16 Best Remote Jobs That Require No Paid Work Experience

Data entry is a great entry-level remote job if you’re a detail-oriented person and have good keyboarding skills. Your main responsibility will be to transfer information—often taken from a printed document, order form, or spreadsheet—and enter it into another source in an organized manner.

In many cases, this will mean putting it into another spreadsheet. This is usually a digital process, but some employers may ask you to use paper documentation as well.

You’ll usually be able to work flexible hours, allowing you to schedule your work around your life rather than the other way around.

Average earnings: $20 per hour

Job requirements: You generally don’t need a college degree or any previous work experience to qualify for this job, but you may need to take a data entry or typing test. You’ll need basic proficiency with software such as Microsoft Office and Microsoft Excel.

As a transcriptionist, you’ll be creating written texts from audio files, videos, or live speeches. This is another job that requires you to type quickly and accurately. You’ll need to have good spelling and grammar, as well as the ability to concentrate for long periods of time.

Once you’ve transcribed a piece of content, you may have to edit and proofread your work while ensuring the text adheres to the standards of the industry you’re working in. For instance, medical transcriptionists need to be mindful of patient confidentiality.

While some transcriptionists are paid a monthly salary or per hour worked, many are paid per audio hour or even per audio minute. When you become a transcriptionist, make sure you’re clear about the payment structure before you take on your first job.

Average earnings: $20 per hour

Job requirements: You should be able to sustain a typing speed of at least 40 words per minute (wpm); the faster you can type, the more successful you’ll be.

You don’t need a degree to do general transcription work, although if you want to transcribe documents in highly technical fields (e.g., medicine), some clients or employers may expect you to have formal qualifications of some sort.

Since customer service jobs are mostly done by phone, online chat, or email, you can often do them from anywhere you like. Just make sure you have a quiet environment to work in if your main medium of communication will be the phone.

In these roles, your job will be to help customers solve their problems or answer questions they have about your company’s products or services. It’s important to be empathetic, patient, friendly, and polite when you interact with them.

As with many of the other jobs on this list, instead of working fixed hours, customer service reps often have somewhat flexible schedules.

Average earnings: $20 per hour

Job requirements: You’ll usually need a high school diploma or a GED, basic computer skills, and a reliable internet connection. Fluency in multiple languages is a definite plus.

Your exact responsibilities as a sales representative will vary depending on the job, but common tasks include finding and reaching out to new leads, following up with interested customers, and upselling existing customers.

Some sales jobs will require you to show up at a particular location to deal with customers in person, but plenty of sales work can also be done over the phone or via email.

Average earnings: $35 per hour

Watch out for companies that only pay you by commission or make you buy the products that you’ll be selling. These behaviors aren’t standard, and you should avoid applying to those jobs; they’re probably scams.

Job requirements: You don’t need a degree to become a sales representative, but you’ll need strong interpersonal skills. To successfully sell your company’s products or services, you need to be persuasive but friendly.

Virtual assistants (VAs) are people who help businesses or people with work-related tasks on a remote basis.

As a VA, your duties may include handling administrative work, doing research, communicating via emails or phone calls, creating content, cold calling people, managing social media accounts, and processing payments.

If you have some administrative experience, consider applying for a higher-paying executive assistant position. Note that in a role like that, in addition to handling general administrative tasks, you may also have to take on additional duties, such as supervising other employees.

Average earnings: $30 per hour

Job requirements: Having previous experience or obtaining certifications aren’t prerequisites to becoming a virtual assistant. However, getting some training beforehand can give you a leg up in landing a job, and if you have a degree in something business-related, that’s even better.

In this digital age, more and more tutoring jobs have moved online. As long as you have a computer with a camera, a headset with a microphone, a stable internet connection, and a quiet space with good lighting, you can teach wherever you like.

One of the easiest and most common routes to becoming a tutor is to find jobs on credible online tutoring platforms.

Once you establish a good reputation, you can take this job to the next level by starting your own tutoring business. If you do, you’ll need to create a website and market your services on social media to find students.

Average earnings: $10–$26 per hour

Job requirements: You don’t usually need a teaching certificate or degree to do this job. You also don’t necessarily need previous experience, but you should be good at interacting with students and explaining ideas in a clear and concise way. Having a bachelor’s degree in the field you’re teaching will give you an advantage.

Similarly, teaching English as a second language (ESL) is great for anyone who’s interested in a remote job in education.

