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You don’t have to look far to be pitched on a work from home “job” that ends up being neither a true job or a good opportunity.
Being self-employed is great, but what if you need something a little more reliable?
A lot of big-name companies are shifting their work forces to remote, and now there are more opportunities than ever to have an actual paying job from home.
Let’s look at all the ways that you can make money working remotely or side-hustling with a company you already know: Amazon!
In this guide to finding remote jobs with Amazon we will cover:
- What are the benefits for Amazon remote jobs?
- How much can you make working from home for Amazon?
- What kind of work from home jobs does Amazon offer?
- What seasonal online Amazon jobs are available?
- What is Amazon Flex?
- What qualifications do you need for a remote Amazon job?
- How do I apply for a remote job with Amazon?
- What are some Amazon remote career options?
- Amazon remote jobs fine print
- How can I start a remote Amazon business?
What Are the Benefits of Working from Home for Amazon?
Benefits of Remote Work
There are many great reasons to look for an Amazon at-home or remote job, here are a few:
Larger Job Pool
When you can work from anywhere, you can look for work anywhere!
Rather than having to stick to a geographic location, like your city or a reasonable commuting distance, now you can look for the best available job.
While there may be less remote jobs in general, when you can job search all over the country there are a lot more options.
Set Your Own Schedule
The vast majority of work from home jobs do not have the expectation that you will be in the same time zone as your new employer.
You may encounter jobs that require a certain number of hours to overlap with their office – for example: “Must be available for 2 hours between 9 am and 5 pm EST” – but you will still have flexibility about when you choose to work.
This is great for parents who have a good amount of availability, but not a lot of consecutive hours. Or maybe you need a certain block of time off to take your kids to school. An Amazon work from home job can give you the option of doing that.
Choose Where You Live
Of course one of the best parts of working from home is having more freedom over where home is!
While many of us fantasize about working on the beach, remote work will allow others to take care of their aging parents, or move somewhere with a lower cost of living.
Benefits of Working for Amazon
There are some clear benefits to working from home, but what about remote jobs with Amazon specifically?
Benefits Package
Amazon offers a pretty attractive remote work benefits package to full time employees including:
- Health insurance
- 401K
- Paid vacation
- Maternity/Parental leave
- Adoption assistance
- Stock options
- Discount on items sold and shipped by Amazon.com
- Employee assistance program
They even offer the Amazon Career Choice program to hourly employees. This program helps cover the cost of returning to school for select “professions of the future.”
An at home job with Amazon can even help you get a free education!
Variety of Jobs
Unlike a lot of companies, Amazon has a wide variety of work from home positions available. They aren’t just a call center, and the jobs aren’t all sales based.
In addition, many remote jobs at Amazon aren’t even entry level! You can further your current career while working at home for Amazon.
Lots of Work
Most people who have worked from home for Amazon say that there are plenty of hours to be had.
If you apply for an hourly role with Amazon, you can expect to pick up additional hours if you want to, and they offer overtime pay.
This is great for those seasons when you need to find a way to make a bit of extra cash.
Good Work Experience
Across the board, people who worked for Amazon said that it was valuable career experience. Amazon tends to be a fast-paced place to work, even from home, and the roles are often shifting. Employees said that they learned new skills quickly, and became more adaptable.
Work from home employees also said that Amazon was a good place to develop leadership skills.
Predictable Pay
One of the best parts of working for an established company like Amazon, is that you have no worries about whether or not you will get paid.
A lot of remote and work from home jobs are contract based, and have unpredictable pay as a result. You may have a lull in work and make less than you hoped, or you may have issues getting paid from clients.
When you work an Amazon from home job, you don’t have to worry about either of these issues!
How Much Can You Make With Amazon While Working from Home?
The majority of remote jobs with Amazon are full-time salaried positions. The pay for some jobs isn’t disclosed, and a few are part-time or hourly. But, you can actually find an Amazon remote career opportunity.
You can make anywhere from $16 per hour, to over $160K per year, while working from home with Amazon.
What Kind of Jobs does Amazon Offer for Remote Work?
Amazon has jobs in more than 20 different business categories.
There are Amazon department specific job categories such as:
- Amazon Web Services
- Amazon Alexa
- Amazon Care
- Amazon Prime
- Amazon Devices
- Amazon Go
- Amazon Entertainment
- Amazon Books
- Kindle Content
Then there are traditional job categories, for which you may already have education and training:
- Human Resources
- Retail
- Operations
- Consumer Engagement
- Finance
- Customer Trust
Amazon also offers entry level jobs in customer service positions that you can work from home.
