Are you a mom looking for a flexible work schedule without committing to a traditional 9 to 5 schedule? A temporary job or a series of temporary jobs could be just the ticket and give you the flexibility you need to balance responsibilities on the home front.
Temporary careers are becoming increasingly common in the American workplace. There are currently about three million temp workers. Many people don’t realize that fixed-term positions are actually available in many industries, from accounting to information technology to construction work.
Let’s start with the field with the most options for short-term work. Consider these positions for your next temp job:
Management analysts, often called management consultants, are in charge of finding and proposing ways to improve an organization’s efficiency. They interview staff, analyze financial data, and advise managers on ways to reduce costs and increase revenues so that they make companies more profitable.
Emergency management specialists get called by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in times of natural disasters like hurricanes or earthquakes for a definite time until the crisis passes. They coordinate the delivery of food, water, and medical supplies to areas hit hard by a natural disaster and ensure emergency evacuation routes are set up to provide safe escapes and reduce traffic.
Accountants are needed all year round, but in the spring (aka income tax season), many financial firms bring on additional temporary accountants. Accountants calculate taxes, prepare returns, and provide tax-related advice to the general public.
Human Resources Specialists are the ones behind the recruiting and interviewing of new employees and also the ones that orient existing workers. They identify an organization’s employment needs, run background checks on applicants, and inform them about policies. This career was found to be one of the fastest-growing temporary jobs between 2016 and 2018.
Data entry clerks are hired temporarily by companies for scanning documents, transcribing recordings, or updating customer databases. Additionally, they may also answer phone calls and mail, and replenish office supplies. There are no educational requirements to get this job, except good computer skills. Learn everything you need to know about data entry jobs in our complete guide.
It’s been a while that there’s overall high demand for IT guys (and girls). Information technology professionals can also have temporary project-based jobs as independent consultants if they want. Here are some of them:
App developers design the applications we all use and love, from word processing programs to mobile apps to video games. And since they usually work on them on a project-by-project basis, that makes them temporary employees. Employment in this field is growing much faster than average; it’s expected to grow 24% until 2026.
A systems analyst usually works as a contractor and moves around different companies as they complete projects. What they do is design advanced information systems for an organization or client. They conduct in-depth system testing, research emerging technologies and prepare cost analysis reports for clients.
Many software testers work as contractors on specific projects, too. They design, run, and document a multitude of tests on new software in order to uncover possible glitches, errors, and bugs that affect its usability and performance is what software testers do.
Adjunct professors are hired by schools on a contractual, temporary basis. The roles of these professors are like any other’s; to teach classes, mentor students, and grade assignments and exams. In some cases, they also conduct research.
Another temporary job in education is being a substitute teacher: thus, filling in for an absent teacher. Some substitutes get called in for a single day while others take over for several months e.g. when teachers are on paternity leave.
On-demand delivery couriers are hired by companies like Dropoff as independent contractors who accept temporary assignments
Post offices often need temporary workers when regular postal carriers are ill or on vacation. When temporary relief carriers help out, they usually use their own vehicles to deliver letters and packages. They are paid by the mile for their expenses as well as by the hour and are especially in demand in rural areas.
For truck drivers, too, there are plenty of temporary work opportunities. What they do is transport loads of cargo from one place to another.
In Baltimore, just like everywhere, when construction companies fall behind schedule they hire temporary workers to help out. Here are some temporary jobs available in these fields:
As mentioned before, construction laborers often work temporarily. They perform many tasks that require physical labor on construction sites like unloading building materials, installing traffic barricades, and operating machines like jackhammers or portable concrete mixers. Plus no prior education is needed to be a construction laborer as they learn their trade through on-the-job training.
Machinists use milling machines, drill presses, and grinders to produce steel bolts, pistons, and cylinders. They also set up and operate computer numerically controlled (CNC) tools and examine completed products for defects.
Editors usually work on project-basis working side-by-side with original authors. E.g. finding grammatical errors, fixing readability and style inconsistencies or shaping the overall structure of an author’s manuscript.
Copywriters can work as freelancers taking projects when they’re free if it’s their side gig. They write content intends to sell, whether it is a website motto, a marketing slogan or social media ads.
For people who are fluent in more than one language and good translating or interpreting skills, there are plenty of temporary work opportunities. You might be located in Baltimore, but you can translate for clients in China online.
Whether you’re a working mom looking for a job without wanting to commit to it long-term, someone who wants a side hustle to make more profit, or a student who doesn’t want to stay unemployed, a temporary job is definitely a thing you should consider. We hope one of the temporary careers in this extensive list works for you.