Can you find a good job online? Yes, you can!
When I started this nonprofit, I decided to start researching jobs online. My goal was and is to find work online that our students can do. We will point them to job sites that we think they might be able to actually get, make money at, and enjoy.
I found those kinds of jobs and so much more. I discovered that, with the wide range of job experience I have myself, there are many opportunities for me to take advantage of while I build my program. Being a lifelong job hopper is paying off.
First, I was offered a job at one place that sold educational equipment to use in the classroom. I would have been training teachers. I could have made good money but it was time consuming so I turned it down. My own nonprofit would have ended before it began.
At some point, I signed up with Wyzant and began tutoring one student. I love it but make only about $21/session. I have a 35-minute drive to get there and the same back. I have had a couple of nibbles by prospective new students but summer break is here so I'm not expecting too much. My one student is on vacation so I'm not tutoring at all right now. I looked at the summary Wyzant provides of what I've done and I've earned $245 so far with them. That's not bad for a college student or someone who needs a little supplemental income.
Then, I saw that Academic Year in America (AYA) needed local coordinators. This kind of job fits in perfectly with the ESL aspect of our program, and I could do it on a part-time basis. I applied, had a pleasant phone interview, and did the initial training. Today, I will be participating in a webinar designed to help me get started as a new local coordinator (LC). I've ordered promotional materials and have already started talking up the program to whomever I see. I will visit schools soon. If you are interested in being a host family for an international transfer student, contact me (liveandlearnnm@gmail.com).
Next, I signed up on some mystery shopper sites and ended up shopping for one national company, Strategic Reflections. It was easy to sign up. They will send a check to my home as payment. I haven't received anything yet but I just started. Unfortunately, all of the "shops" have been at a fast food restaurant that is good but I gave up fast food a while back and I've been feeling sick after each shop. I don't think I can do this much longer. But they desperately need people in the Los Lunas area...
Mystery shopping like this would also be a great job for a college student or someone who does eat at fast food restaurants a lot. This is how it works: you get an assigned store to shop at and the type of purchase (drive-through, walk-in). Then you order one item from a list. Salads have not been on my list yet. It's been burgers and breakfast menus. After you eat the food and rate it, you go in the restaurant and rate its cleanliness, bathrooms, etc. You talk to the person in charge, leave the restaurant, and then enter a report online. You get paid about $9 per shop and reimbursed most if not all of the cost of the meal you purchase.
There are other types of shops that I haven't tried yet, things like visiting an optical shop and asking about eye glasses. In general, though, you have to pay before you get paid. If you have no money in the first place, mystery shopping can be a stressful endeavor. If you have money until you get your first paycheck, then it's fun.
Today, I checked my job emails and found a job at a hospital in Albuquerque to take pictures of newborns for family photo packages. You work 4-5 days out of 7. I thought, well, I take pictures every single day. I would love to take pix of babies. So I applied. We will see what happens.
My point today is that if you look in the right places and read every job opening you see, you will find many jobs, many opportunities with businesses that are willing to work outside of the corporate box. There are a lot of creative thinkers out there, looking for like-minded individuals. They actually want to hear your crazy ideas. You can build your own job! Look at me. I'm a tutor, AYA local coordinator, mystery shopper, and executive director of a nonprofit. In my mind, though, it all falls under the same umbrella, which is learning!!!
Okay, I'm done for today. I have a webinar to attend. I've got some learning to do.
I found those kinds of jobs and so much more. I discovered that, with the wide range of job experience I have myself, there are many opportunities for me to take advantage of while I build my program. Being a lifelong job hopper is paying off.
First, I was offered a job at one place that sold educational equipment to use in the classroom. I would have been training teachers. I could have made good money but it was time consuming so I turned it down. My own nonprofit would have ended before it began.
At some point, I signed up with Wyzant and began tutoring one student. I love it but make only about $21/session. I have a 35-minute drive to get there and the same back. I have had a couple of nibbles by prospective new students but summer break is here so I'm not expecting too much. My one student is on vacation so I'm not tutoring at all right now. I looked at the summary Wyzant provides of what I've done and I've earned $245 so far with them. That's not bad for a college student or someone who needs a little supplemental income.
Then, I saw that Academic Year in America (AYA) needed local coordinators. This kind of job fits in perfectly with the ESL aspect of our program, and I could do it on a part-time basis. I applied, had a pleasant phone interview, and did the initial training. Today, I will be participating in a webinar designed to help me get started as a new local coordinator (LC). I've ordered promotional materials and have already started talking up the program to whomever I see. I will visit schools soon. If you are interested in being a host family for an international transfer student, contact me (liveandlearnnm@gmail.com).
Next, I signed up on some mystery shopper sites and ended up shopping for one national company, Strategic Reflections. It was easy to sign up. They will send a check to my home as payment. I haven't received anything yet but I just started. Unfortunately, all of the "shops" have been at a fast food restaurant that is good but I gave up fast food a while back and I've been feeling sick after each shop. I don't think I can do this much longer. But they desperately need people in the Los Lunas area...
Mystery shopping like this would also be a great job for a college student or someone who does eat at fast food restaurants a lot. This is how it works: you get an assigned store to shop at and the type of purchase (drive-through, walk-in). Then you order one item from a list. Salads have not been on my list yet. It's been burgers and breakfast menus. After you eat the food and rate it, you go in the restaurant and rate its cleanliness, bathrooms, etc. You talk to the person in charge, leave the restaurant, and then enter a report online. You get paid about $9 per shop and reimbursed most if not all of the cost of the meal you purchase.
There are other types of shops that I haven't tried yet, things like visiting an optical shop and asking about eye glasses. In general, though, you have to pay before you get paid. If you have no money in the first place, mystery shopping can be a stressful endeavor. If you have money until you get your first paycheck, then it's fun.
Today, I checked my job emails and found a job at a hospital in Albuquerque to take pictures of newborns for family photo packages. You work 4-5 days out of 7. I thought, well, I take pictures every single day. I would love to take pix of babies. So I applied. We will see what happens.
My point today is that if you look in the right places and read every job opening you see, you will find many jobs, many opportunities with businesses that are willing to work outside of the corporate box. There are a lot of creative thinkers out there, looking for like-minded individuals. They actually want to hear your crazy ideas. You can build your own job! Look at me. I'm a tutor, AYA local coordinator, mystery shopper, and executive director of a nonprofit. In my mind, though, it all falls under the same umbrella, which is learning!!!
Okay, I'm done for today. I have a webinar to attend. I've got some learning to do.
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