Are you looking for jobs where you work (mostly) by yourself? During the pandemic, many have forced to work alone where you don’t have much social interaction. This has brought to a realization to some people that many jobs actually can be done alone.
Chances are working alone will allow more flexibility in your schedule, more time with your family, or be your own boss.
Whether you are an introvert or you are just looking for a calm and quiet environment, there a large number of opportunities. Being an introvert does not necessarily hinder your chances of moving forward in your job. In fact, introverts possess some excellent qualities that will allow them to excel in their career.
Who is an introvert?
Unlike popular belief that introverts are shy, socially awkward, or quiet – introverts can act differently depending on the situation and individual motivation. For instance, in the networking situation – one can be more initiative to start a conversation with strangers because they want to make the most of their time. For me personally, I can be extroverted when needed.
Here are some of the traits of introverts according to webmd.com:
- Need quiet (environment) to concentrate
- Are reflective
- Are self-aware
- Feel comfortable being alone
- Don’t like group work
- Feel tired after being in a crowd
Being an introvert does not mean that we are shy during social situations. What distinguishes between an introvert and an extrovert is not your ability to do a public speaking or interact with other people, but what drains them and excites you.
While extrovert gets energized by social activity, introvert feels the other way. For me personally, I don’t really enjoy small talk and I just prefer to be in a small group where I know people well. I’d still enjoy the companion but after a while, I’d feel drained and prefer to unwind by myself.
Extroverted may seem like an ideal leader personality, but introverts are usually a good listener, thoughtful and they may come across as less threatening. These qualities allow them to be an effective leader.
What job is good for introverts?
I should say there are no jobs that do not require any interaction at all with other people (you probably would not want this anyway). However, there are some jobs out there that don’t require lots of social interaction but requires a high degree of self-independence, which will suit the introverts.
I categorized each job as jobs that require a degree, online business/work side hustle, and entry-level jobs.
As far as potential pay, I don’t provide a median/range salary because it varies a lot, particularly the location and how much experience and/or how many skills you can transition to. I’d strongly suggest searching the salary on glassdoor.com, payscale.com, and a few other sites to get a ballpark.
Jobs require a degree
Software Quality Engineer / Assurance
This position is responsible for testing software and making sure that the functionality of the software is working as intended. The main tasks is writing script and test plan and discovering bugs within the software.
You will be testing the code that is written by the software engineers using the code you write. Mostly you will work with the software engineers and occasionally with the project leader.
Software engineer
This is what I used to be and I was working almost 100% alone. As a software engineer, you will spend a lot of time writing code and building software.
You will interact a little bit with other people, but mostly with your team – a few other software engineers who are most likely introverted too, QAs (Quality Assurance) and a team lead. But to finish your work, you rarely depend on anyone.
The job may sound a bit too intimidating to some, but someone who wants to switch career, it is totally possible if you are willing to put into a few years of work/study.
I believe you can do the transition in 1-3 years depending on how relevant your previous experience and how intense your effort is.
Check out this guide developed by Scott Young on how to start learning code.
I have known people who:
- Went to school getting a bachelor’s degree and transition from a psychology major.
- Graduated from music school, started as a Quality Assurance, and slowly transition to a software engineer.
System administrator
System admin fixes when there any technical problem on the user’s computer and company servers. They also perform updates on the operating system, write scripts to automate jobs, make sure the mail server is running, the internet connection is working and other computer maintenance-related work.
As a system admin, they will work with user on a ticket basis, but for the majority of cases, you can interact with the users and make sure the problem is fixed through emails.
In bigger companies, there could be different types of system admin such as network administrators and database administrators. As the name suggested, network admin maintains the network infrastructure while database admin specifically takes care of the database system.
But in smaller companies, these roles are usually shared in one position.
Business data analyst
This is my current role and as a data analyst, my main responsibilities are gathering data, creating dashboards, and interpreting the pattern in the data so the business can make a more informed decision.
