It used to be that you would go to school to get your grades. Have a careers talk that lasted all of an hour, if you were lucky. Then you would decide the following week what you would like to do. The clever girls would go into nursing or teaching, less clever would have to be secretaries and the rest of us had the dizzy heights of shop assistant to aspire to. Yay ( a very underwhelming yay). You left school, hopefully, got a job and that was you set for life or until children came along. It is still ingrained into us to an extent that this is how it should be today.
But life isn’t like that anymore. Jobs aren’t for life. Careers can be changed. There’s more advice available from such an early age too that the world really can be your oyster. There are opportunities left and right. Female astronaut? No one bats an eyelid. A female boss in a male oriented niche, just a few eyelids batted but sure go for it.
The digital world isn’t just opening doors but flinging them wide off their hinges. Whereas before a housewife could only think of a little part time job after her little darlings had flown the nest can now fit into a side career between toddlers naps. There are drawbacks and this new age of working won’t suit everyone. There is less security with no guarantee of getting a number of customers or clients you need to emulate a 9 to 5 wage. I know myself over a year I can swing from ekk baked beans on toast all week to yayhay it all good and back again.
The hours aren’t just 9 to 5 either. You might have to get used to 10 to 7 or 6 to 9 and that’s 6 am and 9 pm if you lucky. But the big fact is that you can do it.
So if a flexible career is something you’re interested in what sort of thing can you do?
You could blog, influence or even Vlog. Blogging is being heard of more and more of a way of earning money and I promise it is doable, it isn’t shady and the easiest thing to set up from home. Then there is being an influence, which is monitoring your social media if you have a bit of a following. You don’t even have to sit down and write a blog post. New to the block is vlogging. Think Youtube and such like. Youngsters are getting paid very well to teach other youngsters how to apply makeup or a hundred other things. It’s just seeing where there is a demand and filling that demand.
They say if you enjoy your job then it’s not considered work. Can you imagine doing something you love every single day? If you have a passion there must be a market for it. Maybe you just love to knit all day. Get your creations onto Etsy and sell from the comfort of your sofa. Make jewellery that all your friends are raving about? You can guess the rest.
VA Work? Maybe you did do the secretary course at college, had children and now wondering how to get back into the workplace. With minimal set yo you can be a VA to businesses, bloggers, sales people ….the list is huge. If you can write, teach or coach you can be up and earning probably quicker than it takes to get a regular job interview. Freelance sites are plenty. Work out your skills and join a few and pedal those skills.
Want to write? No longer the lonesome would be novelist struggling with the first chapter. Think wider, think digital. Ebook writer, blogger, proofreader, content marketer, ad copywriter and social media copywriter are just a few to get you started.
The big key to it all is to see a demand and fill it with something unique to everyone else.
So what is a flexible career? Well I think it’s the best thing since slice bread .
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