6 Online Job Ideas for Out-of-School Youth in the Philippines

One of the reasons why poverty is common in the Philippines is the incapacity of many families to send their children to school. Admit it, without finishing a degree, many people find it hard to land a decent paying job. Although most parents do their best to provide good education to their children, there are times that crisis cannot be avoided and they have no choice but to prioritize the basic needs first.

Aside from joblessness, one of the bad effects of being out of school is the loss of direction in life. As they cannot get a fulfilling job, young people who cannot go to school have the tendency to lose self-esteem and go for stuff that can harm them like drug and computer game addiction. If only they could find a worthwhile work—something that their lack of diploma would not limit them—then they can contribute not just to their families but also the country.

Getting a good-paying job
One of the good things about the Internet is that it allows everyone to have equality in many areas. Among these is in getting a job. With the growing online marketing industry, a lot of jobs involving computer and the Internet have evolved. This is a good news for out of school youth because they can enter these jobs without worrying of their educational background. Most online jobs are skill-based in hiring workers since employers do not have to face them personally.

There are many online jobs that undergraduates and non-student young people can try even at home or in Internet shops. Some of these could even make them earn as much as or more than what ordinary employees can receive. Here are some of these online job ideas.

1. Online Tutorial
For those who have good grasp of English and are passionate about teaching, they can try the online tutorial industry. Many of these companies are not strict about educational background. Their only requirements are fluency in the English language and stable Internet connection. This job pays good enough that there are even professionals who have made it their fulltime work. Examples of the online tutorial sites that are available in the Philippines are Rarejob and Sankei.

2. Freelancing
Yes, there already online freelancers. They are not committed to a particular client, but instead they work on different projects in their own schedules. They can work anytime of the day as they do not need to follow an eight-hour-a-day schedule. Those who have specific skills like web designer, photographer, and writer could be in this work. They do not have to be college graduates just to be a freelancer. Some of the popular freelance sites are oDesk and Elance.

3. Online Survey
Online survey is also one of the popular jobs on the Internet today. All the member needs to do is take surveys provided by a site. This is not a much paying job, but with enough patience, the member can gather enough points to raise a certain amount. This is not a difficult work and the educational background is often not important. Some of the sites that offer survey panels to Filipinos are Opini and AIP Survey Philippines.

4. Virtual Assistance
A VA or virtual assistant is a person who can provide technical, administrative, or creative assistance to clients online. There are a lot of companies, especially from other countries, that are looking for virtual assistants because they want to cut costs. This is because clients do not have to pay for employee benefits, insurance, or taxes since VA’s are usually self-employed. VA jobs can provide a steady income. Moreover, VA’s do not need to be graduates. Those want this job just needs to develop experiences and skills, so that companies will hire them. They can find VA jobs in sites like oDesk and Elance again.

5. Online typing Job
For out of school youth who have good typing skills, they can earn through a typing job. This does not require a degree and it can be done at home too. This does not pay very high, but with hard work, it pays off. They just need to get regular projects, so that their earning will be consistent. They can find online typing jobs through various sites like Guru and Peopleperhour.

6. Homebased Transcription
Another potential source of income for those who are not currently working especially those who have medical or health education background is homebased transcription. All they need to do is listen to audio files from clients and they will transcribe or encode to document file whatever they hear. This can be done at the comfort of their homes too. Moreover, transcriptionists have the opportunity to earn much from this. They can apply for transcription jobs through sites like Fiverr and Freelancer.

These are just among the online job ideas that out of school young people can try. In some ways, these can support them and even their family financially. They may even be able to save for their studies. If they do not have a computer at home, they can rent a unit in an Internet shop. Of course, this would cost them a bit, but at least they can earn.

In order for them to earn higher online, they better enhance their skills like typing, writing, web designing, or whichever they possess by gaining more experiences. Just a warning though, they need to watch out for scam or fraud sites. They first need to verify if the site they go to is proven and trustworthy. Again, most of these jobs do not need a bachelor’s degree. These young job seekers just have to be determined to start from the bottom until they can land a higher-paying online job.