Flexjobs.com, has anyone had success with this outfit?

[MVal]

Someone mentioned in another thread I started about side hustles that Flexjobs was helpful. Who has any experience with this group or any other online job service?

[limeandpepper]

Posting to follow. As a trailing partner, I am definitely interested in online jobs that I can perform from anywhere.

[retiringearly]

following

[solon]

Job seekers have to pay to use it? That's a pretty big red-flag.

[BFGirl]

I paid the fee last year so I could look at potential work from home opportunities.  The jobs listed on there seem legitimate.  I will probably join again as I get closer to retirement to try to see if I can pick up some side work.

[solon]

Can anyone list the jobs they've done?

What was the job?
How long did it last?
How many hours/day or week?
How much did it pay?

These would really help us understand flexjobs...

[wonderjunkie]

I've had a short-term paid membership with Flexjobs.com in the past and it’s a legitimate site. You can search the jobs for free though to get an idea of whether the site would be useful for you. The Fortune 500 company I work for lists their remote positions there, and so do many other large US and multinational corporations.

Here's a link to the top companies with a high percentage of remote jobs. You could use this to apply directly, but obviously only if the type of job you want exists in these companies. Another advantage is that it is not always obvious as to what positions are remote on the company web sites, and many don't make it too easy to find them, even with the appropriate key words listed. I know this has frustrated me in the past, and I've been working remotely in the IT industry for five years in professional, full-time, salaried positions.

https://www.flexjobs.com/blog/post/100-top-companies-for-remote-jobs/

They've got full-time, part-time, temporary, seasonal and local or remote jobs. The majority listed have “most or all” telecommuting options available. There are jobs in just about every category you can think of, with education required ranging from no degree to a PhD. The pay and benefits vary widely, as the site lists over 20,000 jobs. I am about to finish a PhD and will likely use the site again to look for remote teaching or other part-time academic side work as I descend into FI within the next few years or so.

[MVal]

I've had a short-term paid membership with Flexjobs.com in the past and it’s a legitimate site. You can search the jobs for free though to get an idea of whether the site would be useful for you. The Fortune 500 company I work for lists their remote positions there, and so do many other large US and multinational corporations.

Here's a link to the top companies with a high percentage of remote jobs. You could use this to apply directly, but obviously only if the type of job you want exists in these companies. Another advantage is that it is not always obvious as to what positions are remote on the company web sites, and many don't make it too easy to find them, even with the appropriate key words listed. I know this has frustrated me in the past, and I've been working remotely in the IT industry for five years in professional, full-time, salaried positions.

https://www.flexjobs.com/blog/post/100-top-companies-for-remote-jobs/

They've got full-time, part-time, temporary, seasonal and local or remote jobs. The majority listed have “most or all” telecommuting options available. There are jobs in just about every category you can think of, with education required ranging from no degree to a PhD. The pay and benefits vary widely, as the site lists over 20,000 jobs. I am about to finish a PhD and will likely use the site again to look for remote teaching or other part-time academic side work as I descend into FI within the next few years or so.

This is really encouraging, because ideally I'd like a work-from-anywhere job! Getting to FIRE would be much more bearable if I could move around and have the flexibility of working from anywhere. I'm single and child-free, so I feel like I'm really spinning my wheels being stuck where I am.

[CanuckExpat]

Thanks for sharing your experience. I'd also take job hunters paying a fee as a red flag and not worth my time
Worth considering

[InquisitiveMind]

Can anyone list the jobs they've done?

What was the job?
How long did it last?
How many hours/day or week?
How much did it pay?

These would really help us understand flexjobs...

I was the original poster who mentioned FlexJobs on the other thread.

I was hired/accepted as a freelance editor of academic texts/theses 2 years ago, and my engagement with that work has been ongoing since then. (The company that hired me requires an MS or PhD degree of its editors.) I typically work around 20-30 hours per week editing, and usually earn $3-$5k/month. The rate of pay is determined by the document's word count, so my hourly rate is determined by how fast I work. I started at $9 per 1,000 words, and have been given three $1/1,000-words raises over the past 2 years, so that I now earn $12/1,000 words. Typically, I can edit between 3,000 to 4,000 words per hour, and sometimes 5,000 if conditions are ideal. The most lucrative document paid me $120 for 45 minutes of work, but that was a rare exception.

The company I work for is great -- I have very friendly interactions with the managers, and they pass along all praise from satisfied clients. If I need to take time off of editing when life gets busy, they are agreeable. If disputes with dissatisfied clients happen to arise, the managers handle those (rare) situations well (that is, they don't penalize the editors as some other companies do). Deadlines are reasonable, and bonuses are offered for jobs with tight deadlines. We are assigned documents (based on our areas of expertise) that we can accept or decline, and the company also maintains a portal where they post jobs that any editor has the option to grab.

YMMV; another editing company that posted jobs on the FlexJobs site is, according to my research, a really bad outfit -- demanding that their editors accept assigned jobs even if the editor previously stated that he or she wouldn't be available during a certain period, retracting pay from editors if the client complained, requiring editors to perform free redo editing if the client has multiple drafts of the same document, passing along 20% discounts given to clients for large jobs as 20% pay cuts to the editors of those documents, etc. Definitely search around the web for reviews of any company that you are considering working for; I have found Glassdoor to be a very useful site.

[NoStacheOhio]

We've been paying the fee for like four or five months, with nothing to show for it. I keep reminding my wife to turn it off, but ...

[MVal]

Can anyone list the jobs they've done?

What was the job?
How long did it last?
How many hours/day or week?
How much did it pay?

