4 Best Jobs for Introverts
So, you need to feed yourself, and keep the lights on, but you’re really not too fond of other human beings, and you much prefer to be alone. What should you do?
Loners crave solitude. We want as little interaction as possible with others. When I am forced to be around other people, I want to keep them at arm’s length.
This is difficult to achieve in many jobs: for example, sales, retail, and the service industry. In the typical American office environment, meaningless chit chat with co-workers is basically required, if you want to be successful. In most work environments, a person who keeps to himself will be seen negatively, labeled with “not a team player”. Unfortunately, this lack of soft skills can hold loners back in their career.
However, there is hope. The COVID pandemic of 2020 has quickly proven that almost any job can be done remotely. It is now more possible than ever before to earn a living on your own. In fact, as technology continues to get faster, cheaper, and more accessible, working alone will likely become the norm.
For all of us who would rather light our hair on fire than make small talk around the water cooler, here are the best careers for loners:
Dog Groomer/ Dog Walker
If you dislike other humans, yet love wet noses and wagging tails, pet services is the industry for you. Interaction with people can be limited to pick-up and drop-off. You can even purposely schedule appointments during normal office hours, and not see or speak to anyone at all.
To excel in this role, you must of course, love all kinds of dogs, and not have allergies to the different breeds.
You can walk dogs for owners working long hours, or host them in your own home. This is heaven for the loner who also happens to love pets.
Content Creator
Whether you choose to make videos on Youtube, podcasts on Spotify, or old fashioned text via a blog, a career in content creation is a perfect, and possibly lucrative, option for a loner.
While creating content, you can spend a lot of time in solitude, researching, writing, editing. There’s lots of tech to keep your nerd gears turning, from video editing software, to audio equipment like microphones and cameras.
Another good thing about content creating is that it is a career where you are getting paid to talk, or write, about the kind of minutiae of whatever urbane topic that would bore the shit out of a random person who doesn’t share that same interest. If you can talk about any subject to the point that someone’s eyes start glazing over, you can earn money creating websites or Youtube videos on that topic. In fact, you’re reading one now. My interest in the personality traits of loners led me to create this blog, among other projects.
Independent Tradesman
My top pick for best jobs for loners is to hang your shingle out as an independent tradesman. These career fields are always screaming for workers, especially as more and more Baby Boomers retire out.
Tradesmen also sidestep expensive college costs, saving you tens of thousands in burdensome debt. Instead of drowning in student loans, you learn on the job as an apprentice over a period of years, which varies by trade, and by state.
There’s plenty of money to be made in the trades, though I’ll admit that you have to be, first, GOOD at your chosen profession, and second, running your own business to benefit the most.
For a small contractor, you can mostly work alone with little interaction with others, except for talking to your clients. Big box hardware stores like Lowe’s and Home Depot have apps which you can use to order online, then simply pick up the materials needed for your jobs.
Airbnb Host
I paid a good chunk of my rent, then mortgage on a house I bought doing this. It’s easy money in the right location. I hosted guests in my own home and I barely met the majority of them. I was also able to save thousands of dollars from a room that I wasn’t even using.
Airbnb hosts can earn two or three times more per month from a property by renting by the night than by leasing the place out long term.
I’m writing this as the COVID-19 lock downs ease up across the US. Obviously, the unexpected shutdown of almost all travel and movement brought this side hustle to a halt. Once/ (if?) the economy restarts, I expect this to slowly come back; ironically in smaller locations first. Although people are moving around more, most of us are still wary of the virus at this point.
Conclusion
You spend the majority of your waking life at work, don’t spend that time hating it. There’s plenty of fields that can indulge your desire for independence. If the job doesn’t exist, there’s nothing stopping you from creating yourself.