Have you ever proofread before? If not, don’t worry! This blog post will tell you everything you need to know about the best proofreading jobs online no experience required.

There are many proofreading jobs available for beginners with no experience, and this blog post will show you where to find them. We also go over what proofreaders do, how much they can earn, and the basics of becoming a freelance proofreader (no degree or previous experience needed!).

Personally, I had no experience from proofreading when I started my freelance career about 6 years ago but I still managed to earn money doing this in a short period of time. Let me show you how.

Disclosure; This post probably contains affiliate links. We only recommend products we use and love and all opinions expressed here are our own.

What is a Proofreader?

You may have been looking for a way to make some extra money from home without any experience or degree required…well look no further because this blog post has all the best proofreading tips for beginners and more!

A proofreader is a person who proofreads documents for typos, grammar, and punctuation mistakes. They also make sure everything is organized as it should be to ensure a professional look before anything goes “live”.

What Do Proofreaders Do?

Proofreaders are very important because they make sure that the final product of something has been edited from its initial draft. This includes anything from books, magazines, to even online content.

Who Hires Proofreaders?

Many different types of businesses hire proofreaders to make sure their final products are perfect. This can include advertising companies, bloggers, small business owners, marketing firms, writers, publishing houses, website owners and more! There’s also a lot of demand for my proofreading services from university students and professors who need their essays and articles to be edited.

All of them require a content proofreader to polish their material.

How to Become a Proofreader (No Experience or Degree Required)

Now that you know all about proofreading and what it entails, let’s get started on how you can become one! There are many ways to do this, but we will focus on the easiest and most common way which is through online proofreading courses.

There are not many skills required to be a proofreader, but you must have strong spelling and grammar skills as well as excellent language comprehension.

The most common way to become a proofreader is to take an online proofreading course. This will give you the basic skills and knowledge required to proofread effectively. There are many different courses available, but we recommend the following:

– The Proofreaders’ Academy: This is a great course to learn the ins and outs of becoming a skilled proofreader.

If proofreader courses aren’t for you, there are still other ways to become a proofreader without taking a course. You could hire a tutor or take an online class that does not focus specifically on proofreading, but rather teaches skills generally required by proofreaders such as grammar and punctuation. However, if you do not have proofreading experience, it will be much harder for you to find proofreader jobs.

While a degree is not required to become a proofreader, many high-paying sites require one. They tend to look for a degree in a specialized field such as medicine or technology.

However, even if you don’t have a formal education, there’s still a chance to work your way into a lucrative freelance proofreader career with the appropriate job opportunity.

Where to Find Proofreading Jobs

There are proofreading job lists all over the internet, but not all of them are legitimate. In this section, we will tell you about some great resources to find proofreading jobs that don’t require any experience or degree!

Best Proofreading Jobs Online No Experience Required

Proofreading can be done in a variety of ways online and proofreaders have the option to do so either through freelancing websites or they can work directly with proofreader employers.

Here are the best proofread online sites in two different categories:

• Proofreading companies for proofreader jobs
• Freelance sites to get proofreading jobs

Within these categories, there are jobs for both beginner and more experienced proofreaders.

Best Proofreading Companies To Get Proofreader Job

Scribbr

Only native English speakers who have a bachelor’s degree can apply. They want you to be available at least 10 hours a week and have experience in editing (academic) texts. On average, their editors edit 1,700 words per hour and earn €20-€25 per hour. You can choose your own schedule and availability, specify preferred deadlines and you get paid twice per month. You’ll even get personalized training and support to help you optimize your skills and knowledge. Also they give your access to their editing resources and software to help you work efficiently. You also get a chance to be part of an active and supportive community of language experts.

The application procedure includes three stages that you must complete:

• Taking a language test on Scribbr
• Assigning an application on Scribbr
• Learning and completing tasks on the Scribbr Academy

Proofreading Services  

This site is a great start when you’re searching for ‘proofreading jobs online no experience required. Their jobs are intended for general proofreading services and people without a degree from any country. You just need to pass their 20-minute preliminary test. They hire part-time and full-time proofreaders who demonstrate superlative proofreading and editing skills.

