Yahoo Finance I Make Up to $30K a Month as an Online Expert: How You Can Too
Dr. Mike Salkin traded his clinical practice work as a veterinarian in California for a work-from-home telemedicine career in Hawaii. For the past 12 years, Salkin has been working as a veterinarian expert on JustAnswer Veterinary, making a six-figure income and up to $30,000 a month.
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Here’s how Salkin made the transition to a lucrative fully remote career, plus his tips for monetizing your own expertise.
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A Recession-Proof Career
Salkin had an established career in clinical work in his own hospital and with various small animal hospitals throughout California and Colorado, but when the recession of 2010 hit, he was let go by three vet hospitals where he had been working permanently part time.
“I decided to leave Northern California and move to the big island of Hawaii,” he said. “That’s where a friend of mine told me that she worked for an online platform that connected veterinarians with pet owners seeking immediate, online help for all kinds of animal health concerns.”
Salkin admitted that he was “skeptical about online work at first,” but he gave it a shot and found that he loved it.
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“It ended up being a perfect fit for me, as I could share the experience I gained in 52 years of being a veterinarian — medical knowledge as well as the psychology and communication skills,” he said.
It also provided him with more flexibility than he had previously had in his career.
“Telehealth offered me the opportunity to work as many or as few hours as I wanted,” Salkin said. “I didn’t have to leave my home to work, and I could work from wherever there was an internet connection.”
Maximizing His Earnings
Salkin has made up to $30,000 a month answering questions on JustAnswer, but he did work a lot of hours during his peak earning months.
“I worked a lot, putting in six hours a day to 14 hours a day, seven days a week at the peak of my earnings,” he said.
In addition to putting in the hours, Salkin said he found financial success by finding a unique area of expertise he could speak to.
“I identified a niche within the platform — a specialization in the more ‘exotic’ pets that was much needed and helped build up a clientele of regulars,” Salkin said. “While the majority of vets working on the platform gravitated toward the questions from owners of dogs and cats, I noticed that the questions about pet rodents — hamsters, rats, guinea pigs and rabbits — often went unanswered. Similarly, there were few experts jumping on the questions about chickens and other birds.”
Having the professional knowledge to answer these questions gave him an edge over other veterinarians on the platform, and even over veterinarians working in physical offices.
“There are so many questions in these categories and most of these people don’t have a regular, offline veterinarian to turn to for help,” Salkin said.
Extra Income in Retirement
Salkin is now “easing into retirement,” but plans to continue answering questions on JustAnswer for extra income during his retirement years.
“I’ve scaled back my hours to about 10 to 12 per week or so, but I still log on most days because I really enjoy the work,” he said.
His Advice for Turning Your Own Expertise Into Cash
If you’re at an advanced stage in your career, you may also be able to find success on JustAnswer.
“The No. 1 piece of advice to someone looking to be an expert on JustAnswer — in my field especially — is that this is not the job for someone just starting out,” Salkin said. “To be successful, you really need to have a knowledge base of at least five to 10 years’ experience to draw on. It isn’t enough for you to be smart.”
Having interpersonal and communication skills is also key.
“You really need strong skills in interacting with people online — how to communicate both clearly and in a way that comes across helpful, friendly and conversational,” Salkin said, “which can be especially tricky when you can’t hear or see the person you’re trying to help.”
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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: I Make Up to $30K a Month as an Online Expert: How You Can Too