Almost anyone who’s a native English speaker can become an ESL teacher. However, it’s important to have a well-equipped home teaching setup to ensure your classes go smoothly. At minimum, you’ll need a laptop, webcam, headphones, and a stable internet connection.

If your students live in a foreign country, you may have to teach classes early in the morning or late at night due to time zone differences. That said, you can often create your own schedule and plan your own classes.

Average earnings: $25 per hour

Job requirements: Most platforms will require you to speak English at a native level. If you aren’t native, you’ll certainly have to be fluent. Many will also require you to hold a Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) certification or a Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults (CELTA).

It’s helpful to hold a bachelor’s degree, but not absolutely necessary, and your major doesn’t have to be related to education or English.

If you have a solid command of more than one language, consider trying your hand at translating. This type of work is often remote-friendly and doesn’t require any past experience, although it’s helpful to have a portfolio that you can show clients. If you’re totally new to translation work, try translating a few texts on your own as samples.

While most freelance translators are paid by word, some are paid by page, hour, or project. The rate you can command depends on your experience and expertise. Conduct a quick search to check how much other translators with similar experience levels usually charge.

Average earnings: $20–$30 per hour

Job requirements: Obviously, you’ll need to be able to read, speak, and write fluently in another language. It’s also helpful to learn about the culture that corresponds to the language you’ll be translating from (and into) if you aren’t already familiar with it.

Writing is one of the most popular remote jobs. You can find freelance, part-time, and even full-time gigs that allow you to work from the comfort of your home.

There are several types of remote writing jobs. We’ve listed three of the most common ones below.

• Copywriting: Copywriters create short-form copy, often for ads, slogans, websites, or catalogs. One of the main challenges of copywriting is coming up with text that’s engaging while still being concise.
• Content writing: By contrast, content writers create long-form content for websites, often with the intent of educating readers instead of persuading them to make purchases (although in some cases, the goal will be to do both). Web content writers need to have a deep understanding of search engine optimization (SEO).
• Technical writing: A technical writer creates content for technical documents, such as instruction manuals or software guides. They’re focused on teaching and informing readers rather than catching their attention or keeping them engaged.

There are other types of writing jobs as well, including ghostwriting and freelance journalism. You can pick whichever specialty you’re interested in or experiment with several until you find your niche.

Average earnings: Widely varies; often $20–$40 per hour

Job requirements: As with translation, your portfolio will be what determines what kind of jobs you can land as a freelance writer. If you don’t have much of a portfolio yet, write up a couple of sample pieces in whatever niche you hope to work in.

As an editor, your job will be to review and revise content for publication, such as articles or books. You’ll often work closely with the author and provide feedback to them on how to refine their work.

While some editors work on many different types of material, others focus on particular topics, such as science, finance, or technology.

There are many remote positions for editors, whether you’re looking for part-time, full-time, or freelance work. No matter what kind of job you take, make sure you communicate with the writer, deliver high-quality work, and meet your deadlines.

Average earnings: $20–$40 per hour

Job requirements: Most editors have at least a bachelor’s degree (often but not always in a related field, such as English). You’ll probably need a degree to land a full-time remote editing job. However, if you just want to work as a freelancer, your portfolio will be more important than your qualifications.

Proofreaders are usually people with a knack for spotting grammatical or spelling errors. They work on pieces of writing after they’ve been edited and are nearly ready for publication, making smaller changes than editors usually do.

Average earnings: Up to $45 per hour

Job requirements: Anyone with the requisite skills and attention to detail can get paid for proofreading. That said, you might have an easier time landing jobs if you have a few formal qualifications under your belt, and there are many proofreading courses you can take remotely. Look into these and see if any seem worthwhile.

Managerial jobs are some of the more highly paid remote jobs. Being a project manager is no exception, although you’ll have more responsibility on your shoulders than with some of the other gigs on this list.

As the name of this job suggests, project managers oversee projects from ideation to completion. The nature of these projects will depend on your chosen industry; you might be tasked with creating a marketing campaign, developing and testing a new product, or doing something else entirely.

Common remote project manager roles

Keep an eye out for jobs with these titles, since they can often be done remotely:

• Social media manager: Social media managers work with a marketing team to help their company establish a strong online presence. A social media manager’s day-to-day responsibilities include analyzing data, doing competitor research, creating marketing campaigns, scheduling social media posts, and monitoring social media accounts.
• SEO manager: As an SEO manager, you’ll need to come up with and carry out different strategies to strengthen a company’s website and drive traffic to it. You’ll need to be up to date on the latest SEO techniques, since the best practices in this field are constantly changing.

