Hey, Type A: These 13 Detail-Oriented Jobs Are Perfect for You
We all know Type A people. They’re the ones who have color-coded to-do lists. They’re organized. They multitask like nobody’s business. They hate waiting in lines and wasting time. (And this short intro is just their style.)
In their honor, let’s get right to the point. There are plenty of jobs out there perfectly suited for Type A personalities, and here is a list of 13 of them.
13 Jobs Perfect for People With Type A Personalities
These Type A job ideas (alphabetized, in list format) vary by type. Some offer full-time opportunities, while others allow for part-time work and flexible schedules. Some require you to look into jobs in your city, and others let you work from home.
1. Bookkeeper
Oh how you adore a good, organized spreadsheet.
Your love affair with columns and rows could really pay off as a bookkeeper.
You could earn up to $69 an hour by starting your own bookkeeping business, according to Intuit, the creator of QuickBooks.
You don’t have to be an accountant or good at calculus to be successful at bookkeeping. As long as you’re motivated and organized, a company called Bookkeepers.com will teach you everything you need to know. It even gives you the first three classes for free.
2. Captioner/Transcriptionist
Transcription is a precise task. Captioning requires attention to verbal detail. These jobs require mistake-free typing and sharp listening skills.
Usually these jobs pay by the audio hour, but that’s not equivalent to a real hour, as you’ll probably find yourself pausing and rewinding.
Video captioning is similar — except you’ll watch and listen. For example, Rev.com pays $1.50 per video minute.
You can find work on other sites, too. Consider TranscribeMe, Tigerfish, Quicktate and CrowdSurf.
3. Data Entry Clerk
Think: typist.
Some of these job descriptions include key Type A-satisfying phrases such as “ensures consistency and accuracy,” “compiles and sorts information” and “must be self-motivated, organized and detail-oriented.”
Pay ranges on a per-hour or per-project basis.
You can find office jobs as data entry clerks, but there are a number of specialized sites advertising work-from-home projects. These sites include Clickworker.com and DionDataSolutions.com.
4. Event Planner
Type A personalities thrive on stress. Few jobs scream “stress’’ like an event planner.
Event/wedding/meeting planning requires extremely organized individuals who know their way around a checklist or two. They have to coordinate and hire others to successfully execute an event or get-together.
This job will likely require a degree and/or some experience, but you can always start under a “junior” status or assistant. (Read how this woman got started as a wedding planner with no prior experience.) If you played any kind of role in planning a wedding or major family event, you already have some experience to lean on.
Find a number of event planner jobs on classic job search sites such as Indeed, CareerBuilder and SimplyHired.
5. Grocery Store Bagger
Many years ago, late-night TV show host David Letterman presented the Grocery Bagger of the Year on his program. Letterman always proclaimed that he once worked as a grocery bagger and was proud of his work.
Grocery baggers fill bags by weight and food type. Preferably the frozen items are in one bag, and produce goes in another. The heavy objects are at the bottom whereas the bread goes neatly on top.
This is a job that, when done correctly, requires thought and precision. It’s definitely a job for a Type A personality.
Check out Snagajob.com, a site that aggregates jobs hourly. You can also do a simple Indeed search or ask the manager at your favorite grocery store in town.
6. Housekeeper
If you can make a perfect bed with crisp edges and know how to handle a vacuum, this could be a way for you to bag some extra money.
But there are also more exotic options. Consider becoming a housekeeper at a resort, ranch, vacation rental or even on a cruise ship.
And if your significant other is on the same Type A level as you, tag-team it. Some places look for couples to maintain the grounds.
For jobs like that, visit Cool Works. For more “normal” gigs, search Indeed, Monster or SimplyHired. Care.com also has personal ads calling for housekeepers. Also consider Task Rabbit.
7. Inventory Specialist
Transcribers, as previously mentioned, require attention to verbal detail and the ability to type quickly. Inventory specialists require attention to numbers and the ability to use a calculator keypad.
Inventory specialists may also be called stock associates or inventory aides. The job is perfect for a Type A with an intense need to organize and sort store products.
To find a job, visit your favorite store’s career webpage, where you’ll likely be able to search by state. Or you can go to any job search site and search by retailer or location. You can also ask your favorite store manager who handles their inventory.
8. Library Specialist/Technician
Also consider: library associate, assistant, circulation attendant, clerk.
These jobs vary widely — part time and full time, hourly and salaried. Some require high school degrees; others require a master’s. Either way, these jobs offer substantial pay.
Start your job search at governmentjobs.com. You can search by title and city.
9. Market Researcher
One step beyond data entry is market research. If your Type A personality requires you to make sense of the numbers you see, or if you always thought you would make a good accountant, market research is a viable job option.
You will likely be asked to start at an entry-level position. A job search on Indeed, ZipRecruiter or other job sites for “market research entry level” would get you started. The goal is to have a data entry job that allows you to think, which would also allow you to make more money.
10. Professional Organizer/Clutter Consultant
We’ve written about Tova Weinstock, a professional organizer and cleaner who makes $100 to $200 an hour for virtual consultations.
She’s a freelance organizer of sorts, who sets her own hours and also works with clients in person to clean New York City apartments. Projects might last one afternoon or continue for four days at a time. Her clients fondly call her “Tidy Tova.”
If you’re interested in becoming the next Tidy Tova, the Profitable Organizer has some reading material for your perusing. Living Peace also offers resources.
11. Proofreader
If you get pleasure out of finding word, grammar or punctuation errors in written copy, consider becoming a work-at-home proofreader. It offers flexible scheduling and pays per page.
Freelance proofreader Caitlin Pyle offers this advice to those forging into the word business: “It’s important to remember you are paid per page! So if you get distracted or procrastinate and drag out those 50 pages over several hours, it may seem like you’re not making any money.”
Pyle runs ProofreadAnywhere.com, where you can take a free introductory workshop. You can find gigs on freelance sites such as Upwork.com and Freelancer.com.
12. Travel Consultant
Along the same line of work as event planning, travel consultants need to be able to stay organized while handling a number of tasks — hunting down the best deals, creating itineraries and establishing relationships.
You can find these types of jobs on your classic job search sites. You can also search travel consultant websites, scroll to the bottom and click the “jobs’’ link.
13. Virtual Assistant
Many busy professionals want personal assistants, and today, those assistants can work virtually, meaning you get to stay home and get things done.
Tasks and skills vary: customer service, data entry, research, social media management and website maintenance. It’s the perfect work for someone who cannot help but create a daily to-do list. In this case, you will create one for someone else — and get paid to do so.
Look into VANetworking.com and Zirtual for specific virtual assistant sites. Also, read our article about virtual assistants for more information and resources.
Kent McDill is a veteran journalist who has specialized in personal finance topics since 2013. He is a contributor to The Penny Hoarder. Deputy editor Tiffany Wendeln Connors and former staff writer Carson Kohler contributed.