These would really help us understand flexjobs...

I was the original poster who mentioned FlexJobs on the other thread.

I was hired/accepted as a freelance editor of academic texts/theses 2 years ago, and my engagement with that work has been ongoing since then. (The company that hired me requires an MS or PhD degree of its editors.) I typically work around 20-30 hours per week editing, and usually earn $3-$5k/month. The rate of pay is determined by the document's word count, so my hourly rate is determined by how fast I work. I started at $9 per 1,000 words, and have been given three $1/1,000-words raises over the past 2 years, so that I now earn $12/1,000 words. Typically, I can edit between 3,000 to 4,000 words per hour, and sometimes 5,000 if conditions are ideal. The best-paying document paid me $120 for 45 minutes of work, but that was a rare exception.

The company I work for is great -- I have very friendly interactions with the managers, and they pass along all praise from satisfied clients. If I need to take time off of editing when life gets busy, they are agreeable. If disputes with dissatisfied clients happen to arise, the managers handle those (rare) situations well (that is, they don't penalize the editors as some other companies do). Deadlines are reasonable, and bonuses are offered for jobs with tight deadlines. We are assigned documents (based on our areas of expertise) that we can accept or decline, and the company also maintains a portal where they post jobs that any editor has the option to grab.

YMMV; another editing company that posted jobs on the FlexJobs site is, according to my research, a really bad outfit -- demanding that their editors accept assigned jobs even if the editor previously stated that he or she wouldn't be available during a certain period, retracting pay from editors if the client complained, requiring editors to perform free redo editing if the client has multiple drafts of the same document, passing along 20% discounts given to clients for large jobs as 20% pay cuts to the editors of those documents, etc. Definitely search around the web for reviews of any company that you are considering working for; I have found Glassdoor to be a very useful site.

Wow, that is great. You mentioned the work you do requires a masters or PhD; what kind of degree do you have? I have a BA in English and would be interested in editing work.

[InquisitiveMind]

Wow, that is great. You mentioned the work you do requires a masters or PhD; what kind of degree do you have? I have a BA in English and would be interested in editing work.

I have a PhD in an engineering discipline. It is likely that you will be able to locate a company that hires those with bachelor's degrees (especially in English) as editors, as some/many editing companies are more concerned about the quality of your work and the extent of your editing experience than about the letters after your name. Typically, a company will give you 1+ sample documents to edit as your "job interview", and will make their decision based on the quality of that work. Some will pay you to edit the sample document, and others won't.

Good luck! :)

[justajane]

Wow, that is great. You mentioned the work you do requires a masters or PhD; what kind of degree do you have? I have a BA in English and would be interested in editing work.

I have a PhD in an engineering discipline. It is likely that you will be able to locate a company that hires those with bachelor's degrees (especially in English) as editors, as some/many editing companies are more concerned about the quality of your work and the extent of your editing experience than about the letters after your name. Typically, a company will give you 1+ sample documents to edit as your "job interview", and will make their decision based on the quality of that work. Some will pay you to edit the sample document, and others won't.

Good luck! :)

I also have a PhD and edit academic texts. I wonder if we work for the same firm?

I didn't find this job through Flexjobs but I have found others. I have likely made around 5K or more for the $25 I paid to sign up for Flexjobs. I'd say that was a good ROI! And I didn't even spend that much time on it.

Always search for a coupon code for Flexjobs. You should never pay the full $40 or whatever it is now.

[MVal]

Wow, that is great. You mentioned the work you do requires a masters or PhD; what kind of degree do you have? I have a BA in English and would be interested in editing work.

I have a PhD in an engineering discipline. It is likely that you will be able to locate a company that hires those with bachelor's degrees (especially in English) as editors, as some/many editing companies are more concerned about the quality of your work and the extent of your editing experience than about the letters after your name. Typically, a company will give you 1+ sample documents to edit as your "job interview", and will make their decision based on the quality of that work. Some will pay you to edit the sample document, and others won't.

Good luck! :)

Thanks for the advice! Perhaps I'll try this as part time work and see if I could develop myself into being able to do it full-time. If you do it full-time, do a lot of these companies provide benefits, or are you general regarded as a "contractor"?

[InquisitiveMind]

Thanks for the advice! Perhaps I'll try this as part time work and see if I could develop myself into being able to do it full-time. If you do it full-time, do a lot of these companies provide benefits, or are you general regarded as a "contractor"?

Speaking only from my experience with the single company with which I am involved, I signed an agreement stating that regardless of the number of hours I work, I am considered a freelance contractor, with no benefits provided by the company. However, other companies *do* hire full-time editors and provide the associated benefits.

[MVal]

Thanks for the advice! Perhaps I'll try this as part time work and see if I could develop myself into being able to do it full-time. If you do it full-time, do a lot of these companies provide benefits, or are you general regarded as a "contractor"?

Speaking only from my experience with the single company with which I am involved, I signed an agreement stating that regardless of the number of hours I work, I am considered a freelance contractor, with no benefits provided by the company. However, other companies *do* hire full-time editors and provide the associated benefits.

Just curious, are you buying health insurance on your own or through a spouse? I heard the costs for ACA plans are going up.

[InquisitiveMind]

Speaking only from my experience with the single company with which I am involved, I signed an agreement stating that regardless of the number of hours I work, I am considered a freelance contractor, with no benefits provided by the company. However, other companies *do* hire full-time editors and provide the associated benefits.

Just curious, are you buying health insurance on your own or through a spouse? I heard the costs for ACA plans are going up.

In my own situation, I have another job that is full-time and that provides health insurance.