As a data analyst, you will probably spend 20% of the time with clients but this is a good position who still enjoy alone time working but has a little fraction of time talking to other people.
You may need to do a little bit of presentation when explaining your dashboard (~5%), and I am not going to lie that it makes me anxious particularly before the presentation – but I see that as a challenge and a way to improve myself.
I personally found this role is more meaningful than software engineering because I feel that I have a more direct impact on the business.
Actuary
Actuary spent more than half of their time working alone. They help (mostly) Insurance companies to predict when a random event will occur (for instance, death, accident, or natural disaster) and estimate the financial impact of the random event.
The job uses the knowledge of probability, statistics, mathematics, and business domain.
For instance, an actuary may estimate the likelihood of a prospect customer having an accident and how much expenses it will cost to determine the monthly premium.
Actuaries in the insurance industries will typically be specialized in one of the following industries:
- Healthcare
- Life insurance
- Properties
- Pension and retirement benefits
- Enterprise risk
Although these are the conventional path, actuarial jobs can be branching out to consultancy, banking and investment and academia.
On top of having technical skills, presentation skills are probably not required – however if you could communicate your findings to the business well – you will shine among your peers.
Actuaries is quite different from accounting because the role serves different a purpose. Actuaries help primarily for the insurance business to be profitable by predicting risks while accountants work in more variety of industries with broader duties.
Statisticians
While actuaries using financial data to predict future losses primarily within the insurance industry, statisticians work with multiple types of data and are employed in a variety of industry for instance health care, retail, banks, and consulting firms.
Basically, they use programming and statistics to extract data and perform statistical analysis to turn complicated data into useful information. For instance, Target uses statistics to send promotions while in healthcare data science is used to creating better drugs for people.
Data science is a hot topic right now and many get paid pretty well (as most jobs in STEM above do).
Accountant
What an accountant does is basically keeping track of money and transaction. In a more former language, they prepare financial reporting and ensuring that the financial statement is properly balanced.
Some of the end results are balanced sheets, income statement and cash flow statements. Their job may also include preparing tax return and auditing an account.
Accountants mostly work with data and numbers so it requires strong attention to detail. As far as career advancement, you could be a financial manager or a top executive, however, this could mean you will no longer spend the majority of your time working alone.
A quick tip: Get a FREE trial on premium Skillshare classes. You’ll get 14 free days to access all classes on Skillshare. In skillshare, you’ll get access to a bunch of classes such as programming, data science/data analysis, accounting, and many more for less than $10 a month with an annual subscription.
Online Business/Work Side Hustle
Blogging
If you’d like to share your views on certain topics, I do really recommend to start blogging. Not only this becomes a creative outlet for you, but it allows you to learn more about yourself and be more knowledgeable on the topic you are passionate about.
Even though you think you are not good with writing, I’d recommend still try it because you will inevitably build more expertise on the topic you care about and it allows you to create a loyal follower.
Currently, the best blogging platform is WordPress. The most affordable way to start a blog is by hosting it on Bluehost, which only cost $3.49 per month for 3 years plan.
Once you generate enough visitors, it’s very possible to make some money by blogging through affiliate links, ads, and creating your own courses/products.
But this is not an overnight process, it is more like a marathon process where it will likely take a few years before you can make money off it. I’d strongly recommend to keep your day job or supplement your income while working on your blog.
Selling stuff on amazon
You can definitely make money by selling stuff on amazon. You can either flip new items or sell your own private label. First, I have to say though that this is almost a full-time job (at least in the first few years). It requires more startup cost than blogging as well; however, the potential reward is pretty high and you can make money a lot faster.
If you don’t have capital now it is possible to build it within six months by saving money and cutting your expenses.
The basic idea is you are outsourcing products from mostly China that are in high demand but in low competition. Then, you create your own brand (a.k.a. private label), store them on amazon warehouse, and create an Amazon listing so people can find your product. By paying Amazon some fees, Amazon will fulfill the order whenever someone placed an order.
You will mostly only talk to the supplier and other business partner, however this can be done easily through skype.