What Seasonal online Jobs does Amazon Offer?
Amazon offers seasonal work from home jobs as Virtual Customer Service Representatives.
In these positions you will take calls from customers who have questions about their orders or products. You will also help if a customer has an issue processing a return, or if they want to report a complaint.
Amazon typically hires thousands of people to work these seasonal remote jobs from the beginning of November through mid-January.
However, if talking to customers isn’t your thing, Amazon will also need more Flex drivers during the holiday shopping season.
What is Amazon Flex?
Amazon Flex operates much the same as Uber Eats or Grubhub. Independent contractors sign up with Amazon to use their own vehicles to deliver packages.
Technically this isn’t a work from home or remote job, but it is a flexible job that you can do according to your own schedule.
While you do get paid by Amazon to deliver packages for them, you are not employed by Amazon.
You get more freedom as a contractor, but you won’t get the same benefits as an Amazon employee.
This remote gig is all controlled through the Amazon Flex app.
How Much Does Amazon Flex Pay?
Amazon advertises that Flex drivers earn $18 – $25 per hour, but it’s not actually as straight-forward as that.
Although Amazon Flex advertises an estimated hourly wage, they actually pay in “blocks.”
You will also have expenses to deduct from your pay before you have a true idea of the hourly rate you earned.
Grocery orders have tip options, and you get to keep 100% of whatever tips you make.
Amazon Flex does pay twice per week by direct deposit, so the income is pretty instant if you need a side hustle that pays fast.
What Are Flex Blocks and How Do They Work?
A “block” is a block of time that Amazon estimates it will take to perform a group of deliveries.
Blocks are typically 2 – 4 hour time slots. They are usually scheduled between 8 am and 10 pm but in some markets there are blocks around the clock.
A common misconception is that Flex drivers get paid per block, no matter how much time it takes.
This actually isn’t true.
If you finish your block early you get to keep the advertised rate, but if the route takes longer you can contact support and they will usually pay for your extra time. (They can see on the app how long your route took.)
On rare occasions, you may even show up for a block and there will be no deliveries. In that case, you still get paid!
If you can’t work late, you can return the extra packages to the warehouse.
When you choose an available block you do not know what the route will be.
Your Expenses with Amazon Flex
Amazon Flex does not pay for any vehicle related expenses like gas or repairs, nor do they pay a stipend for your mileage. Amazon does not reimburse for parking or tolls.
You also won’t get paid for your drive to the warehouse, but that’s the same as any other job.
You may need to pay slightly more for your vehicle’s insurance policy because it needs to cover the delivery of goods and merchandise. Amazon does have their own policy to cover accidents, but that is over and above what your own insurance pays out.
However, as an independent contractor, you may be able to write off these expenses at tax time, provided you are keeping track of them.
Amazon Flex Pros and Cons
Amazon Flex is a relatively quick way to earn some extra income using your own car.
To summarize, here are a few of the pros and cons:
Pros
- Work remotely and on your schedule
- Get paid twice per week
- Relatively high hourly rate
- Don’t need anything besides a mid-sized car and a driver’s license
- Limited or no customer interaction
Cons
- Variable expenses: Parking, tolls, fuel, vehicle maintenance.
- No benefits
- Unpredictable amount of work – High competition for blocks
- Unpaid video training
- Undeliverable packages need to be returned to the warehouse on your own time
What Qualifications Do You Need to Get an Amazon Job?
If you want to know how to work for Amazon from home, it starts with figuring out what you qualify for.
Because there are so many different types of remote jobs available with Amazon and their partners, the required qualifications are all over the place.
This is actually a good thing, because it means there is something for almost everyone.
Minimum Qualifications
The absolute minimum qualifications that I could find for any posted remote Amazon job were as follows:
- 18 years of age or older
- High school diploma
With either:
- Strong typing, phone, and computer navigation skills, or
- 1 year in customer service or a call center
Of course there is no upper limit to what Amazon could request in their work from home candidates. There are several six-figure senior level career positions that require a degree and significant experience.
Amazon Flex Qualifications
Amazon Flex has its own set of requirements, which makes sense when safety and liability are involved.
