Prior to 2020, the quest for work from home jobs had not really increased because people were still comfortable with their traditional working system of going to the office daily. But the outbreak of COVID-19 that forcefully pushed everybody inside, became an eye opener to the vistas of opportunities scattered in the digital space for people to work remotely.
Companies, markets, schools, and other relevant systems of operation, in a bid to curb the undesirable effect of COVID-19, started creating systems of interaction in the online space for workers, students, and clients to relate and solve their pressing needs. The face of this difficult reality brought about so many uncertainties — workers were laid off, many businesses collapsed, and there was long-term instability and hopelessness.
In the midst of these, came the paradigm shift that made the work from home job an urgent and very attractive option. This innovation in the work culture made it possible for both old and new companies to create remote-based job opportunities for workers. Job roles like office assistant, customer care representative, and tutoring were sent to the digital space for people to grab. While jobs like content writing, coding, graphic design, and social media management were on the increase for remote access.
Since the narrative changed, the search for work from home jobs has increased. Many African youths have acquired soft skills that require more remote services and because of this need, we have put together 8 legitimate work from home jobs for Africans that can guide you to choose what form of the remote job will satisfy your interest.
Table of Contents
7 Legitimate Work from home Jobs for Africans
Graphic Designing
Graphic design is a skillful profession that seeks to convey specific messages to a defined social group through the use of visual elements. Graphic design has many use cases ranging from branding, technical and artistic drawing, signage, image, and video editing, 3D modeling, animation, and programming, among other areas. A graphic designer may choose to focus on one or two of the enlisted areas. Graphic designing is the kind of job that encourages creativity and as a graphic designer, your ability to interpret and present visual messages beyond what language can express is what gives you an edge.
More so, as a graphic designer, while you may need to work from home, you need a comfortable workspace and tools that will facilitate your job. For hardware design tools you will need a pen and paper, computer, stylus and graphic tablets, color space reference, camera, monitor calibration, and storage. For software design, tools like CorelDraw, canvas, cloud storage, and resource sites will help to facilitate the job. However, beyond having the know-how-to-design skills, you have to constantly improve your knowledge of the craft and acquire related skills that will enable you to be more creative and relevant in your job.
Software Developer
Software developers are tech gurus who use mental pictures to create and design computer programs. Software development is like a big house with many apartments that have different unique functions. The selling roles for software developers include web or application developer, UI and UX designer, product management systems, and sales engineer among other areas. Any of these fields requires technical expertise for effective performance. As a software developer, your job will rely on creating, testing, and implementing programs that answer users’ needs and you will have to continuously equip yourself with updated knowledge in your field that will always make you fit for your job. Because your job may be very demanding, it is necessary that you create a livable workspace for your comfort while working. Also, before you apply to take a job as a software developer, you have to ensure that you are mentally sound and capable of managing pressure to avoid body despair of any kind.
Social Media Management
Social Media Management is a branch of digital marketing that centers on using social media platforms to create awareness, maintain reputation, and generate leads and sales. As a social media manager, your job is to use social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn to create, schedule, and analyze engaging content that will capture your audience’s attention and commit them to take expected action. Like every other job, to be valuable you need to improve yourself through day-to-day learning. Even though you may be working from home, you have to discipline yourself and derive ethics that will shape your conduct and guide your performance to be at your best always.
Content Writing
Content writing is another skillful job that can be done from a distance. Content writing is a soft skill that requires creative thinking and problem-solving ideas for you to thrive. To be a successful content writer, you have to be research-friendly and widely read. As a content writer, it is your duty to create engaging content that aims to bring awareness to a brand, promote brand visibility based on its services, generate traffic, and trigger clients’ actions. To get a job opportunity of this sort, you have to optimize your social media handles, put out engaging content that will represent your value to your employers, and belong to a social network of like minds who can recommend you for such opportunities.
Read: How to Make Money on Fiverr (From $1 to $1000 or More per Month)
Tutoring Jobs
Our educational system has greatly improved since the advent of the internet and digital media are now available for students to subscribe to and learn any course of choice. As a result of this development, an avenue has also been created for teachers to render tutoring services online. Presently, many language courses are thriving online – courses like French, Spanish, and English language. Experts in these languages can render their services online for those who need them. To get these jobs, you have to let the people on your social network know that you are good at that and you can as well create a page to promote your worth in the courses you can handle. You can search for jobs on platforms like Upwork, Tutor.com, etc.,
Virtual Aid
Virtual aid is similar to the role of a traditional office assistant. Your duty as a virtual aid includes arranging meeting schedules, attending to calls, receiving and sending emails to clients, managing the online presence of the organization, and conducting research. Once you get engaged in this role, you have to learn how to manage time, improve your communication skills, and maintain your personal online presence.
Customer Care Representative
The role of the customer care representative for a company is to attend to customers via phone calls or emails, address their questions and complaints, get customers’ basic information, and provide solutions to customers’ problems. As a customer care representative, you have to be skillful in communication and be good at managing people. Above all, you have to be customer friendly at all times.
Final thoughts on 7 Legitimate Work from home Jobs for Africans
From all indications, it is evident that remote job opportunities are not scarce, there are new breeds of work-from-home jobs showing up every day and it all requires anyone to have the know-how and be very competent to thrive here. It is one thing to have an interest in a particular job, it is another thing to own what it takes to keep a job. Therefore, it is important to get the necessary skills required for your job, so that when you eventually get your desired job you will be able to meet your employer’s requirements and satisfy your clients as well as maintain your confidence.