The workforce is constantly in flux.

Gone are the days when every employee had to head to an office, factory, or construction site to receive a paycheck. These days, online jobs are trending everywhere, in large part due to the rise of freelance platforms.

With an online job, you have the flexibility to work when and where you want. You’re not limited to local opportunities, and you can work without the stress of managers or colleagues monitoring your productivity—at least not in person.

If this sounds like the life for you (for more first-hand experience, read: how to work from home), but you’re not sure how to get your foot in the door, you’re in luck.

How to work online efficiently

To succeed in a remote environment, it’s important to adopt strategies that enhance productivity, communication, and work-life balance.

Here are seven tips to help you master the art of working online with efficiency:

1. Create a dedicated workspace

Having a specific area where you work helps separate your personal and professional life. This could be a home office or even a small corner with minimal distractions. Make sure your workspace is ergonomic, with proper lighting and comfortable seating, so you can stay focused throughout the day.

2. Set clear goals and priorities

One of the challenges of working online is managing your time efficiently. Use task management tools like Trello, Asana, or Monday.com to create daily, weekly, and long-term goals. Break down your tasks into smaller steps and prioritize them based on urgency and importance. This will help you maintain a clear sense of direction and accomplishment.

3. Turn to technology for communication

Online work often requires regular communication with teammates, clients, or stakeholders. Communication tools like Zoom, Slack, and Microsoft Teams make it easy to stay in touch and collaborate effectively. Be proactive about maintaining communication—schedule regular check-ins, team meetings, and updates to ensure everyone stays aligned and informed.

4. Maintain a routine

Working online can blur the lines between work and personal life. Establishing a routine helps create boundaries and ensures you remain productive. Start by setting consistent working hours, including breaks to refresh your mind. Use time-blocking techniques to focus on tasks without getting overwhelmed by distractions.

5. Focus on continuous learning

The online work environment is dynamic, and staying ahead requires continuous learning. Invest in online courses, webinars, or professional certifications to sharpen your skills. Online course providers like Coursera, Udemy, and LinkedIn Learning offer courses on various topics that can boost your career and adaptability in an evolving digital landscape.

6. Buy reliable tech and Internet

Since your entire work setup depends on technology, ensure your hardware and internet connection are reliable. Invest in a high-speed internet connection, backup power sources, and security measures like VPNs or two-factor authentication to protect sensitive data and maintain smooth operations.

7. Aim for work-life balance

While working from home offers flexibility, it’s essential to set boundaries to prevent burnout. Establish clear start and end times for your workday, and make time for physical activity, hobbies, or socializing. A healthy work-life balance not only improves your mental well-being but also enhances long-term productivity.

Top 25 jobs for working online

Working online sounds like a dream. With all the scams out there, it’s easy to fall into the trap of applying for something that’s too good to be true, only to find out it was.

However, the following jobs are real, reputable types of employment that plenty of people do for a steady paycheck! So long as you find the job on a reputable job site or job board and research the company to which you apply, you shouldn’t have to worry about falling prey to a scam.

That’s enough scam talk; let’s learn what your next job could be. While there are more work-from-home jobs than the ones listed here, this should give you a pretty good start.

1. Virtual assistant

A virtual assistant is a jack of all trades in service of a business or individual. This job consists of doing whatever the company needs you to do. Options include writing and editing content, scheduling meetings, dealing with customer support and service, and more.

Virtual assistants typically make $19-25 an hour, depending on experience and where you live. As a virtual assistant, because you’re in charge of your own schedule and client base, you get to choose who you want and don’t want to work with.

2. Niche website creator

If you have an understanding of SEO, you can create simple webpages for products or topics you know have a high traffic potential. To monetize these pages, you could use them to sell products through an affiliate network via affiliate marketing.

This is referred to as a “niche website” as it serves one specific community. For example, a website selling gardening tools would benefit gardeners the most. You can either sell this website for profit or keep it and profit off of sales.

3. Dropshipper

Dropshipping is a supply chain management method wherein the retailer does not stock goods but rather transfers the shipment information and customer orders to either the manufacturer, another seller, or a wholesaler, who then ships products directly to the buyers.

You can make anywhere from $25-500 per sale, depending on the items sold! The seller has no interaction with the product, which removes a lot of opportunity for damage as well as liability. You essentially advocate for a product, and then the supplier ships products directly.

