The Moonlighter’s Guide to Working From Home

When money is tight and you find yourself needing to work an additional job on top of your full-time one, it can feel like your options are limited or that you have to settle for anything that happens to fit around your already jam-packed schedule.

Believe me, I know! After the birth of my son, bills were stacking up (babies are expensive!) and I needed extra income pronto.

The problem? It’s not exactly practical or convenient to find a job that fits around a newborn’s schedule. That’s when I turned my attention online and discovered several ways to bring home extra bacon that fit around my crazy schedule.

These jobs allowed me to sneak in some work here or there, you know, around midnight feedings or during a few blissfully quiet hours at nap time.

And if you need convenient ways to earn on your own agenda, know it is possible and can be done! You just have to know what’s out there and where to look. I can help. I’ve put together this list of 50 ways to work online whenever you want.

So, go ahead and look around. I’ve tried many of these gigs myself!

What is Moonlighting?

Simply put, moonlighting is having a second job on top of your regular employment. People get second jobs for all sorts of reasons. Maybe you need to pay down debt. Perhaps your hours were cut at work or your spouse lost their job. And then there’s life’s unexpected moments like costly repair bills and medical expenses that come out of the blue. Sometimes (okay, all the time) it’s just nice to have a little extra cash in the bank. Whatever your reason for needing (or wanting) extra money, you’re not alone.

Roughly 5% of workers hold multiple jobs and some states (like Nebraska and South Dakota) have as much as 10% of workers who moonlight.

I suspect if it was easier to get a second job, far more people would moonlight. But when you already have a full-time job and family commitments, you don’t exactly have a ton of time left over (and don’t forget you need to sleep at some point, too!).

But thanks to popular work from home options, anyone can moonlight and earn extra money without ever having to leave your driveway (unless your internet is down and then you might have to go to your nearest WiFi hotspot).

Are you ready to moonlight? Here are 50 ideas to help you earn extra money from home. The best part? All (yes all) of these options can be completed when you want, whenever you want (how’s that for convenience?)

Transcription

Warm up your fingers and start typing. Transcription is a popular option for work from home pros. Many people earn a full-time income typing but you can also supplement your income by working as much (or little) as you’d like. Not sure if transcription is right for you? Here’s a Beginner’s Guide to Transcription to give you some more information.

1. Get Transcribed

Since 2012, Get Transcribed has offered transcription work to freelance transcriptionists. Some of their contractors accept as little as 30 minutes of audio a month. You just need to communicate your availability and stick to it. Payments are made via PayPal once you hit the $100.00 mark.

2. REV

Work as a transcriptionist or captioner at REV. You get to choose which projects you accept and how much you work each month. The average REV typists earns $241.00 per month and their highest earners take home about $1,500.00.

3. Scribie

At Scribie, there are no monthly commitments or cashout limits. Files are short (six minutes or less) and can be claimed at any time. Typists can earn more each month with bonuses and through Scribie’s affiliate program!

4. CastingWords

Typing jobs can be found through the CastingWords Workshop or Mechanical Turk. You can accept jobs whenever you’d like as long as jobs are available (work is almost always available here!).

Micro Jobs & Short Task Sites

With micro jobs you can monetize your downtime. The next time you find yourself with nothing to do, check out one of these short task sites for ways to earn money in a matter of minutes.

5. Amazon mTurk

There are literally thousands of short tasks available at any given time through Amazon mTurk. Image tagging, data entry, transcription and writing gigs are commonly found on this popular micro job platform. Payments are made to your Amazon Payments Account and can be transferred to your bank account from there.

6. ClickWorker

Payments are made weekly at ClickWorker with cashout minimums as low as $5.00 for PayPal ($10.00 for bank transfers). Available work can be hit or miss. When gigs are available they’re usually writing, researching, and translation-type assignments.

7. Crowdflower

You’ll need a Facebook account to get started at Crowdflower. Payments are made via PayPal once you earn $10.00 or more. You can eventually become a “Skilled Contributor” and gain access to higher paying tasks and get to review other contributors’ work, too.

