By Damien Reed
Most of us tend to dislike public speaking and have a strong disdain for holding presentations at meetings. But social anxiety takes the discomfort to a whole new level, practically disabling the person and making interactions with others a waking nightmare.
However, you’re not what your social anxiety sometimes makes you out to be. It is not a defining personality trait and should not limit you in any way, least of all dictate what job you can do. Your skill, intelligence, and creativity are all still there, waiting for a perfect opportunity to shine. An opportunity that doesn’t cause your anxiety levels to skyrocket. A stay at home job.
Best Stay at Home Jobs
Not all stay at home jobs are created equal, and working from home doesn’t necessarily imply less social anxiety. If you still have phone calls to make, sales to pitch, and customers to talk to, being at home won’t do you much good.
What matters most is flexibility. You don’t need a college degree to get a job that won’t constantly trigger your anxiety. All you need is the ability to choose when and how many social interactions you’re going to have. Workplace flexibility is also crucial, but don’t pass up on rare opportunities just because you couldn’t work from home.
There is a multitude of jobs that allow you such flexibility and limit social interactions at the same time. The ones we’ll list here tick all the boxes of anxiety-friendly work — the primary task doesn’t involve communication (to an extent), a college degree is not a requirement, and working hours and deadlines are quite flexible.
Content Writer
Content writers are the rising stars of the online business format. Of all the jobs we’ll mention here today, content writing requires the least amount of communication by far.
You can either work as a freelance content writer and find clients on your own or join a content writing company. The former requires more social interactions as you have to reach out to potential clients and deal with them individually. Depending on how problematic your anxiety is, it might be much better to opt for the latter.
A regular day in a content writer’s life starts when the writer receives their first order for the day. It’s up to the writer to do the research before committing to creating the content. It’s the best kind of job for someone with anxiety, really.
After you submit the article come the proofreading and editing steps. This is where you’ll have to socialize, if only slightly, and cooperate with the proofreader to add some finishing touches to your literary masterpiece.
Working as a freelance content writer takes more out of you in terms of how much you need to communicate. It also takes much longer to find clientele and form a steady returning client base. However, it’s far more flexible than working for a company, and you can most certainly do it from home.
Content writing companies, on the other hand, might ask of you to be physically present in an office. Even if they don’t, you certainly won’t have as much flexibility as you would as a freelancer. But you also don’t have to worry about a steady supply of clients, and subsequently, a more steady source of income. A good place to start is to figure out what niche you’d like to write about.
The average annual pay is about $45,000.
Launching a Website or Blog
Today, launching a website or a blog requires fewer steps and less of a technical background than it used to. Suffice it to say that it’s still not the easiest process for most people and takes a lot of research to do properly. Luckily, the internet already has everything you need, including thousands of tutorials and guides on making your first website.
You can see the appeal of running a website or a blog for someone with anxiety. You’re your own boss, without anybody looking over your shoulder or criticizing you. It’s up to you how much time you’ll spend working on your website. In fact, you could do it as a full-time job, depending on the type of website.
Just like a content writer, you need to find a niche that suits you or your potential clients. There’s a website about every topic under the sun, all that matters is how you approach it. You could write reviews, share your personal experiences, start an eCommerce website, or even a streaming site.
Not every website will rake in an equal amount of money for you, however. Some will require greater commitment on your part, but those kinds of sites usually offer more in return. Whatever you decide, your social interaction will be quite limited and your anxiety at bay.
You mostly have to communicate with your clients and advertisers using email, but that’s it. That is important since the main source of revenue for most websites out there comes from advertisements and affiliate links.
In that regard, launching a movie website is probably the safest option. Streaming websites, especially movie streaming websites, are quite popular these days. Of course, that means you’ll have more competition, but it’s a large market segment that leaves plenty of room for everybody.
Income
Most people still don’t exactly understand how running a website can turn into a profitable venture. In other words, they don’t know where the money comes from.
It all depends on the revenue model that you choose. Let’s look at a movie streaming website as an example. You can go the Netflix path of requiring a subscription fee every single month. Also, there’s the option of following in Amazon Video’s footsteps and charging for individual movies. However, both markets are already quite saturated, and it would be difficult to break through.
Advertising is by far the most easily accessible and perhaps even the most lucrative source of income for a website. Advertisers will gladly pay for some visible space on your website.
Programming
Much like writing, programming can also be done on your own, as a freelancer, or as a part of a company.
You’re probably wondering how programming ended up on this list. Surely, working as a programmer requires a college degree at least? The answer is no, although formal education does provide the benefit of experiencing programming in real projects.
There’s a wealth of information, tutorials, tips, tricks, and programming courses online. The goal is to introduce you to programming concepts and languages, but it will be up to you to roll up your sleeves and start coding.
When it comes to finding work as a programmer, it’s best to approach a company and apply for an internship. That way, you’ll be able to learn more and gain valuable experience. The latter is crucial for a programmer, and a bit harder to achieve by freelancing.
The programmer’s average salary depends on too many variables to assess, but count on $100,000 annually at least.
Conclusion
Don’t let anxiety keep you from doing what you’re passionate about. There are plenty of jobs that let your work around your condition, but it’s still up to you to make the best of them.
It’s hard to stop anxiety from running rampant sometimes, and even harder to get your life back on track. When you feel that all odds are stacked against you and that anxiety is too much to bear, seek professional help. Sometimes, you just can’t work out everything alone.