33 Legit Online Jobs For Beginners That Pay $50K+

Some links included here are from our sponsors. Please read our affiliate disclaimer for more information.

Working remotely doesn’t have to mean taking a pay cut. There are more high-paying legit online jobs than ever. All it takes is being aware of the possibilities.

Below are 33 legitimate online jobs where you can earn over $50,000 a year without a degree — and most of them allow you to make your own schedule. Whether you’re looking to escape the cubicle or just earn extra cash, these options can help.

What Is an Online Job?

We define an online job as any opportunity that allows you to make a full-time income online. 

Not included in our list are opportunities to make extra money from home that do not generate a full-time income. Most common among these are getting paid to take online surveys. While it’s possible to earn a few hundred dollars a month with surveys, it’s not a true online job.

Best Full-Time Online Jobs for Beginners

These top online jobs have the ideal mix of high demand, a low supply of talented individuals and the opportunity to start earning fast. 

Have an interest in a particular online job? In the Learn More section at the bottom of each listing, we’ve included a free, beginner-friendly resource to help you kickstart your journey.

#1. Proofreading

If you’re the type of person who spots every typo and grammar mistake in the articles you read, consider a career as a proofreader. This is a great example of a job that needs no certification, and you can use your set of eagle eyes to make solid money.

With the explosion of web content that has occurred in recent years, it’s a job that’s in super-high demand. That means you can land your first client today.

Learn more: How to Become a Proofreader and Earn $40+ Per Hour Working From Home.

#2. Bookkeeping

At the top of many small businesses’ lists of “Least Favorite Work Activities” is bookkeeping. Of course, it’s a critical task for ensuring that a business runs smoothly and survives into the future.

If you’re someone who loves to work with numbers, you can earn very good money in the field. There are also a lot of opportunities to charge higher hourly wages the more you specialize. And, just like proofreading, bookkeeping doesn’t require a certification.

Learn more: How to Become a Bookkeeper at Home: A Beginner’s Guide.

#3. Virtual Assistant

For years, most people thought of virtual assistants as low-paid overseas workers that could be trusted to handle basic administrative tasks. But now the trend isn’t to hire a VA for $5 an hour; it’s to find the highest-quality VA possible — someone who will really add value to your business.

And because of that, businesses of all sizes are willing to pay significantly higher wages to the right person with the right skills. So instead of just doing boring, repetitive tasks, you’ll be working for a successful business owner as a remote executive assistant.

Common tasks carried out by VAs include:

• Answering emails.
• Managing social media.
• Scheduling appointments.
• Some VAs take on multiple clients, allowing them to earn over six figures a year.

Learn more: How to Make Money as a Virtual Assistant.

Suggested resource: Check out these virtual assistant training programs to kickstart your career.

#4. Blogging

Blogging used to be seen as a hobby. But online media has evolved. Now, everyone from major publishers to parenting bloggers are earning serious cash with their websites.

Some types of blogging are even a form of passive income — i.e., consistent income that requires little to no effort to maintain. For example, posts I wrote over five years ago still earn income today from passive sources like advertising and affiliate marketing.

Although there is a learning curve with blogging, the potential it has makes it a worthwhile investment for those willing to put in the time and effort.

Learn more: How to Start a Blog and Make Money.

#5. Freelance Writing

Freelance writing is one of the more lucrative side hustles I’ve tried. I started small, but in a year I was earning over $100 an hour. And thanks to the growth of content marketing, it’s also a skill that’s more in-demand than ever. 

In the beginning, you can expect to earn around $15 to $30 per hour for online writing jobs. But over time, as you build your portfolio and client base, you’ll be able to charge significantly more (and even make six figures a year).

Learn more: How to get started as a freelance writer.

#6. Website Design

Web designers have been in high demand for some time, and job growth is expected to be even higher than average over the next 10 years. Traditional coding experience isn’t required to get started, since there are a number of high-quality, no-code design platforms that allow beginners to create beautiful websites (which they can charge a premium for). 

In fact, before starting this website, I freelanced as a no-code designer (using Unbounce). I was able to command rates of over $150 per hour on Upwork. Mastering the ins and outs of one of the many no-code platforms available is a great way to build a lucrative freelance business.

Learn More: How to Make Money Building Websites (A Beginner’s Guide).

#7. Graphic Design

For the artists out there, graphic design is a great way to monetize your hobby. The web is becoming more visual, especially as mobile devices become the primary method of browsing. 

