15 Nature Jobs For People Who Love The Environment

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Feeling like you’re cooped up in an urban, cement-walled prison? Looking for a career where you get to touch plants, cuddle animals, breathe fresh air, and even all of the above? Look no further because today, we list nature jobs that you can apply for!

So much has been written about the healing properties of nature. Studies have found that one’s mental health improves when one is exposed to nature (Source).

This has become even more important in the last couple of years as the pandemic forced people to stay inside their homes. Now that life is slowly getting back to normal, people are understandably excited to go outside.

So why not find a job that lets you experience nature and help save the planet while getting paid for it?

Go through the list below and find the nature career that fits you!

15 Unique Nature Jobs To Apply For

Whether you’re just starting your career or you’re looking for a change of scenery, here are some unique nature jobs so you can work while being surrounded by nature and showing your love for the environment.

Note: Salary information is from PayScale.com unless otherwise indicated.

1. Horticulturist

Horticulturists are basically garden scientists who are knowledgeable about different plant species and use that knowledge to cultivate and propagate plants.

They make sure that the right plants are planted in the right soil in the right place.

They focus on improving plants toward a certain goal, such as increasing a certain plant’s yield, developing disease-resistant plants, cultivating drought-resistant plants, or simply maximizing a plant’s health.

Landscape architects may work with horticulturists to decide what type of plant is best suited to their design.

Farmers, vineyard owners, orchard owners, and other similar owners work with horticulturists to increase yields and breed new plant varieties that can resist drought, pests, and extreme temperatures.

Other horticulturists inspect fruits and vegetables for government and private agencies.

Average annual salary: $42,991
Education Level: Bachelor’s degree in plant science or botany

2. Forester

Foresters play a significant role in land management, conservation, and rehabilitation.

They are responsible for forest management and such tasks as choosing locations for tree plots, inspecting and marking trees that are ready to be harvested, applying sustainable timber harvesting, assisting in wildfire prevention, implementing forest regulations, and other technical duties.

Foresters can be hired by local, state, and federal government agencies to manage forests in national and state parks, as well as unprotected forests to reduce wildfires, prevent illegal logging and burning, and ensure wildlife habitat is protected.

Logging companies hire foresters to make sure they are practicing sustainable harvests.

Urban planners hire foresters as well to maintain plots of trees in the middle of urban areas to ensure the safety of both the humans who spend time there and the wildlife population that live in the trees.

Note that certain states require foresters to be licensed, and getting a certification from a professional organization such as the Society of American Foresters is advantageous as well.

Average annual salary: $53,637
Education Level: Bachelor’s degree in forestry or forest management; also agricultural engineering, environmental science, conservation

3. Conservation Scientist

A conversation scientist, in a nutshell, studies the quality of various natural resources and plans how to use them without causing severe, permanent damage to the environment.

As you can imagine, as there are many natural resources with so many entities, both private and public, that want to tap into those natural resources, there are many ways to be a conservation scientist.

For instance, you can work as a conservation ecologist and consult with the government or private companies planning to develop some land or water. You’ll be surveying the planned site for the possible impact on habitats and protected species in the area, letting clients know about the potential issues, and providing advice and recommendations to minimize their impact.

You can also work as a conservation biologist, where you study different plant and animal species in the field with the aim of protecting their lives from human-made obstacles and dangers.

Or you can become a conservation geoscientist and help prevent soil and groundwater contamination by determining safe locations for disposing of waste such as landfills, nuclear power plants, industrial wastewater, and many others.

The salary range is a bit higher than other nature jobs in this list because the education and research experience required are also higher.

Average annual salary: $69,020 (Source)
Education Level: At least a master’s degree, preferably a Ph.D., in your chosen specialty

4. Meteorologist

Nature Jobs: Meteorologist

If it wasn’t for meteorologists and their work, we wouldn’t have known about climate change and its effects on all organisms on Earth.

Meteorologists collect, analyze, and interpret atmospheric data and study various weather conditions for various

Government agencies (such as the National Weather Agency) are the largest employers of meteorologists. Even the military hire meteorologists to help them plan military operations around weather conditions.

Media companies also hire meteorologists for their forecast reports, although this may be mainly a desk job.

Law firms and insurance companies can also hire forensic meteorologists to recreate the weather conditions on a particular date, time, and location.

Average annual salary: $55,129
Education Level: Bachelor’s degree in meteorology or atmospheric science; training in weather analysis, dynamic meteorology, forecasting advantageous; certification from professional organizations a must for some employers

5. Oceanographer

Around 71% of the Earth’s surface is all ocean, and we haven’t even explored over 80% of it.

Oceanographers aim to change this by studying the ocean and its different aspects. Physical oceanographers study the currents, tides, waves, and erosion, while chemical oceanographers study the chemical composition of ocean water and geological oceanographers focus on the ocean floor.

Duties of oceanographers can vary greatly, but most oceanographers spend a lot of time on a boat to collect data and perform experiments. Plenty of oceanographers also spend time teaching and training aspiring oceanographers when they aren’t on boats and doing their research.

The insights from their research impact marine wildlife conservation and the proper extraction of fuels (oil and natural gas) from the ocean.

Government agencies and research agencies are the biggest employers of oceanographers, but private companies, especially energy companies, can pay more.

Average annual salary: $67,232
Education Level: Master’s degree in oceanography or specialized field; Ph.D. is preferred and can command higher pay

6. Limnologist

If oceanographers study the oceans, limnologists study freshwater bodies, both natural (e.g., lakes, rivers, ponds, streams, springs) and manmade (e.g., dams, reservoirs, canals).

They study the physical, chemical, biological, and ecological properties of these freshwater bodies and analyze the data they collect to be able to make recommendations to clients.

Specific duties of limnologists may vary depending on who they’re working for and their specialties.

The ultimate goal is to protect the freshwater ecosystems and minimize the impact of human development and activities such as manufacturing, farming, or recreational activities on these ecosystems.

If you like working near water but freak out over a wide expanse of nothingness, being a limnologist may just be the nature job for you.

Average annual salary: $51,826 (Source)
Education Level: Master’s degree in limnology, aquatic biology, or other related courses

7. Naturalist

If you’ve always admired Sir David Attenborough, being a naturalist might come naturally (!) to you.

Naturalists, also called “park and wildlife naturalists,” observe living species in nature and study their impact on one another and on the environments where they live.

They look for evolutionary indicators that explain why a certain attribute is beneficial or detrimental to a specific organism.

Government agencies that oversee national parks, state parks, fish and wildlife, and outdoor recreation are the usual employers of naturalists.

Private companies and organizations that oversee an outdoor space where wildlife live also hire naturalists to ensure that any development on their property doesn’t disrupt the ecological balance in the area.

Average annual salary: $39,217
Education Level: Bachelor’s degree in wildlife ecology, environmental science, botany, and similar fields

8. Outdoor Guide

Imagine waking up every day, putting on your hiking gear and shoes, and going outside into the wild.

If that sounds like a great life to you, well you might want to turn that into a career.

Outdoor guides lead individuals or groups through outdoor recreation activities and educate them about the flora, fauna, and history of a certain area.

They can lead hiking, wildlife watching, birdwatching, hunting, or fishing trips with enthusiasts, tourists, or park guests.

The more active ones can be adventure guides for activities like backpacking, mountain climbing, biking, kayaking, rafting, and other much more strenuous activities.

Aside from the educational requirements, you’ll need additional certifications for skills such as first aid, life guard, water rescue, wilderness first responder, and outdoor leadership training.

You can find jobs with guided tour companies or you can offer your services yourself on a freelance basis.

Of course, there are educational and experience requirements to be an outdoor guide, but the best ones are those who truly love nature and are able to express this by sharing their enthusiasm with other people.

Average annual salary: $39,732
Education Level: Bachelor’s degree is an advantage but not required; certifications depend on activities you want to lead

9. Park Ranger

As far as nature jobs go, park rangers definitely have the most beautiful workplaces you can hope for.

Park rangers are responsible for a park and the safety of its guests. Duties of park rangers may include patrolling campgrounds, trails, and surrounding areas, enforcing park rules and regulations, and ensuring wildlife and forest conservation guidelines are met.

Law enforcement park rangers have more responsibility and authority, as they can enforce state and federal laws within their designated area, as well as act as first responders and assist in search and rescue or retrieval efforts.

Rangers in visitor services welcome guests, give tours, answer visitor questions, present educational materials, and patrol the park to check on visitors and the park grounds.

National parks, state parks, and municipal parks are the most frequent employers of park rangers. Private parks may also employ park rangers as well.

Average annual salary: $39,466
Education Level: Bachelor’s degree in park and recreation management, environmental science, forestry, and other related courses; law enforcement rangers require certification as law enforcement and peace officers

10. Fish and Game Warden

If you love hunting and fishing and you want to make sure that it remains fun for everyone, being a fish and game warden may be a good fit for you.

Fish and game wardens enforce fish and game regulations and laws in their assigned territory.

They make sure that hunters and fishers have the proper permits, inspect their catch or their harvests to make sure they are within legal limits, and observe hunters’ and fishers’ conduct to make sure they are not a danger to themselves or to others.

They also sometimes conduct safety training seminars, collect data for wildlife research efforts, and assist in search and rescue operations.

Fish and game wardens can usually be found patrolling fishing docks and waterways, as well as backroads and roadways during hunting season.

They are authorized to cite people who are behaving recklessly, obviously inebriated, or breaking other hunting or fishing laws.

Aside from the educational requirements, fish and game wardens are required to be physically fit and mentally sound.

Another requirement is having a permit to carry firearms and being comfortable enough to use them when necessary. Remember, this is essentially a law enforcement position, and those you encounter are likely to be armed.

The government is the largest employer of fish and game wardens, which they place in wildlife areas, nature preserves, and public fishing and hunting areas. State game wardens are employed through the state’s fish and wildlife department, while federal game wardens are employed through the US Fish and Wildlife Service.

Average annual salary: $49,000
Education Level: Associate’s degree in environmental science, biology, criminal science, or other related courses

11. Wildlife Veterinarian

If you’re studying to become a veterinarian, or you’re already a veterinarian and want to change your focus, it’s worth considering being a wildlife veterinarian.

Wildlife veterinarians, also known as conservation veterinarians, treat wildlife in game reserves or wildlife refuges.

They tend to work with wildlife biologists to conserve and manage existing fish and wildlife populations and to recover species that are considered dangerous.

Wildlife veterinarians also aim to protect wildlife from diseases carried by domesticated animals, and vice versa.

Being a wildlife veterinarian can be very fulfilling but may be challenging as well, as wild animals aren’t the best patients; wild animals get stressed when humans interact with them.

Wildlife veterinarians most often work for federal or state fish and wildlife agencies and departments.

The salary is a great deal higher than the average salaries of the other jobs on this list, but the educational and experience requirements are much higher as well.

Average annual salary: $98,829 (Source)
Education Level: Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine (or equivalent) from an accredited college; license to practice veterinary medicine

12. Wildlife Refuge Manager

Management jobs don’t always have to be behind a desk.

If you’re leaning more toward management but also want a nature job, managing a wildlife refuge may be a good fit.

Wildlife refuge managers oversee land, water, and all wildlife contained within in national wildlife refuges and sanctuaries.

Aside from the management duties, wildlife refuge managers have extensive knowledge of laws, regulations, and policies related to wildlife management and environmental management.

As with wildlife veterinarians, the government is the biggest employer of wildlife refuge managers through the Fish and Wildlife Service.

Being a wildlife refuge manager is a huge responsibility. You’re not just responsible for the employees on the refuge, but you’re also responsible for the animals, plants, and all other wildlife on your turf.

Average annual salary: $97,683.39 (Source)
Education Level: Bachelor’s degree in wildlife management, zoology, animal ecology, botany or any other related biological sciences

13. Fish and Wildlife Technician

If you like interacting with animals but are not a veterinarian and have no plans of being one, being a fish and wildlife technician is your best bet.

Fish and wildlife technicians are hands-on with fish and wildlife, collecting biological samples, trapping, tagging, and tracking them, and compiling the data collected.

Other duties include caring for trapped animals in the lab, calibrating scientific and technical equipment, and writing detailed reports.

Fish and wildlife technicians typically work with wildlife or marine biologists to know what data is needed when.

As with many other nature jobs on this list, the federal government is the most frequent employer of fish and wildlife technicians, usually through the US Fish and Wildlife Service.

Average annual salary: $62,399 (Source)
Education Level: Associate’s degree in wildlife biology, zoology, ecology, animal science, or other closely related fields; certification is an advantage to get higher salaries

14. Nature Photographer

Nature Jobs: Nature Photographer

It seems like every other nature job on this list is science-y.

But there are nature jobs for artists and creatives, too.

Nature photographers capture the world’s natural beauty. From vast oceans and majestic mountains to magnificent eagles and the tiniest insects, nature photographers have plenty of subjects to choose from.

It’s not as simple as going on a hike and snapping away, though. The best nature photographers have mastered working with natural light, composing the photo, and using the proper exposure settings to capture that beauty and produce a compelling photo.

Working as a nature photographer usually means being self-employed and selling your photos to various clients. That said, media companies, nature conservation groups, and niche stock photography websites may look for regular or semi-regular nature photographers.

Average annual salary: $41,000
Education Level: No degree required; associate’s degree and photography training preferred but not required

15. Nature Blogger

Being truly passionate about nature and preserving it for future generations is a great thing. Why not become a nature blogger so you can share your enthusiasm and raise awareness for nature issues that everyone should know and get involved with?

With a very low barrier to entry, anyone can build their own website and start a blog in minutes.

Topics to write about include local plants, birds, and animals, travels to state or national parks and the species found within, conservation topics, or nature therapy.

Technically, you don’t have to be outdoorsy to write a nature blog. But if you hardly go out of your house and your knowledge is limited to what you can find on the internet, your blog suffers in terms of credibility.

Being a nature blogger is a largely self-employed endeavor, and most of the time, especially when you’re just starting out, you might not earn a livable income from it.

The good news is that if you already work in one of the other nature jobs above, you can start a nature blog on the side.

Also, there are various ways to make money from your blog. You can display ads on your blog, go into affiliate marketing, or accept sponsored posts.

Average annual salary: Varies widely depending on income streams
Education Level: No degree required

Other Ways to Make Money From Nature

Aside from the nature jobs we’ve listed, there are other ways to make money from nature that doesn’t involve exploiting it. Take a look at these ideas and you might be able to start today.

Collect and sell natural dead stuff

Yup, selling natural dead stuff can be quite lucrative.

For instance, if your area is rich in rocks and you have time to look around, finding unusual stones and geodes can earn you some side cash from artists, jewelers, and tourists if you’re in a tourist town.

Fossils are also a hit, though. Best to stick to small invertebrate fossils and plant impressions. If you find a vertebrate fossil, better call a paleontologist instead.

Feathers (ones that have been shed, don’t torment birds!) are also worth collecting and selling.

Driftwood can be found where there’s water, such as in beaches, along rivers, and along lakes. They don’t look like much, but they can be used to create natural art and thus can be a hit in marketplaces like Etsy.

Some beaches are also perfect for beachcombing for seashells, dead corals, sea glass, stones, and other random dead but pretty things.

Different shaped twigs and odd-colored dried leaves also have buyers, so if you leave near some trees, take a walk and find some interesting leaves and twigs to sell.

Create and sell art from natural dead stuff

Nature Art

Instead of (or in addition to!) supplying artists and craftspeople with nature-themed media, consider making your own and then selling that artwork.

