One of the interesting questions I come across from people of all ages is: “What should I do for a living?” Understandably, the obvious response would be “take a job,” or “do business.”
However, taking a job or doing business is much easier said than done. If things were so easy, there wouldn’t be any unemployed persons around the world and nor would there be any poverty.
So, what should persons such as you and I do for a living?
In this article, I will respond in detail to the question: “What should I do for a living?”
I will therefore start the article by writing about the importance of money.
Importance of Money
Maybe you’re surprised that I’m starting this article by speaking about money. To begin with, the question” What should I do for a living?” arises because of money. If there was no need for money, this question wouldn’t emerge at all. To make a living, we need to earn money.
We’re well aware that money plays a very important role in our lives. We live in what can be described as a “material world.” Without money, it’s nearly impossible to find food, clothing and shelter– the three very basic necessities to sustain our lives.
When we speak about what to do for a living, we’re broadly speaking about how to provide for ourselves, the three basic needs- food, clothing and shelter. This means we need to do something that fetches us or earns us money, to make a living.
Only remote communities, living far away from modern civilization, can obtain food, clothing and shelter without money. However, in such communities, some other tender replaces money, as we know it. They use barter and other systems to fulfil their needs for food, clothing and shelter.
This means we should meet some basic requirements to earn money. This depends on various factors. What are these basic requirements? Continue reading.
Basic Requirements to Earn Money
I will list some of the basic requirements that we need to fulfil to earn money. That can help us identify what we should do for a living. There are several more steps, through which I will guide you in this article.
Work Skills
Trust me when I say that your education or academic qualifications don’t really matter when it comes to making money for a living. Instead, your work skills or interests matter a lot. While you might hold some of the highest degrees from the topmost universities of America, they’re nothing more than scrap paper, unless you have relevant skills that are saleable in the job market, to earn a living.
Even if you have no specific work skills, it’s always possible to earn some money to make a living. That’s by taking up simple jobs and tasks such as delivery and handyperson. Nowadays, there are apps that help us to find such jobs and tasks easily. Such work doesn’t really require any educational degrees. Hence, anyone with even basic literacy and few skills can take them easily and earn a decent living.
Your Location
Yes, your location matters a lot when it comes to making a living. That’s because the job market differs in every city. While in smaller cities and towns, the demand for delivery crew can be lesser, the same jobs would be easier to find in larger places. Similarly, some skilled work is easier to find in large cities that have lots of offices.
When you ask: “What should I do for a living? It’s also important to know what type of businesses thrive at your place and the skills that are in demand at that location. This could provide you with a clearer picture of how best to sell your skills and get the highest wages possible for your work.
Online & Offline Skills
During and after the Covid-19 pandemic in 2024, a lot of jobs and tasks have gone online. As a matter of fact, some types of jobs are available on a work-from-home (WFH) basis. This is good news for anyone thinking of how to make a living. Because work-from-home eliminates the need to relocate to another city or place. Also, you can find more jobs, since employers around the world look for people that can work from home.
If you have online skills, find which ones are in demand. For example, a visit to the freelance work marketplace, Upwork.com, will reveal that jobs such as content writing, graphic designing, proofreading, translations and transcriptions are in high demand. If you have such online skills, you can easily enter the field as a full-time worker or even as a freelancer and make a living easily.
Scope for Your Skills
While you might have excellent skills, it’s also important to find the future scope. Nowadays, a lot of jobs are being done with Artificial Intelligence (AI). It is feared that some skills might actually become redundant due to AI, though any such threat would actually take decades to really materialize.
The best way to find the scope for your profession or skill is to visit the website of the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. This website lists various details of various skills and jobs, including the future trends and growth forecasts. If your skills have a scope, you can definitely sell them in the market. Additionally, you can also keep upgrading your skills where needed, to remain relevant in the job market. It’s worth knowing that handyperson and other manual jobs usually.
Household Expenses
And finally, calculate the average household expenses for a month. Remember, earning a living or doing something for a living involves taking good care of family members and yourself. This means, providing all three basic needs- food, clothing and shelter and a lot more. Nowadays, we have more needs, since we live in a modern world. These include communications and transportation as well as some level of entertainment.
If you have kids, surely, you would have to provide for their education. Additionally, calculate other expenses such as home mortgage, vehicle finance and other essentials. You can arrive at a rough figure if you take into consideration your current living expenses and expected inflation rate. However, merely earning a living to meet household expenses isn’t enough: we need to make more money to save for the future and, especially, retirement.
What Should I Do For A Living?
These five factors simply prove that it’s easy to find what you should do for a living. Remember, living is far different from eking an existence. Personally, I define living as having a good life, with proper sources of income and balanced spending habits. Here are some things you can consider for what to do for a living.
Try Fulltime Jobs
The US has an unemployment rate that varies between eight per cent and 10 per cent. At the same time, there’s a corresponding number of job vacancies at small and large businesses and organizations. This mismatch proves that some skills are in demand while others are not. You can always find a good, full-time job by finding something that matches your education and skills.
A full-time job ensures you can make a career. Additionally, you’re assured of a fixed salary and perks every week or every month. A full-time job keeps you gainfully occupied and also gives you a good social status. It can open doors to wealth and fame if you handle the job well. Working for an employer isn’t really easy. However, it does have several benefits. You’re free to switch jobs too for seniority and for higher pay.