The highest-paid graphic designers combine multiple skills into their designs. Knowledge in branding, sales and direct response marketing allow many graphic designers to charge over $100 per hour.

Websites like Canva have provided beginner graphic designers with the tools and resources they need to create professional designs and get freelance jobs.

Learn more: How to Make Money as a Freelance Graphic Designer.

#8. E-Commerce Store and/or Amazon FBA

Amazon FBA is a business idea that’s getting a lot of attention lately. The idea is to buy products directly from a manufacturer or wholesaler, then sell them online via Amazon. The most popular option is to use Amazon FBA, which handles all the warehousing and shipping (the “fulfillment”) for you. In fact, you can even have the manufacturer or distributor send the products directly to Amazon, so that you never have to physically touch the items. 

But you don’t have to limit your selling to Amazon. You can also use FBA to ship products you sell on eBay or your own website. It’s much easier than packing and shipping everything yourself, and the shipping rates Amazon charges you are much lower than you’d pay to UPS or FedEx.

Learn more: How to Make Money With Amazon FBA.

#9. Coding (Developing and Programming)

There’s huge demand for coders (i.e., software developers and programmers). And while it helps to have a computer science background, many people today are entering coding as a second career choice, even without a technical background. 

There are now dozens of coding bootcamps — which are short, intensive programs that build competency in a particular coding skill — that allow you to go from beginner to job-worthy in weeks. And like most of the jobs on this list, you can do this work as both a full-time work-from-home gig for a major company, or as a side hustle from smaller projects you find on freelance sites like Upwork.

Learn more: How to Become a Coder Online — A Guide to Coding Career Paths and Salaries.

#10 Sales Copywriting

Copywriting is the ability to write text that gets someone to take action. It’s a skill that can be used online (through ads, landing pages and email) or offline (in things like sales letters and brochures).

There are simply not enough skilled copywriters out there today, so once you’ve established yourself as someone who can get results, the opportunity is plentiful.   

Learn more: How to Become a Copywriter (Even With No Experience).

#11. Social Media Manager

Many business owners don’t have the time to make consistent updates to their social media platforms or to respond promptly to customer requests made via social media. That’s why so many businesses today are looking to hire social media managers. In fact, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, a 10% job growth rate is expected for social media marketing managers through 2031. In addition, LinkedIn named digital marketing its top hard skill to add to your resume.

As long as you have the ability to post, curate and manage content on social media channels, you can start taking on clients today. But the big money is in learning how to effectively deploy paid advertising, such as Facebook ads. Businesses need new customer leads, and you can earn premium wages if you know how to use things like micro-targeting to deliver ads to just the right audience. 

Related Reading: The 10 Best Online Jobs For College Students.

#12. Search Engine Optimization

Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of helping businesses get found online (primarily via Google searches). In fact, a recent study by Microsoft listed SEO as the most important hard skill for marketers to learn going forward. 

In my experience, having managed local SEO campaigns in the past, there’s a lot of low-hanging fruit. That means you can drive a lot of revenue to a business just by implementing a basic set of SEO best practices. Therefore, you can charge a high hourly or project rate, knowing you’ll deliver results.

Learn more: The best way to learn SEO is with hands-on experience. Personally, I learned SEO by starting a blog and seeing what worked and what didn’t. With real proof of results on my resume, I was then able to obtain clients and earn a high rate for my work. 

#13. Marketing Automation Specialist

Another beginner-level opportunity on Microsoft’s list of most important hard skills for marketers is automation. Online marketing automation platforms like Ontraport and HubSpot are seeing incredible growth right now, and more platforms are emerging all the time. Some other examples are Aweber, Convert Kit and Mailchimp.

Taking a certification course to become a specialist can often land you in the $60 to $100 per hour range fast. 

Learn more: Check out HubSpot’s free marketing automation courses to get started. 

#14. Video Editing and Production

Another online trend that’s picking up more steam with every passing year is video editing. Video editors with prior experience are in high demand, with the potential to earn over $50 per hour the more you specialize.

There’s no certification required to get into video editing, as the work itself becomes your resume. As such, a few fun experimental videos you publish can help you land a job or a freelancing opportunity fast.

Learn more: How to Become a Freelance Video Editor.