For instance, unique driftwood frames and benches are in demand.

Feathers can be crafted into pens, dreamcatchers, jewelry, hair clips, shoes, and other accessories.

Dried leaves can be used in wreaths, pressed into bookmarks, or used to create leaf prints (especially those “veiny” ones).

Seashells can be incorporated into gel candles, jewelry, and home décor.

There are so many possibilities, and simply browsing through Etsy can give you plenty of inspiration.

Go into urban farming

Nature Jobs: Urban Farm

We can’t all live in the woods or near the ocean, but there are nature jobs for us city folk.

We just have to create them.

Many city dwellers have already gone into urban farming, which means growing or producing food in a heavily populated city or town.

It increases access to locally grown food, which is important especially in so-called food deserts, where there is a lack of access to fresh fruits and vegetables.

Some even increase profits by setting up a compost pit and making it into fertilizer to use back in the farm and sell the excess.

Urban farming is different from community gardening in that urban farmers grow and produce food to sell while community gardens have an agreement to share whatever is grown there. So please don’t steal produce from your community garden and sell them; don’t be that guy or gal.

Groups of people within the neighborhood can definitely set up an urban farm, though, sharing both the labor and the profits from the sold produce.

The first place to look for a location is in your own home. Many have set up urban farms right in their backyard, or if they live in a building, right on their rooftops. Others have utilized landfills, brownfields, sometimes even demolished houses or commercial buildings.

Always consult your local laws and homeowners’ associations to know how you can go about this legally before you even start. Once you get the green (hah!) light to proceed, you can start studying and training on the basics of food production, developing a business plan, and growing your crops.

Become a beekeeper

If you have the space, consider taking care of bees and selling bee products while helping to pollinate and propagate flowers and increasing the bee population.

As I’ve mentioned, the main source of income from beekeeping is the proceeds from selling bee products (e.g., honey, beeswax, pollen, bee venom), but you can also tangentially make money from blogging about the experience or training other wannabe beekeepers.

I’ve previously featured making money from beekeeping in detail, so you can go over the guide and decide whether it’s for you.

Apply to one of these nature jobs today!

Don’t these jobs just make you want to get up and save the planet?

Working in the midst of nature can both be personally fulfilling and lucrative. You can work in a job that’s environment-friendly and give you the chance to help protect the natural world while earning a suitable income.

There are many other outdoor jobs you can do, not all of which are environment-related, though.

Are you interested in any of these nature-related jobs? Which ones of these are you most interested in? Sound out in the comments!

How to Sell Lesson Plans Online: Earn Cash While Teaching

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Teaching is a noble, fulfilling profession.

It requires a combination of passion, vision, and purpose to mold a nation’s future generation.

Everyone knows a teacher’s importance in a student’s life, but the reality remains that it’s not the best-paying job in the world.

If you’re one of many teachers who love teaching but feel anxious about the lack of financial stability, here’s your chance to learn about making some side cash from selling your lesson plans and other educational materials to other teachers and educators.

Just to be clear, this isn’t like term paper industries where students hire ghostwriters for them to write term papers and other homework for them and basically cheat their way to graduation.

Instead, teachers can sell their lesson plans to fellow teachers and educators.

But why would other teachers buy lesson plans?

Teachers regularly spend hours preparing their lesson plans in advance, as well as updating their established lesson plans for them to be relevant with changes in the times, new students, and as required by the school curriculum.

Lesson plans that have been tweaked, updated, and tested on students are coveted by teachers who want to skip the trial-and-error phase and make a good impression on students immediately.

The teachers who buy get effective lesson plans with minimal time and effort, and the teachers who sell earn money for their excellent work. Everybody wins!

Today, learn all about how to sell lesson plans online.

Can You Sell Your Lesson Plans Online?

The very first question you need to answer is whether you’re allowed to sell lesson plans that you’ve made.

If you’re a teacher currently employed by a school and are planning to sell lesson plans that you’re using in your own classes, you’ll need to check if you own the copyright to those lesson plans and other materials you’re using in your class.

The National Education Association states: “If your employment contract assigns copyright ownership of materials produced for the classroom to the teacher, then you probably have a green light. Absent any written agreement, however, the Copyright Act of 1976 stipulates that materials created by teachers in the scope of their employment are deemed “works for hire” and, therefore, the school owns them.”

So even before you plan to sell your lesson plans, it’s important to resolve this first.

Where to Sell Lesson Plans Online

The good news is that you have plenty of flexibility when it comes to offering your educational materials for sale.

Below are some of your best options.

Teacher Marketplaces

Online teacher communities and marketplaces are membership sites that are targeted to teachers and educators.

Selling your lesson plans here ensures that your lesson plans are seen by your target audience, which is other teachers and lecturers.

Here are the most recommended teacher marketplaces you can join.

1. Teachers Pay Teachers

TeachersPayTeachers is one of the first and one of the biggest teacher marketplaces around, with over 7 million teachers and over 5 million free and paid content. TeachersPayTeachers is also home to many teachers who are enjoying six-figure incomes from selling on their site.

TpT was founded by former NYC public school teacher Paul Edelman in April 2006, sold it to Scholastic Inc. in December 2006, and then bought it back as a private business in March 2009.

TeachersPayTeachers has two kinds of teacher-author or seller accounts – basic (free) and premium (with a $59.95/year membership fee).

Teachers with a basic seller account have a 200MB file size limit, paid only 55% of every sale, and must pay the site 30 cents per resource. Meanwhile, those with premium seller accounts have a much bigger 1GB file size limit, receive 80% of every sale, and pay the site only 15 cents per resource sold (and only for orders totaling less than $3). Payments are made monthly via Hyperwallet.

2. Tes

Tes started out in print over a hundred years ago as the Times Educational Supplement. Today, they are a global digital community including teachers, educators, and schools working together to enable great teaching worldwide.

Becoming a Tes author allows you to share your educational materials to members of the Tes community, either as free downloads or paid-for resources.

The royalties you get for your paid-for resources are dependent on the value of your sales over a 12-month rolling period. For instance, to qualify for the highest tier (Gold), you’ll need to have more than £6,000 in sales over a 12-month rolling total sales value.

What makes Tes stand out as well is their comprehensive author academy, which helps beginners and expert-level teacherpreneurs with strategies to creating their lesson plans and educational materials, as well as how to make sure that authors are following copyright laws.

Plus, it’s a chance to gain a wider audience, as Tes is currently reaching 192 countries and 13 million registered users.

3. TeacherSherpa

TeacherSherpa is an online resource for teacher-created resources.

Free members can only download two resources every 30 days. Paid members can download unlimited resources for $9 monthly or $49 yearly.

You can sign up to be a Content Contributor to earn monthly royalties: $0.25 per download on the first 1,500 downloads, $0.50 per download from 1,501 to 3,000 downloads, and $1 per download on any download above 3,000 downloads.

While you won’t earn much on royalties, TeacherSherpa offers you a chance to promote your materials and your social media and shops on other websites.

Digital Marketplaces

There are also online marketplaces specializing in selling digital goods, and they can be solid platforms for you to sell your lesson plans.

By selling to the general public, you open the door for a whole new audience to see and purchase your lesson plans. Parents who homeschool and part-time tutors browse these sites for teaching materials, too.

Here are some of the best digital marketplaces to sell your lesson plans.

1. Amazon Ignite

Tech giant Amazon created the Amazon Ignite service to help teachers and educators who are selling their lesson plans online.

It’s an invite-only service; that is, you’ll need to apply to be able to sell on their service. To start the process, click “Request Invitation” and answer all the questions about what materials you’re planning to sell, your website address if you have one, and anything else you’d like them to know about your digital educational resources.

If you do get accepted, you earn 70% on all sales. For products under $2.99, they deduct a $0.30 transaction fee. They pay via direct deposit once a month.

It looks like they vet their sellers carefully and are likely to accept those teachers who are already selling their lesson plans.

2. Etsy

Etsy isn’t just for handmade products and crafts. It’s also a popular marketplace for downloadables and printables.

Their most popular digital products would probably be journal- or planner-related, but shoppers also search for lesson plans and educational resources here.

3. Sellfy

Another popular platform for selling digital products is Sellfy, where you can sell just about every digital file imaginable.

Sellfy supports large files (up to 10GB), and unlimited products and bandwidth (for paid members). They also have cutting-edge security features to fight piracy and protect your customers’ information.

They also have built-in marketing tools to help you increase your sales, such as email marketing, upselling features, and discounts and coupon codes.

You can start selling digital products for as low as $19 per month.

Sell Your Lesson Plans Online on Your Own Website

When you’ve dipped your toes in selling your lesson plans on online marketplaces, you can “graduate” to building your own website and selling your materials there.

This will take up more of your time in terms of maintaining your website, promoting your resources, and engaging with your audience.

However, running your own website purely with content that you’ve created means that you control every aspect: from your price point to sales to your branding.

Best of all, having established your presence and resources in other sites can help you direct traffic back to your site if you indicate your website on your materials. If buyers like your lesson plans, they may be curious enough to check out your site and see what else you have to offer.

Plus, having your own website means you can branch out into new things more easily, such as offering physical books and modules, video courses for teachers, or consultancy services for schools.

For inspiration, check out the site Two Little Birds Teaching by Jen Regan. Aside from selling digital resources on her site, she also has a TeachersPayTeachers store.

How to Create Lesson Plans and Resources That Sell

selling lesson plans online

You already know your target audience, and you’ve battle-tested your educational resources. Here are some more tips and strategies to increase your sales and profits.

What Other Resources Can You Sell?

You don’t have to limit yourself to selling lesson plans.

Aside from lesson plans, you can also create the following materials:

  • Lesson plans
  • Worksheets
  • Syllabi
  • Study guides
  • Lecture presentations
  • Exams, quizzes, tests
  • Flash cards
  • Outlines
  • Infographics
  • Games
  • Posters and bulletin board ideas

Selling Strategies

Here are some of the selling strategies you can use when offering your lesson plans online.

Create something worth selling.

As you’ve probably seen when you browsed the different marketplaces, there are plenty of teachers selling educational resources, so the content you create and sell should stand out among all others.

One strategy is to package your lesson plan with worksheets, activities, quizzes, and other relevant materials so that it’s an all-in-one deal.

You can also offer different supplementary materials for the same lesson by learner aptitude (e.g., beginner, intermediate, and advanced) so that teachers can provide materials that are appropriate for learners.

Learn how to price your lesson plans.

Most teachers set their prices based on how much time it took to create the resource, the prices of similar products, and their target profit margins per resource.

They also factor in possible discounts and sale prices.

Give out free samples.

Just like free samples in physical stores, free samples of your work help potential buyers get a feel for the quality of your work.

If they like the results, then they’ll buy the other materials you’re offering.

And teachers won’t keep it to themselves; they tend to tell other teachers about your materials, widening your potential buyers.

Plus, when your free samples are effective, those who get it can review your work, give you feedback, and help you improve your materials.

Try to target niche learners

Lesson plans for preschool, elementary, and high school learners are everywhere, and there’s plenty of competition, as you will learn when you start selling your own materials.

But if you can try to target more specialized learners, you might be able to command higher prices for your lesson plans.

For instance, you can try selling lesson plans for adult literacy, special education (SPED) students, or English as a Second Language (ESL) students.

Pros and Cons of Selling Lesson Plans Online

Before you make a final decision on whether to sell your lesson plans, consider these pros and cons.

Pros

1. You’ll earn money for your efforts.

As I’ve mentioned above, selling your educational materials lets everyone win; buyers get a proven lesson plan, while sellers earn money for their hard work.

2. Making lesson plans for sale makes you become a better teacher.

How’s that?

Constantly thinking about your buyers (other teachers) and their students makes you motivated to improve your lesson plans to be more relevant and engaging.

Not only will you improve your product but you’ll also improve your lesson plans and your teaching techniques.

Cons

The major drawback is being prone to intellectual property theft.

The concept of teachers buying from teachers isn’t bad at all.

What ruins the entire concept of helping each other is that some teachers selling lesson plans online are passing off someone else’s work as their own.

Creating lesson plans take a lot of knowledge and a lot of hard work (which is why teachers buy them in the first place).

But there are some teachers who, instead of selling lesson plans they’ve actually created, buy existing lesson plans, do very minor tweaks (e.g., changing a clipart, changing the font, etc.), and then turn around and sell them in their stores, claiming them as their own.

In a perfect world, teacher marketplaces would have strict controls in place so that this doesn’t happen, but these incidents fall through the cracks.

If you’re still dead set on selling your lesson plans online, this is something you’d have to bear in mind and check with the teacher marketplaces where you plan to sell whether they have policies and safeguards in place to prevent this type of intellectual property crime.

Final Thoughts

Selling lesson plans and other educational materials online is a great idea for teachers since they’ve been creating these resources for years on the job.

Building an online store provides a potential passive income for teacher sellers, while helping fellow teachers prep for school with less time and effort.

However, if you’re interested in other ways to make side cash, check out our list of online jobs for teachers.

Are you planning to sell your lesson plans? Or have you already tried to sell them? Share your experiences and concerns with us in the comments!

10 Best Work From Home Jobs for Retirees

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For many, retirement is a life stage where one can sit back, relax, and enjoy life.

Or maybe it’s when one travels all over the country or the world, even.

But other retirees actually keep on working. They either continue their profession in a different capacity, or try out a different career.

So if you’re considering working in retirement, know that you’re certainly not alone.

Retirees look for work in their retirement years mainly because of financial reasons, but plenty of them want to work; either because they want to keep their brains alert, they want a sense of purpose, or they simply genuinely enjoy what they do.

The pandemic didn’t help, either.

A recent FlexJobs survey found that after the pandemic hit, a mere 9% of older workers feel financially secure.

And retirees are turning to the internet to find online jobs that allow them to work at a more relaxed pace, dictate their schedules, have a less stressful work environment, and grab opportunities for something new.

Today, we take a look at various work from home jobs for retirees.

What Types of Work at Home Jobs are Available for Retirees?

No one can force you to retire from your job unless your state or profession has a mandatory retirement age (military, Supreme Court, etc.).

Forced retirement based on age is even illegal. But if retirement is on the horizon or if you’re newly retired, a home-based job may be something you’d be interested in.

Unfortunately, trying to find an online job can be confusing at first. Don’t get turned off too soon.

See which group of retirees you belong to discover what types of work from home jobs for retirees are available for you:

Retirees who want to continue their profession in a different capacity

If you’ve been an accountant your whole life and want to continue doing what you love after retirement, you’re in luck.

This group of retirees has an easier transition from traditional jobs to work-from-home jobs since they already have extensive experience.

Those who’ve worked as teachers, customer service providers, architects, artists, and other similar jobs can easily find the same jobs online and work in the comforts of their own homes.

Unfortunately, there are particular jobs that have no home-based counterparts, such as those in the construction or manufacturing industries. Your best bet is to change careers (see the next group) or to start an online business.

Retirees who want to change careers completely

Whether you’re up for a challenge, want a simpler job, or have no choice but to switch careers after retirement, know that you have plenty of options for home-based work.

From online chat support to social media manager, marketing gigs, IT-related work, education, and more, it’s inevitable that you’d find something you’re interested in.

Retirees who want to start a business (and quit being an employee altogether)

For retirees who plan to set up a business but weren’t able to save up enough to use as capital, retirement gives you the perfect opportunity to quit being an employee and begin an online business from scratch.

Like many who have successfully started an online business, the journey can be scary or confusing at first. However, since you can operate the entire business from home, you’ll be able to save on expenses such as transportation and rent.