Here are some of the advantages of working for ProofreadingServices:

• Competitive salaries start at $19 per hour and go as high as $46 per hour based on turnaround time, with the highest compensation for the most pressing deadlines.
• Flexible working hours (work whenever you choose, from your living room, in any time zone). You decide to take the open proofreading opportunities if you’re available. They don’t assign work; you choose whether or not you want to accept the current proofreading tasks.
• Excellent colleagues (interact with some of the world’s best English proofreaders).

This is a great platform for you if you not only want to work on papers in the academic field since they also provide other online proofreading and editing services for businesses, academics, authors, people applying to jobs, and more. 

If you complete the application process, which takes 20 minutes, they will contact you as soon as possible to begin working.

Other companies where you can find online proofreading jobs:

1. Sibia – Proofreading services for students, professors, authors, and much more.
2. Kibin – Academic editing for native English speakers.
3. Book in a Box– Editing for books.
4. Polished Paper – Academic and business document editing. They have a 35-question editor test you must pass.
5. EditFast – editing opportunities for freelancers.
6. ProofreadingPal – For graduate or postgraduate students (with a minimum GPA of 3.5) or have a graduate degree with a minimum of five years of professional proofreading and editing experience.
7. Gramlee –   independent and professional editors with a passion for clear and accurate writing.
8. Babbletype – transcripts for mission-critical parts of market research projects.
9. Resume Edge – Resume editing services.
10. Lifetips – for editors who knows how to turn complex problems into simple, understandable tips that guide, clarify, connect, enlighten and most importantly entertain readers.
11. Cactus Communications– Editing for medical documents. PhD/Master’s/Bachelor’s degree or expertise in one or more specialized subject areas in physical sciences, engineering, materials sciences, healthcare, life sciences, medicine and surgery is required.
12. Quality Proofreading– Prefer proofreaders with a background in science, engineering, business, and management.
13. Proofreading – Academic and business document editing services. For native English-speaking editors with advanced qualifications from leading global universities.
14. Click Worker – helps businesses complete projects by outsourcing micro-tasks to writers, translators, researchers, data processors, and proofreaders. After you join, you’ll be expected to take a test. Then you may search for open positions.
15. Words RU – Editing and proofreadings services for academics, businesses and authors. Applicants must hold a Master’s degree, PhD, or equivalent professional experience in any academic discipline.
16. Lionbridge – similar like Click Worker they assist business by outsourcing various sort of mini tasks to freelancers – in particular proofreaders. To get started you need to pass a skills test.
17. Dominate – editing oppotunities for freelance editiors. It’s a low-paying online platform but it is a great place to start out when you need some experience – especially if you have a hard time to find clients.
18. Wordvice – academic, business or university document editing. They accept only editors with an advanced degree (preferably a master’s, doctorate, or equivalent degree.
19. Jobsforeditors – Editing English texts on various topics. Advanced level of English required.

Job Boards To Find Best Proofreading Jobs Online No Experience Required

Job boards are a great way to find proofreading jobs online when you don’t have any experience.

The best alternatives for beginners when it comes to job boards are Problogger and Upwork.

Problogger

Even if ProBlogger is a job board mostly for writers, this is one of the first platforms you should look for proofreading jobs on.

How to apply: When looking for proofreading jobs on this site, use the search bar and type in “proofreading” or “editing.” You can also filter your results by category, contract type, and experience level.

Once you find a job that interests you, click on the link to read more about it and see if you meet all of the requirements. If you do, then go ahead and apply!

Problogger Tips:

– There’s a proofreading test you can take to become a verified freelancer.

– Take advantage of the job board filters to find proofreading jobs that are the best fit for your skills and experience level.

– Jobs on Problogger usually have a higher pay rate than other sites.

Upwork 

Upwork is another job board with freelance jobs to look at where you can find proofreading jobs online (no experience required). You can filter your search results by category, skill level, and experience required.

Many people love Upwork, while others dislike it. However, if you search and apply filters, there are plenty of excellent proofreading and editing jobs available.

To make sure to reduce the likelihood of scams when you search for jobs on the platform you can apply the ‘payment verified filter’ to ensure that you only see clients who have verified payments. You should also check the client rating to assess if it’s a good client to work with. You can even sort your search filter by clients with the best client rating.