4. Proofreader

If you have a background in language and grammar or other copy editing-based roles, you can maintain a decent career as a proofreader. Proofreaders aren’t limited to one type of clientele—they can work for college applicants, students, or job applicants writing their cover letters.

The job of proofreading is not as extensive as that of a copy editor. As opposed to (X thing about copy editing), proofreading is a step a paper or letter passes through on its journey from rough to final draft. Lots of proofreaders charge by the hour, and more experienced proofreaders can charge more.

Image courtesy of Vappingo

Start building out your proofreading clientele, perhaps, while you still have an on-location job, and by the time you’re ready to go completely online, you’ll have a decent number of recurring customers.

5. Consignor

We all hate taking our clothes to Plato’s Closet or our gold to the pawnshop. By acting as a consignor, you could take this burden away from those around you.

To become a cosigner, you must open an online shop and have people send you pictures of the items they wish to sell. You can keep the items in your home or an offsite location. 

You list these items online, and once a sale has been made, you keep a percentage of the income and give a percentage to the original owner. Alternatively, you could buy items from people up front, sell them for a profit, and keep the money. Either strategy works.

It’s up to you and your clients to decide what percentages should be, and it should be discussed beforehand.

6. Translator

Books, movies, TV shows, newspaper articles: all types of media need to be translated into other languages. If you speak two or more languages, consider becoming a translator. Translators are typically paid per word, meaning there’s no shortage of opportunity for income.

Image courtesy of www.proz.com

To find translator jobs, I recommend going to a job board and searching “online translator job.”

7. Travel agent

Travel agencies used to be brick-and-mortar institutions, but nowadays, you can be a travel agent from home. Focusing on a certain region or vacation type is more likely to keep a steady stream of clientele.

For example, you could build a decent business booking family reunions in tropical countries. This would guarantee you yearly bookings of large parties who are likely to have friends who also do yearly family reunions.

8. Web developer

Another option for online work is to sell your web design skills to small businesses or anyone who needs a website. Some people know they’d be more successful with an online presence but have no idea how to get started. That’s where you come in!

Use your coding knowledge to develop beautiful user experiences for customers worldwide, or use a website builder if you don’t have that in-depth knowledge. You just need to be a fast learner with an eye for design. It’s as easy as that.

Web designers can make a decent salary, even as beginners. Put your best foot forward by becoming trained in the field and developing an impressive portfolio.

9. Online advertiser/lead generator

Salespeople are always looking for help meeting their numbers, and stores, especially small businesses, are always wondering how they can stay relevant.

An online advertiser is someone who uses their media prowess or advertising skills to help out local organizations.

To do this, you have to be a skilled self-starter. An online advertising career typically starts with seeking out companies with a weak ad game and pitching your services to them. This is even more fruitful if you can prove you’ve succeeded for companies in the past.

Online advertisers/lead generators can make anywhere from $1000-$2000 per month per client.

10. Product tester

Nothing is worse than releasing a new lip gloss just to realize it’s burning customers’ mouths! As a product tester, you get to make sure this doesn’t happen.

Product testing doesn’t always pay in cash. Often, it pays in gift cards, or the supplier lets the tester keep the product.

Image courtesy of Kidspot

PTs will typically receive the product by mail and then get paid to respond to surveys or otherwise express their opinions. The surveys and responses are what make this job digital.

11. Graphic designer

Every company needs a good graphic designer, but not every company can afford to hire one annually. Those who provide graphic design services can make good money because they typically have a good arts education or an impressive portfolio. It would be difficult to start a freelance graphic design career from scratch, but it’s a good online career for those with experience.

12. Affiliate marketer/Influencer

Those who work in affiliate marketing, as well as influencers, make money by using their personal brands to sell products and goods. By selling things on your personal blog or through Instagram partnerships, you can earn an income completely online.

You can find these jobs by signing up with an affiliate network or an affiliate marketing program. However, you must maintain a decent online presence to be successful.

13. Online juror

No, this does not mean you get paid to fulfill your jury duty summons online. Rather, being an online juror is an opportunity for you to help attorneys prepare for trial. Attorneys often execute mock trials to help them prepare for the real thing.

As part of this, they’ll assemble a mock jury to give them direct feedback on their arguments and persuasion. Look for an online juror job, and you could make $10 to $60 to sit in on a mock trial.

