by Akua Hinds

Created on: November 03, 2010

If working between the hours of 9 am to 5 pm does not appeal to you, don’t worry; you are not alone.  Jobs that offer flexibility are becoming more of a reality for job seekers who prefer to make their own hours.  Thankfully, there are several options available to those of you who have no desire to work restricted hours. 

Mystery Shopper

If you have a talent for writing detailed reports and you don’t mind shopping, acting and observing the behavior of others, working as a mystery shopper is a wonderful career option.  Mystery Shoppers are hired by outside companies to pretend to be regular customers at select retailers and judge the customer service skills of the store’s employees.  Mystery Shoppers are required to complete a detailed written report about their shopping experience and send the report to the company that hired them.  After the report is received, Mystery Shoppers get paid.  A huge benefit to being a Mystery Shopper is you get to choose which assignments you prefer to take on and no one is looking over your shoulder while you work. 

Pet sitter

People who love their pets but work all day are sometimes willing to hire other people to watch their pets while they are at work.  If you enjoy pets then working as a pet sitter might be enjoyable. 

Dating website owner

If working with animals or surveying other people’s customer skills does not appeal to you, owning a dating website where millions of customers could sign up on your site might be an ideal job.  Dating website owners work primarily on their computers and don’t have to answer to anyone except for themselves.  The hours are certainly flexible and there is no limitation to the amount of money dating site owners can make.  Many dating site owners can work from home or from an office. 

Photographer

Photography is a very freeing hobby and career that you can make an income from literally anywhere in the world.  As a photographer, you set your own hours and have total control over the kind of subjects you wish to capture with your camera.  You can also make an unlimited amount of money working as a photographer. 

The examples provided in this article are just a small sample of the endless alternatives to the 9-5 workday.  There are plenty of choices available to people who want more out of a career than racing to work and fighting daily rush hour traffic to work out of a cubicle between the hours of 9 am to 5 pm.  Many people who pursue careers that won’t restrict them to working 9-5 eventually become self-employed so they can have total flexibility over their work hours.  If self-employment is what you are pursuing, do plenty of research on what you will need to start your own business before it is launched. 

Learn more about this author, Akua Hinds.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.