This is a work-in-progress list of jobs that can be started quickly from home in Australia – especially in this time of pandemic.
I’ll keep adding to this post as extra ideas come through. Send through any suggestions in the comments below or by email / Instagram / Twitter / Facebook!
Teach English online with Engoo
- Engoo‘s format is one-on-one English lessons of 25mins by video call, with mostly Japanese students of varying ages, proficiency levels, and backgrounds.
- All training materials are provided by the company and available on the website.
- Pros: Non-US accents are welcome; No degree or ESL training required; No minimum number of classes per week.
There are a range of English teaching online platforms out there – but many of them require teachers with US-English accents or hold a bachelor’s degree. Fortunately, Engoo allows for all native English speaker accents and doesn’t require formal qualifications.
I met an Australian woman in Chiang Mai who was teaching English full-time using this platform (formerly called Bibo Global). She more than covered a comfortable Thailand lifestyle with her regular payments. I haven’t used the service myself, but have heard other good feedback.
Online tasks with Appen
“Appen is seeking candidates in different countries and languages for exciting work-from-home opportunities! These opportunities range from simple surveys that can be completed in less than one hour to on-going projects that last for months or longer. We look for a variety of skill sets, from those who use social media regularly to candidates who have college degrees in linguistics.”
I have used Appen myself to complete simple online tasks, including recording spoken phrases to assist with accent recognition software. Other tasks include search engine evaluation, transcription, social media evaluation and data collection.
Appen says: “Our global Crowd consists of over one million skilled contractors in over 70,000 locations and 130 countries.” Appen has an Australian branch and the pay is actually reasonable; USD$18/hr for a current search engine result collection task I’m working on. Payouts are by Paypal in USD$; alternatively via bank transfer or with different currencies with fees. Apply to Appen here.
Become a Virtual Assistant
I’ve recently been taking on virtual assistant work and freelance projects, for flexibility in where and when I work. As I’ve learnt more about the field, I’ve come to realise how expansive it is and how many different skill sets are needed. I love this list by Digital Nomad Kit of 100+ services that VAs can provide – including general admin, graphic design, travel bookings, data entry, bookkeeping, writing, social media management and more.
Put simply, virtual assistants provide online support to a business or individual for an agreed-upon fee. Getting started can be relatively simple:
- Identifying tasks and services you can provide
- Letting friends and potential clients know you’re available for hire and how to contact you
- Ensuring you have appropriate equipment – laptop, internet, etc
- Agreeing to a rate and method of payment – eg. Paypal
It’s also possible to offer your services through Upwork, Fivrr, Freelancer and other sites – but note, competition is higher there and payouts can be lower than what you might arrange yourself.
Some resources I’ve enjoyed recently are:
- Free! The 5 Day VA short course – Digital Nomad Kit (I used this to get started myself)
- How to set up as a Virtual Assistant – The Remote Expert (Australia)
- Selling Your VA Services Ethically During a Global Pandemic – Digital Nomad Kit
- How to Become a Virtual Assistant: Everything You Need to Know – Horkey Handbook (USA)
Send through any more suggestions in the comments below or by email / Instagram / Twitter / Facebook!