Upwork Tips:

• Upwork has proofreading tests you can take that will help you become a verified freelancer. These are also helpful if you’re new to proofreading or don’t have much experience yet.
• Take advantage of the job filters to find proofreading jobs that are the best fit for your skills and experience level.
• Check out Upwork Pro, which is an upgraded version of their platform that gives you access to more features, such as a bidding feature that allows you to bid on jobs you’re interested in, and a pool of pre-approved clients.
• When working with a new client, always make sure to ask for payment upfront so you’re not left out of pocket if the project falls through.
• If you’re new to proofreading, you may take low-paying jobs to show in your portfolio and then raise your fees as you gain expertise. This way you may also get excellent customer testimonies and post them on your own proofreader website to appeal to higher-paying customers!

Other Job Boards To Find Proofreading Jobs

1. Freelancer – freelance jobs as proofreading and editing work for beginners.
2. Toptal – a membership-based network of top freelancers from around the world, who are available to complete projects on an hourly basis. Requires proofreaders with a bachelor’s degree or higher in any discipline as well as prior experience proofreading.
3. Flex jobs – proofreading and editing are some of the many skills that Flexjobs includes on their job board.
4. Fiverr – proofreading jobs on Fiverr are mostly proofreading gigs that start from a lower price range, but you can also find proofreading jobs in the higher price ranges of this platform.
5. Indeed – proofreading jobs can be found on Indeed, and you can search by job title, company name, or location.
6. Simply Hired – proofreading is one of the many skills that Simply Hired includes in their search bar. You can also refine your results by state or city.
7. LinkedIn Jobs – proofreading jobs are occasionally posted on LinkedIn Jobs.
8. Guru – is very similar to Fiverr where you can find individuals looking for different services including proofreading. You can filter by proofreader experience level.
9. People per Hour – proofreading and editing are some of the many skills that People per Hour includes on their job board.
10. Remote.co – proofreading jobs are also available on this platform.
11. Proofread Anywhere – proofreader positions can be found here quite frequently so you may want to check back regularly if the above platforms don’t have proofreading jobs that interest you.
12. Proz– proofreader openings for different languages and experience levels.
13. MediaBistro – is a media-related job board that offers a variety of freelance jobs. You may subscribe to job alerts on the platform if anything new in the proofreading sector becomes accessible.
14. Virtual Vocations – proofreading and editing are two of the many skills that Virtual Vocations includes on their job board.
15. Grammarly Jobs  – proofreader positions are posted here often so you may want to check back regularly if the above platforms aren’t finding proofreading jobs you’re interested in.

All of these proofreading and editing jobs are great for beginners with no experience, but they also have a wide range of proofreader pay rates that depend on your level of expertise. So, even more experienced proofreaders can find work through some or all of them!

Proofreading jobs can be a great way to make money from home, but it’s important to be careful when choosing which platforms or companies to work with. As proofreading is such a broad term, it’s important to read the job description carefully and ask for payment upfront before starting a proofreading job.

How Much Can I Earn as a Proofreader?

Proofreading rates can vary depending on what type of proofreading you are doing, whether it be copyediting, proofreading for grammar mistakes only, etc. The average pay rate for most freelance proofreaders is around $25-$30 per hour.

How to Get Clients as a Proofreader

Proofreading is a great way to make money from home, but in order to do so you need clients. But how do you get clients as a new proofreader?

Have your own website

Having your own website will allow potential clients to learn more about you and your proofreading services. It also gives them a place to contact you if they are interested in hiring you. It doesn’t have to cost that much to set up a self hosted website. Check out my guide here.

Pitch To Clients

A good way to attract higher-paying clients is to do cold pitching. This means that you can send a pitch to various clients and ask if they would like proofreading services.

If your proofreader rates are reasonable, then this will be a good way for you to get new proofreader clients.

This may appear intimidating at first, as you are approaching a company that hasn’t yet posted a job opening. However, this does not imply that they don’t need your services.

Simply just send an e-mail with your pitch where you explain how you can help the client and what proofreading services you offer.

This tactic works even better if you have your own website where you showcase your portfolio and profile.