#15. Online Tutoring

One high-growth industry right now is online education. And one of the fastest-growing niches in the field is online tutoring jobs. There are now multiple websites — Chegg and Tutor.com being the most popular — that connect you with students all over the world who are looking to be tutored in a range of subjects.

Since some platforms only hire tutors with formal credentials, this can be an ideal side hustle for teachers who are looking for a flexible way to bolster their income.

A few things to like about online tutoring are that, in most cases:

• The lesson plans and course materials are provided.
• You can start teaching classes as quickly as two weeks after applying.
• You can work when you want, where you want, with no need to worry about marketing your services.

All these factors also make it an especially good online job for retired teachers.

Learn more: Check out our article on the best online tutoring sites, which goes into more detail on each of the leading companies in the field.

16. Sales Representative

Becoming a sales representative is a great way to get your foot in the door of a fast-growing industry. The goal is to find a job opportunity with a solid starting salary and a commission structure that allows room for growth. 

Those at the top of the field, such as enterprise sales reps, bring so much value to a company that they can earn seven figures.

Learn more: Read HubSpot’s ultimate guide to a career in sales for insight into potential avenues for launching a career in the field.

#17. Voiceover Artist

Voice acting is the art of reading a script and using your voice to bring that script to life. It’s a skill, and a valuable one at that, as rates can get as high as $300 for the first hour (and between $200 and $350 for each subsequent hour), according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

As a voice actor, you’ll find yourself working on commercials, videos and narrating audiobooks, among many other projects. This work can be done at home, with just a few hundred dollars of equipment.

Learn more: How to Become a Voiceover Actor — Seven Tips for Landing a Job.

#18. Technical Writing

For those who like to dive deep into learning new things — and who aren’t afraid of tackling super-complicated topics — technical writing can be a great way to generate extra income. A bachelor’s degree is very beneficial for those considering this field, but it’s not a requirement. 

As a technical writer, you’ll be responsible for writing user guides and other documentation. Aside from being interesting work for those who love to research, it’s also widely recognized as one of the best freelance writing niches.  

Learn more: How to Become a Technical Writer: Tips for Breaking Into This Lucrative Field.

#19. Customer Service Representative

Many companies have embraced the trend of remote work, and the call center industry is no exception. Most customer service jobs will not pay you $50,000 per year. In fact, according to Payscale, the average hourly wage for a customer service job is $14.44. But if you’re smart about where you look and the skillsets you master, there is a path to becoming a high earner in the field.

For starters, because there’s a large supply of customer service jobs, I’d avoid looking for jobs under the name “Customer Service Representative.” Research by TheJobNetwork showed that terms like “Customer Experience Associate,” “Customer Engagement Representative,” and “Customer Service Advisor” actually paid $18 or more per hour — well more than your average customer service job.

Two fields with a lot of overlap (and higher pay than customer service) are “Account Management” and “Customer Success Manager.” In these fields, you’ll be doing a lot of customer service work, but other skills — such as cross-selling and retention — are required. As such, if you’re looking to become a high earner long-term, finding an entry-level position in account management or customer success might be your best bet.

Learn more: Nine Work-From-Home Customer Service Jobs that Pay Well.

#20. Online Chat Support

Becoming a live chat agent allows you to work in a more relaxed environment compared to a traditional customer service position, since you won’t have to deal with angry customers over the phone. 

It’s also a fast-growing field, as more and more businesses are realizing the benefits of offering live chat support. As such, gaining experience now can help you land a more desirable job in the future — e.g., finding a job with a larger company that offers consistent work, better benefits, and more long-term opportunities. 

Learn more: Read our list of the best work from home chat jobs.

#21. Dropshipping

Shopify has created hundreds of opportunities for online entrepreneurs. Why? They made the process of selling things online easy. From products and digital downloads to consulting services, over 1 million people use Shopify to run an online store.

One of the most common ways people get started is through dropshipping. The benefit of starting a dropshipping store is that orders are sent right to the customer. That means the store owners (like you) don’t have to hold inventory or deal with shipping. And since you only need to order a product after a customer has bought it from your store, it’s a very low-cost business to start.

Similar to blogging, creating a successful dropshipping store is a great skill-builder. There’s strong demand for people who can help existing businesses sell more via their Shopify store, which means there are great opportunities to freelance or get hired on a more long-term basis, depending on which you prefer.

Learn more: Shopify has a $1 one-month trial, which gives you access to a large content library of resources for getting started.

