18 Best Jobs Where you Work Alone (2023)

We all know what it’s like to need a little time away from people, but some of us dream of jobs where you work alone regularly. Sure, you might miss the occasional water cooler gossip, but think of the perks – no boss, no co-workers, and no one will ever eat your food out of the breakroom fridge. 

If working by yourself sounds like your ideal way to make money, check out these jobs that will help you be independent while earning cash. 

What Are the Best Jobs Where You Work Alone?

1. Food Delivery

If your safe space is by yourself in your car, consider food delivery. We love the flexibility and independence it offers — you can set your own hours, pick up orders on your way home for extra cash, and get paid quickly — but it’s also great for working alone. 

You can manage orders from your phone, grab them from the restaurant’s “to go” area, and drop them at the door without talking to anyone. It’s also easy to get started and does not require experience. You just need a smartphone and a car, or even a bicycle in some cities.

DoorDash Disclaimer: Actual earnings may differ and depend on factors like number of deliveries completed, time of day, location, and expenses. Hourly pay is calculated using average Dasher payouts while on a delivery (from the time you accept an order until the time you drop it off) over a 90 day period and includes compensation from peak pay, tips, and other incentives.

2. Freelance Writer

Freelance writing requires a bit of collaboration with others up front so you can find out what your client’s needs are for their website copy, blogs, email blasts, and more. After that, it’s pretty much you and your laptop hanging out together to get the work done.

You can write from any location as long as you have an internet signal. So, you could knock out an assignment from a hiking trail, the beach, or your favorite urban coffee shop where the java is hot all day and the staff leaves you alone. 

Our article on how to become a freelance writer can take the mystery out of getting started.

3. Bookkeeper

Bookkeepers are like the Wizard of Oz — the one behind the curtain with all the answers! With job duties like managing payroll and paying bills for business owners, you can do most of this work alone. 

It’s important to have great attention to detail and a flair for accuracy. You should be good at math, problem solving and organization. You also need to have basic computer skills that include a knowledge of financial software like Xero or Quickbooks. 

4. Proofreader

Are you the first one to spot typos when you are reading online? You may have a natural knack for proofreading. Proofreaders make sure written content is perfect before getting posted. They check for errors in spelling and punctuation as well as grammar.

Proofreading is a great job to be done in the privacy of your home and has little to no startup costs. You can earn between $15 to $50 dollars an hour, depending on who your client is and how much experience you have.

Learn more in: How to Become a Proofreader in 2023(No Degree Required!)

5. Digital Marketing

Running Facebook and Instagram ads means you’re helping business owners reach new clients grow their businesses on two of the largest digital marketing platforms. While you will need to do client outreach, digital marketing is one of the best jobs where you can work alone. 

This is one of the best side hustles because you  don't need a degree in marketing or have a background in advertising either — these are skills you can learn, and you can make $1,000-$2,000 per client working just a few hours a week.

6. Photographer 

The ease of using a smartphone might make us all think we’re gifted photographers, but it takes skill to create photos that sell. The good news? It’s a skill you can learn and practice on your own through online courses and free videos.

Plus, if you’ve already got beautiful shots to share, it’s easy to get started. Stock photo websites like Shutterstock and DepositPhotos let you upload your pictures, and you get paid when someone buys access to your photo, or when someone buys a subscription to the site and uses your photo.

7. Social Media Management

The world of a social media manager can be surprisingly solitary. Companies pay marketers to set up their profiles and oversee the way a brand is presented across multiple social platforms - all of which you can do while working from home on your laptop.

These managers also plan a schedule for posting and may produce videos shorts or visual content like Pinterest boards or infographics. The goal is to get likes and shares which helps the brand get attention and keep readers coming back for more. 

You’ll need to get to know applications like Google Data to see what’s trending, and you’ll want to maintain strong relationships with your clients, but the bulk of the work can be done by yourself.

8. Graphic Designer

Graphic designers create logos, banners, advertisements, brochures, and more. You can find freelance gigs using sites like FlexJobs and Fiverr, and work remotely to deliver what the client wants. Or try listing your creative skills on a site specifically set up for graphic design like DesignCrowd. 

This is one of the best jobs to work alone, because you can keep expanding your services to make more money. You might start out with design and then add teaching online graphic design courses, which can be a really lucrative side hustle. 

9. Pet Sitter 

If you prefer not to work around people AND you're an animal lover, pet sitting might be the best gig going. Pet sitters take care of basic responsibilities including feeding and cleaning up after pets. You may be asked to walk dogs or spend quality time with cats by petting them or brushing their fur.

