work and payment
The types of works available online vary by platform. There are websites that offer article writing, data entry, audio transcription, and search engine optimization (SEO) tasks.
There are websites where freelancers can upload photos and help organize image libraries. There are sites that give freelancers simple tasks like filling out surveys or taking photos of infrastructure projects.
Gray Kasik, an online worker in Nairobi, said: “Online work is a strong gateway to a livelihood, but it takes persistence to break through because of the competition on a global level.” says.
Kasik started working online as a side hustle to supplement his income from his day job. It took some time before he started receiving assignments. Once work started, he had to work late into the night to satisfy his customers.
“The whole point of online work is to establish trust and quality of work. If you can do that, your score will go up and your clients will come back to you,” he explains. “It’s not easy money. You have to be focused and put in the time. Nothing comes for free.”
Salary is determined by the complexity of the job. Paying for simple tasks such as filling in a survey is just 10 shillings per survey. Complex tasks such as shooting and uploading videos can cost as much as Sh1,000 per task.
If you write an article, you will be paid on average around 400 shillings per article. The key to maximizing your income is to take on as much work as possible. Many online recruitment platforms now offer mobile phone apps that notify subscribers whenever new tasks become available.
The flip side of freelancing is that tasks don’t come every day. A very busy week may be followed by a week of doing nothing. As more people start working online, the number of jobs available to each individual decreases, and the pay goes down.
In some cases, freelance platforms that used to offer as much as Sh500 for a task are now offering less than Sh100 for the same task. This means that online workers have to work on more tasks to earn the same amount of money as before. Online jobs have also been affected by the coronavirus pandemic, as the number of jobs from corporate customers has decreased.