#22. Retail Arbitrage

You can make money online by flipping items for profit. Think of this online business idea as buying an asset and selling it for a higher price. Your inventory can be anything you find at a garage sale or on a clearance rack.

The goal — and the key to making retail arbitrage work — is having an information advantage. This means understanding the market for what you’re buying better than the person who is selling that item.

Remember, the concept of arbitrage is based on the principle that a particular good has a higher price in one place than it does in another. That might mean it sells for more in California than it does in New York. But it might also mean that it sells for more online than it does in a brick-and-mortar store. Winning at arbitrage means knowing how to figure out which items to buy and which ones to walk away from. 

Learn more: See Mellissa and Rob Stephenson’s free workshop on retail arbitrage for actionable steps on building a profitable reselling business.

#23. Etsy Store Owner

When it comes to legit jobs for stay-at-home moms, Etsy is a very popular choice. Think of Etsy as eBay for creative people, as some of the most popular products on the platform include arts, crafts and jewelry.

You can either do Etsy as a business (there are many full-time sellers) or use it as a way to make extra money in your spare time.

Learn more: See our complete guide to making money on Etsy, which explains how to get started and offers tips from successful shop owners. For some inspiration on what to sell, check out our list of the best things to sell online.

#23. Create a Course

If you have expertise others may find valuable, you can create a course online and sell it. This used to be very hard, as you had to build your audience from scratch. But two websites, Udemy and Skillshare, now provide access to an audience of people who are eager to learn about almost everything under the sun. Also, platforms like Teachable make it easy to launch your own course if you already have an audience who knows and trusts you. 

No niche is too small when it comes to creating a course. There are courses on Udemy that have over 1,000 sales about niche topics like baking sourdough bread, brewing beer and knitting. 

Learn more: How to Create an Awesome Online Course.

#25. Virtual Recruiter

If you love to network, this is a great low-cost business to start. What you’re doing here is finding talent for employers. Payouts can be quite large, as some placement firms charge upwards of 25% of the employee’s annual salary. 

Avoid this online business idea if you aren’t a naturally outgoing person. You’ll be cold-calling employers and constantly building your network, so that you can act as a liaison and help find the right people to hire; in other words, it’s important that you enjoy the art of communicating. 

Learn more: How to Become a Recruiter — The Beginner’s Guide.

#26. Transcriptionist

There are dozens of online data entry jobs. Sites like Clickworker and Amazon’s Mechanical Turk provide typists with a lot of work opportunities, but they’re often micro-jobs — quick tasks that pay almost nothing. 

In order to make over $50,000 per year with data entry jobs, you’ll need to specialize.

Healthcare is a popular field, where remote jobs such as medical coder and medical transcriptionist can pay well. (This can be a great side hustle for nurses, whose combination of medical knowledge and credentials can lead to well-above-average pay rates.)

See our list of transcription jobs that pay well to learn about the best options.

If you’re not looking for a career and just want to make some extra income, there are a number of websites where you can get started with transcription jobs on a more casual basis.

The most popular sites are:

• Rev — make 36 to 65 cents per minute of audio transcribed.
• Go Transcript — earn up to 60 cents per minute of audio transcribed.
• Scribie — pay starts at $5 to $25 per hour of audio transcribed.

Learn more: Check out our list of 11 Online Transcription Jobs For Beginners.

#27. Influencer

You can’t deny the amounts of money influencers are commanding today, even beyond Instagram. As we detail in our article about making money on Snapchat, the popular social media app pays out more than $1 million per day through their Spotlight program. There are just as many (if not more) opportunities to make money on TikTok, no shortage of ways to make money with a podcast, and of course there’s also YouTube (where top video creators make millions of dollars per year).

Becoming an influencer isn’t a money-making idea where you’re able to earn quickly (although the dream is often sold that way). It does take time to build an audience. But it teaches you a lot of valuable skills, which can help you build a career. It’s for this reason that it’s a good online job for teens to generate some income and expand career options down the road. 

Learn more: Read our in-depth guides on how to make money on TikTok, how to make money on Snapchat, and if you’re into video games, how to make money on Twitch.

#28. Financial Clerk

The term “financial clerk” is a bit of a catch-all phrase that describes jobs including things like payroll, accounts payable and credit manager. Most businesses require these services, and they’re increasingly hiring contractors as opposed to bringing in-house employees on board.

