NATIONWIDE – About 73.5 million Americans plan to look for a job that is more pandemic-proof, according to a survey by personal finance website WalletHub.
What You Need To Know
- More Americans seeking pandemic-proof jobs
- Jobs in certain industries are considered the stable right now
- Carla Calvert works as a personal shopper for Shipt
- Calvert sets her own schedule and makes $22 an hour
It’s no secret that thousands either lost their job or have been furloughed during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. With coronavirus cases once again on the rise, you may ask yourself if your job is safe moving forward.
Jobs in industries like banking, finance and logistics are now considered pandemic-proof.
You wouldn’t guess it by shopping in the produce aisle of a store, but Carla Calvert is hard at work. Shopping for others is not only a job, but it’s also considered essential.
“It has become such an essential service for those that cannot get in to the stores or should not get in to the stores,” said Calvert, who works as a SHIPT personal shopper.
Calvert sets her own schedule—working about 40 hours a week when it’s convenient for her, shopping for those that choose not to.
“As a mom of five grown children, I can’t believe somebody is paying me to do what I did on a weekly basis for years, and years and years," Calvert said.
Personal shopping and delivery is considered a logistical pandemic-proof job, according to WalletHub senior analyst Jill Gonzalez. She said there are others that don’t require you to leave your home.
“A lot of call center type jobs, a lot of customer service type jobs with products as well," Gonzalez said. "Technology products too. A lot of people having problems with their internet or computers.”
Calvert is considered an independent contractor, but says she makes on average of $22 an hour plus tips. That’s a minimum of $880 a week and just over $3,500 ($3,520) a month, which would total $45,760 a year.
“We don’t have corporate benefits," Calvert said. "We are independent contractors, the benefit of being flexible and independent are just paramount to someone that is in my season of life.”
Recent graduates who also may have a tough time putting their new degree to use can at least have an opportunity to earn.
“Some of these jobs you may not need to use your degree for, but a lot of these jobs are some of the only jobs on the market right now,” Gonzalez said.
And going to the market is something many like Calvert have plenty of experience in already.
Another interesting note, with a personal shopping job like Shipt is if Calvert is going to visit someone out of town, she can let people in that area know she is available and she can start to work then and there.
Sign up now for one of our newsletters that will show up in your inbox every weekday at 1 p.m. The newsletters highlight the most important stories of the day that you need to know for your area.