10 Careers That Offer Good Money But More Freedom Than Usual

In a world where remote work and freelancing are becoming increasingly popular, many individuals are breaking away from the traditional 9-5 workday and finding success on their terms.

A user asked on a popular forum, “people who don’t work normal 35-40 hrs/week jobs and don’t have to go to the workplace to work (like freelance and home-based workers) but are making more than enough money, what do you do? and here are the top picks:

1. Remote Data Manager:

Find out how one individual transitioned from working as an overnight security guard to a successful data manager, earning 4x more and working remotely from their preferred location.

“I work 40 hours a week, but I get to choose where I work- from home, my office, Florida, whatever. I am a Data Manager for a small Furniture Company that sells on Amazon and other large online retailers. I update the product pages and ensure customers know what they’re buying. I made over 4x of what I did as an overnight security guard.

I have no idea how I got this job. Half the time, I don’t know what I’m doing, and people tell me I’m doing a great job all the time.” a user shared.

2. Author

“I’m a writer. I support my entire family through my writing (my husband is a stay-at-home dad, even though I’m also at home, just working). I write novels.

It took me ten solid years to write a novel a year before one sold, and that one has led to a career in writing. It was hard, and I often felt like giving up, mostly because I had ten years and ten novels that were rejected, adding up to about a thousand rejections. A thousand times, someone told me no, I wasn’t good enough. That eats at you.

Now, though? Now I have my dream job, my entire family is with me all day, and my kid will have a great life. I write when I want to (but I make myself want to a lot). My daily schedule depends on my deadlines and my home life. I can take a month off and deal with family if I need to; I can lock myself in my office and write all day if I need to. I work well with deadlines and big bursts, which works well for us. I’m living my dream.” said one.

3. Mortgage Underwriter

“I might not fit into the mold because I work 40 hours per week, but I work from home full-time as a mortgage underwriter for a mid-sized private mortgage company. I travel full-time.

Instead of living/renting an apartment for a year in one city – I tend to live 4-6 weeks in a city (mostly on Airbnb) and then move to the next city afterward. I’m on a permanent vacation and always exploring a new cities.

I’m 28 and love my nomadic lifestyle. I have one suitcase and my laptop. I’ve been driving around the USA for three years and have stayed in almost every city. I understand it’s not a lifestyle that suits everybody – but it’s perfect for my personality.” a user shared.

4. Clinical Social Worker

“Not me, but my wife is a therapist with MSW and LCSW. People hear “degree for social work” and assume she gets paid 30k/year and has a stressful job.

She charges 140/hr. That’s on the low end for private therapists in my location. Don’t get me wrong, she is damn good at what she does, but damn, I wish I could work 15 hours a week and make six figures. Of course, the reality is between advertising, patient notes, and preparation, she’s more like 20-25 hours a week.” said one.

5. Crop Farmer

“I am a crop farmer living on the farm, so technically I work at home. The hours depend on the time of the year. I work around 80-100 hours a week during planting and harvesting season, 40-50 hours a week during the summer, and less than 20 hours a week during the winter.

Farming is challenging to get into, at least for a cash grain operation in the corn belt. A person has to be born into it anymore or become a business partner with an established grower.” shared one.

6. Remote Software Developer

“Although I work a 40-hour week, I work from home daily. I’m a software developer for a large company specializing in camping products, and I mainly work on fixing minor bugs or creating/updating pages.

The job is 1000x less stressful than my previous one, and I love it. Everything is organized and manageable, but it still provides a challenge. The pay is good for my experience and excellent for my age. I’m 24. I can live comfortably supporting my wife and newborn, while my wife can be a stay-at-home mom so that I can spend the whole day with my family. We can pay bills, put money into savings, and still have enough left to go out on the weekends.” a user said.

7. Apartment Manager 

A unique perspective on the life of an apartment manager and maintenance worker, with its unpredictable yet satisfying nature.

“I work from my home. I am an apartment manager and maintenance man for 32 units—the only on-site staff member. I applied for the job and said, “I have no clue what I’m doing, but I’ll always be on site, and I’m willing to learn” still here two years later. My daily routine is anything but routine.

Every day is a mystery; I have a rough idea the night before of what I want to be done. Example: I’m cleaning up my playground area today and removing some bits of tall grass where the mower doesn’t reach. In a second, it could change due to a water leak or something of that nature. I am fairly satisfied; my old complaint is when you have adults nearby constantly, they argue like children. But I love working my hours. I don’t own the complex, and I work for a management company.” a user shared.

8. Dog Training Business 

Dog training business owner enjoys high income and flexibility in schedule.”I own a dog training business and love it. The money is about three times what I made at any other job, but the most valuable part is being self-employed and setting your schedule. I take off all the time for 2-4 day fishing trips or other vacations.” said one.

9. Passive Income Earner

“7 years ago, I quit my job as a PHP developer. I launched a few websites about baby names and a few with Q&A about celebrities. And I took the concept of urbandictionary.com and launched it in other languages. Some of the websites get a decent amount of traffic, in total around 4 million visitors a month, and now I have a passive income through advertising income, mostly google adsense.

My daily routine is trying to fill up my time with hobbies. Sometimes a little bit of work. I moved from the Netherlands to Cambodia. I miss my colleagues, but not the 9-5 working hours working for someone else. How satisfied am I? Not super satisfied… Not working has quickly become normal, and I don’t know what to do with my free time… All my time is free. I can’t just have passionate hobbies 24/7.” shared one.

10. Remote Game Show Question Writer

This person works from home, creating questions for a game show, and has to work 40 hours a week. 

“I write questions for a game show. I work remotely, so I have to put in 40 hours from Monday morn to Sunday night, but I generally make it during normal working hours because that’s when all my friends are at work.” said one.

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This article was originally published on Mrs. Daaku Studio.