Work from home jobs you can land fast

People want to work from home for many reasons, but for most, the main reason is to grow the household income while working a flexible schedule. The good news? More and more jobs are going remote — even roles that don’t require a degree.

Let’s explore what work-from-home jobs entail and what types of opportunities exist for entry-level workers.

What is a work-from-home job?

A work-from-home job is a remote, paid position you can do from home. Sometimes, you can do your job from anywhere in the world. In other cases, your employer will require you to either work in their country or at least have a working visa for their country.

Some jobs are fully remote, which means you can work every single hour from a location of your choice. Other employers require remote workers to come to the office from time to time. These meetups can be for tasks that can only be done in person — or they can be for team bonding activities, such as BBQs or company picnics.

Work-from-home jobs are estimated to account for 28% of all jobs in the United States after the end of the pandemic, compared to 20% at the start of 2021. That’s almost a third of all jobs.

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But 57% of employees who returned to offices say they prefer working from home full-time. One in three people would even quit their jobs if they were unable to work remotely after the pandemic.

This data shows that working from home isn’t just a temporary pandemic fix. It’s here to stay.

12 entry-level work-from-home jobs you can land without a degree

Here are some examples of popular remote jobs you may want to explore.

1. Customer service and call center

Pretty much all of the “help desk” jobs and customer care positions out there – the people who pick up the phone when you call with an issue with an order, for example – are now remote. Not only can you help people while working from home, but these roles often require minimal training so that you can get started fast with little to no experience! Additionally, many of these roles start at $16+ an hour and may offer benefits. The median wage is $17.75 per hour.

To become a customer service representative, you need excellent communication skills. You also need a good deal of patience. The best reps also know how to solve problems and how to multitask.

Many jobs don’t require experience, but if you’ve had experience working with customers in a previous job, it can help you land the job.

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2. Data entry

You’ll need basic computer knowledge, adequate typing speeds, and general software knowledge for a role in data entry. This job usually involves entering and updating information within a company database.

Some examples include:

• Updating customer accounts

• Making changes to the company website

• Entering client information into a database

Smaller companies may only need someone to do this part-time, while a larger company may have a whole team.

Data entry roles pay around $15 to $18 per hour. The average wage is $17.28 per hour.

When searching for data entry jobs, be careful to avoid job scams. Capital Typing and Clickworker are two agencies that hire remote data entry workers.

3. Transcriber

Transcribers listen to audio files and type what they hear into databases. They also transcribe handwritten notes into a digital format.

Many businesses need transcriptions typed up from meetings, interviews, and more. For example, in the healthcare industry, medical transcriptionists take doctors’ notes and input them into a database to upkeep a patient’s medical history.

If you’re confident about taking a speed typing test, many online companies are hiring for remote transcriptionist work. For general transcribing roles, programs will teach new hires the basics of transcription software, proper typing techniques, and grammar. General transcribing jobs pay around $15 an hour.

4. Medical billing

Medical billers convert doctors' notes into billing codes that facilitate insurance payments to healthcare providers. This is to make sure that patients' insurance providers send payments according to medical billing protocols.

This job is part of the healthcare industry’s effort to digitize health records, so basic computer knowledge and typing skills are important. The work can also include:

• Updating patient data

• Developing payment plans

• Preparing invoices.

Medical billing and coding jobs pay around $18 per hour. People of all experience levels can work in medical billing as long as you’re comfortable with a computer.

5. Virtual assistant

Functioning like a remote administrative assistant, a virtual assistant usually works from home, helping their employer (or multiple employers) with administrative and secretarial tasks.

The job can include scheduling appointments, following up on and managing emails, planning travel, and sending thank you notes to clients. You may not need training for this role if you’ve worked as a secretary or assistant in the past, but there are online training certification courses available!

Virtual assistants have several skills with which they can help their employers. When you work from home, you can work for an agency, a company, an individual, or as a freelancer.

Agencies hire and train virtual assistants and “rent” their services to other companies that need support. When you work for a single person, you’ll usually do a mix of administrative support and personal assisting (such as helping with personal appointments). As a freelancer, you’ll be in charge of finding your own clients. Freelancing also allows you to set your own rates and work for more than one employer.

