The 11 Best Jobs for Introverts
If you’re an introvert, the idea of a typical nine-to-five office job””with all the meetings and presentations and networking events””sounds like torture. Luckily, there are a ton of careers that cater to an introvert’s preferences. Here, eleven of the best.
1. Freelancer
Freelancers are their own bosses and can usually work from home. That kind of autonomy is gold for introverts, who get hives just thinking about team brainstorming sessions or office happy hours. One caveat: In order to form connections with contract employers, you will have to do a little marketing of yourself up front. Once you line up some steady gigs, though, you’re pretty much on your own.
2. Social Media Manager
It might seem contradictory that a job with “social” in its title would be ideal for introverts, but the thing is, private types often find it easier to communicate via the internet (as opposed to face-to-face interaction). Social media is a great way to reach thousands of people without the stress of talking to them in person.
3. Software Developer
Not only are jobs in tech in high demand, they’re also great for folks who work best on their own. Oftentimes, developers are given an assignment and given the autonomy to complete it by themselves.
4. Writer
It’s just you, your computer and your ideas when you write for a living, which is pretty much bliss for introverts, who are way more comfortable expressing themselves through written words anyway.
5. Accountant
Would you rather spend your time with numbers than with people? If so, accounting might be for you. Another bonus: Because you’d be dealing with cut and dry facts, there’s very little discussion. (Numbers don’t lie.)
6. Netflix Juicer or Tagger
Dream job alert: Juicers watch some of Netflix’s 4,000-plus titles and choose the best still images and short video clips to represent said title to help other users figure out what to watch. They’re paid $10 per film or show, but since they’re technically independent contractors, they aren’t eligible for overtime or health benefits. Another perfect job for anyone whose idea of fun is watching OITNB and Stranger Things all day. Netflix taggers watch movies and TV shows and identify appropriate tags to help categorize them (think “sports drama” or “action movie with strong female lead”). By tagging the platform’s many titles, they help Netflix provide with genres you might find interesting.
7. Clip Researcher
Employed by shows like Ellen and Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, clip researchers do just what their title suggests: They find video clips on TV and the internet that can be re-shown on the programs they work for. In addition to researching clips, they’re also sometimes called upon for more general digging, like finding info on show guests.
8. Closed Captionist
Companies like Caption Max hire people to watch videos and create the captions you can choose to see on the bottom of your screen (for people who are hearing impaired or just when you forget your headphones on a plane). Sometimes using with a stenotype machine, captioners must be able to type a shockingly huge number of words per minute, so brush up on your keyboard skills before applying.
9. Website Tester
This one is less a full-time job than a simple way to earn a little extra each month. Website testers, who spend about 15 minutes on new sites determining whether or not they’re intuitive and easy to navigate, earn $10 to $15 per test. Some dedicated testers take home up to $200 per month.
10. Search Engine Evaluator
For $10 to $15 an hour, you’ll receive search terms (think: “work from home jobs”) from companies like Google and Yahoo and be tasked with looking up the terms on their sites to determine whether the results they provide meet your needs. An added bonus, you’ll probably gain a whole lot of useless information in the process.
11. Translator
OK, so obviously you have to be fluent in a language other than English, but virtual translators make a median hourly rate of $20 per hour translating audio files or documents. It’s a nice way to keep up with those Spanish skills you worked so hard to acquire.