The Quiet Life
Not everyone is cut out for extensive amounts of social interaction. Introverts have existed since the dawn of mankind.
And there’s nothing wrong with being a natural introvert. In fact, having a shy personality type has its own set of benefits.
Unfortunately, many jobs in the modern world require repeated human interactions.
These could be in the form of customer service interactions, many of which can be unpleasant based on the customers’ complaints or issues.
Or the interactions could be as simple as having to work with several other people in an office environment.
Either way, for introverts and shy people, these little interactions can prove to be challenging. They may even make you create negative associations with your job over time.
If you’re shy and haven’t been happy with the social requirements of your past jobs, then check out these jobs for shy people, some of which require only a limited amount of training before you’re able to apply.
Freelance Graphic Designer
Becoming a professional freelance graphic designer is an easy way to set yourself up for a job you can do from the comfort of your own home or apartment.
And if you’re already familiar with graphic design software such as Photoshop and InDesign, then you already have a leg up.
Even if you don’t know much about graphic design software, you can find thousands of tutorial videos online, even just on YouTube, that will provide you with a basic understanding of these programs.
Once you’ve made several designs that you’re happy with, upload them to social media profiles or your own portfolio site where potential clients can check them out and even reach out to hire you for a job.
You may also consider creating a profile on a freelance site such as Upwork, where it can be easy to find or request graphic design jobs.
Commercial Pilot
95% of the time, a commercial pilot doesn’t need to interact with the flight’s customers or even its crew members, making this an ideal job for introverts.
The difficulty with getting started as a pilot is simply the sheer amount of hours you’ll need to put into learning flight theory and actually flying an airplane as practice.
Each of these steps can take years and also requires a significant financial investment.
The good news is that once you’ve received your commercial pilot’s license, you’re more or less guaranteed a substantial annual salary and consistent work.
Every airline needs a large number of pilots who can fly many different routes. When you join the ranks of those pilots, you can work on tailoring your personal schedule to your needs and preferences.
Auto Mechanic
Yes, auto mechanics do have to interact with people, but only for a relatively small portion of their shift.
The bulk of a mechanic’s work involves working directly with different vehicles.
Especially if you’re already technically-minded, you may want to start researching local vocational schools that can provide the training you need to become an auto mechanic in just a couple of years.
Vocational degrees also tend to be less expensive overall than many more advanced degrees offered by private and public universities.
You’ll also be able to get working right away once you’ve earned your certification. People will be driving cars for the foreseeable future, and those cars will continue to break down.
Therefore, mechanics are always in high demand. And in just a couple years, you could be among them.
Technical Writer
Technical writers tend to be in greater demand than creative writers. This is largely due to the fact that just about any company you can think of needs written materials.
These materials could be instruction manuals, fine print for a product or service, or just copy for the company’s website.
In all of these cases, basic writing skills are highly valued. Make sure to brush up on the basic rules of grammar first.
Then, once you have a few technical writing jobs under your belt, make sure to add them to your professional resume.
Given your past experience, it will be easier to find future technical writing jobs, even on a freelance basis.
Baker
Becoming a baker doesn’t require you to create your own recipes and start your own bakery.
You may choose to do all of these further on down the line, but being a baker can also allow for a quiet working environment within a larger company.
If you don’t already have a talent for making baked goods, then look up some simple recipes online and try them out at home.
Many chain cafes and restaurants are in near-constant need of part-time or full-time bakers, often to work very early shifts to make the bread products and desserts for the restaurant.
At most, as a baker, you may be required to work with a few other bakers who have been assigned to your specific shift.
But since the work itself is repetitive and relatively simple, you likely won’t have to speak to your coworkers very much if you don’t want to.
Proofreader
Even digital spellcheck can’t catch many common grammatical, diction, and stylistic mistakes in writing.
That’s where you come in.
To become a proofreader, you should first familiarize yourself with several different style guides. MLA, Chicago, and APA are three prominent writing style guides that release handbooks on an annual basis.
Each publication or website also likely has its own style guide when it comes to how to format quotations, whether to use the Oxford comma, etc.
But these custom style guides are likely to be a variation of one of the three major guides.
Once you’re familiar with the rules and the tools of the trade, then you can start looking for freelance work as a proofreader or sign up with a staffing agency that specializes in creative work.
Closing
If you’ve been shy your whole life, don’t let it limit your professional ambitions. You have something of value to offer to the world.
Your work should play to your natural strengths. It’s up to you to choose a career that does just that.
