Many job roles can fit into any of these categories. For example, you can work as a programmer who makes apps to sell directly to users (passive income), you can provide code for clients that are working on apps (gig economy), or you can work remotely for a software company as a full-time employee (employment).
Other jobs will only fit one of these categories or will lend themselves more to a specific modality. What’s right for you?
Without further ado, here are the top online jobs you can get right now.
- Copywriter
Copywriting means writing content for website homepages, for advertising campaigns, and for packaging. This is content that has a specific purpose, and it is required by online businesses in large quantities.
Copywriting works particularly well as freelance work, offering a large amount of flexibility to find work and complete projects in your own time. You’ll need to be able to write quickly, and professionally.
A lot of this writing will be ghost written, meaning that your name won’t go on it. It’s not particularly high-paid, but if you work fast, it can provide a stable income.
- Blogger
Blogging means writing content that will go on a blog or a website with the aim of entertaining or informing the reader. Blogging can be monetized through display ads, or might form part of a content marketing strategy for a company looking to increase its authority and engagement.
That means you can blog for yourself or for other brands. If you choose to run your own blog, expect it to take some time before you gain enough visitors to generate a significant income.
- Journalist
Journalism is slightly different to blogging. Whereas blogging typically means writing in a fairly casual manner, journalism is more serious reporting. As a journalist, you’ll work for one or more publications (online or otherwise) alongside a team of editors. You may be required to cover breaking news, to attend live events and unveilings, or to write opinion pieces discussing topical matters.
- Vlogger
A vlogger is someone who makes money from YouTube videos. Generally, this means working for yourself to generate money from ads.
Becoming a YouTuber is one of the top online jobs in many regards. You’ll get to enjoy a sense of minor celebrity as you get comments from fans all around the world. And it’s rewarding work creating videos that get thousands of views too!
- Digital marketer
As a digital marketer, your job will be to help companies promote themselves online. There are many aspects to digital marketing, ranging from pay-per click advertising (PPC), to search engine optimization (SEO), to social media marketing.
Digital marketing can mean working as part of a large in-house team, or it might mean selling your services on a freelance basis. You might devise the entire online marketing strategy for a brand, or you might handle one small aspect of it. Either way, this work is in growing demand. The average salary for a freelance digital marketer in the US is around $66,206 per year!
- Programmer/software developer
Software development can mean a lot of different things depending on the types of project you work on, and the languages you learn. Likewise, software developers can again work independently, or as part of a large team – either of which will introduce many unique challenges.
- Video editor
Video marketing can make a huge impact and help a business to communicate its vision and brand in a direct and engaging manner. In order for this to happen though, the videos in question need to be punchy and well edited.
This is a skill that you can learn relatively easily through sites like Skillshare, and then begin selling for profit.
- Data analyst
A data analyst is someone that looks at large data sets in order to identify patterns and useful metrics. At the same time, they may be responsible for data cleaning (removing faulty data), or helping data to work with different systems.
Data analysts are in high demand right now, though the number of online jobs is slimmer than you might think owing to the sensitive nature of a lot of data.