permanent jewelry business is the flexibility it provides. You get to work on your own terms while achieving your financial goals.
The first step to starting your business is to enroll in an online permanent jewelry training program.
These courses offer comprehensive instruction on techniques, safety protocols, and business insights, equipping you with the necessary skills to start your own venture in this unique and growing field.
This work-from-home option will have more start-up costs than others on this list because you’ll need to get the tools and materials. However, it can be incredibly lucrative, so I’ve included it on this list!
17. Become an Online Coach or Consultant
Last but not least, if you’re an expert in a particular field, whether it’s career development, fitness, business strategy, or any other area, becoming an online coach or consultant could be a perfect work-from-home job for you.
Not only will get to utilize your existing skills, but you’ll be able to help clients, potentially globally, with your expertise, which can be incredibly fulfilling!
As an online coach or consultant, you’ll provide personalized advice and guidance to clients via video calls, emails, or online courses.
This role offers incredible flexibility—you can set your own schedule, choose your clients, and even scale your business by offering group coaching sessions or downloadable resources.
And since you’re primarily relying on your existing expertise, the costs to get started are relatively low.
All you’ll need is your computer, an internet connection, and whatever tools you’ll need to host your online calls, store important documentation, etc.
This work-from-home job is an incredibly rewarding way to share your expertise and help others achieve their goals, all while working remotely!
Final Thoughts On The Best Work From Home Jobs
There are many types of work-from-home jobs that can fit your lifestyle and situation. Many have little to no startup fees!
While many of these jobs can earn a full-time income alone, doing multiple jobs, especially initially, will increase earnings faster and take the burden off of any one job.
On a related note, if you’re a stay-at-home mom, here are the best stay-at-home jobs for moms.
Recap Of The Work from Home Jobs That Are Flexible
- Become a Virtual Assistant
- Become a Transcriber
- Become a Proofreader
- Become a Scopist
- Start a Blog
- Become a Referrer or Affiliate for a Program
- Become a Graphic Designer
- Buy and Sell items
- Sell T-Shirt Designs
- Become an English Tutor
- Become a Virtual Bookkeeper
- Open an Etsy Shop
- Become an SEO Writer
- Become a Web Designer/Developer
- Be a Pet Sitter
- Become a Permanent Jeweler
- Become An Online Coach or Consultant
Other ways to make money quickly
If you only want to earn a little bit of side cash quickly and easily each day, here’s a list of legitimate survey companies with user-friendly sites that I’ve personally tried and liked:
- Swagbucks
- Survey Club
- Survey Junkie (only in the US, Canada and Australia)
The more companies you join, the more surveys you’ll qualify to take. If you like taking surveys and being able to voice your opinion and know that it’ll make a difference with brands and products, taking surveys might be right up your alley.
Related Legitimate Work-from-Home Job Articles:
- How to become a Virtual Assistant and make up to $100/hour
- 9 Proven steps on how to reach early retirement
- 11 Easy Ways to Make $100 Fast
- How to be an SEO Writer and work from home
- How 1 mom made a full-time income in 4 months through Etsy
- How to make passive Income as an Etsy printables shop owner
- Work from Home Jobs for Kids to Make Money Fast
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This article really beneficial for those Moms & dads whose staying at home. They can earn money from home after reading this article.
Good job keep it up!
Thanks for your nice comment, Mayce! I’m so glad you found this article about legitimate stay at home jobs for moms and dads helpful.
Yup, These jobs are perfect for those moms who are not going anywhere and want to earn money from home. Thank you for sharing the informative post.
Thanks for your comment, Steffen!
Thank you so much for this post! Loved it