Flex contractors must have all of these qualifications:
- Be 21 years of age or older
- Have a valid driver’s license
- Pass a background check
- Own a mid-size or larger vehicle
- Have vehicle insurance
- Use a smart phone
How to Apply for Amazon Remote Jobs
All of Amazon’s work from home job postings can be found at Amazon.jobs.
To apply through their website, you will be prompted to set up an Amazon.jobs account. From there you will be able to fill out your information and upload your resume.
Many of Amazon’s remote work positions are also posted on third party sites such as Indeed.com.
Sometimes it can be easier to sort and filter jobs on the Indeed site as opposed to Amazon.jobs. If you find this to be the case, you can select a remote job opportunity that you are interested in on Indeed and follow the prompts to either apply via their platform, or view the official posting on the Amazon site.
Amazon Remote Career Opportunities
Here are a few of the attractive work from home positions Amazon offers, that are entry level or have limited requirements:
Customer Service Associate
Amazon actually has a whole page about their Customer Service Associates and what they do. You can even read the stories of current employees to learn more about this position and why they like doing it.
Amazon customer service jobs from home are an excellent choice of position.
Here is a description about this remote customer service position from Amazon:
“We are seeking action-oriented, flexible problem-solvers to assist customers in expediting orders and correcting post-sale problems. Associates interact directly with customers via phone, email, chat, mobile chat, and Alexa, using cutting-edge tools to navigate customer accounts, research and review policies, and provide effective solutions.”
Qualifications: Candidates should be 18+ with a high school diploma and one year of customer service or call center experience. In some markets experience may be a “preferred” qualification and not required.
Wage: $16 per hour and up.
Social Care Advocate
Working for either Amazon or one of their subsidiaries (the jobs I saw were for Ring), Social Care Advocates interact with customers, or prospective customers, on social media.
This can be anything from responding to messages, to replying to comments, or otherwise engaging with followers.
Here is a description about this role with Ring (an Amazon company):
“Ring’s Social Care team is the brand voice of Ring on all social media platforms, directly impacting customers. The Ring Social Care team monitors and responds to customers on multiple Ring social media accounts.”
Qualifications: Candidates should be 18+ with a high school diploma and one year of call center experience.
Wage: Not advertised. Since this job is entry level it should start around $16 – $18 per hour.
IT Services Support Associate
This is an interesting work from home job because it is internal “customer” support.
As an IT Services Support Associate, you will take calls from other Amazon employees and troubleshoot minor technical issues. These issues can be problems with video meetings, email, or other simple troubleshooting calls.
Here is what Amazon says about this role:
“Amazon’s IT Services Support is the first point of contact for technical support service requests. Our IT Support Associate spends their day fielding incoming support chats, calls and online requests on behalf of Amazon Corporate and its subsidiary employees worldwide.”
There are different levels of this position, so if you have more IT experience or education, you could potentially be hired as an IT Services Support Associate II instead.
Qualifications: Candidates should be 18+ with a high school diploma and one year of experience in an IT or customer service troubleshooting role.
Wage: Not advertised. Indeed.com reports that an IT Services Support Associate for Amazon earned an average of $22 per hour.
Technical Customer Service Specialist
Another Amazon at home career option is to work as a Technical Customer Service Specialist. This role works for Amazon Web Services (AWS) helping customers primarily with billing and account issues.
AWS provides cloud-based services to other organizations, making this remote Amazon job even more broad.
This is what Amazon has to say about this role with AWS:
“As an AWS Technical Customer Service Specialist, you’ll engage with Enterprise level customers, providing training, support and analysis. You will be the Subject Matter Experts on Enterprise Account and Billing issues. You will proactively help customers avoid potential issues. Dive deep to understand the underlying issues to help a customer resolve problems.”
This job sounds a little intimidating, but it requires only minimal experience.
Qualifications: Candidates should be 18+ with a high school diploma and two years of experience in customer service, or account management, in a related field. Basic experience with Excel.
Wage: Not advertised. Glassdoor reports the average salary for a Technical Customer Service Specialist with Amazon is $62,000 per year. Making this an excellent choice of an Amazon remote career.
HR Assistant
Amazon’s HR Assistants perform a lot of the administrative work that comes along with hiring new employees. They answer questions about benefits and stock options, and generally help get new hires set up.
However, this is a paperwork heavy role that involves tracking a lot of data, working in spreadsheets, and using payroll systems.