You can also look for remote project management jobs in the software industry, although these may be harder to get with no experience.

Average earnings: $30–$50 per hour

Job requirements: Landing a remote project management job with no experience is tricky, but it’s possible, since some companies offer entry-level project manager jobs. Your initial pay may be relatively low, but you can build your experience and go for a promotion or trade up for a more highly paid gig in a year or two.

Software engineers are sometimes referred to as “programmers” or “coders.” It’s true that coding is a big part of this job, but it often encompasses more than that.

In addition to being proficient at coding, it’s important to have good communication skills, as you’ll likely be collaborating with a team. You should also be familiar with the best practices in the software industry (e.g., using a version control system and appropriately documenting your work).

Software engineering and development can often be done online, so many companies allow software engineers to work fully remotely.

Average earnings: $60+ per hour

Job requirements: Software engineers generally need a bachelor’s degree in computer science or a related field, such as information technology (IT).

That said, that’s less true if you just want to work as a freelancer (instead of landing a traditional job that you can do remotely). Some clients, particularly tech-savvy ones, will be less interested in your formal credentials than your portfolio, such as your contributions on GitHub.

Web design is yet another job that can be done remotely. Most web designers don’t do much coding; their job is to use design and layout tools to create a website’s visual look, making sure it has a coherent color scheme, a user-friendly interface, and legible typography.

Average earnings: $45–$50 per hour

Job requirements: Most web designers hold a bachelor’s degree in a related field, but that’s not the only path into this industry. You can also learn the required skills on your own or build your credentials by going to a web design boot camp.

Having a strong portfolio is the key to landing a web design job. You can include projects you’ve completed on your own, in school, or in boot camps if you don’t have any work experience.

If you don’t have a portfolio yet, the first step is to design your own website that you can show to clients.

Graphic designers create visuals for online publication (i.e., websites and apps) and print (e.g., magazines and textbooks).

Common visuals that graphic designers create include:

• Logos
• Infographics
• Website graphics
• Product packaging layouts
• Advertisements

Most graphic designers are freelancers, not full-time employees, which makes this a very remote-friendly industry. You can find work on job boards like Upwork, but you should also create a website that showcases your skills and lists your services to attract potential clients.

Average earnings: $30 per hour

Job requirements: As with most other design jobs, having a strong portfolio is just as (if not more) important than holding a degree. This is a relatively easy job to sidestep into if you have the requisite skills, even if you haven’t been formally trained and haven’t held down a job in the industry.

Many industries need video editors to help them create promotional or educational video content. To demonstrate your editing skills to potential clients, create a solid portfolio that showcases your best works, whether they were for a client or just personal projects.

For instance, if you create and edit your own TikTok videos and they’ve garnered a lot of views, you can include your personal TikTok account in your portfolio. (Just make sure it’s professionally appropriate before you send it out—if it isn’t, it might be worth creating a second one to show to potential clients or employers.)

Average earnings: $30–$40 per hour

Job requirements: You don’t need any special certifications or other qualifications to land your first video editing job. However, some employers may require you to be familiar with specific video editing software, such as Adobe Premiere Pro or Apple Final Cut Pro.

As you may have gathered already, the key when it comes to landing a remote job with no experience is to have a strong portfolio. You need to convince clients that despite your relatively thin resume, you’re still more than capable of doing the work they require.

Think about whether you have any personal projects that you can show off. For example, if you want to work as a translator, maybe you’ve translated documents for friends and family members as a favor. Even though those aren’t “real” paid work, you can still mention them in your resume and create a portfolio out of them to demonstrate your translation skills.

If you haven’t done any work at all in your desired field, even unpaid work, spend a few days or weeks working on projects of your own. Paid work experience isn’t a must when it comes to landing a remote job, but a portfolio is.

Be sure to only include your best work—aim for a quality-over-quantity approach. Once you’ve landed a few jobs, you can add those projects to your portfolio as well.

Watch out for remote job scams

You should always be wary of scams when you’re looking for jobs, especially if they’re online and fully remote. A good rule of thumb is to stick to reputable job boards (such as Indeed and FlexJobs).

Be cautious if the job offers unrealistic pay. If it demands an application fee or any sort of upfront payment, don’t apply for it; that isn’t a legitimate business practice, and it’s a major red flag.

In addition, before you apply for any job, do your due diligence and research the company or client. Check whether they have a credible online presence, and pay attention to their reviews on whatever job board you’re using (or on Glassdoor, if they’re a traditional company).