8. CrowdSource

A lot of the tasks available on CrowdSource involve editing and writing. They work with bigger-name companies like Walmart and Overstock. So there’s usually a good volume of work available. You will need to take and pass short tests to work on some projects. But for micro jobs, some of them pay very well and can earn you as much as $15.00 per hour!

Search Engine Evaluator

Search engines use highly sophisticated algorithms to give you the best results when you type something into Google or Bing. But since computers aren’t perfect (at least not yet anyway) people are still used to rate the relevancy of ads and search results based on queries. That’s where Search Engine Evaluators come into play.

9. Appen

With flexible hours and competitive pay, Appen makes it easy to work a second job online as a Search Engine Evaluator. They’ve recently added Social Media Evaluator to their jobs lineup,too. So if social media is your thing, you can also moonlight with this popular job option.

10. Leapforce

Leapforce hires around the globe for multiple languages. They almost always have At Home Agent positions available. There’s also a position called Personalized Search Engine Evaluator which uses your Gmail account to create ratings.

11. iSoftStone

iSoftStone hires Search Engine Analysts for longer-term projects to work with Bing search engine. The pay rate starts at $13.00 per hour and goes up from there.

12. ZeroChaos

From time to time, ZeroChaos hires Ads Quality Raters to rate Google Ads. ZeroChaos pays the best starting at $15.00 hour. You’re also hired on as an employee (W-2) and not an independent contractor.

Online Editing & Proofreading

How’s your grammar and spelling? If you have an understanding of English and a way with words, you can work from home as a proofreader or editor and help writers do their best work. Not sure you have what it takes to become a proofreader? Take this free 45-minute workshop to learn what it takes to be successful in the world of proofreading.

13. Kibin

Kibin has on-demand editing and proofreading services 24/7. You can submit your availability and work around any existing commitments you have.

14. ProofreadingServices.com

ProofreadingServices.com has plenty of work available for their proofreaders. If you only want to work part-time, no problem, you can choose the hours you work proofreading a variety of documents and articles each week.

15. Domainite

Domainite is a great place to get started if you don’t have prior editing experience (but are pretty confident you can help all writers be their best!). You’ll need to pass a short editing test to get started. You choose when you work and which projects you work on as a Domainite Editor.

16. Gramlee

Gramlee is always looking to meet new editors interested in working with their clients. Gramlee promises a 24-hour turnaround time for most documents clients submit (this means there’s work available any time day or night).

17. Scribendi

At Scribendi you get to join an editor’s community that is super-supportive. There are incentive programs on top of regular pay and you can choose which projects you want to work on!

Phone Mystery Shopping

If you’re not afraid to pick up the phone, you can earn extra money each month as a Telephone Mystery Shopper (some people can earn as much as $90.00 a day!). As a Phone Mystery Shopper you’ll need to call businesses which means having availability during typical business hours is a must! Otherwise, you can choose which shops you work on and do them whenever you’d like!

18. ARC

Once you register with ARC you can begin taking paid shops. Payments are made via direct deposit. If you perform well, you may even be offered a job as an Objective Call Center Evaluator!

19. Call Center QA

Call Center QA pays around $5.00 for each call you make. Payments are made via PayPal usually within 24 to 48 hours (so if you need fast cash, this is a great opportunity!)

20. Perception Strategies

Perception Strategies performs telephone mystery shopping jobs within the healthcare industry. This opportunity is a little more involved than the others but also pays between $12.00 and $17.00 per shop.

21. Intelicheck

With Intelicheck you can expect to place calls to businesses within the service industry. Starting out, you may earn around $1.00 per call (keep in mind you may only need to ask a question or two). You’ll need to commit to a certain number of hours each week (the minimum is 10).

Freelancing

They say everyone is good at something (and whatever your “something” is, you can make money off of it!). Whether you’re a writer, designer, admin assistant, or developer you can earn money whenever you’d like as a freelancer by joining one of the popular freelance marketplaces. You can also check out this article on how to start a work at home freelance career.

22. Upwork

This is a massive freelancers’ marketplace where you can find jobs about anything! You can work when you want, for whom and set your own rates. You can be invited to submit proposals or apply to jobs you find interesting. There’s no minimum requirement for the work you perform (you’ll just have to set deadlines and stick to them!).

