How to make money during american shutdown?

March 17, 2020 6:47 AM

I've been unemployed for about six months, trying to find work in HR consulting, project management, or non-profit work. Hasn't happened. But I'm scratching my head here thinking - surely there are some new opportunities where I could perhaps find temporary work? Some facts about my city and ideas inside.

Here's me in a nut shell:

Creative problem solver, skilled in amplifying end user needs and experiences, optimizing value-add processes, and educating to improve successful implementation. Brings a systems perspective to identifying and designing solutions, with proven success. Known as a servant leader who empowers others through active listening and courageous engagement.

Expertise includes:
• Process design
• Project management
• Facilitation and Training
• Vendor/consultant contract management
• Metrics implementation
• Community liaison

Previous jobs: Diversity project manager, HR Compliance project manager, sales training facilitator, research assistant, metrics analyst.

Honestly I need work, like so many do, but I think maybe the work that needs doing (and folks will pay for) isn't the work that I've been doing until now. I'm not interested in making a fast buck off of people's misery, I really don't want to be unsafe or get myself or others sick. I don't want to invest money in a product that I can gouge people on. I just want to do some work and get paid for it.

Here are some job ideas I have - but I don't know if they are safe or worth the time:

1. Something to do with the Amazon distribution center that just opened up in town last week
2. Something around delivering food - Door Dash, Meals on wheels ?
3. Shopping for people's groceries and taking them to their home
4. Maybe is there some sort of paid work in crisis management?
5. Maybe... something like helping small businesses set up Slack channels?
6. Cooking food and selling it to neighbors?
7. Teaching some sort of at-a-distance community activity (bird watching, house painting, etc?)
8. Tutoring high school kids over skype?

Honestly these are all WELL outside my experience zone but they are things I can think of off the top of my head.

Ideas are nice but much more helpful to me would be ideas + steps to make it happen. If you happen to know a range of $ I could expect for doing it, that would be really nice too.

posted by rebent to Work & Money (6 answers total)

I have no idea if this is of interest or if the location works but I saw that Safeway had immediate openings for 2000 positions.
posted by JenMarie at 7:21 AM on March 17, 2020

I have seen a couple of local restaurants that are no longer permitted (by the state) to have dine-in guests, but who have no Internet presence. Since they're still allowed to handle take-out and delivery orders, they need someone to put up the simplest web site with their menu & phone number, and get that information out there.

(Leaving this to the take-out companies is awful, and adds a middleman where there wasn't any process at all before, which makes it even less likely to be successful.)

Could you find local cafes and handle that for them? Later it might turn into a turn-key service; in the short term, it would help out small businesses and also keep food moving to people who want/need it.
posted by wenestvedt at 7:23 AM on March 17, 2020 [7 favorites]

The amazon warehouses in san diego are hiring at $21/hour with up to 10 hours of overtime at time and a half. As for how safe it is? I guess you'll have to make your own call.
posted by foxonisland at 9:53 AM on March 17, 2020

It doesn't really scale and requires some level of trust but there may be some relatively well off people now working from home that would pay for in-home childcare during their working hours.
posted by ghharr at 12:52 PM on March 17, 2020 [1 favorite]

Please check out weworkremotely.com It has legit jobs and is how I found mine

Here are some ones I found quickly. Having been in recruitment and hired some amazing people, I can tell you that you don't need to meet every bullet item for a role. Any reasonable employer wants someone who can grow and learn. This includes the 3-5 years experience, preferred degree, etc. Explain in a short cover letter why you have the experience and know how or how you'll get it. I'd rather pay someone less at the start who has promise (and then increase their salary!) than to pay someone a lot who has 10 years of experience and thinks they can float on by and ends up not contributing much.



https://weworkremotely.com/remote-jobs/bear-group-digital-project-manager-1
https://weworkremotely.com/remote-jobs/clevertech-project-coordinator
https://weworkremotely.com/remote-jobs/fleetio-documentation-specialist-1 (use your facilitation and training skills!)

Hope this helps!
posted by affectionateborg at 2:34 PM on March 17, 2020 [6 favorites]

I have friends who teach English to students in China though VIPKid and really enjoy it. Good luck! <3
posted by smorgasbord at 7:30 PM on March 25, 2020 [1 favorite]