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When we look at celebrities, we think that they have it all. They’re famous, live in mansions, and drive expensive cars. But behind the scenes, they work very hard and dedicate all their time to their careers because it’s what they love to do.
For example, Mark Wahlberg sleeps at 7:30 p.m. and gets out of bed at 2:30 a.m. every day. He starts his day by working out at 3:00 a.m.! That’s right, he’s at the gym while most of us are in our beds! Mark follows this strict routine because it allows him to dedicate his time to training, working, and spending time with his family.
It’s well known that many highly successful people and most executives at the Fortune 500 wake up before 6:00 a.m. They start their day right by focusing on self-development and self-care activities while their minds are fresh.
When the world is sound asleep, there are fewer emails, fewer phone calls, fewer distractions, and more time for yourself. Rising early allows you to engage in important activities such as exercising, meditating, and learning new skills to advance your career.
If you want to follow the habits of successful people or simply want to make extra money on the side, like $200 or even $500 a day, early morning jobs can help you achieve your goals. Many of these jobs also work if you’re looking for jobs you can do 1 day a week.
Here are the best early morning jobs available for early risers.
On a side note, you might also be interested in the flip side of these jobs: late-night remote jobs.
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1. Blogger
Many people ask me what the best early morning jobs are, in my opinion. I have to say, it’s blogging.
It’s crazy for me to say this, but blogging has absolutely changed my life for the better, and I know it can change yours too. I’ve inspired many people around the world to start their blogs too through my past series of blogger income reports showcasing how I made progress as a beginner all the way to earning a six-figure salary.
Prior to starting this blog, I was working a regular banking job where my shift did not begin early in the morning. I would start at 10 A.M. or 11 A.M., not your typical 9 A.M.
Because I am mostly an early bird, what did I do? I started this blog as a fun hobby on the side by waking up at 5 or 6 A.M., well before getting ready for work.
I worked on this blog mostly in the mornings during my spare time as a fun hobby. With a little bit of consistency and patience, it turned into a profitable career within a year.
You can read more about my perspective by answering the question, “Can blogging be a full-time job?” in my separate post. I deep dive into the pros and cons of blogging and how you can become a full-time blogger too.
What I personally love most about blogging is that I can wake up early in the morning and do some work before doing whatever else I want during the day. It’s super flexible, and you have the option to work whatever hours you wish – yes, it even works for those who are night owls looking for remote online jobs overnight!
2. Freelance Writer
Do you spend most of your spare time reading new books and writing stories? Perhaps becoming a writer was one of your dream jobs while growing up, but you never pursued it because you thought it was not possible to earn a living out of it.
Well, times have changed, and writers are in high demand in today’s market. The main reason is the fact that everything is moving into the online world and companies are rushing to hire talented writers to help them promote their online brands.
As a freelance writer, you can be hired by large corporations or small businesses to help write blog posts for websites, online magazine articles, newsletters for subscribers, or even marketing material for promotions. Your job is to write in a manner that is easy for readers to understand and motivates customers to take action. Whether that is educating consumers on new product features, convincing new customers to try a new service, subscribing to the company’s newsletter, or leaving product reviews on their website.
When you work as a freelancer, you’re essentially self-employed. You get to decide how many hours you work, when, and where you work. You can structure your day to work on projects in the morning and finish work by the afternoon. There’s no customer interaction involved so it’s one of the best jobs for introverts.
What’s better than being your own boss and making your own work schedule?
Freelance writing is just one of the options available for freelancers. There are other early morning jobs that pay well, such as graphic designers, recruiters, and programmers. But if you’re interested in writing for others early in the morning as a part-time morning shift job, then you can find out how you can make money as a freelance writer in my other article.
3. Uber Driver
Let’s be honest, driving is not for everyone. But for those of you who find driving fun and prefer to make money with your car, you can earn extra income as an Uber Driver.
Yes, there are horror stories online about the passengers from hell. However, the majority of your passengers (99%) will be regular people who are in a rush to get from point A to point B, and 1% of the time where you’ll pick up oddballs. No one in their right mind would become an Uber driver if all of the customers were crazies.
That’s why it’s always a good idea to be cautious while driving strangers. Install a dashcam in your car for your safety and in case there are any disputes with passengers.
