12 Best Careers for People Who Want to Work Alone

Some people like to work by themselves for a variety of reasons.

Some simply prefer being by themselves.

Some people don’t like a lot of supervision and want to be able to be flexible in how things are done.

Sometimes people work alone to avoid stress and deadline pressure.

Whatever the reason is, there are fortunately several careers where you can work alone for the most part.

It is also possible to find jobs where you work alone only part of the time.

Here are some of them.

Park Ranger

This is an ideal job for someone who loves nature and solitude.

Park Rangers take care of parks, which means being out in the wilderness a lot, and looking after the ecosystem.

If the park is big enough, you might spend several days out there on your own in a row, with all the solitude and nature you can handle.

There are times when you have to interact with the public, but those are generally stress-free, low-pressure tasks that are fun.

You may work for the government or the park, but you will have basically no supervision.

As long as things keep running smoothly, you are free to do what you want with no one asking questions.

Freelance Writer

Writers are best when left to their own devices and have the freedom to write what they want to write.

Writers may have clients they write for, but their actual work is done alone.

You get to set your own hours and working conditions.

You don’t even have to get dressed or leave your house if you don’t want to.

With the Internet providing a world of information at your fingertips, you could in theory never leave your home.

You only have yourself to answer to, and can work as much or as little as you like.

Of course, your income will be impacted by how much you work, but you are the one calling the shots.

If you are a self-starter and don’t like or need supervision, a freelancer job might be a good choice.

Virtual Assistant

A virtual assistant often works from home by himself or herself.

They work for companies, taking calls, answering questions, and maybe taking orders at times.

The work involves dealing with people, but you are your own boss, which is the best part.

You will be getting calls from people who need help, and it can feel good to help people solve the issues they are having with a product or service.

The work is fairly low-pressure, but you can get a backlog if there are a lot of calls.

Even then, there is not a lot of pressure to work fast because companies want you to take care of each customer.

Accountant

You have to have some education, an eye for detail, and a love for math to be a good accountant.

The job involves keeping records of expenses.

You have to reconcile income and expense receipts to make it come out right at the end.

There are many kinds of accountants, and many work for themselves.

Some businesses need private accountants to give them an unbiased look into the finances of the business.

Small governments also hire private accountants.

You could work for a large accounting firm, but even then, all of your work would be done without anyone around.

The work is tedious, and if you can handle it, you will do well.

There is a need for perfection, so it is also a good fit for perfectionists.

Data Entry

In some ways, a data entry clerk is like being an accountant.

You have to handle a lot of information, and perfection is needed.

There are some who work from home on a freelance basis, or remotely with a larger company.

With the internet, there is no need for a standard office.

Data entry clerks process information, which can be typed documents.

It could be updating databases of addresses, and making sure the entries are accurate.

There is usually no one watching over you, and you will be your own boss in most cases.

You will have to learn how to use the software the company uses, but after that, you will be able to do the job.

Nightwatchman

A night watchman stays at a business or industrial site overnight to keep watch over things.

The watchman makes sure no one enters the facility without credentials.

They may have to walk around and look for leaks or hazards and report them if they are there.

There is not much to do other than keep an eye on things.

The hardest thing will be getting used to staying awake all night.

You will be able to do things when and how you want.

There are no qualifications for a job like this other than perhaps a high school diploma.

Often, senior citizens like jobs like this.

Boredom may be the hardest thing to contend with.

Housekeeper

Housekeepers are hired to clean houses and often do this while the owners of the home are away at work.

You need to be trustworthy and not have any kind of criminal background.

You will be alone in someone’s house, or perhaps in a small building.

You will be able to work at your own pace and work by yourself.

Housekeepers also work at hotels, cleaning rooms that have been rented overnight.

There are no qualifications for a job like this.

The pay is not usually great, but it is not terribly hard either.

You can go at your own pace, and often work as much or as little as you want.

You can do this on a freelance self-employed basis, or work for a company that sends people out to do the cleaning.

Truck Driver

Truck drivers obviously work by themselves when they are inside their trucks.

There are many kinds of truck drivers, driving small and large trucks long and short distances.

You can own your own truck and be an independent driver.

As a self-employed person, you can take or turn down any job you like.

You can work as much or as little as you like, though that will be reflected in your income.

Truck drivers may face deadlines and be pressured to make deliveries on time, and that can get difficult.

You need to be a self-starter and highly organized, and having some planning ability helps as well.

For large trucks, you need a special license, but a regular driver’s license is OK for small trucks.

You also need to be able to drive safely around a lot of other vehicles.

You will be working alone, but your vehicle will have to interact with other vehicles a lot.

Car Detailer

Many car detailers are self-employed.

There is no education required, other than knowing how to clean up a car in an extreme way.

Car detailing is more than just washing and vacuuming.

A good detailer can make the car look almost like it did when it was new.

There are some specialized tools, and some other solutions and equipment needed, and you can do wonders for a car if you know how to use those.

Some car dealerships hire detailers to clean up used cars before they are sold, so you can be employed by someone else but still work on your own as a detailer.

There is not a lot of pressure and you can usually work at a pace you like.

The only thing you have to worry about is making the customer happy with how you clean their car.

Actuary

An actuary is similar to an accountant but is more concerned with the overall business.

The actuary annalizes the business using math, statistics, and financial theories, to make an evaluation of the business.

The job is to determine what the costs and risks will be for the company.

This could be in general, or for specific projects.

You could do this as a self-employed person, or work for a large company.

Either way, you will be working on your own going over data, reviewing systems, and basically investigating the entire operation.

Pet or House Sitter

Being a  pet or house sitter are very similar jobs, and often they are the same job.

This involves staying at someone’s house or apartment, watching over the house, and taking care of any pets that might live there.

You might have to take the dog for a walk, but there will not be much else required.

The basic job is to just hang out and take care of any problems that arise.

If there should be a leak, or something gets broken, you will have to call someone, and that is about all there is to it.

You can spend most of your time relaxing on the couch, watching TV, and eating their food.

This is a good job for students who want to study, or for people who just like to be alone.

Personal Shopper

As a personal shopper, you will not be by yourself necessarily, but you will be working on your own.

In this job, you would go shopping with a list someone has given you, and you would buy all the items and bring them back to the person.

Some grocery stores are now hiring shoppers, and either has the items ready for pickup, or ready to be delivered to the customer.

You need to have a good eye for detail, in order to get the exact product the person wants.

You can work at your own pace and go about the job however you like.

You just have to be able to get the products the person wants.