I found a free class on Udemy with a high rating and you can learn more if this is the right fit for you.
Starting a Youtube channel and/or creating courses online
If you have a large audience and expertise in some fields, creating a course online can be very lucrative. You can make a few thousand dollars per month on skillshare by creating a few classes. However, the key here is you will need an audience who trust and like you.
One of the ways to do this is by posting useful videos on Youtube consistently and start building an audience. You can monetize your videos through ads, affiliate links, sponsorship, and creating courses.
Even though you are a beginner in certain areas, it is possible to develop more interests and be knowledgeable as you post more consistently on Youtube.
As a beginner, you will probably have more ideas of what a beginner went through than someone who has done it professionally for several years. If you can package the information in an appealing way (such as video and digital download), you create value for others and people will start to like and trust you.
If you are still on the quest to find topics that interest you, try the trials on skillshare to take different classes and learn new skills.
Bookkeeping
There are a lot of small businesses that need bookkeeping. Generally, you will have multiple clients to keep your schedule busy and earn significant money. What’s really appealing about becoming a bookkeeper is the schedule flexibility and the ability to work remotely.
Typically, bookkeepers record transaction, double check the transaction details and create reports. While an accountant generally requires bachelor’s degree in accounting, bookkeepers don’t usually require formal education.
For instance, you would record the date of the payment, the amount, who it was for and what it was for. By recording transactions, you can trace how much money is entering and leaving the company.
After double-checking the activity, you would create reports that are interpretable by clients such as balance sheets and income statements. This is one of the most valuable things you can offer to the client.
If this sounds something you feel interesting to explore more – check out these classes and some of them are free:
- Financial Accounting Fundamentals on Coursera
- Bookkeeping Basics on Udemy
- Bookkeeping classes on LinkedIn
- Bookkeeping classes on AccountingCoach.com
If you already have the basic accounting skills, you can start looking for a client on UpWork and Fiverr.com.
Check out this free training to become a bookkeeper and run a virtual bookkeeping business. As an introverted person, it does not mean you are not capable of owning a business. Who knows that you’ll find out that you are a great business owner!
Flipping stuff online
My favorite site to look for free items is nextdoor.com. I could not believe that lots of people in my neighborhood threw away useful stuff such as pet items, furniture, and kitchenware.
You can also look for items at thrift stores, flea markets, Facebook Marketplace, yard sales, and heavily discounted items on Walmart and Dollar store. Or, look for items in your house that you don’t really use.
A few other sites to flip:
- Poshmark (good for clothing, shoes, bags, and fashion items). You can go to the local thrift shops and check the price on eBay (check on the sold item) to see if you can make a profit. Designer rack tends to sell the faster with a higher profit margin.
- Declutter and eBay (good for electronics)
I’d really recommend trying this first by selling your old stuff to learn some of the processes. Some of the work involves are listing stuff online, answering emails, and mailing the packages.
Become a freelancer
People from all over the world looking for hiring someone who can do graphic design, video editing, language translation, video editing, making excel spreadsheets, virtual assistant work.
Chances are you know something that comes easily to you that you just take for granted. For instance, maybe you work as an analyst and you are good with excel spreadsheets.
There is some business you look for someone to build a simple financial model or excel formatting. And you can start searching on the same platform to see what is the current ongoing rate for that job.
Below are some of the freelance work that pay quite well:
- Coding
- Video Editing
- Audio Engineering
- Writing (technical writing and ad copy)
- Social management
- Graphic design
Checkout Upwork and Fiverr to look for this job. The more specialized you are, the better.
Freelance Writer
If you are interested in becoming a freelance writer, check out scripted. This company is looking for a freelance writer for blog post, email newsletter, social media and a website copy. This is a good option for someone who already have a good size of portfolio. You can earn a quite bit of money due to repeat customers.
Another good website to look at for freelance writing is problogger.com.