Whichever group of retirees you fall under – whether you’re continuing your profession, changing careers or starting your own business – you’d soon realize that the next phase of your life involves a good way of earning extra cash that can increase and take the place of a full-time job.

The Best Work from Home Jobs for Retirees

There is a plethora of online jobs that you can do after retirement.

It just depends on the type of job you’re comfortable doing and the skills you already have (or are willing to learn). Before searching for the perfect job, you’d have to focus on your passion, interests, hobbies, skill set, and considerations such as hours of availability, amount of income needed, and openness to learning new things.

Work at Home Jobs for Retirees

Here is a list of work from home jobs for retirees to inspire you.

1. Career coach

If you genuinely enjoyed your previous job and if you like mentoring newbies to the industry, being a career coach can be a good fit for you.

You can help those who are applying to jobs in our field by sharing your own experiences and career path, coaching them for interviews, as well as looking over and reviewing their résumés.

Thanks to modern video call software, you can work as a career coach from your home or anywhere that has an internet connection.

2. Consultant

Perhaps your skills and qualifications can help entire companies flourish. These companies or consulting groups would be willing to pay you for your expertise.

Use your background and experience to help companies to set their goals, overcome any obstacles to these goals, and plan for the future.

3. Bookkeeper

Working a financial job if it wasn’t your original career may sound daunting, but if you’re willing to be trained and to study hard, you can start by working as a bookkeeper.

Bookkeepers maintain the day-to-day financial records of a company, such as sales records, invoices, bill payments, pay slips, and other similar transactions.

If you’re shifting careers, being a bookkeeper is a good “starter” job for accounting and auditing because little training is required. As long as you can work with numbers and have great attention to detail, you can certainly handle bookkeeping.

On the other hand, if you’ve previously worked as an accountant, bookkeeping is a way to apply that knowledge while having fewer responsibilities and a more flexible schedule.

We’ve listed all the best places to find bookkeeping jobs.

4. Online teacher

Helping students with their schoolwork can be quite a fulfilling endeavor. Why not get paid for it, too?

What makes this a popular work from home job for retirees is that even though you didn’t have a degree in education or worked as a teacher previously, as long as you have enough knowledge of a particular subject and you’re able to communicate that knowledge, you’ll be able to find students online.

Teaching English remotely is another in-demand online job that can be perfect for retirees who don’t mind staying up late or waking up early to be able to work with students in places with different time zones.

Depending on the English teaching company, you might be asked to get certified to teach English.

Another field you can go into is online adult literacy, where you teach adult learners how to read or to increase their reading level. Some adult learners may be more comfortable having teachers that are older than them, and this is where you come in.

5. Virtual assistant

Virtual assistants can be given a wide variety of clerical and administrative tasks. They may book appointments, schedule meetings, make and respond to phone calls, manage email accounts, organize files, create presentations, do some research, and many other similar tasks and combinations thereof.

And they do these all right in their own homes.

Time management and organizational skills are a must for this job, as well as some financial skills, depending on the duties assigned by the individual or the business.

6. Paralegal

Paralegals provide support to lawyers by doing tasks such as legal research, organizing documents, maintaining files, writing reports, communicating with clients through various channels, and any other related task that law firms big and small may require.

If you used to be in the legal profession and want to still work in it but with different responsibilities and more flexible hours, being a paralegal might appeal to you.

However, if you don’t have experience in the legal field but you’re willing to learn, being a paralegal can be a great work from job for retirees.

7. Graphic designer

If you have a talent in drawing, cartoons, caricatures, logos, t-shirt designs, banners, flyers, social media hero images, and other graphic design tasks, you can offer your services full-time or part-time for businesses as well as individuals.

8. Proofreader

Do typos or spelling mistakes distract you? Do you wish you could get paid to point them out?

Proofreaders do exactly that. And nowadays, with the sheer volume of content being produced, there is a big demand for proofreaders, especially those who can do it online.

If you need some training or advice on online proofreading, try out Caitlin Pyle’s workshop at Proofread Anywhere and learn how to work as a proofreader, either for a company or for yourself.

9. Freelance writer

It doesn’t matter if you’ve never written an article in your life.

If you have something of value to share, writing will come naturally once you begin your journey in freelance writing.

Some of the types of freelance writing you can do include copywriting, résumé writing, academic writing, news writing, legal writing, blog content writing, technical writing, and many more.

We’ve shared a massive list of freelance writing jobs that you can go over and see which ones fit your knowledge and writing style.

10. Transcriptionist

Transcription requires excellent listening skills coupled with typing skills.

And if you have a background in an industry that frequently requires transcription services, then this is an online job that you’d be able to do well.

Examples of industries that regularly require transcription include the medical field, law enforcement, and digital media.

Online Business Ideas for Retirees

Of course not all retirees who want to earn post-retirement want to work, or at least not for another employer.

If you’re ready to be your own boss and work on building your own online business from scratch, retirement is probably the best time to do so.

Not only would have more free time but you’re also likely to be receiving social security or a pension that you can have as a backup income or invest in the business.

Below are effective and low-cost online business ideas you could check out:

Make and sell handmade products online.

For many retirees, retirement is a time to take up a crafting hobby (or two, or a few).

Whatever you’re into—woodworking, leathercrafting, metalworking, knitting, crocheting, quilting, jewelry making, candle making, soap making—handmade products are in demand nowadays.

Just look at sites like Etsy and Amazon Handmade for inspiration. Additionally, we have listed the best crafts to make and sell.

Buy low, sell high.

If you have a knack for finding products below market price, such as in thrift stores, garage sales, flea markets, clearance sales, and other sources, you can turn this into a business!

You get high from bargain hunting while earning enough profit to fund your shopping trips and more.

Sell these items on your own website, or through sites such as Amazon, Facebook Marketplace, or eBay.

Run a dropshipping business.

Not everyone can make handmade products, though.

If you prefer to have a purely online business, you can go into dropshipping instead.

Dropshipping is a business model in which the retailer (that’s you) never handles the items for sale. Instead, you forward the order and customer address to the supplier or manufacturer, which then packages and ships the items directly to the customer.

You’d be in charge of the “selling” part, which involves marketing and promoting the products online through your own online storefront.

It’s quick and simple to start a dropshipping business, plus you don’t have to have a lot of capital since you don’t actually buy and store your inventory.

However, you’re heavily dependent on the supplier to do everything they’re supposed to do. If they’re not reliable, the business model fails.

A Warning on Online Job Scams

Whether you’re starting an online business, offering a freelance service, or applying for a full-time online job, you’ll inevitably face scammers eager to steal your precious information, fool you into investing in shady businesses, or dupe you into thinking you’re going to be paid for a month’s worth of work only to be left in the dark when it’s payday.

Unfortunately, seniors and new retirees are more often targeted by these scammers compared to any other age group. According to the FBI, elder fraud is a billion-dollar problem.

The only good thing about this is that there are resources to use, such as the Better Business Bureau or just by Googling the name or company name that you’re dealing with.

In general, you shouldn’t pay a company or a person to find work or start a new job. Most job boards are available without charge.

Red flags may include requirements such as “attend training” that you’re going to pay, list down your Social Security number to be given access, or vaguely-worded promises such as “earn unlimited amounts of money.”

Wrap Up: How to Succeed with a Work at Home Job after Retirement

Even if setting up an online business seems more laid back than traditional businesses, the key to a successful venture lies in hard work and consistency.

Consider your online gig, freelance job, blog, eCommerce site, or anything that’s keeping you busy as your full-time job.

Be consistent in promoting your website, finding new clients, expanding your consulting business, and improving your skills for your online venture. It will be hard sometimes, but if you go at it every day, you’ll reap what you sow in no time.

Aside from the links I’ve placed all over this article to help any retiree discover what the next phase of their careers would look like, feel free to check out these awesome resources:

Do’s and Don’ts of Writing Thank You Email after Interview

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It doesn’t matter if you had your interview through zoom or face-to-face; as long as you had a formal interview for a job you’ve been eyeing, take the time to sit down and write a thank you email after interview.

The extra effort is worth it. If you wrote something eye-catchy, the email could even give a good first impression that could land you the job. Many surveys (like this and that) conclude that over 60% of recruiters think highly of applicants who send thank you notes and that it impacts their decision-making.

Haven’t written one before? This post tackles everything you need to know about writing a thank you note after your interview.

When should you write a thank you email after an interview?

How soon after the interview should you write the letter? Will writing one immediately after the interview make you seem desperate?

You don’t necessarily have to send the email a minute after you turned off the camera. The consensus is you should send it out within 24 to 48 hours after your interview.

Who should you write it to?

Interviews done by multiple people are very common. If you were screened by two or more people, make sure to write them thank-you emails separately.

Don’t just copy-paste the message either, especially if you talked to one of the interviewers with something specific (such as your love for cats, or how awesome it was that you grew up in the same small town).

What should you write in the email?

You can always customize the email to your preferred style, but make sure you include the following:

  1. A salutation. Yes, the email can be casual in tone, but simply having a salutation to begin your letter looks much nicer and polite in general.
  2. Express your gratitude. Say thank you for the interviewer’s time and mean it.
  3. Confirm why you’re a good fit for the position. Briefly reinforce your interest in the position and the reasons why you’d be perfect for the job. Make sure you’re not repeating your entire resume here.
  4. Add links to supporting documents, portfolio, etc. If your resume couldn’t accommodate these links and you think they would help with your application, then include them here.
  5. Mention something unique that would remind them of you. Did you talk about the same passion for Gundam? Or gardening? These kinds of topics are easy identifiers for hiring professionals since faces and names usually blur after the 10th or so interviewee of the day.
  6. Offer answers. Maybe during your interview, a question came up that needed time to be solved. Here’s the perfect time to answer them with a solution. You can also offer to answer additional questions they might have.
  7. Add a final expression of gratitude. Ask about the next steps briefly, then include “Again, thank you for your time” or a similar phrase that reiterates your appreciation for the interview. This is a perfect way to end your letter.
  8. Close your letter. Use “Best,” “Sincerely,” “Cheers,” “Regards” or other appropriate ways to close a letter. One-word closing is best.
  9. Sign your letter. “Signing” doesn’t necessarily have to include your signature. However, include your complete name, phone number, email address, and LinkedIn profile (if you have one).

When it comes to the length of your e-mail, a good way to measure is to read the entire thing. If you can read your email in under a minute or two, then that’s an appropriate length. Shorten it up if even you’re feeling lazy to proofread your email – this just means it’s too long.

Tips and FAQs: Thank You Email after Interview

For first-timers who haven’t done a thank you email before, follow these tips:

  • What should the email subject line be? Because you’re writing a thank you email, this should be conveyed on the email subject. A simple “Thank you for your time” would do just fine. This gives the hiring person an idea of what the email is about, instead of feeling duped when you entered “important email inside” as the subject line only to read something else.
  • How long does the email have to be? You don’t need to write an essay. Everybody’s busy, so keep your thank-you note short, interesting and easy to read. Of course, it should tell the reader that you put some effort into it as well.
  • Proofread before sending. The point of thank-you notes is to show gratitude while reiterating your interest in the position. Make sure there are no errors within your letter, so it won’t backfire.
  • Don’t use “to whom it may concern”: Address your letter accordingly. Use a salutation or “dear” to start your letter. On the other side of the coin, don’t be too casual either. Addressing them with “bro”, “dude” or “sis” will not work to your advantage even if you felt a friendly bond with the interviewer.
  • Don’t bring up mistakes you made during the interview. If you’re sending a thank-you letter only to correct a mistake you said or did during the interview, the entire letter won’t feel sincere. It would sound self-serving, rather than appreciative. Most HR professionals recommend finishing on a positive note.
  • Make sure your links show you in a positive light. If you’re including a LinkedIn profile, take the time to update it and check for errors. If you added your Facebook profile, make sure you don’t post racist, offensive, non-inclusive, rude, or other content that could put your application in jeopardy.

Thank You Email after Interview Template

If you’re trying to write and going blank, here are three examples of a thank-you email after interview. I hope these could inspire you to write your own.

Sample 1: Short and casual

  • Subject line: Thank you for your time!
  • EMAIL BODY:

Hello Ms. Jane,

Thanks for taking the time to include me in your busy schedule yesterday morning. I enjoyed our conversation about the Social Media Manager position and was excited to be shown around the company’s tech division.

I was born to take on this role, especially since I eat and breathe social media and have a master’s degree in marketing.

Your advice about disciplining naughty cats is highly appreciated. I will try it with my newly-adopted kitten.

Thank you again. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me anytime.

Pru Smith
pru.smith@realemail.com
123-456-7899

Sample 2: Brief and Professional (with additional info)

  • Subject line: Thank You for meeting me! – from Pru Smith
  • EMAIL BODY:

Dear Ms. Jane,

I wanted to reach out to thank you for taking the time to speak with me this morning about the social media manager position.

I really enjoyed talking to you about the role and learning more about where your team is headed. AI in social media is an exciting path and it sounds like the marketing department will be experiencing a first in the industry.

I would love to lend my experience as a seasoned digital marketer and be part of this innovative team. As for the problem your team is having with marketing ecommerce websites, I recommend you check out MarketBot – it’s an AI-tech that analyzes customer behavior and uses this data to predict product demand and future trends.

On a personal note, I really enjoyed talking to you about robots and how AI is shaping our world now.

I look forward to speaking further with you. Again, I appreciate your time and if I can help with anything else, please don’t hesitate to email back.

Sincerely,
Pru Smith (enter your LinkedIn profile page here)
pru.smith@realemail.com
123-456-7899

Sample 3

  • Subject line: Appreciate your time today. – Pru Smith, Social Media Manager
  • MESSAGE BODY:

Hello Ms. Jane,

Thank you so much for meeting with me earlier today and discussing the exciting job opportunity at Amazon.

I’m very interested in the managerial position and believe my 10 years of experience managing social media accounts for several clients and handling day-to-day copywriting and designing graphics would be valuable as your company expands to accommodate more clients.

You mentioned that your team is in the middle of courting new clients, and I wanted to offer you a few ideas I think would help.

      • Poster-style infographics of A/B testing
      • Case studies of using artificial intelligence in social media marketing
      • Tutorial series for would-be clients (i.e. how to create head-turning Instagram-ready graphics via Canva)

Please let me know if there’s anything else you need from me to move the process forward. Thank you for taking the time to read my email.

Best regards,

Pru Smith
pru.smith@realemail.com
123-456-7899

Does sending a thank you email really work?

If you wrote a well-written, well-meaning thank you email, then there’s a good chance you’ll get brownie points for it. For some people, this could even give them the edge over other applicants, who may be equally as good as them, except they didn’t bother with a thank you note.

Just look at it this way: no HR professional or hiring manager would look at applicants who send thank-you emails poorly. There’s no harm in sending them. These emails only bring a good kind of attention to your application. Sometimes, the HR person would reply. If this is the case, you can use this same e-mail to follow up on your application after a week or so.

Just don’t bombard him/her with a ton of follow-up emails. If you don’t hear back after several weeks, accept this as a rejection and move on.

If you haven’t had your online interview yet and is looking for more guidance, check out these tried-and-tested tips to help you get hired,

From Trash to Cash: Car Battery Recycling for Cash

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If you don’t know it yet, car battery recycling for cash is a thing. How cool is it to protect the environment, destash stuff from your garage, and earn money in one go, right?

