Make More Money at Work!
How to work a second job from the comfort of your crappy office.
Free coffee, infrequently clean bathrooms, faux friendships—working a cubicle job has several obvious benefits. But in addition to the mysterious rashes, your employer has unknowingly given you everything you’ll need to make some money on the side. Supplement your salary with one of these five day jobs.
Virtual Juror
Web sites like ejury.com and onlineverdict.com collect feedback on court cases from virtual jurors, then hawk it to real-life shysters. Cases take between 20 minutes and an hour to read and rate. “It’s an easy way to make money,” says ejury.com founder Chris Bagby, “and people learn to enjoy it because the cases can be intriguing.” Objection, your electronic honor!
Risk: Low (tell your boss you’re doing research)
Pay: $5–$60/case
E-Commerce Jockey
Brilliant T-shirt idea? Download a free trial of Photoshop, use your office scanner to create a design, and enlist cafepress.com or zazzle.com to print the goods. TakePride cofounder Patrick Gray started a line of clothing while working full-time at a corporate law firm. “We launched the business from our desks,” he says.
Risk: High (especially if you ship from work)
Pay: Pennies to gold bullion
Audio Transcriber
As you mindlessly transcribe speeches and interviews, your employer thinks you’re writing up reports while listening to iTunes. Sites like productiontranscripts.com and tigerfish.com prefer speedy typers, but contractedwork.com welcomes average keyboardists. Fingers, ho!
Risk: Low (unless office music is frowned upon)
Pay: $8–$40/hour
Personal Assistant
Making reservations, checking movie times, booking flights—you already run virtual errands for your girlfriend, so why not get paid? With Google, a phone line, and some local knowledge, you can be an at-your-service online assistant. “The pay’s competitive and goes up if you know golf or wine,” says red butler.com concierge specialist Chris Sterling.
Risk: High (use screen-minimizing shortcuts)
Pay: $12–$35/hour
Quality Assurance Specialist
Does the phrase “This call may be recorded for quality assurance” make you hot and bothered? Apply online at voicelog.com to verify calls and analyze customer service for telephone companies and other service industries in shifts of two or more hours. Want to know more? Please hold for the next operator.
Risk: Moderate (you’ll always be on the phone)
Pay: $8.50 and up/hour