Pet sitters can potentially earn between $25 and $50 dollars a day, depending on what your duties are and how long you are expected to care for the animals. This is a good job for college students who want to pet sit over a break from classes because it’s relatively low stress and can fit in your schedule.

10. House Sitter 

If you’re the type of person who likes to work alone in someone else’s house as much as your own, being a house sitter may be right for you. You can make between $25 to $50 dollars a day doing things like bringing in the mail, taking out the trash, and watering the plants.

Some people want to hire a house sitter simply to have someone home to protect the house from being burglarized, so this could be your chance to binge-watch Netflix on a better TV while getting paid!

11. Lawn Care 

There’s an art to taking care of other people’s yards, and lawn care is a popular job to work by yourself in the beauty of the outdoors. It helps if you have your own equipment like a lawn mower and weed eater. 

It’s a good idea to go over what the client expects — they may want you to trim bushes, weedeat, and edge the driveway or sidewalk in addition to mowing. You may be able to charge extra for those services. Many homeowners like to pay in cash or through a payment app, so you can make money fast in this work-alone job.

12. Sell on Etsy

For natural artistic types, you can go to your crafting space, crank up the tunes and turn your original designs into cash. Launching an e-commerce store selling jewelry, pottery, homemade stationery, or almost anything on Etsy lets you work alone in your home studio and skip the commute.

It can be an inexpensive way to start your business, especially if you want to sell goods that require very little overhead, like Etsy Printables. As your skills grow, you could potentially build this into a career or side hustle in graphic design.

13. Data Entry

Data entry is a low-stress job where you work alone, often from the comfort of home. If you like the sound of putting your headphones on and getting in the zone while doing repetitive typing or simple research, this is a great way to make money without having to interact with people often. 

It’s great for someone who has high standards for detailed work, and it usually does not require experience or a degree. You can learn about the best platforms to get started in Best Online Data Entry Jobs From Home. 

14. Blogger 

Not only can you work alone to create and manage a blog, you can write about something you love. Bloggers turn their passion for extreme sports, baking, accounting, yoga, video games, technology and more into articles that inform and entertain their followers.

Blogging is one of the most profitable jobs where you work alone. It takes time to attract an audience, but as your fan base grows, you can begin to monetize your blog with display ads, affiliate income, sponsored posts, selling digital products, and by creating online courses.

15. Transcriptionist

If you are a good listener and a fast typist, you can make money working alone as a transcriptionist. This job entails listening to audio or video that you transcribe word for word. It’s a great job for people who have a quiet environment to work from so you can concentrate on whatever type of recording you are listening to without distraction.

As a general transcriptionist, you transcribe things like podcasts or instructional videos. But if you have a background in the law or medicine, you can make even more money as a specialized transcriptionist. In either role, you need to be fast and accurate.

16. Grocery Shopper

The pandemic made it more popular to get someone else to go to the store for us. If you get a kick out of picking out the perfect head of lettuce, becoming a personal grocery shopper could be a great fit for you. Your focus on the goods and not on the people in the store, so it’s like being alone in public!

Platforms like DoorDash and Shipt make it easy to get started and let you choose flexible hours, which helps you fit it into your life as a side gig. 

17. Website Tester

You can turn your screen time into a paying job where you work alone. Testing websites and mobile apps helps companies identify and fix common problems often before the site goes live, and you can do it from any location with a phone or computer and an internet signal.

It’s not a huge moneymaker, but most tests take at most around 20 minutes, so you can work around your schedule. Sites like UserTesting.com can help you get started quickly.

18. Virtual Assistant

Virtual Assistants take care of tasks that business owners either hate to do or don’t have time for — or both! VAs handle emails, moderate social media accounts, schedule appointments, and organize administrative info for companies. 

Once you and your client have established a routine, you can manage most of this work remotely and independently. Stay-at-home moms or dads often find it’s a great fit for their schedule, too. You’ll need to excel at time management and communication. You may even want to develop your brand in a niche industry to set yourself apart, like managing the Pinterest account for a designer.

Final Word on Jobs Where You Can Work Alone

The increase in legit jobs where you work alone in the past few years has made this option so much more realistic. You can find your best fit whether you’re an introvert who prefers working alone full-time or you just need a side hustle that’s the opposite of your people-centered day job.

The secret might just be establishing solid up-front communication to understand your client’s needs, or creating efficient and effective routines like a schedule for social media posting or a set time to write each day. When those wheels are in motion, your work won’t require much collaboration and you can spend less time with people and more time in peaceful solitude.