Once your car battery is dead (or damaged), recycling is the best option because they contain non-renewable resources like cadmium, mercury, zinc, lithium and lead. If all our car batteries end up in landfills, these batteries will eventually erode and the heavy metals would leak into the ground, contaminating our water supplies and affecting our future (and our kids’ future).

This guide will talk about everything you need to know about turning your car battery trash into cash.

Benefits of Car Battery Recycling for Cash

If you’re not sold yet, here are the four major benefits of recycling old and dead car batteries:

Avoid fines

When you buy a car battery, retailers in all 50 states can charge a fee called “battery core charge.” In over 30 states, this fee is required by law since it gives people the responsibility of recycling batteries.

A core charge is a deposit you pay when buying a car battery. In some stores, you are refunded in cash when you return a used battery. For other stores, no cash will be given, but you can save money on core fees when buying a new car battery.

Check BatteryCouncil.org or Call2Recycle.org about the deposits, refunds, and refund periods by state.

Many states make it illegal to discard or improperly dispose of a motor-vehicle battery or other lead-acid battery. So to avoid fines, it’s only reasonable to recycle your used car batteries.

Turn your junk into something useful

If you clear up your garage once a year, make sure to check for dead or unused car batteries that could be dangerously seeping out chemicals in your house.

Instead of just keeping used batteries stored in your garage, recycling centers can still make use of the parts. For example, every battery you sell will be torn apart in several ways and recycled:

  • Plastics – The batteries go through a hammer mill machine to break it up, then into a vat where all the lead and heavy materials fall to the bottom. All plastic (or polypropylene) pieces eventually rise on top and scooped away, transferred to another machine where they are washed, blown-dried, and brought to a plastic recycling facility. When recycled, molten plastic is turned into small, uniform-sized plastic pellets that are going to be used to create battery cases by various manufacturers.
  • The lead, heavy materials, and other liquids – Lead is separated from these materials left in the vat and then cleaned before being melted together in a furnace. The molten lead is then poured into molds, which are then cooled, removed from molds, and sent back to battery manufacturers for use as lead plates and other battery parts.
  • Sulfuric acid – The used battery acid can also be recycled either as treated water released into the public sewer system or converted as sodium sulfate (used for glass, laundry detergents, or textile).

There are other kinds of batteries such as alkaline and Zinc, Nickel-Cadmium or Lithium-Ion batteries that are recycled differently for safety and proper separation of materials, but can all be recycled nonetheless.

In most cases, a car battery gets recycled by two or more recycling centers, but it is also possible that a facility maximizes its space and does all three.

Support environmental efforts

Environmentally-wise, people are doing good with car battery recycling with 99% of lead-acid batteries recycled, but 1% is still a BIG DEAL In fact, each year about 1.8 million used car batteries are not recycled properly and are deposited (either intentionally or unintentionally) into our landfills, streams and lakes.

No matter how many times a car battery is recycled and reused, it is considered a closed-loop system (which means the car battery recycling process can be done continuously for decades to come).

Earn money

Aside from being able to get refunds from the core charge, you can also sell the entire used car battery directly to other facilities that buy used car batteries for cash.

Requirements to Sell Car Battery

Do car batteries have to be in any certain condition to be able to sell them?

The good thing about car battery recycling is that most parts of the battery can be recycled and reused in different ways. As long as the plastic of the battery case hasn’t melted and merged into the lead and other components inside, you could still sell your used car batteries.

How Much Cash to Expect for Recycling Batteries Near Me

How much can you get joining the car battery recycling for cash movement?

>The prices would vary by state, but the dollar value of used car batteries is based on their lead content. Expect to earn about 20 to 40 cents per pound of lead, which would be around $6 to $20 per car battery and up to $15 each for truck batteries.

Note that this amount would also change daily based on lead values on the market and factors such as charge left, original price bought, the brand of battery, and if the battery you’re selling is still usable or already dead.

Other battery contents could also be sold. For example:

  • brass ($1.40 to $1.70 per pound),
  • copper ($1 to $3.15 per pound),
  • aluminum (around $0.50 per pound), and more.

10 Places that Offer Car Battery Recycling for Cash

So where can you sell used car batteries? Who buys used car batteries? This list will get you started:

1. Local Scrap Yard

The scrapyard is the go-to place when you want to sell old appliances, bottles, jars, and yes, even auto parts.

Scrapyard owners are business people and know that almost anything can be recycled, so it’s less likely they’ll turn you away. They would, however, have different market prices for lead. While the average price is about 30 cents a pound, which makes a 21-pound lead amount in a typical car battery priced around $6, you might receive lower rates.

For your trip to the local scrapyard to be worth it, try to call the local scrap yards near you and ask for the current lead scrap buying price.

Don’t know where to start? Download the iScrap app on your phone and locate local scrap yards. It’s super easy to use and even lets you schedule pickups for your used batteries for sale.

2. Auto Parts Shop

If you absolutely need to dispose of car batteries, visit your local auto parts shop because they’re more than likely to accept the batteries no matter their condition. There are two ways these shops handle used batteries:

  • Get core charge ($5 to $12 depending on where you live) is refunded as cash whether you’re buying a new car battery or not.
  • The core charge becomes store credit towards the purchase of a new battery, so expect no cash.

Some auto parts stores would require you to bring your receipt with you, while others do not. National auto parts brands like Advance Auto Parts, AutoZone, NAPA Auto Parts, O’Reilly Auto Parts, and Pep Boys (among others) are guaranteed to purchase used car batteries from you. Even smaller, family-owner or local auto parts stores will honor the core charge.

3. United Battery

If you live near Longview Washington or Portland Oregon, United Battery branches will give you cash for junk batteries if you give them lead-acid batteries in-store.

They accept car batteries as well as batteries of trucks, golf carts, RVs, boats, forklifts, UPS, telecom and other kinds of automotive and industrial batteries.

To know prices, call (503) 289-6644 for Portland, or (360) 577-3833 for the Longview location.

4. Metal Recycling Centers

Compared to the local scrapyard that accepts every “scrap” under the sun, metal recycling centers only deal with metals and have the machinery to process metals and other battery components.

And because metals are valuable materials that can be recycled over and over again without degrading their properties, scrap metals like those found in used batteries are always in demand at metal recycling centers. Many of these centers even partner with car manufacturers and other buyers.

Just like in junkyards, metal recycling centers use market pricing when buying your used car battery, so be ready for the car battery pricing to fluctuate. Find and call “metal recycling centers near me” to inquire about current prices, but this should be somewhere between $5 and $12.

5. Auto Repair Shops

The amount you can get by selling used car batteries in auto repair shops varies, but if you’re having your car done at a local repair shop or the nearest Walmart Auto Care Center, it is easier to sell your used batteries.

If the car battery can still be fixed (and not just passable for recycling), auto repair shops would often recondition the batteries they bought from you and resell them at the shop as refurbished car batteries. Note that they would check the battery if it is still possible for reconditioning.

If you’re not planning to buy a new battery, many auto repair shops also participate in the core charge program, so check if the shop you visited will accommodate your refund request on the core charge.

6. Pawnshops

Some pawnshops will accept dead car batteries, but others will only pay for batteries that still have a bit of power left.

One thing is sure, if you take the pawnshop route, you’re most likely going to be paid less than the other options above.

7. Sell Your Car with Batteries included at Peddle.com

If you want to sell your car batteries along with the actual car, just send a form through Peddle, list down detailed information about the car, and Peddle will give you an instant quote. If you accept the offer, Peddle will pick up the car from your location and you’ll get paid.

Peddle is available in 50 states and has over 87,000 positive reviews from past customers.

8. Online Classifieds

You can find a buyer for your used battery without leaving your home as well. Online classifieds are ideal if your car battery isn’t dead yet, or it comes with a charge still left in it.

Try these traditional online classified ads sites:

  • Craigslist: You can e choose your city’s Craigslist, so the swap will just be local.
  • eBay: The site takes a small commission out of the purchase price, but you can have the battery shipped out and not brought to a physical location.
  • OfferUp: This is similar to Craigslist and is geared towards local buy and sell.
  • Facebook Marketplace: One of the most popular social media platforms today definitely will give you more chances of a buyer (the people are already there) and you can use Facebook’s location and other tools to boost your listing. Of course, you can also sell the car batteries directly on your personal page, or join local community groups.

The best thing about listing your used car battery on any of these sites is that you have control over the price and can negotiate if you want to.

Just make sure that when you meet up with the buyer, you’ll complete the transaction in a public place.

9. GlobalTech Environmental

If you have a scrap metal business, junkyard, recycling center, or any similar business operating in the U.S. and have accumulated over 500 pounds of car batteries or junk electronic scrap, you can sell them to the eco-friendly battery recycling company, Global Tech Environmental.

You can sell any kind of automobile and industrial batteries.

10. Host a Yard Sale

You can also just keep the selling simple and go with an old-school yard sale, especially if you just cleared your garage and found a lot more items than just your car batteries.

To make sure other people know about your yard sale? Use modern tools like Facebook groups to announce the dates you’ll be hosting the yard sale.

The Bottom Line of Car Battery Recycling for Cash

Car battery recycling for cash is a good way to transform trash for cash, but not something you can earn from regularly. However, even if you only get back the core charge refund for “returning” your used battery at the store where you bought them new, it’s still better than nothing.

Looking for other ways to earn from your car? Try these guides:

10 Online Passive Income Ideas You Can Start Today

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Are you thinking about earning some extra cash on the side on a regular basis while not having to worry about it too much? It’s time to get inspired with a few passive income ideas!

Passive income is an income stream received regularly with zero or very little effort on your part. I mean, who wouldn’t want to make money while they sleep?

Also, a consistent cash flow, especially one that comes from multiple sources, supplements income sources that aren’t as steady, so it’s particularly attractive to freelancers or small business owners.

Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to take a sick day or simply a mental health day and continue to earn?

Today, I’ve compiled a list of passive income ideas to inspire you to start setting up this year!

10 Passive Income Ideas to Get You Started

Just a note before we dive into the list.

There are plenty of passive income ideas out there, but I focused on passive income ideas you can do online.

If you have a computer and an internet connection, you can get started today!

1. Create a blog and monetize it.

Being a blogger isn’t a set-it-and-forget-it type of deal. Obviously, you’ll have to write articles, respond to comments, and maintain your website.

However, if you pick and choose the right ways to monetize your blog, you can set it up so that an article that you wrote once can generate income long after you’ve written it.

One of the most basic ways you can earn passive income through blogging is through displaying website ads, and one of the most reliable ad networks to join is Google Adsense.

Google Adsense

It’s certainly not the highest-paying passive income stream, but it’s one of the most reliable. If you can regularly produce useful content for a niche audience, then you can show them targeted, relevant ads.

You earn in cents per ad you show your visitors, but if you have a high volume of website visitors, the cents can really add up to real money.

Another way to monetize your blog is via affiliate marketing.

You can join one or a few affiliate networks, find products and services that fit your target audience, publish articles about these products or services, and put in an affiliate link that your readers can click so they can buy these products. In return, you get a commission for everyone who purchases through the links you posted.

If this is something you’re interested in, you can read our complete guide to starting on affiliate marketing.

2. Write an ebook.

If you have a knack for writing, writing an ebook could be a good source of passive income for you in the form of royalties.

Whether you’re into fiction or you prefer writing about a particular topic you’d like to share your knowledge about, creating an ebook and working with a publisher or even self-publishing it can earn you money for months or years to come.

You can even add to your income by creating audiobooks and expanding your audience. Some people simply prefer listening to books rather than reading them, especially those who like to listen while doing something else like driving or cleaning their house.

Check out our guide to self-publishing your ebook if you want to know more.

3. Become a vlogger.

Become A Vlogger

Are you comfortable in front of a camera? Is there a pressing topic you’re just bursting to talk about in front of an audience?

Becoming a vlogger just might be the passive income stream for you!

You can start a channel on YouTube or on Twitch with nothing but basic equipment: your computer, a webcam, a microphone, and your knowledge.

The main source of YouTubers’ income comes from Google’s YouTube Partner Program, which is made available for accountholders who meet certain criteria.

Once your account gets approved for this program, every video you upload on YouTube is served with AdSense ads and you earn from them continuously.

It’s a different story with Twitch; vloggers earn on Twitch mainly through affiliate marketing and sponsorships.

Whether you go with YouTube or Twitch or some other platform, being a vlogger is definitely a workable passive income idea.

4. Start a podcast.

Fun fact: 57% of US consumers over the age of 12 listen to podcasts, and nearly 75% of podcast consumers enjoy listening to podcasts to learn new things.

Why not share your knowledge about an interesting topic and get some passive income out of it?

A podcast is a periodic digital broadcast available for streaming and downloading to a mobile device or a computer. It’s similar to radio shows, except the sound doesn’t go through the airwaves; it goes through the internet.

Podcasters usually earn passive income from ads, sponsorships, and affiliate marketing, and you can further increase this if you do your podcast in front of a web camera as well and then publish it as a vlog. That way you get double the passive income opportunities.

5. Become an influencer.

According to the official HopperHQ List 2021, Cristiano Ronaldo was the top-paid Instagram influencer that year, with a fee of around $1.6M per post.

You might never get to command a fee like that, but if you’re social media savvy and you can amass a following or you already have one, being a social media influencer is a viable passive income idea.

The first thing you need to do before this becomes a regular source of cash is to build up your follower count on various platforms: Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, or YouTube.

And you do this by posting relevant, timely content on a regular basis, as well as engaging with your audience. Genuine engagement with your followers goes a long way to growing them. Reply to their comments, follow back your most popular followers, and like some of their posts, too.

When you have enough followers to qualify for affiliate programs and ad networks, then you can start gaining passive income through those.

Plus, when you have enough followers to get noticed by brands, you can become a brand ambassador, too.

You do have to post regular content for you to earn regularly from ads and affiliates, but as you grow in popularity, the amount of money you can charge per post also goes up.

6. Sell digital media.

Artists and creators nowadays realize that the internet is a boon. It gives artists a chance to work with new media, explore new ways of creating, and showcase their art to new audiences.

Of course, the obvious downside is that there is plenty of competition, but if you keep at it and manage to get your creations in front of a paying audience, you can potentially earn passive income while getting to do something you love.

Here are some ideas for digital media to create and sell, either on your own website or through digital marketplaces like Envato.

  • Stock photos
  • Photoshop filters and presets
  • Wallpapers
  • Digital art
  • Graphics
  • Logos
  • Icon sets
  • Emojis
  • Fonts
  • Designs
  • Patterns
  • Instrumental music
  • Ringtones
  • Beats
  • Sound effects
  • Applications
  • Website design themes
  • Website plugins
  • Printable journals and trackers
  • Printable meal prep guides
  • Printable workout guides
  • Templates

7. Sell online courses.

Online Course

If you enough about a topic to be able to teach it to everyone who’s interested, you can create and sell online courses. That way, you only have to plan it and create it once and then students can buy it continuously for the foreseeable future.

You’ll have to update your courses according to your students’ feedback as well as with new information in that field, but other than that, once it’s up on an online course platform or on your own website, it’s going to earn passive income as long as it’s up and as long as students are enrolling.

Similarly, this opens up additional passive income streams from an accompanying ebook and possibly a membership website where interested students can subscribe for bonus content and an exclusive forum where virtual classmates can discuss the lessons and swap additional knowledge.

8. Set up and automate a dropshipping store.

Dropshipping is an amazing ecommerce business model that lets an online store owner sell products without an inventory or storage facility. In order to make this work, the owner sets up connections to merchants who will handle everything from processing the order to shipping them out.

In return, the dropshipping store owner either receives a cut from the sale or is paid a referral fee by the merchant.