Entry-level position/jobs don’t require a degree
Become a web/app tester on usertesting.com
Website or App testing is definitely an easy way to make extra money. You can get paid $10, $30, and $60 per test and each test runs between 20-60 minutes.
First, you would have to sign up with an email and go through a setup. You will install the recording plugin and provide a mock test. When completing the task, you are asked to say your thoughts out loud. The best part is, you get to paid $10 to do this.
This is one of my favorite side hustles and I have earned $110 so far. However, you won’t qualify for most tests. There will be questions asked before you can take the test such as occupation, the size of the company you are working, whether you use certain apps, etc.
My recommendation is searching $30 and $60 test by pressing ctrl + F and search for “30” or “60” – this will highlight $30 and $60 test. You will most likely be speaking with a real person and answering his/her question.
A few other sites to check out:
Interpreter
Many companies offer language interpretation and document translation services for healthcare organizations, law enforcement, schools and businesses.
If you are fluent in another language particularly Chinese, Portuguese, German or Spanish – you can find plenty of opportunities.
Check out Language Line Solutions. The hourly pay at Language Line Services ranges from $9 to $30 an hour.
Other companies to check out:
Teach English from home
If you enjoy teaching kids, this could be good side hustle for you. You can work from home and most companies will prepare the material for you.
I believe introverts can also make a great teacher due to their good listening skills and thoughtfulness.
A few companies to consider.
- VIPKid. This is teaching Chinese students online. This requires very little prep time because the company provides the materials. You can earn anywhere between $9 – $13 per lesson/25 minutes.
- Gogokid. They also provide the materials. You can earn anywhere between $7 – $10 per lesson / 25 minutes.
- QKids. You can earn between $16-20 per hour.
Virtual Assistant
In general, a virtual assistant help business with various administrative stuff remotely.
For instance, they take phone calls, respond to emails, and make travel arrangements. However, they can specialize in one of these few categories such as – bookkeeping, transcription, graphic design, and blog writing.
Pinterest VA is one of the most well-paid specializations in the VA industry.
You can get paid at least $15 an hour when starting and up to $40 overtime. Some of the tasks are usually designing pins, scheduling pins, and researching keywords. Admittedly, creating pins can be soul-sucking for some (and me too) so having people to do this is a big help.
Look for virtual assistant jobs at these sites:
- Flexjobs
- Contemporary VA (~10 an hour)
- WorldWide101 ($~15-$20 an hour)
- Zirtual (~$13-$18 an hour, but they requires associate degree)
- Bebee
Delivery Drivers
Becoming a delivery driver is a good side hustle to make a little extra cash. However, I’d not do this full time since it will put a lot of wear and tear on your car.
To start delivering food, you need a smartphone, a vehicle, and a driver’s license. If you know your way around your city well, this can be a huge help.
Depending on how many deliveries you have, but with Doordash, you can make between $15 and $25 an hour. Other similar platforms are GrubHub and UberEats.
Search Engine Evaluator
As a search engine evaluator, you will be evaluating queries on different websites. For instance, you will search for a specific term, pick which option that will be the best result and determine the relevancy of the result.
- My Karma Hub (only looking for USA applicant, ~11 an hour)
- Appen (worldwide applicant, pay varied on the job, but it can be ~$15-$25 an hour)
Chat-based customer service (at this moment, they don’t accept new applicants)
This is basically similar to customer service work; however, you will handle customers through chat instead. The rate ($9-$10 an hour) is rather low but this gig can be easily done on the site.
There you have it! I’ll definitely keep this page updated as I do more research. Please share this post if you find it is helpful! 😊
Vi, a software engineer with a keen interest in personal finance, had planned to retire once she reached her lean FI/RE (Financial Independence/Retire Early) goal. However, after achieving the goal, she took few months of a mini-retirement filled with travel and adventure and decided to continue her career.
For the past five years, Vi has been using Personal Capital (Empower), a free financial tool. Her favorite features include the dashboard for net worth, allocation, and planning, which help track her FI/RE goal and keep those investment fees in check.