14. Medical transcriptionist

Medical transcriptionists are paid to transcribe recorded medical dictation. Doctors and other medical-care providers hire these types of contracted workers so they can focus more heavily on providing care to their patients. 

You don’t have to have a background in medicine to excel at a job like this. You just have to be good at listening, and having a quick hand on the keyboard helps. 

Look for these jobs through your local hospitals, community colleges, or through physicians.

15. Search evaluator

Search evaluation requires professionals to peruse internet search results and determine what’s irrelevant or a scam. Another name for this type of job is “internet judge.”

This role sometimes requires a college degree. If you’re interested in being a search evaluator, you can look directly within the search engines or go through their employment agencies.

16. Freelance writer

Being a freelance writer takes some writing chops and the ability to do a lot of research. When I started writing at G2, I knew little to nothing about technology, but I learned along the way. Look into a freelance writing organization such as Upwork to get started.

17. Blogger

Bloggers are different from freelance writers in that they write for their own websites as opposed to writing to be published on other people’s sites.

Image courtesy of ProBlogger

Bloggers have to build up a following over time. For this reason, it may make more sense to start your blog while you have other income and then begin blogging full-time once you’re more established.

18. Social media manager

Many businesses need help with their social media presence. Social media managers help business owners run their Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and other social accounts to increase sales and foot traffic.

Social media managers can work for many businesses at once but should make sure they’re not competitors.

19. Data entry

Data entry is one of the most straightforward online jobs you could have. Companies have a lot of information they need to put into their systems, and it doesn’t always make sense to pay full-time staff for something so repetitive.

Image courtesy of SEO Clerks

You can make money doing this hourly and on your own time. Data entry jobs can pay anywhere from $10 to $17 per hour. Because this isn’t a lot, I would recommend using it as supplemental income.

20. Call center representative

You don’t always have to sit in an office in order to provide exceptional customer service. At-home call center jobs are becoming more and more common.

Call center representatives are required to accept and transfer customer service-related calls and deal with consumer issues and requests. When applying for a job such as this, be sure you’re applying to work in a language you speak and in a time zone you’re willing to conform to.

21. Amazon seller

We’ve talked about affiliate marketers already, but Amazon is such a huge company that it has its own seller program. Sellers go shopping and buy discounted products in-store. Then, they can turn around and sell them on Amazon for a profit.

This job requires a lot of effort, so it’s only recommended for those who already shop regularly.

22. YouTuber

YouTube stars can make a good deal of money from their content should it become viral or even semi-popular. If you want to make money through YouTube, you should first focus on creating quality content that viewers want to see. Over time, you can monetize your videos through ads.

Because this takes time, maintain a day job while you work toward supporting yourself through YouTube advertising.

23. Editor

So many companies need good editors to review their written work and ensure it’s ready to be sent out or published. Newspapers, magazines, email marketing teams, political candidates, job applicants, etc., frequently need freelance editors.

Almost anyone, anywhere, would benefit from having an editor take a look at their work. To get this career started, offer to edit the first 200 words of an article for free. If they like your suggestions, they can hire you for good.

Once you have your clientele built out, you should stop offering any kind of spec work.

24. Bookkeeper

A bookkeeper, also referred to as a budgeter, is someone who digitally keeps track of a company’s finances. A company may already have an accountant or tax person but will still benefit from the services of a bookkeeper.

Bookkeepers are responsible for reviewing the accuracy or appropriateness of all invoices entered into an expense system and scheduling the dates of various payments. They also prepare invoices and expense reports for data entry, process check runs, and prepare checks for mailing.

25. Teaching

Perhaps one of the most surprising innovations in online work is the advent of online teaching. What many of us know as a classroom-bound job can now be performed online. Individuals can make good money signing up to teach basic subjects such as math, English, and history.

As an online teacher, you’d typically teach students in other countries, which means you may work odd hours by your own standards. But it’s rewarding work for decent pay, and there’s no shortage of need!

What’s working for you?

The most important thing is that at the end of the day, you’re satisfied with what you’ve achieved. No job is better than another, but it is universally better to be working a job you enjoy.

So, if you think you need a break from the standing desks, Keurig coffee, and forced birthday celebrations of office culture, look into working online to change things up!

To better prepare for working on your own, read up on your independent contractor rights. 

This article was originally published in 2019. It has been updated with new information.