Supporting Yourself As a Need Greater

One of the biggest obstacles to becoming a Need Greater seems to be the concern of how to support oneself. Oftentimes, we cannot legally work in the country we are stationed at, so what can you do?

Most of this was put together by another blogger from "The Mad Adventures of Zach and Robynn" it was so well done I thought I'd share it.

Do you have a job or your own business in your home country already? Would that job allow you to work a few months out of the year at home and spend the rest of the year living in your assignment? Many that serve in the SJDS English Group save for a 4-6 months at a time in their home country and come serve 6-12 months at a time. When they run out of money they go back for 3-4 months at a time just to earn money to return to serve.

Your boss doesn't like that idea? Could you telecommute and work part time from your location?

Do you have skills in: Administrative Work, Customer Service, Translation, Transcription, Graphic Design, Software Development, Technical Support? Are you good at finding information online? Do you know SEO or Social Media? Can you write articles, recipes, books, blogs, etc? Do you know how to use a Telephone, Skype, or Chat online? Do you have a nice voice? Are you bilingual, trilingual, multilingual? Do you know Microsoft Office?

If you answered yes to any of those questions, I have several websites for you. Freelance work is very popular worldwide. At these websites, people will post jobs for anything and everything that any company might ever want, and you can find one-time, part-time and full-time work. Sometimes the pay is less than you might be used to, but most likely the country you are in has a lower cost of living, so you should be able to find something that suits your needs. Check out all of these:


www.upwork.com
www.guru.com
www.freelance.com
www.freelancer.com
www.project4hire.com
www.99designs.com
www.peopleperhour.com
www.crowdspring.com
www.iwriter.com
www.simplyhired.com
www.hourly.com/



There are more, but these are the top ones.

If you want to do phone work or customer service, but don't want to be a freelancer, there are companies that will hire you on to telecommute. These are harder to find because usually they have location requirements, so I'm not listing any here.

These are websites that list many actual companies, and are updated regularly with positions.

http://www.ratracerebellion.com/
http://www.flexjobs.com/ (This one seems to require a subscription of sorts to actually apply for a position)

If you are interested in freelance work, but don't feel you have the skills, search online for free classes to learn those skills. There are plenty of places that will teach you coding and software/app development or Excel and many other things, and sometimes will even give you a certification of completion that you can use with your resume. I'm talking about you, free Harvard and MIT classes.

Do you know English? This is a HUGE opportunity. Many companies will hire someone as a tutor/teacher just because they are a native speaker, no experience or degree necessary. That said, it does help to get some certification, which can be done online. You would want to get either a TEFL,TESL or TESOL degree. You can go online and find many schools offering these programs. Often times they will charge several hundred dollars, but you can find specials and coupons on websites like Groupon and LivingSocial which will reduce the price to around $70 USD. You will be able to teach online or in a school. There are many, many websites that will hire you or act as a broker to find you students, and you can work as much or as little as you want, while getting paid pretty decently.
Check out:


www.openenglish.com
www.tutorabc.com (this is who I currently work for, if you apply put my name in the referral section and I can get a bonus if you are hired. Full Name- Bryan Lopez)
www.colingo.com
www.daveseslcafe.com
www.tutor.com
www.englishjobsonline.com
www.esljobs.com


and more....


So, what happens if you don't have any skills, or your internet connection is too slow to allow you to do real-time support? Did you know people will pay you five dollars to draw words in the sand? Welcome to www.fiverr.com where no job is too silly and everything costs five bucks. Five dollars not enough? Try www.Tenerr.com. Still not enough? Go to www.3to30.com which operates under the same premise, but you can charge up to thirty dollars.

"I don't live near sand or want to take pictures and I'm not crafty with my hands or I can't think of literally anything that someone might pay for. What will I do now?"


Enter mTurk. There are websites where, at your own time, and own pace, you can do incredibly easy jobs that take only a few seconds to complete- things like categorizing a photo or finding a picture of a realtor on their webpage. If you have a computer with any kind of internet access, you can do this. You get paid a few cents per task or HIT as they are called, but you can do them so quickly, you can actually make some money.


www.mturk.com
www.clickworker.com
www.appen.com


None of this sounds appealing? Try to get a visa that will allow you to work in your assignment. Hotels and restaurants and tourist offices all need people that speak English. You can tutor people from your home. Do you know massage or hairdressing? Someone will hire you. Can you clean houses or do laundry?


The point is, you can definitely find work. You just have to know where to look. It may not be your "dream job" or even something that you particularly enjoy, but it pays the bills so you can continue in your assignment, and that assignment is the real dream job.


Remember to keep your eye simple and "keep on seeking first the kingdom"....and you know how that scripture ends. Matthew 6:33