This is a great field for those who don’t have a college degree, as one is not typically required. Thanks to technology, what used to take several hours now can be done in minutes. While the tasks are essential for businesses they often don’t require full-time employees, so those looking to make some extra money will find that these jobs fit into their spare time. 

Learn more: What a Finance Clerk Is (And How to Become One).

#29. Paralegal or Legal Assistant

Paralegals and legal assistants work alongside attorneys to conduct research, maintain case files and draft legal documents. The BLS lists the job growth for paralegals and legal assistants at 10% through 2029, much faster than average.

Many employers require only an associate degree or a certificate in paralegal studies. However, this is a job that requires some experience. To avoid the old conundrum of not being able to get experience if you can’t get hired, and not being hired because you lack experience, find an internship. In this field, internships usually pay and are open to people of all ages.

Learn more: Can You Become a Paralegal with No Job Experience?

#30. Medical Assistant

With telehealth becoming a major trend, the ability to work as a remote medical assistant is also growing. Medical assistants handle administrative tasks such as scheduling appointments, billing and ordering supplies for private practices, hospitals and medical facilities like rehabilitation centers and elderly care homes. 

No college degree is required to become a medical assistant. However, since billing is typically one of the main responsibilities of the role, taking a medical coding and billing course can increase your chances of getting a job quickly. There are even online courses you can take, and some programs have job placement assistance for students that have graduated. 

Learn more: How to Become a Medical Assistant: The Steps You Can’t Ignore.

#31. Tax Preparer

Tax preparers prepare and file tax returns for individuals and businesses. You don’t need a degree or license to work as a tax preparer, but some states do impose some regulations. 

This is a smart choice for those looking for a seasonal or part-time job, as the peak demand for tax preparers comes in the first quarter of every year. If you’re looking for more steady work, consider becoming a bookkeeper. 

Learn more: How to Become a Tax Preparer.

#32. Interpreter or Translator

Interpreters and translators convert spoken or written words from one language (most often, English) into another. This field includes those who know sign language. If you do speak multiple languages, know that the demand for interpreters and translators is expected to grow 20% through 2029, one of the highest growth trends we found. 

The most important requirement here is to have proficiency in a second language. A passing knowledge of a second language is not sufficient for either of these careers — you must be fully fluent. While a bachelor’s degree can help you get hired by a Fortune 500 company, there is plenty of freelance work available on sites like Upwork and Fiverr.

Learn more: How to Become an Interpreter or Translator.

#33. Market Research Analyst

Most market research analysts working at large companies do hold a bachelor’s degree. But it’s worth mentioning here because it’s easy to break into the market research field online as a freelance product tester. 

As a complete beginner, you can consider taking online surveys for money, which pay closer to $5/hour. In other words, they’re good for earning a gift card or two a month but they’re not a full-time online job. 

One step up is the ability to work for micro-job sites like UserTesting, which pay you per hour to test apps and websites. With UserTesting, you earn between $4 and $10 for every test, and between $30 and $120 for live interviews.

Freelancing as a market research analyst provides the highest upside. A typical job could be working for a non-fiction author to aggregate information around a certain topic. 

Learn more: How to Get Paid For Searching The Web.

Best Online Job FAQs

How to Get an Online Job With Little or No Experience

There’s a lot that needs to happen to land one of the opportunities highlighted here. That’s why we created four in-depth guides, with the goal of giving you the greatest possible chance at building a successful work-at-home career.

Use these resources below to help land your ideal online job.

1. How to Write a Resume With No Experience. Download our free beginner’s resume template, then let us walk you through how to create a winning resume for landing your dream job.
2. How to Start Freelancing (Complete Beginner’s Guide). Check out our hub of content that helps you go from beginner to highly-paid freelancer. 
3. 10 Best Online Jobs That Pay Weekly Or Faster. If you’re in need of generating income quickly, here are 10 beginner-friendly online jobs that can help you get through a cash shortage. 

*We gathered data from a variety of sources to determine hourly rates, including the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Glassdoor and Payscale.

R.J. Weiss

R.J. Weiss, founder of The Ways To Wealth, has been a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ since 2010. Holding a B.A. in finance and having completed the CFP® certification curriculum at The American College, R.J. combines formal education with a deep commitment to providing unbiased financial insights. Recognized as a trusted authority in the financial realm, his expertise is highlighted in major publications like Business Insider, New York Times, and Forbes.