23. Guru 

It’ll take some time for you to get your Guru profile up and running (if you do it well any way). With the free account you’ll have a set number of bids you can use to apply for jobs (you can opt for a paid membership for extra bids). Guru isn’t as crowded as the other marketplace sites for freelancers, so you won’t run into as much competition here.

24. Freelancer

Out of all the freelance sites, I personally find Freelancer to be the most confusing. There are jobs posted as well as contests. Contests require you to submit an entry and the client will then pick one and pay them a guaranteed price. So you very well could be doing work for which you’re never paid. But the contests and other jobs are things you can work on in your down time and (might) be compensated for.

Customer Service and Support

If you do some of your best work while on the phone, you can work from home as a customer support agent! These jobs are like virtual call centers which allow you to schedule yourself for blocks of time and take inbound calls to help customers with their questions and inquiries.

25. LiveOps

Be your own boss as a LiveOps Independent Agent! You get to schedule yourself for blocks of time based on your availability (a block of time can be as short as 30 minutes!). You work as an independent contractor and will bill LiveOps for your time twice monthly.

26. NexusOp

As a NexusOp Customer Service Consultant, you have complete control of your schedule (and earnings!). You’ll have to complete training modules to get started, but can log in and take calls anytime Monday-Friday 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. EST, Saturday 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and Sunday 1:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. You are paid per minute of talk time.

Virtual Assistant

You might not think being a virtual assistant is a flexible enough position for a moonlighter, but in some instances, it is! If you’re good at getting things done, working as a Virtual Assistant can offer extra money each month. Ready to launch your very own flexible (and in demand) virtual assistant biz? Learn how you can become one in just 30 days or less!

27. Fancy Hands

Fancy Hands works on a crowdsource platform where a pool of assistants have access to tasks 24/7! You can accept and perform any jobs that are available on the dashboard (all jobs should take between 15 to 20 minutes to complete). Tasks start at $2.50 and go up to $7.00.

28. Time Etc.

If you have as little as three hours a week, you can sign up to be a Time Etc. Virtual Assistant! They hire virtual assistants in four categories: general, writing, social  media, and customer service. This is a truly flexible opportunity that fits into your schedule (and not the other way around!).

Writing

If you think you need to be a journalist or a former english major to make it in the world of online writing, think again. Anyone with good grammar and the ability to put together coherent sentences can make extra money from home each month! Wanna skip the sites and start your own writing side hustle? This course will show you everything you need to do to earn your first 1k as a writer!

29. Scripted

Sign up to be a writer at Scripted and work on articles and projects that you prefer. There’s no minimum commitment and you can choose to work when you want.

30.  Love to Know

Get paid between $15 and $50 for the articles you write for Love To Know. You’ll need to be approved to write for certain subjects (you can be approved for multiple subjects). You can work when you’d like. Payments are made via PayPal on a per article basis.

31. iWriter

Sign up to be a contributor at iWriter and select as many or as few articles to write each day! You can work at your own speed and take full control of your earnings.

32. Hire Writers

You can earn up to $20 per article written for Hire Writers. Login when you have time and gain access to hundreds of writing assignments. Payments are made once a week on Fridays.

33. Great Content

Sign up, complete a short writing sample, get evaluated, and start writing at Great Content. You can pick and choose the writing assignments that appeal to you.

34. EduWriters

You’ll need a bachelor’s degree (in any subject) to work at EduWriters. As you might’ve guessed by their name, they handle academic writings. You can earn between $7 and $15 per page you write. You’ll have the flexibility to choose your assignments and when you write.

35. BKA

At BKA you join a community of writers who write keyword-rich articles for companies to help increase their search engine exposure. You’ll have to pass a series of writing tests to get started. You can write whenever you’d like as long as you commit to five articles per week.

36. Textbroker

After you pass the brief writing test at Textbroker you can login to see when work is available anytime day or night. You’ll be paid per word based on your writing level (you can move up or down depending on the quality of your work). You can make as much as $0.05 per word!

37. Contentmart

Sign up to be a writer at Contentmart and work on content requirements from different industries and global clients. There is no fees for registration and you can work on a price quoted by you.

