Managing the house, bringing in the dough, putting food on the table, showering kids with affection, AND doing all this alone by oneself—it’s safe to say that being a single mom isn’t a cakewalk.
There are more than 11 million single-parent families in the US of A alone, 80% of which are being run by single mothers. The shocking thing is that more than 30% of single moms are financially high and dry, while 26% of them all don’t even have a job.
It’s nothing new for people to hear that there aren’t lots of jobs for single moms with no qualifications. Managing kids all alone along with studying is an impossible task, but to run a family, the breadwinner needs to bring in the money.
The way I see it, it’s in a single mother’s DNA to strive for what’s best for her family. I’ve been there and I can easily say that it’s not an easy task to manage kids and money side by side.
But it’s not impossible.
Here are 10 jobs for single moms with no qualifications that churn good money. As a single parent raising two children, I always wanted a job that would pay well and would allow me to spend more time with the kids.
Single motherhood is a beautiful quagmire. If you are looking for a flexible career as a single mom with no qualifications, try your hands on one of these highly reputable professions. And yeah—you get to spend more time with the kids!
10 Jobs for Single Moms with No Qualifications
1. Content Manager
Pays: $60,000/year
Time at Work: 6 hours/day
Work from Home? Yes
In simple words, a content manager looks over a website’s overall content. From managing editorial content, newsletter emails and blogs, content management doesn’t really need a degree.
A day’s task would include talking to freelancers, updating the content calendar and digging up new ideas for writers to work on. Content management jobs can be easily found on job search forums like Monster, Indeed, CareerBuilder, etc.
PRO TIP: Scan through new and upcoming content marketing websites and ask them if they’re looking for content managers.
You’d get brownie points if you have past experience in running a website. Content Management is a thing of the future with more and more businesses switching to digital marketing, this one’s not dying out anytime soon.
2. Administrative Assistant
Pays: $40,000/year
Time at Work: 8 hours/day
Work from Home? Maybe
This is another job for single moms with no qualifications, but it’s generally an on-roll job. Spreading information throughout the office, answering calls on the office phone (go all “Dunder Mifflin, this is Pam”) and handling customers are some of the daily tasks.
If you feel that you’ve got decent oral communication skills, know how to answer a phone and can work a keyboard, then you’ll get this job. The best part about being an in-house office admin assistant is the growth opportunities.
You learn a lot about what other people do and if you are lucky, you’ll get to work as HR personnel on the side like me! Not only does this add an extra brownie point in your Single Mom Resume, but you actually learn tricks of the trade.
There’s a virtual assistant job as well which you can pick up and work from home. But it doesn’t pay as much as being an actual administrative assistant does.
3. Nanny/Babysitter
Pays: $35,000/year
Time at Work: 6 hours/day
Work from Home? No
Being a childcare provider a.k.a. nanny is one of the best jobs for a single mom with no qualifications. You have all the experience in the world to show for the babysitting job and many nannies are allowed to bring their own children along.
I’d recommend that you work for an employer rather than being a freelance nanny (sounds funny, I know) as the work keeps on coming and you’re entitled to a paycheck week in and out. The pay is low, but it’s not a bad start.
PRO TIP: A typical babysitter earns less than one who works for a nanny-agency.
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4. Freelancer
Pays: $40,000/year
Time at Work: 8-12 hours/day
Work from Home? Yes
This job doesn’t need a qualification as you are being your own boss. As far as jobs for single moms with no qualifications are concerned, you can freelance in whichever field you feel like. A full-time freelancer does it all—writing, answering phone calls, filling out surveys and what not to earn money.
The best thing that you can freelance in, however, is a website. Put your efforts for once, host your website (how to host a website) and start doing your thing on it.
PRO TIP: Look for a problem that everyone faces, hunt for its solution and put it on your website. That is how a website springs to life with visitors, traffic and revenue.
I wouldn’t recommend freelancing as a full-time hustle unless you have a fixed income and are not just ‘getting by’. There’s a struggling initial period before a website starts giving out returns.
What you can do is sell your skills on platforms like Fiverr and get gigs one after the other.
Freelance business is time-consuming. Don’t lose track of time and don’t forget about the kids!
5. Social Media Manager
Pays: $30,000/year
Time at Work: 5 hours/day
Work from Home? Maybe
Although the average annual pay of a Social Media Manager is somewhere near $50k, a single mom with no qualifications can easily cap $30k. Let’s be honest—managing someone’s Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat handle doesn’t really need a degree.