Causal drivers that drive for several hours a night could earn anywhere from $50-$75 per night. So if you drive 3 nights a week for a month, you could take home an extra $600 in one month.
Also, when there is a sudden increase in passengers looking for rides, the price of each ride increases (surge prices). Surge pricing can be a result of bad weather, special events happening in the city, or heavy traffic when everyone is getting off work. With surge pricing, drivers can earn a bit more money.
Now, since you want an early job, you can turn on the app and cater to passengers who have early shifts or people who need rides to the airport.
4. Fitness Instructor
Are you always active and enjoy going to the gym to work out? Or maybe you have a home gym to stay in shape?
If you have a passion for fitness, form meaningful relationships with clients, and are excited about helping others achieve their fitness goals, you might be a good fit as a fitness instructor.
Just imagine getting paid to work out and stay fit!
Fitness instructors coach individuals on how to reach their health goals or they can teach yoga classes to a group of students. You need to come up with customized workout plans for your clients and be able to push and motivate them to stick to the plan.
If you work for a gym, training your clients will take place at your local gym. As you build your brand and take on private clients, you can train your clients at beaches, parks, local gyms, or even at your studio.
The hours are very flexible. You can target clients who are looking to get their workout done early in the morning before they start their 9-5 work.
There are many fitness instructors that start out part-time as a hobby to earn extra money and they slowly transition into a full-time role once they know that it’s something they want to pursue as a career.
Imagine, getting paid to do things you love and helping your clients get the results they always wanted. That’s a kickass job!
5. Barista
Are you a picky coffee drinker who only drinks lightly roasted coffee because the dark roast is barely considered coffee? If you’re such an expert at coffee, then you should become a barista at a coffee shop!
Working as a barista is one of the best morning jobs for students to make money in college because of the flexible hours and schedule. You can choose early morning shifts for days that you don’t have class or have late afternoon/evening classes. I would say it’s probably one of the best morning jobs for college students, especially if you choose to work at a popular chain like Starbucks.
Aside from getting free coffee, you’ll learn different kinds of coffee, make all sorts of coffee drinks, and meet a bunch of new people! It definitely fits you if you are into fashion and keep up with the latest trends. Have you ever seen a coffee shop where the baristas wear dress shirts and pants? Probably not.
Baristas need to have great people skills, as they’ll be making small chats with customers to lighten their mood. Being polite and recognizing people’s faces and names goes a long way in the service industry.
However, the most important skill you need is the ability to craft good coffee. That means you’ll need to have a good memory to remember all the drinks on the menu, along with all the ingredients that go into each drink. Don’t forget about good listening skills for times when you need to customize to your customer’s liking.
Everyone can make a cup of coffee, but not everyone can make a great cup of coffee.
6. Virtual Assistant
Successful business owners and CEOs don’t have time to manage their daily schedules or read emails. It’s not because they don’t know how to do it, there’s simply no time for them to do those activities. They’re too busy maintaining existing client relationships and growing their businesses.
That’s where you come in—the super helpful and efficient virtual assistant. On the plus side, it’s the perfect job where you don’t have to talk to customers. Yeah, it’s one of the best non-customer service jobs you can find online.
A person that the CEO or owner can’t live without because when you’re not there, their calendar is fully booked and there’s not a minute where they can sit down to have lunch!
Virtual assistants provide administrative help to small and large corporations. You can be expected to schedule meetings, flag important emails, organize social events, and do general data entry. You can support either a person (executives and business owners) or a department for a big company.
To succeed in this role, you’ll need excellent organizational skills to manage various competing tasks and duties. You should also be comfortable hopping on calls and attending virtual meetings since all the communication will be done online.
As with most early-morning work-from-home jobs, you can wake up early and get cracking right away. The sooner you start your work, the sooner you can sign off from your computer.
7. Flight Attendant
Do you want to fly for free anywhere in your country and pay really cheap international fares? That’s one of the perks of being a flight attendant!
Most people think that the main job of flight attendants is to serve beverages and food on planes, but the reality is that their main duty is to ensure passenger safety and comfort while they’re on the plane. This includes demonstrating safety procedures like putting on seat belts, how to put on oxygen masks when needed, and reminding passengers where to exit in case of emergencies. Offering beverages and food is secondary. Safety is always the number one priority.