This is how Amazon describes this position:
“The Human Resources Assistant (HRA) is both a strategic and hands-on role that provides Human Resources support to our fulfillment centers. The role is critical in executing our people initiatives, providing great internal customer support, and driving HR functional excellence and process improvement.”
This is another role that Amazon hires many seasonal employees for, but not necessarily virtual.
Qualifications: Candidates should be 18+ with a high school diploma and the following experience:
- Microsoft Office Suite
- HR and Payroll (no time period specified)
- Working knowledge of a time clock system such as People Portal or MyTime.
Wage: Not advertised. Glassdoor reports the average salary for an HR Assistant with Amazon was $44,000 per year.
Amazon Remote Jobs Fine Print
As with any job offer or posting, don’t forget to read the fine print.
Despite being work from home positions, many of these jobs have requirements about what state you can be living in while working them.
In addition, I saw several postings where the job itself was remote, but the training was mandatory in-person. This works fine for someone who can spend a few days to weeks in the same city as the facility, but likely not for anyone further away or anyone who needs childcare.
Another thing to consider is that Amazon has let many department leaders choose whether or not they will stay remote, either permanently or temporarily.
This means that you can apply for a remote job, but if you’re not careful you could accidentally accept one that ends up going back to the office.
(Although hopefully they are forthcoming about that possibility during the interview process.)
Start Your Own Business Selling on Amazon
If none of these positions float your boat, there is another opportunity to work from home, made possible by Amazon.
You can become an authorized seller with Amazon FBA!
What is Amazon FBA?
FBA stands for “Fulfilment By Amazon.” Anytime you are shopping on Amazon and you see an item that says “Sold By: _____ and fulfilled by Amazon” these are items that private sellers are listing.
Almost anyone can sign up to sell a product on Amazon. You just need to live in a country that Amazon operates in, and have identification.
How to Sign Up to Sell on Amazon
To get started selling on Amazon, you can go to sell.amazon.com and create an Amazon seller account.
Here are the things you will need in order to sign up:
- Email address or Amazon customer account
- Phone number
- Credit card
- Government ID
- Tax information
- Direct deposit info for any sales that you make
Choosing a Product to Sell on Amazon
While you could sell anything and everything on Amazon, there is some strategy required to be successful.
The best product to sell on Amazon, is the one that people are shopping for, and not many people are selling.
You can figure this out using tools like a browser extension, to learn more about what items are actually selling, and for what price.
Once you know what kind of product you would like to sell, you need to find a supplier. There are a couple of options here, you can either choose a wholesaler or a manufacturer.
Wholesalers
Wholesalers purchase a large amount of product that was already packaged and ready for sale.
There are a number of ways that wholesalers end up with these items: The product may have been discontinued, the seller went out of business, or insurance is selling the product after a claim for fire or natural disaster.
Manufacturers
Manufacturers are companies like Alibaba, that produce a large amount of product in a country with cheaper labor and product costs.
Additionally, you can shop for a ready-made product and have the manufacturer put your brand on it, or you can have a product made to your specifications.
How to Fulfill Orders with Amazon FBA
Once your product arrives, you will need to print your official Amazon sku’s and add them to each individual item for sale. Then you repackage the product for shipping to an Amazon fulfillment center.
Once you list the product on Amazon, and they receive your shipment, your orders can be fulfilled by Amazon whenever you receive a sale.
From here the process is basically automated.
How Much Does Amazon Charge in Fees
This all sounds like a great deal, but there are plenty of costs to consider.
Besides your cost to purchase the product and have it shipped to you, Amazon charges a number of fees:
Amazon Seller Account Fee
This fee is to list your products on Amazon’s huge platform.
There are two different seller plans you can choose from: Individual or Business.
With an “Individual” account, you will pay $0.99 per item sold, up to 40 items.
With a “Business” account you will pay $39.99 per month regardless of quantity sold, and have access to advertising features.
Referral Fees (Listing Fees)
Amazon charges a fee between 8% and 15% per item sold as a “referral” fee, because they “referred” the customer to you.
Amazon Fulfillment Fees
Amazon charges between $2.16 and $10.78 for each standard sized product that they pick, pack, and ship, up to 20lbs.
This fee also covers the cost of customer service and returns.
Get Ready to Work From Home for Amazon
Whether you want to work steady hours with benefits, start a side hustle, or launch an online store, you have options for working remotely with Amazon!
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