We live in a wonderful world full of jobs that allow you to work anywhere in the world via the internet, and proofreading is no exception. Proofreading can be done anywhere, anytime, and you don’t even need to meet any clients in the flesh. Sounds pretty perfect, doesn’t it?!
In fact, let’s go one step further when it comes to job perfection because if you’re a native speaker, proofreading is a really easy job and one that you don’t need a ton of experience to do.
That said, proofreading is also one of the best online jobs for introverts.
In this article, I’m going to be showing you how you can get proofreading jobs online, with NO experience! Yep, I said it, you can make money proofreading straight away, meaning you can start (or continue) living a nomadic life pretty much straight away, or just from the comfort of your own home in your pajamas (and no-one needs to know).
What Is Proofreading?
Proofreading is essentially reading a piece of work to check for errors, whether it’s a blog post, an online course, a magazine article, a book, you name it, if it’s been written, it’s probably been checked by a proofreader.
A proofreader checks for spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors, as well as errors in formatting. Proofreading can be done for any language but English tends to be the most popular and the easiest to find jobs in.
Is There A Demand For Proofreading?
If you’re a native speaker, it’s probably a little bit mind-boggling that people would pay you just to read over their work and correct a few errors, but there is a massive demand for proofreading since English is the most used language in the world, yet only a small percentage of people are native speakers.
Those who choose to use proofreaders could include small businesses, website owners, bloggers, or writers, to name but a few, and all are eager to catch embarrassing mistakes before anyone sees them, which is where you step in.
How Much Do Proofreaders Make?
How long is a piece of string?! But really, a lot of proofreading jobs are freelance meaning you set your own rates, so the sky really is the limit, but let’s look at the average salary for freelancers in 2021.
The average hourly rate is around $26, but proofreaders are making anywhere from $20-$30 per hour (and some a lot more, I’m sure). The lowest 10% of proofreaders are making $20, whereas the top 10% are making over $33 per hour. Translated to a yearly salary, proofreaders are making anywhere from $41,000 to $62,000, with an average of $54,0000.
If you work as a freelancer, once you have a few jobs under your belt, you can start raising your prices as and when you choose. The good part? There will always be someone who will pay what you’re charging, although like with any online job, there will always be clients who question your rates.
Unfortunately, that comes with the territory, and regardless of whether you’re charging $5 per hour or $50 per hour, there will be someone who thinks it’s a rip-off.
What Skills And Qualifications Do You Need?
If you’re the type of person who’s always noticing your friends’ spelling errors, proofreading might be for you. You will need to have strong attention to detail, as well as good communication skills, and an excellent grasp of the English language, including spelling and grammar. When I say an excellent grasp, I mean it. You need to be of native speaker level, regardless of whether you are a native speaker or not.
Another skill that will benefit you is self-discipline as you may be spending hours reading a very dull piece of text.
For most jobs, you won’t need any professional qualifications at all, but for some, a bachelor’s degree will be essential. The type of degree that will put you ahead of other proofreaders would include an English or journalism degree. Like I said though, for most jobs this is not a requirement, especially if you’re intending to work as a freelancer instead of an employee.
Proofreading Vs Editing
A lot of people get confused with the differences between proofreading and editing. Editors will review several drafts of the same piece of work, checking sentence structure and general readability, fact-checking, ensuring language clarity and tone, and that the work fits within editorial guidelines.
On the other hand, a proofreader will only check the final draft of a piece of work and will check for spelling, punctuation, and grammatical errors. On top of that, they will ensure the format of the work is correct.
Basically, a proofreader is a surface-level cleaner. They give your work a quick spruce, a light dusting, and a spray over. But, an editor is your deep cleaner, they dust behind the mirror and get out the mop and bucket to ensure your work is really looking spick and span.
Where To Find Proofreading Jobs Online With No Experience
Proofreading is not a hard sell, even with no experience. It’s not hard to convince business owners that they need their work to be checked over, especially as most entrepreneurs and business owners unsurprisingly want the world to see them as the best of the best.
Also, whilst you can niche down within proofreading, proofreading as a whole is not a niche market, meaning there is a high demand for this service. Because of this, there are lots of websites where you can find proofreading jobs, so you can take your pick of the jobs you like the sound of.
I’m going to show you the best platforms to find proofreading jobs online with no experience, that are perfect for beginners.
Fiverr
You’ve no doubt heard of Fiverr by now. It’s notorious among freelancers. You can sell all sorts of freelancing services here, but note that those who buy services on Fiverr often turn to the platform for cheap work, so don’t expect to earn your millions here. It’s great as a beginner to get some experience under your belt though.
UpWork
UpWork is very similar to Fiverr in the way that it works. It is one of the biggest freelancing sites in the world, meaning there is never a shortage of jobs on here.
The problem with these sites is that there is always going to be someone who will offer to do the work for less, regardless of what you charge. If you live in a country with a high cost of living, you simply won’t be able to offer the same rates as someone whose daily cost of living is less than $5.
Whilst you may have the edge of being a native English speaker, people do turn to these websites for cheap work rather than the best quality work. However, like with Fiverr, everyone has got to start somewhere, and you can get jobs quite easily and quickly on these sites to gain some experience.
Proofreading Services
Proofreading Services offers anywhere from $19-$46 per hour depending on turnaround time. They offer full-time and part-time positions with flexible working hours.
In order to apply for a position with the company, you’re required to take a preliminary applicant test on their website, which tests basic English spelling and punctuation.
ProBlogger
ProBlogger is a jobs board which, you guessed it, shows jobs related to blogging. This job board isn’t specific to proofreading, however, you can find plenty of proofreading jobs on the site. If you’re someone who’s passionate about blogging or would like to niche down into blog proofreading, this could be a good option for you.
Get Editing
Get Editing is another job board where you can search specifically for proofreading jobs. Again, it’s not specific to proofreading, and there are a lot of content writing and editing jobs to sift through, however with the search feature, you’ll be able to find proofreading jobs in no time.
Proofreading Pal
Proofreading Pal has more specific requirements than most but is one to bear in mind for when you have some experience behind you, or if you’re a college student. Their strict criteria mean it’s only suitable for those who are either employed by or enrolled in a U.S. university with a minimum GPA of 3.5 or have a graduate degree with a minimum of 5 years proofreading experience.
If you meet either of these criteria, you can expect to earn anywhere from $500-$3000 on the site per month.
ClickWorker
ClickWorker outsources all sorts of content jobs from clients, including proofreading. When you sign up to the site, you’ll be required to take a test to check your spelling and grammar skills, before you’re able to access jobs on the site.
The rates depend on the job, and once you’ve delivered good results on several jobs, you’ll be able to access the higher-paying jobs. A great motivator to produce good work!
FlexJobs
FlexJobs is a website that connects all sorts of freelancers with potential clients, including proofreaders. You can use the search feature to find plenty of proofreading jobs. In order to get access to the largest amount of jobs, avoid adding a location as proofreading is a job you can do from anywhere.
Final Thoughts
Proofreading is a great online job that you can do with no experience, and very few skills if you’re a native English speaker. It’s also the perfect job if you want to be able to work from home, or if you’re eager to travel while still being able to earn a decent wage.
There are two ways to become a proofreader, you can either offer it as a freelance service, which means you can set your own rates and raise them whenever you decide, or search for proofreading job roles with companies, which will have set salaries, however, may include other benefits such as healthcare and pension.