Pick a Niche

To be able to find high-paying clients as a proofreader it’s great to specialize in a specific niche and become an expert in that field.

Picking a proofreading niche will make it much easier for you to find proofreading jobs online.

Personally, as I have a background as a nurse specialist I have done medical and health care proofreading. However, proofreading in the medical and health care-related niche is not the only proofreader job online.

There are proofreaders’ jobs for all sorts of niches such as finance proofreading, academic proofreading, legal proofreading, and so forth.

Some other examples include:

– Law/Medical/Technical Writing

– Resumes and CVs editing

Place Ads on Job Boards

Another great way to attract potential proofreader employers is by placing advertisements on popular job boards.

Some proofreading job sites to check out for ads include:

– Upwork

– Fiverr

– PeoplePerHour

There are many other proofreader job online boards that you can find, but these three offer a great variety of proofreading jobs for beginners.

Offer Additional Services

You can also offer other services such as copyediting, transcription, and more. This will make you a more desirable proofreader for clients.

By offering additional services, you are increasing your chances of landing the proofreading job that you desire. It’s important to know what other skills you have that may be beneficial to proofreading clients.

If you are good at typing quickly, transcription may be a great service for proofreaders because it can help proofreader employers save time and money on outsourcing their work to other companies. This will allow them to focus more on what they do best instead of trying to find someone else that is qualified to do proofreading work.

Related article: How to become a transcriptionist

Proofreaders are in high demand and with a little bit of hard work, you can be successful at landing proofreading jobs online. So what are you waiting for? Start your proofreading journey today!

Important Things to Know Before Onboarding Your First Proofreading Client

Deadlines

One thing to always keep in mind when proofreading is that you must be able to meet deadlines. This means that if a client requests for a proofread document back within 24 hours, then you should be able to do so.

Proofreading is not a quick process and it often takes longer than expected. However, meeting deadlines is important to maintain a good relationship with your proofreading clients.

Don’t forget that you can increase your rate if there is a really short deadline.

Proofreading Rates/Payment Plans

Most proofreaders usually charge by the hour. However, it’s also a good idea to offer proofreading services on an “as needed” basis rather than charging the standard amount per hour. This means that proofreaders can charge a flat fee for proofreading services.

This is very beneficial to clients as they are able to pay you an agreed-upon price upfront instead of paying hourly rates which may fluctuate depending on how long it takes you to proofread the document. A good tip before asking clients what their preferred payment plans are is to research proofreading rates online.

This will give you a good idea of what the industry standard is and you can then charge accordingly.

It’s important to find a payment plan that both parties are happy with.

Proofreading clients often ask proofreaders to offer a discounted rate for proofread work that is not urgent or time-sensitive.

Flexibility is key

As proofreaders, we must be flexible and willing to abide by our proofreading clients’ needs and wants. If the client requests for changes or requires additional proofreads after your job has been completed, then you should be willing to do so without any hesitation.

Proofreaders should be willing to go above and beyond for proofreading clients at all times. This will help proofreaders build strong relationships with proofreader employers which can result in repeat business or future proofreading jobs from this client!

Client Communication

Proofreaders are often required to communicate with their clients through various forms of communication such as e-mails, chat messages, and more.

Make sure that you are always prompt in responding to client inquiries and be professional when doing so. This will make the proofreading process smoother for both you and the client.

Client Scams

Unfortunately, proofreading clients can sometimes be difficult to work with. Some proofreaders have had negative experiences with proofreading clients who have scammed them out of money or failed to pay for completed work.

It’s important to always do your research on potential proofreading clients before agreeing to work with them. This will help you avoid any potential scams or unpleasant experiences.

Also, it’s important that proofreaders thoroughly read through the terms and conditions before applying or accepting proofreading gigs from proofreader clients.

Conclusion

In conclusion, proofreading jobs can be a great way to make money from home without having any prior proofreading skills or experience.

Proofreading Academy is a great option if you want to have an easy to follow step-by-step system to start your own proofreading business.

Proofreaders are in high demand and with a little bit of hard work, you can be successful at landing proofreading jobs online no experience required.

So what are you waiting for? Get started on your proofreading journey today!