A dropshipping online store can become a lucrative business, but it still requires a ton of work after setting up. In order to really turn this into a passive income-generating business, you’ll have to automate the whole process (from forwarding an order to sending the customer an email about their order details).

Setting up the store is as easy as setting up any website or blog. If you really want the easy way, you can even check out ready-made stores from providers like Shopify. Do note that because you’ll be hosting your store on Shopify’s database, Shopify gets a cut from every sale.

9. Rent out your assets.

A good source of passive income is getting assets that you don’t use or barely use to work for you.

You can sell these assets, but it’s a one-and-done deal.

Renting out a room or a house you own that’s not lived in, or a car you barely drive, or useful stuff around the house you aren’t using every day can help out other people who do need them while you earn some passive income out of it.

You’re going to spring for maintenance of your properties, but for the most part, you can earn some side cash out of these assets on a regular basis.

10. Invest in equity microfunding.

This one may be for those who have a bit more money earmarked for investing, aka money you can afford to risk for a greater reward.

But if you’ve built up one or more passive income streams and have no immediate need for the money, you may be able to place the funds into this type of investment and potentially make even more.

Traditionally, startup businesses raise funds through loans or appealing to angel investors or venture capitalists.

Equity microfunding is like crowdfunding but with higher stakes; that is, investors in equity microfunding get equity ownership in the business.

Startup businesses create online profiles on crowdfunding platforms where potential investors can see their pitches, financial statements, and other relevant information about their businesses.

You as an investor get to pick and choose the businesses you believe in. There are guidelines in place regarding how much you can invest in a certain time period, and you’d need to educate yourself about these guidelines.

Equity microfunding is the riskiest one yet out of this list, and yet it has the greatest earning potential, especially if you invest in the right startup businesses.

Here are some crowdfunding platforms offering equity crowdfunding:

The Bottom Line

Having a 9-to-5 job sounds so much better than being unemployed.

But being stuck in a job that you don’t really love and more than likely won’t make you rich is the worse.

Unfortunately, we’re all here trying to win the unbeatable rat race with regular jobs. To finally become financially free, you have to find ways to earn passive income.

Earning money while you sleep is completely possible, but people who have successfully done so had to put some conscious effort and work into getting there. If you are serious about running a business that earns income passively, you have to accept that the initial workload would be challenging.

Don’t believe anyone that says building a passive income-generating business is easy.

It isn’t.

But the rewards are definitely worth the effort. Just imagine earning an extra $100, $500, $1000, or even up to $10,000 a month just because you’ve set up multiple sources of income streams a few months back. 

What are you waiting for?

List down the passive income ideas relevant to you, and start working on them now.

5 Legit Paid Online Survey Sites Worth Your Time

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Paid online surveys attract many people since it’s an easy way to make money online.

Who wouldn’t want that?

I’ve resisted touting survey sites because, for the most part, I’ve felt that they waste too much time and effort.

Sure, you can make a few bucks here and there with a survey. You might even score an in-depth webcam-enabled interview that nets you $40 or $60.

However, getting decent-paying surveys is a crapshoot, and best not relied upon for a steady income.

Or is it?

I went through the hundreds of survey sites that are out there and found the 5 best paid online surveys you should consider joining.

Below are an additional 15 that, while they aren’t as good as my top 5, they are still worth joining to maximize your number of survey invites.

My 5 Best Paid Online Survey Sites

1. Opinion Outpost

Opinion Outpost logo

Opinion Outpost leads off this list by keeping things simple.

I’ve been recommending them since I first started this site way back in 2007, and their longevity is proof enough that they are as legit as they come.

Register an account, answer surveys, get paid in cash. They make the process as easy as possible and are committed to providing you with as many surveys as you qualify for.

2. Survey Junkie

Survey Junkie

If you’re after the highest paying online surveys, then look no further.

Survey Junkie is home to over 5 million members, and so far, no major complaints about lack of surveys or payment delays.

A survey can take around 10 minutes to complete.

You earn points after finishing a survey. You can then have it converted into cash via PayPal (or Amazon gift cards) once you reach the $10 payment threshold.

Generally, you can earn from $10-$15 an hour with Survey Junkie surveys.

TO JOIN: Create an account, fill in your profile, and wait for Survey Junkie to match you with their surveys.

You’ll be notified when surveys are available. Complete them, then earn points.

3. Swagbucks

Swagbucks Surveys

Swagbucks isn’t just a survey site. It provides dozens of ways to earn money by doing ordinary online activities, such as watching videos, playing games, online shopping, searching the web, and so on.

Swagbucks has been paying people around the world over $600 million in rewards and they’re not stopping anytime soon.

I’ve personally cashed over $1,000 in rewards from Swagbucks.

Swagbucks Proof

You can answer surveys and polls daily, which take a maximum of 10 minutes to complete. The coolest thing about Swagbucks is that you can even receive consolation points if you don’t qualify for a particular survey.

Generally, you can earn around 30 to 150 Swagbucks per survey. That’s probably around $6.50 an hour. You can then have your Swagbucks converted into cash or vouchers, or you can use these to join Swagbucks-run contests.

TO JOIN: Create an account (and be awarded $5 for signing up), fill in your profile, then explore what Swagbucks has to offer.

4. Pinecone Research

Pinecone Research

Pinecone Research is probably my favorite paid online survey company in this group.

Surveys come in at a flat rate of $3 per survey and generally take around 10 minutes to fill out, making this the highest pay-per-hour survey site you can join.

Your first check will be issued on completion of your first survey.

On top of normal surveys, you may be sent new products in the mail to try out. You get to keep whatever they send on top of being paid to answer questions about it.

TO JOIN: Create an account here, confirm your email address, and fill out the demographic survey to immediately start making some money.

5. Inbox Dollars

InboxDollars

InboxDollars is another site that offers paid online surveys that pay you in cash instead of points.

From their website, InboxDollars has paid over $80 million in cash rewards to its members for answering surveys, as well as doing relatively simple tasks, such as watching videos, playing games, and shopping (through cashback).

TO JOIN: Sign up on their website (and get a $5 bonus just for signing up!). You’ll then have to answer a few simple demographic questions, such as your income, race, education, and other information that will help them match you with surveys you’re eligible for.

15 More Survey Companies to Join

The following companies are legit and are worth joining if you want to maximize the number of surveys you get each month. I’d suggest clicking through to all of them and seeing which ones feel like they’re worth joining.

  1. American Consumer Opinion
  2. SurveySavvy
  3. Toluna
  4. PaidViewpoint
  5. PointClub
  6. LifePoints
  7. Global Survey Group
  8. Maru Springboard America
  9. Panda Research
  10. OneOpinion
  11. Survey Voices
  12. i-Say
  13. Harris Poll Online
  14. Valued Opinions
  15. Branded Surveys

That wraps up my list of approved survey companies, but keep reading to learn how to maximize your earnings.

Frequently Asked Questions About Paid Online Surveys

The following questions are probably the most-asked questions about online surveys, and it’s worth going over the answers to these for good reason: they’re going to save you a lot of time.

How much can you really make taking surveys?

Yes, you can make some money.

But most of the time, the amount is totally exaggerated.

  • Yes, you can earn an extra $500 to $1000 a month answering online surveys, but this would take up all your time throughout the day (8 working hours or more).
  • Yes, you can get paid just by joining online survey sites, but you can’t withdraw that signup bonus immediately. In most cases, you’ll need to earn your first $20 before requesting a payout.
  • Yes, there’s no stopping you from joining all the survey sites you can find, but some just pay pennies.

Realistically, you can earn an average of $5–$10/hour for paid online surveys.

You could be picked for special $50-per-survey gigs, but this rarely occurs.

How long does answering surveys take?

The time you need to complete a survey varies completely.

Some surveys are as short as regular sign-up pages, while others are part of a full-blown study.

If you’re planning to do this on the side of a full-time job, or during downtime at school, then you’d probably just commit an hour or two for surveys.

Is everyone qualified to take surveys?

Generally, the best survey sites welcome individuals 16 years old and above.

Countries allowed to join vary, but they’re mostly available for everyone around the world. The problem lies in the payment method since some countries do not have PayPal options, while others cannot accept remittances.

Why do these survey sites pay you, anyway?

Brands, companies, and organizations will pay a premium just to know what and how their target audience thinks.

Opinions of survey takers such as yourself shape the products and services that these brands develop and how they are marketed.

What types of questions can you expect to be required to answer?

You can expect to be asked about your activities, interests, and hobbies.

You’ll also likely be asked about your spending habits and decisions; for instance, what makes it likely for you to choose a brand over another?

Essentially, expect questions that will help a brand develop new products or fine-tune existing ones.

How do you get paid?

Depending on the survey site you chose to join, you can either be paid through:

  • Cash – Straight to your PayPal or a bank account
  • Points – You can use these points to buy stuff from the survey site’s store, or convert into cash
  • Gift cards – If you love shopping online and prefer to be paid with Amazon gift cards or other types of online gift cards, some survey sites provide this option.
  • App store credits – Maybe you’re just answering surveys because you need extra cash for your games and apps. If this is the case, you can actually get paid with Google Play credits.

How to Make Paid Online Surveys Worth It

There are literally hundreds of survey sites around, but they’re not built equally.

If you decide to answer surveys for money right now, it’s important that you choose only the best and highest-paying online surveys.

Doing this saves you a lot of time and headaches that scammy survey sites may bring.

1. Calculate how much your time is worth.

The first thing you should do before taking any online surveys is to calculate the least amount of money you are willing to make per hour.

Typically, this is done by taking your current yearly compensation and dividing it by 2,080, which is 52 weeks per year multiplied by 40 hours per week.

Use this hourly rate to determine the value of your time.

If you are unemployed, don’t assume that your time is free.

You can still complete other tasks to make money, including taking up a part-time job, house and pet sitting, becoming a microjobs agent, etc.

2. Learn how much each survey is worth.

It’s easy to get sidetracked by a supposedly easy survey that takes just “minutes” to complete.

For example, a survey that claims to take 20 minutes to complete and pays $3 may not really end up making you the equivalent of $9/hour.

Because many surveys require a pre-qualifier survey, you may end up working 10 minutes on the pre-qualifier before you even get to the real survey. That drops your earnings significantly. And if you fail the pre-qualifier, you’ve just wasted 10 minutes of your time.

If you have a selection of surveys to choose from, choose those surveys that pay you at least $10/hour.

Also, it’s far better to spend more time and effort on surveys that promise to pay $50+ even if they do take more time to complete because, once you’re in, you’ll probably be webcam interviewed.

That may sound intimidating at first; however, webcam-enabled interviews are better because they last a shorter time and are more likely to send you a payout.

3. Download online survey mobile apps.

If an online survey site announces that it has a mobile app version of its platform, download it.

Why?

Online surveys are best performed when you are already wasting time standing in line at the store, waiting for a doctor’s appointment, etc.

They are usually not the best use of your time when you are sitting at home and could find many other (and better) ways to make money.

4. Choose survey sites with low payout thresholds.

Back in the early 2000s, a steady crop of survey sites popped up and promised large amounts of money to survey takers.

What they didn’t advertise was the fact that survey takers would not be able to cash out until they had reached $100+ thresholds. By the time such thresholds were reached, the sites had either disappeared or just didn’t have enough work for their survey takers.

Before you commit to working with any online survey site, read the site’s fine print about payout thresholds.

Alternately, if you’d rather collect gift cards, find out how much you need to spend to obtain those gift cards. You don’t want to be almost at your points goal for payout only to learn that your survey site shut down.

5. Don’t game the system.

Many survey takers try to fool survey sites by deliberately lying on pre-qualifying surveys and claiming to have tried product X, have children ages 2–4, etc.

While such lies may initially get you qualified for a higher number of paying surveys, eventually, your lies will catch up with you.

How does this happen?

Survey sites track survey takers and create profiles on them. Some survey sites work with other survey sites.

If your supplied information doesn’t match up across different platforms, or even across different surveys, you’ll eventually be found out and banned from these sites.

6. Use survey sites as a stepping stone.

Online surveys can lead to better-paying opportunities.

Oftentimes, survey companies collaborate with clients that want more direct feedback than just online answers.

Once you are recruited into a more “live” panel, your pay can jump from a few dollars per survey to $100 or even higher.

How to Know Which Paid Online Survey Sites to Avoid

The survey sites on our list are legit, but you’re probably going to want to search for new ones, especially when there is a lack of surveys on some of the sites you’re working with.

Here are some telltale signs that a survey site is not worth the time or effort.

When you do a search, it turns up nothing or mostly negative reviews. Survey sites that are trustworthy are talked about and even praised by their users. They also have proof that these survey sites indeed pay.

They ask for payment. A legitimate survey site will NEVER ask you to pay in exchange for surveys.

They ask for personal information. You should not be asked to provide your social security information, driver’s license information, or bank account information (if they’re not going to pay through your bank account).

Their websites look sketchy or outdated. If they can’t be bothered to update and maintain their website properly, they probably can’t be bothered to pay their members, either.

They continually disqualify you for surveys. Of course, there are surveys that you’re not going to be qualified to answer or to be paid out. But if it’s proving to be too difficult to even be qualified for surveys, it might be wise to just cut your losses and move on to another site.

The Bottom Line

Paid online survey sites can be a good way to supplement your income.

The caveat to this conclusion is that you should be aware of how much time you spend filling out those online surveys.

Valuable surveys should take up the majority of your time and energy.

Less valuable surveys are better off being filled out when you are bored and/or waiting for something else, such as a dental appointment.

Look into getting paid to join a focus group, test products, or participate in online research studies.

All of those offer higher-paying alternatives for similar lines of work.

Which of these paid online survey sites have you encountered or signed up for? Can you share your experiences with them? Tell us in the comments!

Have Car, Will Earn: 14 Ways You Can Get Paid to Drive

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Did you know that you can get paid to drive your own car?

You may have already heard of things like driving people around (e.g., Uber and Lyft), but there are other ways you can turn your car into a cash-generating machine.

Let’s look at all the ways you can earn money from driving!

How to Get Paid to Drive Your Car

Here are 14 ideas for you to consider:

1. Deliver groceries

If you live in an urban area and/or can find lots of customers that live in one location (e.g., assisted living facilities), you can earn $25/hour or more.

Grocery delivery sites need people to shop for and deliver groceries to customers.

2. Deliver Amazon packages

Amazon Prime Now and Amazon are both hiring delivery drivers through their Amazon Flex program in major urban centers across the country. To qualify for this job, you’ll need a smartphone so you can download and use Amazon’s delivery app. Positions pay up to $25/hour.

Amazon Flex

3. Be a mystery shopper

Mystery shopping, sometimes also referred to as shadow shopping or secret shopping, involves being tasked to go into different establishments, giving feedback to the mystery shopping company and eventually to the owners of these establishments.

The aim of this feedback is to improve the establishments’ products, policies and procedures, customer service, and overall customer experience.

Examples of establishments that hire mystery shoppers include restaurants, convenience stores, automotive shops, grocery stores, and many more.

Plenty of these mystery shopping companies give out assignments in multiple stores in multiple locations, so they normally prefer to hire those with their own transportation.

The pay for mystery shopping assignments varies from $3-$80, and you can earn bonus money if you complete deadline-sensitive assignments.

4. Rent out your car

If you aren’t interested in actually driving your car to earn money, sites like Turo offer you the opportunity to rent it out to others.

 

Yearly earnings from renting your car out vary by the value of your car and how many days it can be used, but some sites estimate yearly earnings up to $13,000. I give more details as well as a list of car-sharing websites in this article.

