While it’s hard to find the time to fit it all in when you’re looking for a job, especially as a recent college graduate, part-time side jobs that allow you to work remotely can help you stay afloat financially and even keep your talents up to snuff while you search for something else.
"Working part-time from home lets you earn income, gain experience, and still find time to focus on a strategic search for a full-time role," Brie Reynolds, senior career specialist at FlexJobs, tells Business Insider. "It also helps you save money by not having to spend any on commuting, buying and cleaning professional dress clothes, or lunches or coffees out every day."
To find some of the best opportunities out there to tide you over, we asked FlexJobs, an online service specializing in telecommuting and remote work, to scour its site for some of the highest-paying side gigs recent grads can do while they look for a full-time job.
The following jobs offer part-time schedules ranging from five to 35 hours per week and allow a person to work mostly or completely from home. Each pays more than double the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour, and in some cases, much more, according to median pay rate information from PayScale or the job posting on FlexJobs.
Finally, these jobs all require the skills a recent college graduate is likely to possess:
Marketing consultant or specialist
Pay: $34.57/hour
Marketing consultants are responsible for things like managing newsletters, website layout, online advertising, email campaigns, and social media. A demonstrated knowledge of a particular industry or area of expertise is often needed, along with two to three years of experience in related work.
Writer
Pay: $20.34/hour
Writers are hired for a huge variety of online and paper publications, and their duties include writing, researching, and performing other relevant job functions. A strong understanding of one or more areas of expertise and stellar communication skills are often required.
Interpreter
Pay: $19.24/hour
Interpreters are hired to render interpretation services on-demand between two speakers of different languages. Fluency in English and at least one other language are required. A high school diploma and advanced cultural knowledge are also required.
Copy editor
Pay: $18.42/hour
Copy editors are responsible for reading, revising, and proofreading drafts of articles, books, manuscripts, and other written documents. A bachelor’s degree, knowledge of one or more accepted Style Guides, and an understanding of grammatical best practices is required.
Gaming technical support representative
Pay: $17.70/hour
People experienced in gaming and gaming technical support can find work supporting customers on various gaming platforms. A high school diploma or GED, fast typing skills, and some related experience are required.
Proofreader
Pay: $17.49/hour
Proofreaders are hired for various projects or ongoing work to read through documents, make basic changes and suggestions, and perform light copy editing work. Specific experience in or knowledge of a subject area may be required.
Community manager
Pay: $17.46/hour
Community managers provide customer service via social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and others. Previous media relations or related experience is helpful.
Tutor
Pay: $17.28/hour
Tutors are hired to help students of various ages and education levels improve their knowledge of a specific subject. Online tutoring platforms hire people with a degree in a specific field, high-speed Internet access, and a desire to help people learn.
Image reviewer
Pay: $16.47/hour
Image reviewers are hired by online stock photo sites, media outlets, and others to review images for quality, apply metadata standards, and content standards. Previous photography and graphic design experience and knowledge of design-related software are sometimes required.
Social media specialist
Pay: $16.28/hour
Social media specialists lead, develop, and deploy projects and strategies that will support functions for talent acquisition. They must be knowledgeable in various social media platforms.
College application consultant
Pay: $20/hour
College application consultants help high school students and college applicants throughout the process of applying to college, from deciding on schools to apply to, to accepting an offer, and everything in between. Requirements include a solid high school performance, including AP classes, SAT and ACT test scores, college classes taken, and related work experience in coaching, tutoring, or advising.
