Paying for expensive courses is always a gamble; you might get the kind of job you’re looking for, and you might not. The course may turn out to not even be what you expected it to be, so now you’ve just wasted your money. Luckily, there are dozens of ways to make money online without the need to pay for courses out of pocket. With endless opportunities on the web, you’ll be able to find work doing just about anything. Here’s how to make money online without paying for an expensive course.
Offer Freelancing Services
Are you an expert designer? Writer? Developer? If you’re tired of working for a company or firm, you can make the switch to full-time freelancing. This type of work will utilize those same skills but in a more flexible and customized way. You’ll choose which clients you service, how often you work, and how much you charge for your services.
Freelancing is a fast-growing niche, with thousands of professionals switching from full-time employment to freelancing. While you won’t have access to employer benefits like healthcare if you’re freelancing, you’ll have all of the creative freedom that you’ve ever wanted; free to take on any project, at any time, from anywhere. Even from the comfort of your own home!
Take Surveys
Whether or not taking surveys online is a legitimate way to make money is a frequently-asked question, and we’re happy to say that yes, taking surveys online is completely legitimate; provided you take surveys on the right websites.
Survey Junkie and Swagbucks are two of the big names in the industry, providing secure platforms to connect retailers with priceless consumer thoughts and opinions and connect consumers with awesome rewards for providing those opinions.
Retailers are willing to pay a decent amount to sites like Survey Junkie for your opinion, so why shouldn’t you get a piece too? Survey Junkie will allow you to accrue points for every survey you take, and once you earn so many points, you can cash them out for money of gift cards to your favorite retail stores.
If you’re still feeling a bit skeptical about making money with online surveys, it’s understandable. There have been plenty of survey scams that would make anyone wary, which is why we encourage you to go check out this Survey Junkie review on Careful Cents.
Real Estate Crowdfunding
Real estate crowdfunding involves several smaller investors pooling funds to invest in large real estate projects; potentially with big payouts. You can get in on this investment opportunity as well, polling your own financial resources with other ambitious investors for mutual gain.
Sites like Fundrise work to make investing simple for everyone, so you can make the most out of what you’ve invested and not have to worry about overly complicated fee structures or rules. By investing in a real estate project, you’ll have your money tied up in a pretty lucrative industry, and maybe you’ll even get a big payoff from it!
Virtual Assistant
Virtual assistants get paid to perform task work for small businesses or busy professionals; whether it be scheduling, social media management, or some other task. Virtual assistants can command an average salary of around $16/hour according to the statistics at Indeed.com. That’s a pretty nice salary for some minor task work!
Of course, some VA positions will require much more in-depth work, like organizing a business’s reports, digital marketing, and more. If you’re looking for a flexible position that offers a variety of tasks, becoming a virtual assistant may be the best option.
Podcasting
Have you ever wanted to be your own radio host? Podcasts are essentially internet radio shows, and they can be started by anyone with simple equipment. You’ll need a computer or laptop, a recording device, and recording software. From there, you can publish your episodes on the iTunes store, Google Podcasts, and Stich.
Sponsors will pay decent money to podcasts with large followings. This sponsorship money comes with the understanding that you’ll advertise their products on your show. This can be a lucrative practice if you gather enough followers, so be sure to advertise you and your show wherever you can when you first get started.
Podcasts are a great way to allow yourself creative expression while making money, and with a free-to-publish business model, the upkeep of such a venture is relatively low. You’ll need some startup money to get basic equipment, but you don’t need the best mics or software to get started.
Sell Your Pictures
If you take good pictures or are a professional photographer, you can sell your photos online as stock photos or to businesses/professionals that have specific photo needs. Stock photos are something that will likely always be in demand, due to their use on websites, in software and apps, and promotional materials alike. The opportunities to make money from your photos are truly endless if you know where to look. Start on sites like Pexels, where thousands of photographers upload stock photos every month.
The Take-Away
You don’t need to pay for expensive courses to make plenty of money online. By choosing one of these options, you’ll be able to generate income online without any courses or college education; and best of all, you can do most of these things from the comfort of your own home!