5. Turn your car into ad space through car wrapping

Believe it or not, there are legitimate car wrap sites that will wrap your car in advertising and pay you good money for it. You essentially get paid to drive a moving billboard for advertisers and businesses.

One such site is MyFreeCar, which offers up to $400/month if you end up wrapping your car with an ad.

car wrap

Other car wrap sites include Wrapify, Carvertise, and Nickelytics.

You’ll have to be careful with car wrap scams, though. I’ve explained one of them here, and in a nutshell, it involves baiting with promises to give you thousands of dollars in exchange for renting out your car.

6. Perform microjobs and microtasks

Sites like TaskRabbit and Thumbtack need people to pick up dry cleaning, get movie tickets, assemble furniture at someone’s house, etc.

To complete these tasks, you’ll most likely need a car. Payouts from microtasks range from a few dollars to maybe $20; however, if you can schedule a series of tasks at nearby locations, you could earn at least $25/hour.

7. Move large stuff

If you have a larger-sized vehicle like a van or pickup truck, you can offer moving services to people who are moving houses, taking home a large item they just bought from a store, or taking junk and scrap metal to a dump or recycling center.

milwaukee moving craigslist

You could list your moving services privately, such as through sites like Craigslist and Nextdoor. You could also sign up with websites and apps like Dolly, BuddyTruk, Lugg, and GoShare.

Check out our list of jobs for pickup trucks to learn more about earning from your large vehicle.

8. Host sightseeing tours

If you live in an interesting urban or natural locale, you can create custom sightseeing tours and charge tourists to take them to places they want to see: both the usual tourist spots and the off-the-beaten-path ones.

To advertise such services, consider teaming up with other local businesses and offering them a “pit stop” on your tour in exchange for advertising the tour and maybe even helping to sell tickets.

To make your tours a success, you’ll need a larger vehicle with big windows, such as a van. Also, consider jazzing up your tour with custom brochures, maps, and even souvenirs.

I’ve written about being a local tour guide here, including which companies employ local tour guides.

9. Chauffer for a wedding

If you have a custom, vintage, or sports vehicle on your hands, you could offer rides in it for wedding parties and guests. Being at the beck and call of a wedding party for rides to and from the church or courthouse, reception area, hotel, and/or airport could fetch you an easy $500 or more for the entire day.

Bonus: you might even get to eat some cake!

To get started as a chauffeur, it’s best to set up a website and post plenty of gorgeous photos of your vehicle(s) and offered services. You may also wish to take out liability insurance for your business.

10. Deliver newspapers or even the mail

These days, the old neighborhood paperboy route has been mostly taken over by drivers who cover larger territories and deliver newspapers, magazines, and USPS mail.

Some of these jobs can be found by perusing standard job sites like Monster and Indeed. You should also check with your local USPS office to find out if there is a need for a driver to cover a (usually rural) geographic location. Local distributors can also give you some routes to cover.

The pay varies based on your employer, but if you cover the same territories for multiple employers, you could easily make an extra $1,000/month.

11. Drive children around

Childcare for school-age kids doesn’t just mean caring for children in their homes anymore.

It now involves picking kids up and driving them to and from school, doctor’s appointments, sports practices and events, other afterschool programs and extracurricular activities, and of course, their homes.

HopSkipDrive is an app where you can sign up as a driver and be connected with families who need rides. The requirements are a bit stringent: you need to be at least 23 years old, have at least 5 years of caregiving experience, an excellent driving record, a clean background check, and a four-door vehicle no more than 10 years old.

But the pay is greater than what you can make through the usual ridesharing apps; you can make up to $60 per hour driving kids around.

12. Drive safely

Yes, we now live in a world where you can get paid to drive safely.

Auto insurance companies are gathering information about drivers’ habits through smart devices in the covered cars or through smartphone apps.

For instance, State Farm has Drive Safe and Save, Progressive has Snapshot, Allstate has Drivewise, and so on.

The payment comes in either cashback or discounts on your premiums. For instance, Allstate’s Drivewise gets you up to 10% cashback just for signing up, and up to 25% cashback every six months for safe driving.

13. Deliver cars from one point to another

If you love long drives, there are companies who would pay for you to scratch your itch, as long as you’re okay not driving your own car.

Driving for hours on end can be lonely, but if you have a great sense of adventure, you might find this gig quite enjoyable.

Learn more about delivering cars from Point A to Point B.

14. Drive elders

The number of elderly people in the US is steadily growing, so if you live in an area with plenty of retirement communities, getting paid to drive elders to various appointments and errands can be a lucrative gig for you.

You can look for driving errands and gigs on websites such as SilverRide (San Francisco and Kansas City areas only), ElderCare.com, and Care.com.

Other ways to make money from your car (besides selling it)

There are numerous other ways you can profit from your vehicle, including the following:

  • Posting car repair/detail videos to YouTube and then marketing those videos.
  • Taking pets to and from vet appointments.
  • Driving people to attractions that have limited/expensive parking.

Final Thoughts

Generally speaking, if you own a car, you’re in a great position to get side hustles for a few hours a week.

Cars are one of those properties that always depreciate in value over time. But getting one or more of these side gigs can at least offset that depreciation and put a little more change in your pocket.

Have you tried any of the above ways to get paid to drive? Can you think of other options for making money with your car, truck, van, SUV? Share these with us in the comments!

14 Ways to Get Paid to Listen to Music

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Can you believe you can get paid to listen to music? It’s like earning money even in your leisure time!

Just by signing up on the following websites or downloading applications on your smartphone, you can start making money for submitting reviews, providing detailed feedback to new artists, transcribing lyrics, or simply playing music on a specific site.

Still skeptical?

Read on, sign up for all of them, wear your headphones, and start earning!

14 Companies That Pay You to Listen to Music

Let’s be clear, you aren’t going to be able to turn in your two weeks to sit at home and listen to music all day. It’s going to be a little challenging to simply throw on some tunes and rake in the cash.

(Well, with the exception of #1 on this list who will pay you to do exactly that…) but for the true musicophile, there are quite a few options below that will have you listening to music and earning money at the same time.

Starting with…

1. Nielsen Market Research

Nielsen will pay you to listen to your own music library.

Yes, seriously!

They conduct market research and want to know how you use your devices, including what kind of music you listen to.

All you need to do is download an app, listen to your favorite songs as per usual, and they pay you $50 per year.

I mean, how easy can it get?!

Nielsen Market Research

2. Earnably

This website pays you not only for listening to the radio, but also for completing surveys, viewing videos, and completing online offers.

What’s especially beneficial with Earnably is that the site pays you bonuses and increases your payout options as you advance on the site. It takes just $2 in collected earnings before you can request a payout through PayPal or a gift card.

Earnably Website

3. Slicethepie

This site features up-and-coming musical artists who want feedback on their compositions. You get paid by listening to their music and writing honest, constructive feedback.

After you sign up on the site, you’ll be asked to listen to songs for at least 90 seconds, after which you’ll be asked to complete a review.

Slicethepie prefers high-quality, detailed reviews. Be honest about what you liked or disliked, comment on the specifics of the track (e.g., melody, lyrics, hook, vocals, instruments, etc.), and be as descriptive as you can.

If you put in a good-faith effort on your review, you won’t have any trouble making money with this site. Payment ranges from 2-20 cents per accepted review, with the minimum payout being $10 to your PayPal account.

Maximize your earnings by giving the site your full attention (running Slicethepie in the background reduces your payout), start writing the review as soon as the song starts to play, and try to stick to a formula so you can write the reviews quickly and you can earn more in less time.

You can also earn more by referring others to the site. For every review that your referred member writes, you’ll get a commission.

Slice the Pie Logo

4. HitPredictor

Want to help out artists while getting paid to listen to music fresh off the press?

With HitPredictor, you get to provide valuable feedback on new tracks before they’re released. Once your feedback is submitted and accepted, you’ll earn points that you can exchange for cash.

Your feedback is made available to the song’s artists, music producers, radio stations, record companies, record executives, etc. All the feedback is then used to make critical decisions about the artists’ careers.

You make 3 points for every song you review. Once you’ve collected enough points, you can trade them in for Amazon electronic gift cards, prizes in their prize store, and raffle tickets to sweepstakes where you can win more points or items from the Prize Store.

Also, for every 15 songs you rate in a 7-day period, you’ll earn an extra 15 points. You can also earn points from answering polls and referring other people to provide feedback.

HitPredictor homepage

5. RadioEarn

RadioEarn works as an internet radio that pays you to listen.

RadioEarn is funded by ads, and you will hear a couple every few minutes. Instead of keeping all of the ad revenue for themselves, they have chosen to give a portion back to their listeners.

Every 15 minutes, you will accumulate points that can then be redeemed for Amazon gift cards, Bitcoin, or cash sent to you via wire transfer to your bank.

If you have a website with a decent amount of traffic, you can place this radio on your website and invite visitors to listen. You get to earn points for these “listens” even if it’s not really you who’s listening.

Best of all, RadioEarn operates worldwide and allows people from all over the world to join and listen to their broadcasts.

RadioEarn

6. Unique Rewards

On this site, you can get paid to listen to music via internet radio, as well as perform all sorts of online tasks, such as answering surveys, visiting websites, shopping, and even reading emails.

If you decide to listen to internet radio, you’ll earn money every time you enter the site’s CAPTCHA, displayed every 30 minutes. In the USA, you’ll be rewarded 3 cents per CAPTCHA fill; in Canada and the UK, the payment is 1 cent. Payout occurs once you reach a threshold of $20.

You’ll need to have the latest versions of your browser as well as Adobe Flash Player.

Unique Rewards

7. RWS Moravia

If you’re fluent in English and at least one more major language, RWS Moravia may have a job opening for you.

RWS Moravia is a division of RWS that specializes in delivering localized products and content to various companies worldwide.

They’re looking for song lyrics transcribers who will transcribe songs in their second language while adhering to certain style guides.

Their current openings are for those who are English speakers who are also fluent (as in native speaker-level fluent) in German or Japanese, but check back on their careers page to check if they’re hiring transcribers for your language.

8. Welocalize

Welocalize offers content transformation services, especially translation and localization. Currently, they support more than 525 language combinations.

From time to time, they have openings for freelance music lyrics transcribers who have native-level English fluency and can deliver 50 transcribed songs per week.

Pay varies depending on the output and quality of transcripts.

Check back on their careers page under Freelance Projects and look for the Music Lyrics Transcriber position.

9. Genius

Working for Genius is yet another way to get paid to listen to new music.

Genius.com is the world’s biggest repository of music lyrics and music knowledge.

They periodically have openings for part-time, US-based Lyrics Associates who are tasked to transcribe and sync new song releases and review community transcriptions for accuracy.

10. Current App

You can get paid to listen to music through Current, a free music player app.

Listen to music from over 100,000 radio stations playing the world’s favorite songs and earn points that you can exchange for gift cards to various stores (e.g., Amazon, iTunes, Google Play Store, as well as retail stores such as Best Buy, Target, Walmart, Sephora, and many more) or for actual products.

Turning on the Homescreen Media Player also allows you to earn points. What it does is play music even when your screen is locked.

Other ways to earn points through the app include sharing your music preferences, completing surveys, and referring friends.

They claim you can make up to $600 a year just by listening to music, and while I can’t say if that’s true, this app is definitely worth downloading and checking out.

Current Music App

11. Cash4minutes

Cash4minutes is a website that pays its users to call a phone number and listen to a radio broadcast using their unused minutes on their phone plan.

You’re rewarded for every minute you’re connected to the selected radio broadcast. These rewards can go into PayPal, Amazon gift card, Bitcoin, direct deposit to your bank account, and even to charity.

The responsibility of making sure you’re using your free minutes rests on you, though. Make a test call first to see if you still have free minutes.

Cash4minutes pays roughly 8 cents per free minute you use to call and listen to radio broadcasts.

You can also earn from referring friends and acquaintances to sign up.

12. Playlist Push

If you have playlists on Spotify, Apple Music, or YouTube Music that people actually follow, Playlist Push wants to pay you for your opinion.

Playlist Push will pay you to listen to songs by indie artists, review these songs thoughtfully, and add them to your public playlists.

This way, you can get paid to discover new music for you and your followers, plus you get to help the next big indie artist get more exposure

The amount paid per song is based on the number of followers your playlist has and how active you are on the website. These are quantified in your Reputation Score. Depending on your Reputation Score, you can get paid anywhere from $1.25 up to $15 per song.

Playlist Push

Other Ways To Get Paid to Listen to Music

Aside from these sites, here are a couple of other ideas for you to get paid to listen to music.

13. Become a music curator.

If you’re a music fan who has a diverse taste in music, love making your own playlists, and know or at least willing to learn how to use digital music software, being a music curator might be a great fit for you.

A music curator is someone who will listen, categorize, and organize music from different genres, artists, bands, labels, etc.

Essentially, you spend the whole day listening to music while getting paid for it.

If you become an in-house curator for a streaming service like Spotify or Apple Music, you’re expected to create playlists that have a common theme aimed to increase engagement and subscriptions to these streaming services.

On the other hand, if you’re curating for a radio station, you get to choose and schedule playlists based on the station’s format and its target listeners.

It may seem like you need to choose between promoting good music and popular music, but you actually have the power to help good music be popular.

To find music curator jobs, look no further than FlexJobs. They vet the companies that post job openings with them, so you can rest assured that you’re not applying to a sketchy company.

14. Become a music blogger.

Writing about music is yet another possibility if you want to earn while listening to music.

There are a number of ways you can blog about music; you can report on the artists, write about music trends, give the scoop on the latest music industry news, and many more.

But reviewing the music you want on your blog is probably the best way for you to get paid to listen to music.

Of course, aside from the writing and research skills to write high-quality content, you’ll also need to have some knowledge about music theory so you can critically analyze a song, an EP, or an album.

To learn more, read our guide on building a business through blogging.

Final Thoughts on Making Money From Listening to Music

Let’s be frank: You won’t become a millionaire by signing up for any of these websites.

In fact, you probably won’t be able to make a living wage off them.

So don’t quit your day job just yet. Instead, treat these gigs as extra cash that you can make on the side.

To get the most bang for your listening buck, sign up for more than one, if not all the sites listed, especially those that ask for reviews. This way, you can listen to just one song and review it multiple times on different sites. Remember to change your actual review text as you hop from site to site.

Being a member of all these recommended sites will also provide you with a steady stream of gigs because not all sites have available reviews at all times.

If you’re interested in more ways to earn side cash, check out this massive list of side hustles you can do.

Or, if you’re really into music but more of a creator than a listener, you may also want to check out my guide on online jobs for musicians.

There are quite a few ideas in there that I bet you never even knew were a possibility.

Have you ever gotten paid to listen to music from the above sites or on other sites? How much money did you earn? Share your experience with us in the comments!

14 Ways to Make Money in the Fitness Niche

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If you have a love for fitness, whether as a professional or just someone who loves keeping healthy, I’ll let you in on a little secret: you can make money from it!

With the rise of health movements such as vegan, keto, and paleo diets, coupled with exercise trends such as HIIT and circuit training, it’s safe to say that the fitness industry is booming and will only continue to grow.

Now is the perfect time to jump in!

In this article, we run down how to make money in fitness so you can start working toward both your fitness goals and your financial goals.

14 Ways to Make Money in the Fitness Niche

I’ve broken down the top ways people are making money in the fitness niche.

