I love living in the forest, but the cost to do so has risen recently. With all the recent wildfires throughout the state, many have lost their homeowner’s insurance and had to depend on the state’s fair plan. Luckily, we are still under our regular insurance, but our premiums have risen steadily. Still not as bad as I’m hearing some people pay, but along with all the other increases, it has led me to look for some extra income.
I have always been open to doing freelance work as a writer. I know some options are fading away with AI, but I still thought I’d try a couple of popular job sites. I reworked my resume, and my daughter polished it up for me. Next, I researched where a writer could earn some extra income and found a couple of websites to get started.
I went in with an open mind and was looking for part-time jobs that used skills I’ve learned over the years as a writer. My focus was on beta reading, proofreading, writing blogs, and even being a virtual assistant. I decided on a website that didn’t charge as much and was recommended for writers. Seemed simple, I created a page and got to looking. Not open to paying a monthly fee, I had an option to purchase something like points to apply for jobs instead of paying the monthly fee.
I got right on that, reading the job posts, qualifications, and applying. Soon, I got an interview via Zoom. Here’s where I found out the job descriptions don’t match what they really wanted. Basically, it was a job to review websites. Never got an answer to whether I could write my own reviews or if it was provided. I was told I was overqualified, and I should watch for when they needed virtual office assistance or writers.
The next reply I got was from a woman who basically wanted the same thing. She asked me to screenshot that I had an Amazon account, which I didn’t. Then she wanted me to post reviews she had written for her books…I told her I would not do that. She did not like my answer. These are the people who make us look bad on Amazon.
Then I saw a job where I could take pictures of their products. I could do that in the forest. Good fit, huh? No, they wanted me to buy their products; they couldn’t send them for some reason I didn’t understand. But they would reimburse me for the purchase and my time, later. That was another no thank you.
Yet, I kept trying. I avoided what I now recognized as pay-for-review jobs and buy-and-review jobs. Next, I was approached for a job to talk for two hours and record it. The company claimed they needed to train their AI in cars with my accent. That didn’t appeal to me either. Plus, my writer’s mind was suspicious about what they were really doing with that recording.
The proofreading jobs or beta readers were still sounding promising, but looking deeper into them, they wanted not only someone to beta read but also to edit it too. One person wanted it done in a day…lol A few of these I didn’t hear back from, probably because I wasn’t willing to work for way under minimum wage.
What was left? Writing blog posts. One seemed like a fit, but getting deeper into this one, they wanted a person to write a set weekly amount of blogs that would have to be researched, which would mean doing about ten a day. This was for Facebook. I’m not a fast writer, and I take research seriously. With that job, they offered bonuses for a certain number of likes your post got, and the pay was decent. I didn’t want to put that kind of time into a part-time job, so I moved on.
Still having some points to use, I applied for a job that required me to have a pet to test toys on. When filling out the paperwork, they asked if I had an issue with electric shock toys for my cats. Yes, in fact I do.
So my venture into job websites didn’t go as I had hoped. I will do it the old-fashioned way, by going directly to websites or applying in person. I had heard from my kids that online jobs were almost impossible to get. They have had to find them in person.
Lesson learned. Now I look at any review even more critically. Those posts on Facebook I already knew were for likes, even historical ones, but it was worse than I thought. They even allowed AI posts. I won’t be posting fake reviews, or buying some strange person’s produce, or talking for two hours for pay. And guess what, you have to earn reviews at the job website, so you even get looked at by the so-called better jobs. They recommend you start with these jobs.
A very eye-opening and strange experience for me. They seem not to be looking for experience but people to take advantage of.
NOTE: I will be off next week on vacation 🙂 Be back on April 14th with my Book Reviews.
Now on to my heart-shaped rock collection!
Embrace your inner child by collecting rocks! D. L. Finn (Denise)
