Get Paid to Be a Listener (When Talking Isn't Your Thing)

Introverts and extroverts alike can now take advantage of paid opportunities to just listen.

Finding the option that fits your lifestyle and your needs will be the trick to making this a success. Check out the following list of ways in which you can get paid to be a listener, especially if talking just isn’t your thing.

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14 Best Jobs to Get Paid to Be an Online Listener

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1. Listen to Commercials on InboxDollars

InboxDollars is a platform dedicated to helping its members earn money in their free time. This includes listening to commercials on the site. Set up your phone to play in the background while you’re busy making dinner, gardening, or completing other tasks at home.

You will get paid for each commercial that plays all the way through. Cash out your earnings for gift cards to retailers like Amazon, or a PayPal deposit. Receive a free $5 bonus when you create a new InboxDollars account.

Related: InboxDollars Review

2. Listen to Music

The unique website Slice the Pie pays its members to listen to music. The files are just a few minutes long, and you can submit your thoughts about the song once you’ve listened to at least 90 seconds of it. This is a fun way to earn some extra cash while experiencing new artists.

3. Apply for Listener Jobs on FlexJobs

The trusted online job site FlexOffers is a great place to apply for jobs that will pay you to be a listener. This company thoroughly reviews every job opportunity before listing it, providing users with a secure platform.

Use FlexOffers to find companies searching for listening analysts, social listening experts, interpreters, and many other applicants that have great listening skills.

Related: Get Paid to Narrate Books

4. Sign up With Fiverr

Freelance or contracted workers can post their services for payment on Fiverr. This includes listening to people. Pay attention to their ideas, be a shoulder on which they can lean, or listen to their audiobooks and make recommendations about changes that need to be made.

Fiverr most often hires beginners who are looking to gain experience and enhance their skills or services, so you may start with a lower pay rate; you can always increase your prices later.

Related: How to Get Paid to Read

5. Become a Transcriptionist

Transcription jobs are a lucrative choice for anyone with great listening and typing skills. Listen to audio files and type the information into a document. Most transcription positions are remote and pay by the hour of audio processed (not by the number of hours it takes to complete the file).

Janet Shaughnessy created an amazing free mini online course that teaches students how to start transcribing from home. Grab a spot in General Transcription: Theory & Practice and learn how to start earning money immediately.

More Ways to Get Paid to Be a Listener

Young woman listening to earbuds while on a smartphone

5. Become a Life Coach

Life coaches are always in high demand, helping their clients work through the unique challenges they are currently facing. Life coaches aren’t therapists or counselors, and they’re not regulated by any entity. Become a life coach and focus on any kind of topic, so long as you can give your clients good advice about that subject.

Get paid to listen to people as they open up about their challenges, and help them take steps toward finding relief. Make a difference in their lives, and in return, they will pay you for your time and advice.

Related: Get Paid to Sleep

6. Listen to Podcasts

Listening to podcasts is a great way to get paid to be a listener. Become a podcast host, an audio engineer, or even a freelance writer for established podcasters.

7. Become a Test Subject

Get paid to be a test subject for a variety of new advancements in the medical or consumer fields. Some of the many new research studies that are conducted on a daily basis have to do with listening.

Test new hearing products and services, or listen to speeches from companies that want your opinion about their new ideas.

8. Use the Listeners App

The Listeners app is available on both the Apple store and on Google Play, and was designed to create a community of listeners who want to share their knowledge, skills, and expertise with others.

App users can connect with you online and take advantage of the knowledge you have to share. If they want to learn from you, you will get paid to listen to them and provide them with helpful advice. As a listener, you can set your own per-minute rate and create your own schedule.

Related: How to Get Paid to Learn

9. Become a Babysitter

Babysitting comes with great responsibility. This includes listening to the child or baby for which you are caring.

Listen for cues that show when babies are hungry or tired, or just need some extra attention. Engage with older children by listening to them talk about what they want to do, what they want to eat, or what concerns and stories they have about their days at school. Babysitting jobs can often pay exceptionally well.

Related: Get Paid to Live in a House

10. Get Paid to Listen in Class

You can actually get paid to go to school and listen to your teachers. Whether you’re a great notetaker, tutor, or writer, utilize your listening skills to make money. At the very least, you can use this method to help you pay your way through college without taking out a school loan.

Professional Listener Jobs

The following are more obvious ways to get paid to be a listener, but they do require specific expertise.

11. Become a Therapist

When most people think about a job involving listening, they imagine a therapist. This is a job you definitely need to be qualified to do. Becoming a therapist requires education, years of clinical practice, and specific licenses.

Therapists get paid to listen to their clients process their traumas and hash out past issues. You will help guide them in the steps they should take to become free from those inner demons. A therapist’s job isn’t easy, but it is rewarding both monetarily and professionally. You could be the one who makes a huge difference in someone else’s life.

Related: How to Make $5,000 Fast

12. Become a Social Worker

Social workers are paid to listen to the clients on their caseloads. Whether you focus on children and families, mental health, military social work, patient advocacy, or any of the other types of social work specialties, you will be paid to listen to the individuals, groups, and families you serve.

Social workers are an essential part of the healing process for people who have gone through various types of trauma and other challenges. Listen to your clients’ needs and struggles, and guide them to the appropriate resources, or connect them to others who can help. The pay for social workers will vary by state.

13. Become a Customer Service Representative

Customer service representatives are paid to answer and listen to calls. Work for one of the many companies with designated call centers or call support teams and answer inquiries, resolve customer issues, and fulfill requests. The types of calls you will answer depend on the individual organization that hires you.

You may interact with customers who need assistance with previously purchased products, or you could help families book their dream vacations. These types of listener jobs usually pay minimum wage.

14. Become a School Counselor

School districts hire counselors to help children of all ages with any challenges they may be facing. For example, school counselors would be on hand to support an elementary-aged student whose parents are divorcing and who needs a listening ear; they could also intervene in a bullying situation, or counsel a high schooler who needs help with college applications.

School counselors typically need to have earned a master’s degree and obtained state-required certification. The income is exceptional, but you will need to put in a lot of upfront work before a school district will hire you.

Who Knew Listening Could Be So Lucrative?

It can be very difficult for many people to find someone who will truly listen to them. If you have the patience and skill to be a good listener, then the jobs listed above could be perfect for you. Examine your own qualifications to decide which option is best.

Choose from professional listener jobs to those that allow you to offer your own services, and get paid to be a listener on your own terms and make some extra money. You could even replace your full-time income!

Get Paid to Be a Listener (When Talking Isn’t Your Thing)