Your best bet is to become a trainer of some sort, but you can also help people figure out nutrition, or even become a brand ambassador and make money as an influencer.

Find an area that interests you and run with it.

Make money on the side as an influencer:

Brands are always looking for feedback from influencers and ambassadors to develop their product lines and the fitness industry is a perfect match.

The following companies pay CASH.

1. Become a personal trainer

Whenever an average Joe thinks of the fitness industry this is probably one role that stands out, and with good reason.

Most people, really really hate the gym, but this just means opportunity. Personal training is highly profitable if done correctly.

Starting off you will need to get certified. Certification helps you to build trust with both gyms you may want to work in, and clients you want to work with.

These bodies all supply legitimate certifications:

  • American Council on Exercise (ACE)
  • National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM)
  • International Sports Sciences Association (ISSA)
  • American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM)
  • National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA)

After getting certified, it’s often best to then look to specialize in an area. Ideally, this should be something that you yourself would be interested in, but it pays to take a look at what’s popular as well.

From that point, you can then start applying to local gyms and fitness centers to start working for them or hiring out facilities with them.

Another approach is to look at teaching at multiple gyms in different areas, which helps expand your network of clients and make sure that you have less risk of clients drying up.

2. Teach group sessions

Group fitness training is quite different from the one-on-one approach of personal training.

In group training, a trainer leads an exercise class while coaching all of the participants, making sure that everyone is using the correct form.

Group training might seem like the obvious choice: more people equals more money, right? Well, that’s not always the case; the fees for group fitness are often much lower than personal training.

However, it doesn’t mean that you can’t make money from it. Plus, running this sort of training has many benefits.

First, it gets you in front of a lot of different people, helping you expand and refine your personal brand.

Second, it allows you to promote additional services, such as one-on-one training sessions, dietary and nutrition plans, your own products, and other services that help you earn more (as we’ll see below).

Lastly, it allows you to broaden your skill set by offering a variety of classes to a variety of people. For instance, you could teach classes for kids or older people, CrossFit and other short classes for busy professionals, and so on.

Keep in mind that you’ll still need certification to be able to go into group training.

3. Expand to online coaching

Once you’re working as a personal trainer or a group trainer, a natural offshoot is to become an online fitness coach.

Not everyone has the luxury of having a quality gym nearby or being able to afford a personal trainer. However, with the rise of high-speed internet, they don’t need to!

You might already have existing clients as a personal trainer, but going online gets you an unlimited client base. You can always find a new audience to market your services.

Online coaching can be done via video chat apps and ideally via two-way video feeds so you can check your client’s form and correct it if you need to.

While you’re online with them, you can also pitch your other products, such as your nutrition and training guides.

It’s not ideal from a fitness training perspective but think of it as a middle ground between a fitness DVD and actual personal training.

What’s more, people are willing to pay to be able to get fitness training from the comfort of their homes.

4. Develop training and nutrition plans

Not everyone wants or needs to head into a gym or hire a personal trainer.

What they are looking for instead is expert guidance on their diet or pointers for their own training regimens at home or at the gym so they can tailor their fitness routines into their specific lifestyle.

Meal plans are a popular product in the fitness niche, especially if you create ones that are based on diets that are all the rage, such as vegan, keto, paleo, Atkins, HCG, or any other diets that are touted to promote health.

Workout plans are equally popular, especially for beginners to a certain kind of workout routine, such as strength training, HIIT, CrossFit, calisthenics, etc. Workout plans that target specific areas of the body also have a wide audience.

Meal plans and workout plans are ideally created in a digital format, such as an ebook or PDF. Creating digital products minimizes your overhead and makes them easier to sell, as there are plenty of free or at least inexpensive digital marketplaces where you can sell these plans.

You can also offer custom training and nutrition plans at a higher price to specific clients with specific needs. These plans can be based on a standard template and tweaked with little to no work to fit the needs of a specific client.

You can also sell your nutrition and training plans together as bundles.

If you’re already working as an online or offline personal trainer, you can offer these as extras to your existing clients.

5. Start a meal delivery service

If you have culinary training aside from nutrition certifications, you can take meal planning a step further and actually create the meals yourself for delivery to your clients.

You can start small and deliver to nearby addresses at first. As your business grows, you can start getting all the necessary permits (your health license is the most important one) and hire a few people to help you prepare and deliver the meals.

The good thing about creating and selling your own meals is that you can bundle this service with your workout plans and increase your income.

Of course, turning your house into a custom kitchen isn’t going to be simple, especially considering the various dietary requirements you’ll have to cater to.

But if you have the knowledge and the capital, a meal delivery business is a lucrative way to make money in the fitness industry.

6. Sell your digital products

If you’ve already gone into creating nutrition and workout plans as digital products, it’s not that far a leap to create a fitness video course.

Of course, producing a video course requires more requirements: a high-quality webcam, editing software, activewear and equipment that look good on camera, and snappy background visuals and music to come up with a polished video with high production value.

If you’re not an expert in video production, you’re going to have to hire professionals to take care of that for you.

All these increase your overhead costs significantly, so if you don’t have a steady, strong client base yet, you’ll struggle to recoup your losses.

Now, you have a suite of digital products that you can sell in various online stores. For instance, you can sell your ebooks on the Amazon Kindle store.

You can also build your own website and sell your digital products there.

7. Make a fitness app

A mobile app is yet another digital product that you can create or have a developer create for you.

Even fitness enthusiasts aren’t without their phones in their hands all the time. So why not make it easier and more accessible for them to track their fitness goals through their phones?

You can run advertisements on your app so you can earn some passive income from that. Or, you can have users download the app for free and then offer paid features and upgrades so you can earn more directly from those.

The good thing here is you can incorporate your existing digital products into this fitness app.

You can make it into a nutrition app, where users can choose a meal plan template or create their own. You can make it into a workout app, where users can choose a specific workout to do or create their own with individual exercises. Or, ideally, you can make combine them into one app.

8. Establish a tangible fitness product line

As I’ve mentioned, not everyone can afford to go to the gym, and even some of those who can afford it actually prefer to work out from home.

If you can find a supplier of high-quality home fitness equipment that you can trust and can sell you those products for an inexpensive price, you may be able to make money in fitness products.

Here are some examples of fitness products that you can sell:

  • Yoga mats/exercise mats
  • High-impact floor tiles
  • Dumbbells
  • Lifting racks
  • Kettlebells
  • Exercise balls
  • Medicine balls
  • Sandbags
  • Boxing bags
  • Yoga blocks
  • Jump ropes
  • Battle ropes
  • Resistance bands
  • Foam rollers
  • Plyo boxes
  • Steppers
  • Water bottles
  • Sports socks/yoga socks
  • Sports shoes
  • Sports bras
  • Leggings
  • Sports bags
  • Massage guns

Selling your own product line is not for the fainthearted but this can be a real money-spinner.

9. Write about fitness

As the fitness niche is exploding, written content about fitness is also highly in demand.

Blogs, magazines, journals, and other publications are on the lookout for fitness writers who can create compelling, expert content that appeals to fitness enthusiasts, both beginner and advanced.

You may even get a higher rate than usual, especially if you have certifications, years of experience, and an existing fanbase who read and share your articles.

Another way you can earn money through writing about fitness is if you start a blog and write articles for it. You aren’t going to get paid directly for your articles, but your blog will help you in your money-making endeavor by building your online reputation and providing you a platform to promote your products and services to your audience.

10. Be a motivational fitness speaker

Fitness is not only physical; you can only meet your fitness goals when you’re mentally focused and motivated to do so.

Another way to help spread your brand, expand your customer network, and make money while doing it is to be a fitness resource speaker.

You could contact local businesses, schools, and communities to offer your services for free or at a cost.

Talk about fitness and how your specific audience can benefit from incorporating fitness into their lives.

For example, you can talk to businessmen about how having even the simplest fitness routine keeps their minds sharp.

You could discuss ways older people can stay healthy and active at a local retirement home. You could talk to kids about how an unhealthy lifestyle will affect them later in life.

The more you get known, the more benefits it can bring to your business.

11. Set up and attend unique events

Gyms often have everything a person needs to get fit and stay healthy, but they can be boring and sometimes scary places to visit.

By offering more unique options, especially outdoor events, you can help create a name for yourself while making money.

What sort of events could you run? How about:

  • Bootcamps
  • Assault courses
  • Zombie runs
  • Hiking and walking trips
  • Mini Olympics
  • Dancing
  • Parkour
  • Outdoor Calisthenics

These events are perfect to promote your brand and your fitness products and services to new audiences.

Also, these types of events can help bring communities together and offer opportunities for other local businesses as well to promote their own products and services.

Thanks to technology, it’s even possible to bring these events online through livestreaming, expanding your audience and increasing your potential earnings through ads or sponsorships.

12. Become a social media brand ambassador

Don’t write off social media yet as a way to make money from fitness.

Social media is an incredible tool for fitness trainers who want to get themselves out there. By showing people how to get fit via YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook, it’s easy to get a large following.

With a large audience and engagement, you can then apply to become a brand ambassador, or even be approached by companies looking for people to promote their brand.

A brand ambassador is essentially modern jargon for having a sponsor. You do shout-outs, reviews and generally promote a brand in return for cold hard cash, affiliate commissions, and free swag.

I’ve covered what it takes to become a brand ambassador in more detail here.

13. Start your own blog

Writing a fitness blog is certainly not the quickest way to make money from fitness, but it has the most potential to make money from fitness, in terms of the different directions and activities you can do from your blog.

Firstly, you will need your own website, and to have a love for writing about fitness (at least until you can get some other writers to write for you).

Writing about the trials and tribulations of attaining a healthy body and keeping it can attract not only people wanting to get started but even those already on their journey wanting more ideas, tips, and tricks.

A fitness blog can make money in a variety of ways.

You can make money directly by placing ads on the site, using affiliate marketing to promote fitness products you trust and recommend, selling your own products and services, and even through flipping the website if it becomes popular enough to be worth six digits.

Indirectly, the site can garner more real-life customers for you as a personal trainer. It can also help you to find sponsors and brands interested in having you promote their products.

The cost of setting up a blog is minimal, and you don’t even need to be certified to offer advice and help; you could simply be a fitness fan documenting and showcasing your own journey in the world of fitness.

The easiest way to get started with your own blog is through a platform like Wealthy Affiliate. It’s completely free to get started and they’ll give you all the tools and training you need to get up and running.

14. Lend your expertise as a consultant

When you hear “consultant,” you might automatically think of financial consultants or management consultants.

But companies, schools, and other organizations may feel the need the services of a fitness consultant to develop programs that cater to the physical fitness needs of members of these organizations.

Requirements may vary depending on the client; some may hire you with a high school diploma, while others may require you to have master’s degrees in nutrition and sports science or other related courses.

Having degrees and certifications would certainly be an advantage when it comes to the hourly pay you can charge, but don’t underestimate the value of experience.

If you’ve worked as a personal trainer for years, you’d certainly have a leg up over those who are certified but don’t have enough hands-on experience.

The Bottom Line

Whether you’re already a professional fitness instructor or you just simply love keeping in shape, there are many ways to make money with fitness.

Hopefully, one or more of these 14 ideas will help you make more money in the fitness niche!

Here’s one more thing to keep in mind:

Start working on building your following and brand today.

The earlier you start getting your name out there, the better. Don’t wait until the new year to try and capitalize on all the resolutions or the summer to make money off those who want “summer bods.” You’ll be too late by then.

Which one of these ways to make money in fitness are you most interested in? Or have you tried before? How was it? Tell us your stories in the comments below!

10 Ways to Get Paid to Be an Online Test Grader

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If you’re looking for a work-from-home opportunity that you can do from your home office (or probably anywhere), any time of the day, and not have to talk to other people (at least, not every day), being an online test grader is a job that you should consider.

Online test graders read and score assessment tests, papers, or essays. Test takers are usually college students, but you may be assigned to score tests taken by high school students or even by professionals.

You’re given a standard set of scoring rules and rubrics by the individual, school, or organization administering the test. You may also be asked to provide constructive feedback for the test taker.

Today, you’ll learn how to get a job as an online test scorer: what you’ll need, what it takes, and where to apply so you can start your new work-from-home career soon.

What You Need To Work As An Online Test Grader

Test grader jobs will differ depending on the company you’ll work with. But whatever company you end up working with, you’ll need the following tools, skills, and qualities to be successful:

Equipment

  • Your own computer or laptop with up-to-date operating systems (confidentiality clauses usually mean you can’t use public or shared computers)
  • High-speed internet connection
  • High-quality headphones (for audio exams and in case conversations with your employer are needed)

Qualities

  • Fair and unbiased
  • Can apply scoring guides and rubrics
  • Able to meet deadlines
  • Organized
  • Detail-oriented
  • Self-motivated

Company-Specific Requirements

  • Education: usually requires a bachelor’s degree in any field
  • Experience: preferred, but not usually required
  • Training: normally free; you may or may not be paid while undergoing training
  • Qualifying Exam: may be required to take

10 Legitimate Sites That Offer Online Test Grader Jobs

1. FlexJobs

I highly recommend starting your job search on this job board.

FlexJobs is not your ordinary job board; they actually vet each and every one of the companies that want to post remote and flexible job opportunities on their site.

Aside from high-quality job opportunities, you can take advantage of their career coaching and remote courses to help you get your dream job.

Go through the jobs under the Education & Training category and find online test grader openings that you can apply for.

2. ACT Online Scoring

The American College Test (ACT) is a standardized test taken by high school students, either during the spring of their junior year or fall of their senior year. ACT scores are assessed by colleges and universities to make decisions on whether to admit students.

The ACT exam is administered by the ACT organization, which is always looking for test graders to evaluate the written portion of the ACT.

To apply as an online test grader, a bachelor’s degree is required and high school teaching experience is preferred. Successful applicants are paid $12 per hour and there are additional incentives for top daily and weekly performers.

Strong performers can also eventually see their pay increase as they become faster and better at scoring ACT essays. Those better scorers might even be invited to work directly with ACT on generating material for future tests.

3. College Board

College Board is a non-profit organization whose programs aim to prepare high school students for college and connect them to college opportunities.

Some of their programs that you should be familiar with are the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) and the Advanced Placement (AP) Program.

The AP Program offers college-level courses and exams to high school students that let them earn some college credits, saving money and time and demonstrating students’ motivation to study and succeed.

To earn college credit, AP students need to take the AP Exam for that course. Most include a free-response section that requires AP teachers and college faculty from all over to world to score.

This is where you come in.

College Board regularly hires AP Exam Readers for the following subjects:

  • Comparative Government and Politics
  • Computer Science Principles
  • Environmental Science
  • Human Geography
  • Research
  • Seminar
  • Spanish Language and Culture
  • U.S. Government and Politics
  • U.S. History
  • World History

Applications are accepted year-round, but invitations are only sent to qualified readers between February and May. Scoring is done during certain dates in June.

Aside from getting paid to work remotely, being an AP Exam Reader has professional benefits, too, if teaching is your day job.

However, the job is periodical and not available all year.

4. Literably

This site works with teachers and K-8 students to evaluate students on their reading comprehension and ability.

As a Literably scorer, you’ll listen to audio recordings of students reading aloud, phonetically transcribe what is said/read, and grade those recordings. For example, if you hear a student pronounce newsreel as “nessreal,” you should write “nessreal” down.

If you want to get a lot of transcription work with Literably, you’ll need to sign on between the hours of 8am and 3pm, when school is in session. If you wait until the evening, most of the recordings will have been transcribed and scored by other Literably contractors.