Flight attendants have flexible hours and you get to choose when you want to fly as you gain seniority with the airlines. With new flight attendants, you’ll be on-call and need to be able to fly whenever you’re needed.
The pros of flying to different cities sound amazing, but you’ll be away from family and friends for those periods. If this is not a problem for you, then working as a flight attendant could be your dream job!
8. Merchandise Stocker
When we think of local supermarkets or grocery stores, becoming a cashier is the first thought that comes to mind. They’re at the forefront, after all. But to be honest, a lot of people don’t like the idea of interacting with customers early in the morning.
Luckily, other jobs in the supermarket don’t require you to talk to customers such as a merchandise stocker. With this, you’re doing your magic behind the scenes. What you have to do is restock empty shelves, organize displays, and clean shopping aisles. It all comes down to making sure that shoppers have an inviting and pleasant experience.
There will be instances when you have to carry heavy items, but there are pallet jacks to help you transport them. Talking to customers is also something that might happen, especially when they need assistance finding an item.
This can be a work-late-at-night job or an early-morning job since these are times when there aren’t a lot of shoppers around.
9. Hotel Front Desk Agent
Since hotels operate 24 hours a day, regardless of what time you arrive at a hotel, you’ll find someone greeting you at the front desk. Hotel front desk agents are focused on assisting guests with checking in and out of the hotel. They also help in booking and canceling rooms and processing payments.
If you want to work as a hotel front desk agent, you should also be knowledgeable about the city you’re stationed in, since guests will most likely ask for directions and recommendations for the best attractions and restaurants. It’s important to have strong communication and problem-solving skills since you’ll deal with different kinds of people with different needs.
Since front desk agents are needed in the hotel all the time, there are generally 3 shifts for this job. But if you want to get in and out early, the morning shift, usually from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. is the best fit for you.
Working as a hotel front desk agent can be rewarding, but it also comes with the challenges that any other service job has. You’ll be dealing with difficult guests, a lot of pressure, and managing multiple tasks at the same time. People who prefer a fast-paced environment and enjoy doing something different every day will surely thrive in this career.
10. Warehouse Package Handler
Did you know that there is a rising demand for warehouse spaces? That’s because of the booming e-commerce industry. Online shopping is now the norm, which increased the demand for storage and distribution facilities.
This means that there is also great demand for people who would handle all the packages in the warehouse. Companies like FedEx and Amazon are always hiring workers to fulfill their online orders. It’s thanks to warehouse package handlers that our parcels are getting to us safe and sound!
Working as a warehouse package handler involves a lot of tasks, like sorting, packing, and loading/unloading packages. It’s a highly physical job, so you have to be physically fit to keep up with the demands.
If you prefer morning shift jobs that can end as early as 10 a.m., then you can try your hand at this job. Shifts as a warehouse package handler start as early as 3 a.m. to ensure that the packages are sorted and ready to be delivered for the day.
11. Baker
What do you do when there’s a lockdown and there’s absolutely nothing to do? You BAKE!
Yes, many people bake for fun and it’s an activity to kill time. However, if you love to see the smiles on people’s faces as they take the first bite into a fresh pastry or you just love being surrounded by the smell of freshly baked goods, then you should consider becoming a baker!
Working as a baker, you could be baking classic banana bread, chocolate cookies, blueberry muffins, birthday cakes, apple pies, or delicious scones. It really depends on who you work for and what they sell on their menu. Your employers could be small business bakeries, restaurants, grocery stores, or artisan bakeries.
Bakers wake up as early as 4 a.m. to start their day. They begin their preparation and baking at 5 a.m. so there’s plenty of time for the dough to rise and cool down for the morning crowds.
Once you have enough experience, you can even start your own bakery business!
12. Fisherman
Before the sun could even rise, fishermen are already setting out on their boats, ready for a day of work on the open water. There aren’t a lot of early bird jobs that are as demanding as a fisherman, but you’ll see that most people in this job are happy with what they’re doing.
The life of a fisherman begins well before dawn. Before going out to sea, they have to prepare their gear and check the weather. Each day for a fisherman is unpredictable, and sometimes, it’s very risky, but what’s constant is that they have to be there before the light of dawn since that’s when fish are more active.