Do Side Gigs
What can I do for a living? If you can’t find full-time jobs or don’t want to take one, it’s always possible to earn a lot of money through side gigs. Basically, a side gig means doing some work for someone- either an individual or an organization- on a temporary and part-time basis. You have to simply complete the tasks they want and get the money. One of the best side gigs is to work as a handyperson, doing stuff such as helping with moving furniture or packing, driving for deliveries and so on.
In the US, it’s easy for everyone to find some side gig. There are side hustle apps such as Taskrabbit.com and Gigwalker.com. You can download these on your smartphone and get side gigs in your area. Some of these side gigs pay as much as $60 or even $100 per hour, depending on the nature of the task. Additionally, there’s simpler work, such as walking pets and babysitting, available online, through websites and apps. Try apps such as Rover and Woof for walking pets.
Work as Freelancer
An estimated 45 per cent of the American workforce either works full-time or part-time as freelancers. The US has the largest freelance workforce in the world and this number is growing significantly. Therefore, if you have any professional skills, it’s possible for you to work as a freelancer and earn a lot of money. You can create an excellent profile on various freelance work platforms such as Upwork.com, Flexjobs.com, and Fiverr.com and bid for assignments.
There are several advantages of working as a freelancer. One is that you get to work from home, and that too, on flexible hours. The second is that you can earn much more than your office-going counterparts. Thirdly, it’s possible to take as many freelance assignments as you can to boost your income. The US government categorizes freelancers as independent contractors. Surveys in the US prove that freelancers have much higher incomes and enjoy a better quality of life, compared to workers who go to the office.
Become an Entrepreneur
There’s nothing like being your own boss. That’s possible when you have your own business. As a matter of fact, most people want to launch their own business but hesitate to do so because they fear failure. Others claim they don’t have enough money to invest. Admittedly, some 60 per cent to 90 per cent of businesses flounder and fail in the first five years due to a variety of reasons. However, many have the potential to succeed and failure arises mainly due to mismanagement.
Therefore, if you can overcome your reluctance and fears, it’s possible to become an entrepreneur for a living. It’s a myth that you need lots of money to begin your own business. There are countless businesses that can be started right from your home with very minimal investment and, in some cases, zero investment. If you require investments and have a good business idea and business plan, it’s possible to raise money through venture capital and crowdfunding or business loans.
Also Read: How To Start An Online Business With No Money?
Sell Your Friendship
This might sound unbelievable. However, you can make a lot of money simply by “selling” your friendship. That’s because millions of Americans of all ages are lonely. They want someone to chat with and share their lives. They’re willing to spend some money in return for your time online or on the phone. These chats are generally harmless and involve speaking about one another’s lives, challenges and other similar stuff.
There are several websites where you can enrol and offer your friendship. Generally, you can find people that share your hobbies and interests or are interested in sharing their own thoughts about life, through these websites. In exchange, you get paid some money, which ranges from $0.10 to $0.60 per minute of chat or call. If you’re confident enough, you can also opt for video chats and make more money.
Become a Sugar Baby
The profession of a sugar baby is rather controversial. While a lot of persons support this system, others claim it borders on legitimized flesh trade. Regardless, thousands of American teenagers and young people work as sugar babies throughout the country. It helps them pay their bills and enjoy life at the same time. Whether sugar babies indulge in any intimacy with their sugar moms and sugar daddies is a debatable issue and a personal one.
There are several websites where you can enrol to become a sugar baby. The task involves giving companionship, both online and in person, to a sugar daddy or sugar mamma. In exchange, the sugar baby gets to dine at expensive places and receives costly gifts and superb cash rewards. However, there are strict criteria to become a sugar baby. It’s not everyone’s cup of tea, as one might imagine.
Also Read: 17 Legit Ways to Get Paid to Talk to Lonely Men in 2024
Sell Your Lingerie
Another creepy way to make a living? You can sell your lingerie, provided you’re a woman. I don’t mean selling your newly bought panties or bras or those fresh out of the laundry. Instead, I mean selling lingerie that you’ve used and just taken off- despite being dirty and possibly stained.
Who would be interested in your dirty lingerie? As a matter of fact, there are several websites where you can upload images of your used lingerie, write brief descriptions and wait for customers. According to unconfirmed reports, some women earn as much as $600 per week or even more by simply selling their used lingerie. You might be surprised at the number of men bidding for your used lingerie.
Start Coaching
Foreign students in the US and in their home countries wish to learn subjects from the American school curriculum. This includes English, Math and Science subjects. Enrol on websites such as VIPKids.com and become an online tutor. There are as many as 25 websites that welcome online tutors and trainers. Or, you can create a superb course with your hobby and upload it on various e-learning platforms for sale.
If you’re good at a sport, it is possible to make a living by providing coaching services. There are online as well as offline sports coaches. They earn a lot of money since everyone wants to learn a sport and excel at their school or college. In fact, knowing a sport well and having the ability to train can open your way to riches.
Wrap Up
Therefore, the next time you wish to ask yourself or someone else: ‘What should I do for a living?’ consider these options. Actually, you can use your own creativity to find what type of work you would love to do and use this passion to make a living. Confucius, the ancient Chinese philosopher, once said that if we enjoy the work we do, we won’t be working at all. By these words, Confucius meant that when we love the work, we enjoy doing it, and hence, we don’t feel that we’re working at all. Joy replaces efforts.