The pay with this site is $10 per hour. However, if you live or intend to work in the states of California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Montana, Nebraska, or New Jersey, you can’t work with Literably.

5. Measurement Incorporated

This North Carolina-based company prides itself on being a leading provider of educational assessment services, such as scoring essays, developing testing methodologies, and providing innovative solutions for state governments, other testing companies, and various organizations.

Measurement Incorporated posts occasional openings for readers/evaluators on its website. The readers/evaluators score student responses to English language arts, mathematics, science, and other subjects.

At the beginning of a project, readers/evaluators receive paid training. Each project lasts 2-4 weeks, with the heaviest workload given from March to June.

They require you to have a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university to join as a temporary staff member.

While MI doesn’t list its pay rates for these positions, Glassdoor reports that MI pays around $11 per hour.

6. Pearson

Pearson is one of the most well-known companies in this list, as it has been around for 50+ years and has been recognized by reputable educational institutions as a leader in testing, scoring, and assessment.

Keep in mind that Pearson requires its scorers to have at least a bachelor’s degree. If you pass the training and testing phases, you’ll need to devote at least 30 hours/week to the job.

Most temporary positions open up from February to June. Pay is $12/hour, with the potential to earn bonuses for speed and quality of assessments.

Pearson also offers something to its part-timers that few work-at-home companies do: health insurance. Once hired with Pearson, you can obtain insurance coverage not only for yourself but also for your entire family.

7. Educational Testing Service (ETS)

ETS develops, administers, and scores exams for students and professionals that colleges, universities, and licensing authorities use to admit students and teachers.

This company is similar to Pearson in that Raters score educational exams and essays. Unlike Pearson, however, remote Raters work on a project-by-project basis. Thus, you must undergo the whole application process for each project you want to work in.

Once approved, scorers sign up for set work shifts. The extra certifications and applications might be worthwhile, though, as some ETS scorers claim to make up to $20/hour.

Because ETS scorers score exams like the GRE, TOEFL, and PRAXIS, you are required to have completed at least a bachelor’s degree before applying. You’ll also have to train to use their proprietary software for scoring exam responses, as well as take a certification test.

The extra steps can prove to be worthwhile, though; some ETS Raters claim to make up to $20 per hour.

8. WriteScore

WriteScore works with schools and other learning institutions to provide learning resources, assessments, and their results to help teachers know their students’ strengths and weaknesses.

This site pays its scorers to review and grade essays submitted by students in elementary, middle, and high school. Scoring season is from late July to early August, but they accept applications all year round and place them on a waitlist. As positions open up, they contact people from the waitlist.

You are required to have at least a two-year college degree in any field to be considered. Applicants undergo orientation then take qualifying tests. Once you pass the final qualifying test, you can begin scoring actual student responses.

Payment varies and depends on how quickly you can turn around your work; however, the range is $9-$15/hour.

9. Cognia

Cognia is a global network of educators aiming to improve education for all learners by assisting schools with certifications, implementing professional learning programs, and designing assessment resources and solutions to understand students’ strengths and weaknesses.

They regularly hire seasonal assessment scorers to read and evaluate student responses in English, math, science, and social studies.

You’ll need to have a bachelor’s degree, have completed at least two college-level courses in your chosen subject, complete a training course for each content area, and pass qualifying tests to be accepted as an online test grader.

Exact compensation isn’t published, but from Glassdoor.com, the average starting pay is around $15 to $16 per hour.

10. Data Recognition Corporation

DRC is an information management company providing assessment solutions in the education sector, as well as survey services, data and document solutions, and licensure and certification exam administration for various industries.

They hire temporary test scorers who work as online test graders for the standardized tests they administer to Common Core students in elementary through high school.

From their careers page, you’ll be redirected to a recruitment website.

Take note of the location indicated, as even though this is a remote position, you might be required to attend training at a physical location.

The positions pay an average of $18 per hour.

Apply To Become An Online Test Grader Today!

If you enjoy flexing your mind and reasoning skills while helping students and other test takers, you should definitely consider becoming an online test grader.

As you’ve seen, the demand for online test graders is seasonal, as certain exams and standardized tests are only given at certain times throughout the year. Also, the hourly rate ranges from $10 to $20 per hour, which is on the low end of the pay scale.

Thus, unless you’re lucky to snag a full-time, year-round position, being an online test grader probably won’t replace your day job as your main source of income. But you can make enough at a time to build a little nest egg for emergencies or investments.

Other education-related jobs

If online test grading doesn’t sound like a good fit for you but you’re interested in other education-related jobs, here are some articles that might help you:

Have you tried applying as a remote test grader or scorer? How was the overall experience? Share your thought with us in the comments!

10 Websites to Find Online Consulting Jobs

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Traditionally, working as a consultant meant meeting with companies and individuals who need their expert advice. Thanks to advances in software and the internet, online consulting jobs are now available to experts in various fields and industries.

Businesses and brands that want to grow and improve their products, services, or company processes are willing to pay consultants to make suggestions, recommend changes, and provide expert advice.

Consultants are paid for their expertise as well as their time and effort in talking with company executives, studying their processes, and providing the best solutions for their problems.

Today, modern tools are in place so that consultants can do all these online from their homes or anywhere in the world with an internet connection.

If you’ve conducted research, taught in a specific field, built a successful company from scratch, or simply have extensive experience in a certain trade, you may be on the right track to score high-paying online consulting jobs.

In today’s article, you’ll learn how you can start being a consultant and where to find online consulting jobs.

How to Build an Online Consulting Business

By definition, a consultant is “a person who provides professional or expert advice in a particular field.”

It is as general as it sounds, which is both an advantage and a disadvantage; it means that anyone can be a consultant, but also that competition can potentially be great.

To navigate your way around this new path and become the authority in your chosen field, here’s how to build an online consulting business from scratch:

1. Identify your niche and prove your worth.

You can be good at two or more things, but find something that you’re exceptional at, then prove it with real-world examples (e.g., case studies, portfolio, certification, awards, and other credentials) that would sell your talent to clients.

Building expertise in one niche takes time. Sometimes, consultants spend their entire careers mastering their craft.

Open up to the idea that although you’re superior at what you do, you still have to hone your craft continuously.

2. Maintain an online portfolio.

Creating a portfolio and making it available online makes it easier for potential customers to know about you, your career, and your consulting business, sometimes even before they send you a message or hire you as a consultant.

You have two choices here: maintain a LinkedIn account and keep it up to date, or build a portfolio website that would serve as your modern-day résumé and calling card.

Whenever people Google your name, the main search results should include your LinkedIn profile or your website.

Aside from your basic information and contact details (don’t include sensitive information, though), your website or LinkedIn profile should have a list of services offered, credentials, and awards.

If you can collect client testimonials, make sure to showcase them, too!

3. Find online consulting jobs.

Here’s where it gets interesting:

When you begin your consultancy business, you’re lucky to get more than two clients at a time.

It is totally OK.

Many consultants begin with no clients at all.

But you shouldn’t just wait for people to go your way. You must actively find projects, at least at the beginning of your career.

There are plenty of websites (see below) that connect consultants with potential clients for a specific job, campaign, or project. These websites are your best starting points to find consulting jobs online.

You don’t have to pay membership fees for most of the sites, but you often do need to register as a member and provide some information.

Make your profile interesting and include as much information about your specialization as you can since clients will be deciding whether to message you based on this profile.

Note that depending on the site you joined, some inquiries may not be forwarded to your registered e-mail address, so check the sites regularly.

4. Price your skill appropriately.

Consulting rates vary significantly depending on factors like the field of industry, size of the project, the company size of the client, your own expertise, the platform where you found your client, and more.

For this reason, many consultants do not publish a rate card on their websites or job board profiles.

However, it’s important that you set up a fee structure for specific tasks that are frequently requested.

For example, if you’re a personal finance consultant and a client needs help in dividing his income into investment and savings, you should be able to quickly give this potential client a quote for this service.

You’ll need to learn how to price your services appropriately based on your skillset and how much value you can bring to the table.

Be prepared for clients asking for discounts—these things happen all the time. Stick to your rate and respect your own skills and expertise.

If you notice your calendar is getting too cramped, consider increasing your rates. It means that your advice is in demand and that people are willing to pay higher consultancy fees for it.

5. Market your services.

Proactively spreading the word about your online consultancy service helps you turn this freelance gig into a full-fledged business.

If you’re confident that your expertise is sellable, invest in yourself through marketing. You don’t even have to leave your home to do this.

Take advantage of online networking and marketing.

Create email campaigns and send them to your friends, family, colleagues, and other contacts.

If you don’t already know how, learn social media marketing and engage with other people in your industry or field through LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

6. Know when to say no.

Saying “no” to jobs can be hard, especially if you’re new to freelancing and still experiencing that anxiety of having nothing to work on the next day or the next week.

However, indiscriminately saying “yes” to everything can result in you committing to projects you don’t have the heart or time to do.

Learn how to stick up for yourself and decline projects that you know you won’t be able to do.

How Much Do Online Consultants Make?

On average, those new to online consulting jobs charge around $175 per hour. Some consultants charge as low as $50 an hour, while others have $500 per hour or higher rates. As you might guess, online consulting jobs do not have uniform rates.

Consultants compute their fees by doubling their hourly wages, using daily rates, quoting per-project, quoting per-performance, going by industry rates, and so on.

10 Sites to Find Online Consulting Jobs

Now that you know how to start freelancing as a consultant, here are 10 legitimate websites that either list online consulting jobs or connect clients to providers.

1. FlexJobs

I strongly advise starting your consultancy job search at FlexJobs.

When you go through FlexJobs, you can rest assured that the job opportunities you find are real and legitimate. Each and every one of the companies that submit jobs for posting has gone through FlexJobs’ checks to verify if they are legitimate companies.

Starting your search with FlexJobs saves you the time and the headache of doing the research and the checking yourself.

Click here to go over the online consulting jobs that you can apply for now.

2. Clarity

Clarity Homepage

Launched in 2012, this website focuses on start-ups, so the experts they need must have knowledge in entrepreneurship, start-ups, business processes, and so on. Here’s how Clarity works:

  • Experts create a profile with a per-minute and hourly rate included ($60 per hour is the minimum hourly rate and experts can control this rate)
  • Clients find an expert and set up 3 calls (specifying 3 different dates and times when they’re available)
  • If an expert thinks they can handle the question/inquiry, the expert chooses a meeting schedule ideal for them and accepts the job
  • The client confirms the conference schedule, connects with the expert, and pays the per-minute rate

Clarity charges the expert a 15% fee for successful jobs.

To start your application, you’ll need to sign up and complete your profile first to access the application page.

3. ExpertConnect

ExpertConnect Homepage

This New York-based company is always looking for experts in the fields of healthcare, life sciences, technology, media, telecommunications, industrials, policymaking, legal affairs, accounting, business services, finance, real estate, consumer goods, and retail.

  • Experts join (for free) and fill out your profile, attach your résumé, and other credentials. As an expert, you can also import your LinkedIn profile instead and set your hourly rate.
  • ExpertConnect will contact you (or other experts) when a client requests a consultation. You will be notified via e-mail.
  • The job details the project, compensation, and other information.
  • Experts have the last say—they can accept or decline the consultation.

Your compensation will be based on the hourly rate you set and the projects you accepted. Experts have to send ExpertConnect an invoice to receive consultation fees incurred.

4. Maven

Maven Homepage

Maven calls itself the world’s largest microconsulting company, with thousands of experts (or Mavens) from all walks of life and fields of industry from 200 countries.

From scientists and doctors to farmers, barbers, auto mechanics, and truck drivers, there’s a home here to become a Maven as long as you know a lot about a subject.

To become a Maven:

  • Sign up using your LinkedIn, Google, or Facebook credentials
  • Fill out a profile and set your hourly rate. (Note that Maven accepts $25 per hour as the lowest possible rate you can set). If you’re unsure, you can check the rate calculator to see potential rates for your field and experience.
  • Wait for clients to contact you for projects. If you receive an invitation to a phone consultation via email, you can either accept or decline the job.

Maven’s consultations are not just limited to phone conversations. Aside from online consulting jobs, you can also be invited to face-to-face sessions or a more long-term consulting position that may last weeks or months. Note that these extended consultations require pre-screening and extra interviews.

If you want to earn more, refer people to Maven and earn 10% of all your referral’s earnings.

5. GLG

LG Homepage

GLG’s clientele comes from different industries, including life sciences, technology, consumer goods, investments and private equity, and market research. It boasts a 1,400-strong client base that has successfully been supported by over 650,000 GLG experts from around the world.

It has a network of academics, CEOs, subject-matter experts on every topic imaginable, policymakers, and more.

GLG experts can set their own rates, depending on their experience, designation, and practice area. On average, GLG experts in a non-tech field can charge somewhere between $200 and $1000 an hour to talk to clients.

6. Zintro

Zintro Homepage

Zintro connects clients posting projects of various sizes, from microconsulting requests to long-term projects worth thousands of dollars or more.

Clients fill out a form with details of their requirements, Zintro matches these requirements with Experts in their network, matched Experts contact clients back with their qualifications and why they’re a good fit for the project, and then clients choose which experts to engage with.

Aside from your fee as an Expert, you can earn additional cash for referring other consultants to sign up on Zintro as Experts.

7. GrowthMentor

Growth Mentor Homepage

GrowthMentor prides itself on vetting its mentors so their clients can have the best possible advice.

To be even considered as a growth mentor, you’ll need to have 5 years of demonstrable experience in their chosen field, listening skills, and the ability to empathize with their clients.

When you apply, you’ll go through a culture fit interview, a practical assessment, and a final interview with the founder of GrowthMentor before you can finally get online consulting jobs through their website.

Mentors need to have three reviews before they can charge for their services and ten reviews to charge more than $100 per hour.

Membership fees for clients start at $75 per month, paid quarterly

8. Conrati

Conrati Homepage

Conrati is a platform for people (Advice Receivers) who need mentorship to receive advice from experts (Advice Providers) to connect with each other while taking care of bookings and calendar integrations, phone and video consultations, as well as invoicing and payment processing.

Conrati charges their Advice Providers 10% of the hourly fee paid by Advice Receivers as a platform fee.

9. Consultport

Consultport Homepage

With more than 3,000 management, business, and digital consultants, Consultport is one of the popular consulting platforms online.

Similar to other websites on this list, once you’ve applied and then accepted to be a consultant, you can start being notified of projects that fit your expertise.

You can then submit a pitch that highlights why you’ll be a good fit for the project and when approved, you can start working on it.

10. COMATCH

COMATCH Homepage

COMATCH is a Germany-based global consultancy marketplace with state-of-the-art matching of projects with independent consultants from all over the world.

You’ll need to have either 2 years of experience in a high-class consultancy environment (e.g., management consultancy or financial consultancy) or at least 10 years of professional experience in your field if you don’t have consultancy experience.

The Bottom Line

Online consulting jobs offer some of the best-paying work-from-home jobs we’ve ever seen.

If you have extra funds and want to kickstart your business by landing more online consulting jobs, you can also purchase a spot (pay for a listing fee) to be featured as an expert on one of the sites above.

You don’t have to be an inspirational speaker, CEO, or successful entrepreneur to share your knowledge.

If you have extensive experience in writing, business, finance, advertising, human resources, computer science, counseling, sewing, teaching, driving, or other specific jobs, you can land online consulting jobs as long as you’re willing to help and assist individuals and companies with their problems.

How does online consulting as a career sound? Did we miss out on other consulting companies you can apply to? Tell us in the comments!