Every fisherman will tell you that this job is hard. It’s physically demanding and requires long hours at sea. In fact, it’s one of the toughest jobs out there, but the satisfaction of bringing home food for a whole community makes the effort worthwhile.
13. Garbage Collector
Before the sun’s even up and while most people are still snoozing, garbage collectors are already working their shift. They drive their trucks through empty streets, stopping house by house to pick up trash.
It involves more work than just getting rid of garbage. They help keep towns clean and make sure waste gets to the right place, like recycling or disposal centers.
As you can see, this job’s no walk in the park and it could be really smelly too. And that means working in all kinds of weather and handling all sorts of waste.
By the time everyone else wakes up and starts their day, the garbage collectors have made sure all the trash is off the streets (most of the time), making for a cleaner and healthier community.
14. Run Errands
It’s always fulfilling to finish our errands early in the morning because we have the rest of the day to ourselves. But what if I told you that there was a way to turn that productivity into money? That’s right, you can make money by running errands for other people.
When you run errands for other people, you’re not only helping them clear their schedules, but you’re also earning income along the way. It’s a win-win situation!
The tasks you do will vary depending on people’s demands, but grocery shopping, moving furniture, and dropping off packages are some of the most common things that people need help with. What’s great about this job is that you get to choose which tasks you want to do and when you want to do them. There’s no pressure to accept all the work that comes your way.
To start running errands for other people, you can ask around your neighborhood first. Let your family, friends, and neighbors know that you’re available to do some of their tasks for them.
For more opportunities, you can also make use of mobile apps like TaskRabbit. TaskRabbit helps you connect with people who are looking for your services. All kinds of tasks need to be done, so you’ll surely find one that you can enjoy.
FAQs About the Best Early Morning Jobs
I work mostly in the mornings, so over the years, I’ve had readers ask me questions about the best early-morning jobs, particularly those related to blogging. I decided to answer your questions about how you can earn extra money in the morning, in addition to the best early-morning jobs and careers.
1. How can I make extra money in the morning?
I’m not as big a fan of coffee as I used to be, and I don’t need caffeine to kickstart my day. But turning blogging from a fun pastime to a real job was like finding a magic money-making machine that runs best in the morning!
Each day, I’d wake up early, about 5 or 6 A.M., and get to writing before my regular job. With some time and lots of stick-to-itiveness, my blog started to make money from ads, affiliate marketing, and stuff I created and sold myself. It didn’t happen fast, but it sure was worth it. Best of all, I could do it when I wanted, making some extra cash on the side. Other ways to make some extra money in the morning could be online teaching, writing for others, or making cool designs.
When people ask me what job they should go for, I always tell them: pick what you love and figure out a way to make it pay. That way, you’re having fun and making money at the same time!
2. Is it good to work early in the morning?
You know the saying, “The early bird gets the worm”? From that alone, I’d say that it’s a good thing to work early in the morning. After all, during the morning, our surroundings are usually quieter and calmer. But if we’re being realistic, idioms aside, there are a lot of factors to consider before we can say that working early in the morning is good.
It’s important to remember that not everyone thrives in the morning. We all have our own pace! If you’re an early bird, then working early is definitely good! But don’t feel down if you can’t function in the morning.
Everybody is unique, so you have to understand your circadian rhythm and make it work for you. That way, you can make the most out of your day, whether you’re an early riser or a night owl!
Although so many people say that the path to success is waking up and getting things done early, there’s still no one-size-fits-all approach to productivity. Success isn’t about how early you work, but about how well you use your time and resources.
Summary
Finding early-morning jobs may seem difficult at first. But it’s best to start asking, “What are some morning jobs near me?” When you start thinking about the places that are open early or operate on a 24-hour schedule, there will be a demand for morning workers.
There are always people finding new jobs or getting promoted, so there are plenty of job opportunities out there. This includes workplaces such as your local news station, hospitals, and transit companies.
Don’t get discouraged, and keep looking. Don’t stop until you find something that you truly enjoy!
Carolien
Hello Ling,
With much interest I’m reading your articles. I was looking to save money as a stay at home mom. Your site is very clear and helpful!
Keep up the good work!
Best regards,
Carolien (the Netherlands)
Ling
@Carolien – I’m happy to hear you are finding my blog helpful! Let me know if you have any questions as I’ll be happy to help! 🙂