2 Online Jobs You Can Get Despite Having Little to No Experience

You've probably seen the online ads that say, "Make $2,000 a week working from home just two hours a day!" "No prior experience is required!" or comments on completely unrelated social media articles: "I make $120,000 a year working five hours a week online using this website." It all seems too good to be true—and, to be honest, it is.

There is no "one simple trick" to earning a salary online that is wildly disproportionate to what you would earn in a traditional in-person role in a fraction of the time. However, you can find good, legitimate online jobs that don't require much — or any — experience.

Here are some of the most common online jobs and how to get one with or without experience.

How to Determine Whether an Online Job Is Legitimate—and Avoid Scams

There are numerous online and remote jobs that are completely legitimate and pay a decent wage in exchange for your time. However, there are many scams masquerading as legitimate online jobs, as well as legitimate jobs that pay so little that they may not be worth your time and effort.

"Online jobs are still jobs," says Esther Inman, a career coach and the CEO and founder of Virtual Assistant Internship, a company that assists people interested in starting online careers. So, if an online job "seems too good to be true or like you don't have to do much in order to get paid," it's a scam. Any jobs that advertise "work five hours a week and make $1,000" should be avoided, according to Inman.

You should also avoid any job that has an application fee or requires you to pay for supplies or anything else up front. It's also a red flag if you're asked to prepay for inventory as an independent "distributor" or "business owner" for a larger company (or as a product assembler, package reshipper, or processor). Worst-case scenario, it's a pyramid scheme or a scam. In the best-case scenario, you'll be working for a multi-level marketing (MLM) company. While not explicitly illegal, "the majority of people who join legitimate MLMs make little or no money." According to the FTC, "some of them lose money," and some of them lose a lot of money.

Read more: How to Make Money While Sleeping

It's also worth noting that some legitimate online jobs don't pay very well. This includes doing microjobs or short tasks, writing for a content mill, or taking online surveys. However, if you're looking for something that requires less time commitment, these may be the best option for you. You don't have to avoid them entirely; just be honest about how much money you'll make.

You can search for online jobs on The Muse to ensure you're only applying to legitimate opportunities with legitimate companies. If you're not sure what roles to look for, here's a list of online jobs that require little or no experience:

1. Data Entry Operator

Data entry clerks enter data from a spreadsheet, printed document, order form, or other source into another, usually digital, source, such as a database, computer program, or spreadsheet. They may also be in charge of verifying information and looking for errors. A financial accounts processing company, for example, may require data entry clerks to manually input or verify invoices or other bills for outside clients.

Many businesses will hire data entry clerks or keyers with only a high school diploma and no prior work experience on a full-time, part-time, or freelance basis. Because much of the data and information that businesses now process is digital, this is a popular work-from-home position.

Read more: 10 websites that pay you 100$ a day

2. Copy Editor or Proofreader

Proofreaders and copy editors are two positions with similar goals: to ensure that written text is free of errors. Proofreaders are frequently the final set of eyes on a document before it is printed, published, or posted online, and they look for grammatical or style errors, incorrect formatting, or typos. Copy editors do similar work, but they may also make changes to sentences or paragraphs in a written piece to ensure accuracy and clarity.

Companies that generate a large amount of written material may hire in-person or remote proofreaders or copy editors to work part or full time, but there are also opportunities to do this work as a contractor or freelancer on a project basis.

To work as a proofreader or copy editor, you must have a strong understanding of English spelling and grammar conventions as well as a keen eye for detail. You should also expect to take a skills test before being hired. If you have prior experience with the subject matter or are familiar with the style guide used by the company, that is a plus. Copy editors and proofreaders frequently, but not always, have degrees in English, communication, or a related field, but in some cases, copy editor and proofreader positions can be found without prior professional experience.