8 Remote Jobs Paying $20 an Hour or More

The dramatic increase in work from home jobs over the past two years has changed the employment landscape forever. A whole range of positions that were previously thought not conducive for remote work are now not just possible, but commonplace. In addition, work from home positions that have been available all along are now even more plentiful. Driven by labor shortages and technological advances, remote jobs paying $20 an hour are easier to find than ever before.

1. Accountant

Today, the job of an accountant or auditor is almost fully reliant on technology. This makes it an ideal option for a well-paying work from home career, with remote jobs paying $20 an hour or more to start. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), even accountants in the lowest percentile garner $23.06 per hour, and the median hourly wage is $37.14. In addition, jobs in this category show a tendency to grow 7% between 2020 to 2030. This represents average growth across all occupations.

Most accounting jobs are with companies that provide outsourced financial services, including accounting, tax preparation, bookkeeping, and payroll. This industry category makes up over 32% of all jobs. It is also the highest paying with a mean hourly wage of $41.66. Other large employers include financial and insurance companies, management companies, and government. The highest paying firms for accounting services are financial and insurance companies.

2. Marketing Manager

Advancing technologies and a booming e-commerce industry are creating tons of new opportunities, especially in the digital marketing space. Everything from gathering and analyzing customer data to launching promotional campaigns can be done by computer, making this a good option for a remote work lifestyle. If you’re searching for remote jobs paying $20 an hour, marketing managers on the lowest end of the pay scale make $37.35 an hour, and the median hourly wage is $64.92, according to the BLS.

As a reflection of the expanding digital marketing field, major employers of marketing managers include news syndicates, internet publishers, and web search portals. These employers also pay the best, with a mean wage of $91.97 per hour. Job growth for marketing managers is likely to be strong, with 10% growth expected over the next decade. This is a little faster than average for all occupations.

3. Digital Interface Designer

Another job category tied to the rapidly expanding online universe is that of a web and digital interface designer. When you’re looking for remote jobs paying $20 an hour, web designers at the low end of the pay scale make a little less at $18.53. However, as reported by the BLS, the median hourly wage comes in at a healthy $38.41.

Major employers in the category are software publishers, computer system designers, and advertising firms. By far, the most lucrative web design jobs can be found with software publishers with a mean hourly wage of $70.90. Opportunities for designers in the digital space is expected to grow at a rate of 13% between 2020 and 2030, a rate much faster than average for all occupations.

4. Post-Secondary Educators

With the proliferation of online technologies, more opportunities are now available for post-secondary educators to work from home and enjoy remote jobs paying $20 an hour. The actual hourly rate depends on the area of specialization. However, the top paying jobs in this category are for law, engineering, economics, and health sciences instructors. All of these positions average over $100,000 per year.

Major employers are junior colleges and colleges, universities and professional schools, with the highest-paying being public universities. Job growth for post-secondary teachers is very strong over the next decade at 12%. Again, there is a wide range of growth rates due to the variety of specializations, but the fastest-growing positions are health specialties teachers with 24% growth and nursing instructors with 22% growth projected.

5. Mental Health Counselor

Another fast-growing remote job category is mental health counselor, with employment projected to grow 23% in the next 10 years. Demand for these jobs is being driven by the implementation of new telehealth technologies as well as increasing attention to mental health and substance abuse in general.

At the moment, even though these professionals are in demand, it is not the best-paying occupation. The low end of pay is $14.84 per hour according to the BLS, and the median hourly wage is $23.33. The largest employer of mental health counselors is outpatient care centers that have a mean hourly wage of $24.99. However, the best paying employer is local government, with an hourly average of $30.57.

6. Nurse Practitioner

The healthcare industry is booming and includes almost half of the 30 fastest-growing occupations in the United States. Nurse practitioners are leading the way with an astounding 52% growth expected by 2030. These are also very well-paid positions. At the lowest percentile, nurse practitioners can expect to make $38.21 per hour, and the median hourly wage is $58.02.

The main employers of nurse practitioners are health care practitioner offices, hospitals, outpatient care centers, and home health services. While all of these offer high hourly wages, home health services and outpatient care facilities offer the highest, with wages of $64.03 and $62.11 per hour respectively.             

7. Software Developer

Forget about remote jobs paying $20 an hour, pay for these positions is $30.99 an hour on the low end, with a very comfortable median hourly rate of $58.05. The big players hiring developers include computer system design companies, software publishers, data processing, hosting, and related services. However, the best-paid positions are with news syndicates, internet publishers, and web search portals. Companies in this industry category offer mean hourly wages of $75.39.

In addition to good pay, software developers are in high demand. Employment in information technology careers continues to expand quickly. Growth in software developer jobs is expected to reach 22% from 2020 to 2030. In addition, as pioneers in developing highly productive remote work models, there are always plenty of telecommuting opportunities available.

8. Virtual Assistant

While the BLS shows a 7% decline in demand for secretarial and administrative assistant jobs over the next decade, there is an increase in demand for virtual assistants. In addition, as opposed to some of the positions on this list, jobs for virtual assistants don’t necessarily require a college degree and a boatload of experience.

Having said that, to find remote jobs paying $20 an hour, some experience will be required. The best paying virtual assistant jobs will be executive-level, in-house positions. But jobseekers can get their foot in the door with an online agency that will have fewer requirements.

The job categories above are just a small selection of remote jobs paying $20 an hour or more that can be found on the Virtual Vocations jobs database. Go directly to the best jobs available by searching through over 15,000 hand vetted and fully remote opportunities.

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