You can make about $20 an hour doing remote virtual assistant work. As you gain experience, you can make even more — for instance, executive assistants make an average of $32.15 per hour.

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6. Bookkeeper

Bookkeepers enter financial records and reconcile them with bank statements. They also perform other administrative tasks to keep the accounting books in good shape.

As a bookkeeper, you can work for a small company or as a contractor for several companies. Bookkeepers don’t usually work for larger companies because these employers typically have an entire accounting department.

If you don’t have any previous experience in accounting, that’s okay! You can find several free certifications online to teach you the basics. However, you do need to be comfortable working with numbers.

Bookkeepers make a median pay of $21.90 an hour.

7. Appointment setter

Appointment setters are different from call center workers, although they still work with phones. They reach out to potential leads via phone or email and set appointments with sales representatives.

Keep in mind that appointment setters don’t take appointments — they only set them. To do this, you need to have strong communication skills. Sometimes, it’ll be difficult to get the right person on the phone, so this job also requires persistence and patience.

Appointment setters make an average pay of $31,033 a year, which works out to $14.92 per hour. There’s usually room for advancement as a sales representative when you gain enough experience as an appointment setter.

8. Content writer

As a content writer, you’ll write content for businesses — as the name suggests. This content can consist of:

• Blog posts

• Promotional emails and newsletters

• Ebooks

• Articles

• And much more

To become a content writer, you may need to develop your writing skills further. You’ll also need to develop some writing samples to show potential employers that you have what it takes (having your own blog helps but isn’t always necessary). Some business owners also require their content writers to have additional skills, including but not limited to:

• Knowing how to optimize their content so that it shows up at the top of online search results

• Proofreading and editing skills

• Creating content briefs from scratch

As a content writer, you can work full-time, part-time, as a contractor, or on a freelance basis for many companies. Content writers make a median pay of $33.42 an hour, although freelancers and contractors are often paid per assignment.

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9. Tutor

Tutors help children, teenagers, college students, or adults who go back to school, with topics they struggle with. They supplement the student’s learning to help them succeed. Sometimes, that involves helping them understand their homework, but you may need to come up with your own exercises in other cases.

To become a tutor, you need to excel in at least one school subject. But the great part about tutoring is that you don’t have to enjoy or be talented at any other school subject. For instance, if you hate math but have always had a knack for geography, you can tutor geography students in middle school or high school.

Tutors make an average hourly wage of $20.09 an hour. It’s usually a great part-time side gig.

10. ESL teacher

ESL teachers are similar to tutors, but they specialize in one topic — English as a second language. That’s what “ESL” stands for. They teach people across the world how to speak English as a second language at various levels.

ESL teachers earn a comparable wage to tutors. Although many ESL teachers travel for work, you can do this job from the comfort of your own home — as long as you’re talented enough in English.

11. Translator

If you’re talented both in English and another language, you can become a translator.

Translators take content and translate it to another language. While this content can be written, translators may also need to translate audio or video content, too.

The most effective way to become a translator is to work in your mother tongue only. For instance, if your first language is Spanish, but you’re also perfectly fluent in English, it’s better to translate content from English to Spanish and not the other way around.

Translators work in many fields, from video games to website content. Keep in mind that some fields may require a degree, such as law.

The median pay for translators is $23.61 an hour.

12. Petsitter

If you have space in your home and if you enjoy the company of pets, you can start your own business and provide boarding services for pets. To make this your full-time job, you’ll usually need to develop a strong network and get good word-of-mouth referrals. But you can also do this part-time.

Animal care and service workers have a median wage of $13.81 an hour. You can make extra money by boarding dogs specifically since dogs also require frequent walks. You can board other pets, but you’ll usually need to charge less than you would for dogs.

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Find the ideal work-from-home job

If working from home sounds like the ideal working scenario for you, all of the above options and more are great options for you to consider during your job search.

The first step is to assess your skills. Write down a list of your marketable skills, even ones you haven’t used in a while, and think about which work-from-home jobs might be a good fit for you by comparing the skills to various job descriptions.

For more remote job opportunities, check out our Remote Work Resource Center!