Usability Testing

Usability Testing is one of my favorite (okay probably my favorite) way to earn extra money each month. These are short tasks (anywhere from five to 20 minutes) where you’ll check out a website or app and provide your thoughts/feelings/criticism via webcam or microphone. That’s it. These can be quite fun and can earn you anywhere from $3.00 to $25.00 depending on the company and test type.

38. YouEye

Testers are now earning an average of $25 for each study they complete (a study averages about 20 minutes). After signing up, you’ll perform a sample study. From there you’ll be invited to take tests which start out at $12 each.

39. What Users Do

At What Users Do tests usually take less than 20 minutes and earn you $8. Payments are made via PayPal.

40. Userlytics

Signing up at Userlytics is quick and easy. You are paid $10 for each test you complete via PayPal.

41. TryMyUI

For each 20 minute test you complete, you’ll earn $10 at TryMyUI. Payments are made for each approved test once a week on Friday (payments are made via PayPal).

42. StartUpLift

Mostly working with Startups, you’re provided a URL and a set of tasks to complete. You’re expected to provide feedback along the way and will be paid $5 for each test you complete.

43. Analysia

Analysia will pay you $10 for each 10-15 minute test you complete. Payments are made via PayPal. Tests will be available to you based on your user profile.

44. UTest

UTest takes a different approach to user testing by recognizing their contributors as valuable professionals who perform vital work. They recruit testers for a variety of projects both online and offline. You’ll see available work on the Projects Board along with the corresponding payment amount.

45. Enroll

Enroll has super-short tests available for computers, smartphones, and tablets. You might answer a  simple question, perform one task, or simply click a link. Payments vary and are made through PayPal as long as you have $1.00 in your account.

46. Erli Bird

Erli Bird works with startups to conduct private Beta tests. You can get paid between $5 and $15 for performing tests and providing feedback.

47. User Testing

I am a current User Testing tester and absolutely love it. Payments are always on time and they work with some big companies like Target, Nordstrom, and Home Depot to do usability testing. You can earn $3 for short 5-minute “Peek” Tests, $10 for website and app tests, and $15 for mobile camera apps (requires they send you an IPEVO camera to record your smartphone while testing). Payments are made the following week you complete a test via PayPal.

Miscellaneous

Sometimes online tasks fall into the uncategorized or miscellaneous arena (but still earn you money just the same!). If you haven’t found anything so far on the list that interests you, perhaps one of these flexible opportunities will.

48. Reynolds and Reynolds

At Reynolds and Reynolds you can become a Remote Call Analyst. All you have to do is listen to recorded phone calls between clients and customers and evaluate them based on preset criteria.

49. Humanatic

Similar to Reynolds and Reynolds, you can get paid to review calls with Humanatic. After you listen to a call you answer a question and get paid. Payments are made once a week via PayPal.

50. Virtual Bee The Smart Crowd

With The Smart Crowd (formerly Virtual Bee)  you can get paid to key (data entry) short snippets of information. You are paid per keystroke. You’ll have to log in and check to see if work is available.  When it is, you can key as much (or as little) as you’d like!

51. Slice The Pie

With SlicethePie you can get paid to review music. Once you listen to at least 90 seconds of a song, you can rate it. The more detailed and genuine your reviews, the more money you can earn. SlicethePie has recently partnered with fashion retailers to help rate looks too (another fun way to earn extra money each month!).

Bonus Idea:

52. Ebay

It’s no secret that some people make big bucks selling items on Ebay. In 2013, I made an extra $9,000 just by buying items at thrift stores and selling them for a profit on Ebay (I did this only on the weekends for just a few hours each day).

It can take a little time to get up and running, but chances are you have stuff just lying around your house that you could sell for cash today! Ebay even has a mobile app to make it super-easy to take pictures of items and put them up for sale in a few clicks. Many people start off selling occasionally on Ebay and turn it into a full time job!

Even if you’re not ready to give up your full-time job outside the home to try your hand at online work, you can still find ways to earn extra money each and every month. All these work from home job options let you work when you want as much or as little as you want. Who knows, you might find something you enjoy so much that it ends up replacing your day job!

Don’t forget to like Work from Home Happiness on Facebook for a daily dose of extra money ideas you can do from home!