This job has pretty much something of everything as a social media manager looks after the content front from all fours. You might be aware of many single mom influencers who are earning the buck by sporting a commendable social media presence (more on that later).
This job can be a hybrid of work-from-home and a field job as you’d have to meet clients every now and then to get into their psyche. All in all, you’ll get to spend a lot more time with the kid(s), which is all single moms like us can ask for.
6. Retail Associate
Pays: $26,000/year
Time at Work: 8-10 hours/day
Work from Home? No
This might sound like cliché, but retail associate is a perfect job for a single mom with no qualifications. The pay’s not very good, but this is an easy start for single mothers to bring in the dough.
Most of the retail associate workforce isn’t really ‘qualified’ and whatever skills are needed can be taught be floor managers then and there. The working hours are typical nine-to-five and are subject to change according to your shift.
This is a great option if you want to pursue a degree by the side. This money will keep your head above the water and frugal habits can help you save enough to pay for college in the future.
7. Teacher
Pays: $35,000/year
Time at Work: 3 hours/day
Work from Home? Maybe
Are you wondering “how would I land a teacher’s job without any qualifications”? Well, it’s simple—teaching a bunch of 12-year-olds about how the sun rises from the East and sets in the West isn’t rocket science.
Normally, a primary school teacher spends six to eight hours a day in school but the lectures are only restricted to three or four hours. If you can gear up for an interview and build on your confidence while exemplifying the fact that you are a single mom, you’d be able to get that job.
You can teach online as well—online teaching platforms like VIPKID and Qkids pay as much as $30 per hour to teach kids online. The only things you need are the good command over the English language and a working PC.
The best part is that you know how to handle the kids, which is the biggest fear any teacher faces. You’re born to be a teacher—at least give it a try!
8. Licensed Vocational Nurse
Pays: $45,000/year
Time at Work: 8-10 hours/day
Work from Home? No
It takes a degree to be a registered nurse, but a Licensed Vocational Nurse (LVN) job doesn’t need a degree. The pay scale is very healthy if you compare it to other jobs for single moms with no qualifications.
Most of the high paying nurse jobs call for at least a Bachelor’s Degree. So if caring for people is your true calling, you should probably get an online nursing degree which can be obtained in 12 to 15 weeks, thanks to accelerated courses.
Nursing jobs take a lot of one’s time but they’re well worth the money earned. You can start by being an LVN and if you find it reasonable, go for a bachelor’s degree in nursing to scale up the ladder.
9. Sales Personnel
Pays: $45,000/year (excluding commission)
Time at Work: 8 hours/day
Work from Home? No
The answer to the age-old question ”Sell me this pen” is pretty much all you have to know to be a salesperson. Although people believe that being in sales is probably not the best job for single moms with no qualifications, we have reasons to prove otherwise.
If you have the skills to sell, you can sell everything and it isn’t that tough a job. As a single mother and a sales rep, you get to rack up on your regular salary plus the commission involved. The harder you work, the more you take home.
There’s a lot of out-of-office work with being a sales rep, so you can run crucial homely errands if you manage the time well. Bring that fat paycheck home and shower yourself and the kids with some greens!
10. Entrepreneur
Pays: $100,000+/year (excluding commission)
Time at Work: 24 hours/day
Work from Home? Maybe
This isn’t really a job for single moms with or without qualifications, but a mere uprising amongst the people of the planet. If you’ve got what it takes to start your own thing and be your own boss, plan your vision and go for it.
Being an entrepreneur is relentless in itself. There are no breaks, you cannot just pack up and go home to pretend that it’s a day job. Investing in your business means investing your (or someone else’s) time, money and resources in quest of returns.
It isn’t an easy streak to manage it all with kids, but with a strong business idea and sheer display of will, your business can scale to heights that might’ve looked rather unimaginable. Don’t forget, however, that you’re doing this for the fam.
PRO TIP: It is extremely crucial to keep one motivated while taking the entrepreneurial route. From watching Ted talks to binging on NetFlix originals, keep your mind at ease and body healthy. Don’t burn yourself out.
There we have it girls—the 10 best jobs for single mothers with no qualifications. Remember, there’s no harm in starting slow and then slowly rising up. For single mothers like us, it’s crucial to put food on the table before anything else. Strive for that first and continue your quest to being a Girl Boss later in life. All the best on your first day!
