Regardless of whether you are someone who currently has a full time job, part time job, is unemployed, has an income, doesn’t have one, is from a high salary country or a 3rd world one, this guide is for anyone who is just starting or has recently started to work online or research about it, this guide will take you from A to Z with everything you need.

Your current situation

There is a big difference between being currently employed, having money to invest and being from a good country versus being unemployed, having no money and being from a bad country, so we will assume you are from a bad country and have no money to invest right now as you spend it all on living.

So let’s say you’re 19 year old Anish from India, you have an 8 hour job that pays you 300$ that is enough to cover your living costs and you have 0 online skills, what are your options currently, first the easiest:

1. Completing Surveys
2. Microtask Websites
3. Data Entry

Those 3, even a 13 year old can do, all you need is basic English, date entry could probably pay you more, though demand for it lowered a lot in past year because of Ai. Completing surveys and microtasks will always be out there, problem is, at most you will make 1-3$ per hour with those.

This is something you should not do even in low income countries, as it is the lowest of the low when it comes to income and easy one, if you have time it’s always better to focus on acquiring skills that will give you much better income and that’s where we’re going to go now, things you can do for free that require some skill, which is a lot more than the previous category where you have zero skill.

Don’t get me wrong, though — surveys can still be a good source of extra income if you just want to save up and do them in your spare time.

Skills that you can learn in less than a month

Copywriting (Sales & Marketing Writing)

• What you’ll do: Write sales emails, ads, product descriptions, or social media posts for businesses.
• How to learn (free): YouTube (CopyThat has good tutorials), practice rewriting ads.
• How to earn fast: Offer services on Fiverr, Upwork, or cold-email small businesses.
• Potential earnings: $5–$50 per gig (scales to $100+ with experience).

Basic Graphic Design (Canva & Figma)

• What you’ll do: Create social media posts, logos, thumbnails, or simple ads.
• How to learn (free): Canva Design School, YouTube tutorials.
• How to earn fast: Sell premade templates on Etsy or offer services on Fiverr.
• Potential earnings: $5–$20 per design (more for bulk work).

Video Editing (CapCut, DaVinci Resolve)

• What you’ll do: Edit short-form videos (TikTok, Reels, YouTube).
• How to learn (free): YouTube tutorials (Here’s a good playlist of videos for CapCut editing).
• How to earn fast: Edit clips for influencers or small businesses (Fiverr, Facebook groups).
• Potential earnings: $10–$50 per video.

Virtual Assistance (VA Work)

• What you’ll do: Manage emails, schedule posts, handle customer support.
• How to learn (free): YouTube (Here’s a pretty solid video).
• How to earn fast: Offer services on Upwork, OnlineJobs.ph, or cold-email startups.
• Potential earnings: $3–$10/hour (higher with niche skills).

Social Media Management

• What you’ll do: Grow accounts, schedule posts, engage with followers.
• How to learn (free): HubSpot’s free course, YouTube (Adam Erhart had some solid videos).
• How to earn fast: Manage a small business’s Instagram/Facebook for $50–$200/month.
• Potential earnings: $100–$500/month per client.

Now out of those 5, being a VA, basic graphic design and video editing are way easier to learn than social media managment and copywriting as those two can go way more in-depth.

We could literally write entire posts on growing social media accounts and copywrting which we might do in future. If you want something fast to learn and do you should check out our special guides.

What to do if you have no time and no money

If you have <2 hour/day:

Spend 45 minutes/day learning one skill (e.g., watch 3 Canva tutorials)
Do microtasks while commuting/on breaks