20 Ways & Programs to Get Paid to Listen to People’s Problems

Yes, you can definitely get paid to listen to people’s problems! Talk about the best of both worlds – helping out and getting paid in the process!

This article reveals the different ways to really earn money listening to problems of other people and some of the best programs and companies that pay you or help you get paid to do this.

 

Importance

It has often been said that we have one mouth and two ears for a reason.

The reason being should that we should focus on listening and that is why God gave us two ears.

We hear but do we listen.

We live in a fast-paced world and often our conversations are about superficial topics such as the weather, sports, entertainment, etc.

However, many of us would readily agree that our life and circumstances go deeper than these superficial topics of discussion.

Let us, therefore, be engaged with one another and look at ways that we can be better listeners and in the interim burn money company that can help us in the process as well as be financially remunerated.

 

10 Ways & Tips to Get Paid to Listen to People’s Problems

 

1. Know What Needs to be Known 

To become a good listener, certain actions should be taken when engaging another individual with listening being a significant part of the conversation.

One of those ways to indicate to the individual that is sharing with you is to ask the occasional question during the conversation.

The question can be a specific question, or a question paraphrased using the individual’s own words such as if I hear you correctly or did you mean to say?

Also, body language is a critical component of listening.

Let your facial expressions and your eyes indicate that you are engaged.

Another critical component of good listening skills is to be attentive and open-minded.

Do not formulate judgments or use words that indicate condemnation or judgments upon the individual.

 

2. Social Worker

Being a social worker requires that the individual have a heart and an empathetic spirit as it relates to interacting with others.

In addition to linking the person to specific programs to help the troubled individual with certain practical actions in their life, a social worker is also called upon to listen to an individual.

This is critical because simply providing things for an individual is like simply putting a bandage on a wound.

There needs to be healing and often, that healing can come when an individual knows that people are listening to them to make that connection.

To be a social worker requires that the individual earn a Bachelors’s Degree in Social Work and possibly earn a Master’s degree.

The average median salary for a social worker is $51,760.

 

3. Substance Abuse Counselor 

A substance abuse counselor is an individual who comes with education and experience in helping individuals with a treatment plan to deal with their dependency on addictive behaviors and especially as it relates to alcohol and drugs.

Their method of treatment is one-on-one with the individual who is in the throes of the addiction but also to facilitate work amongst his or her family members and groups.

In reality, substance abuse is an escape from what is typically raging within the individual’s mind and heart.

To get to the actual root cause of why the individual indulges in abusive behavior it is important to counsel an individual.

An important component of counseling is listening to what the person is saying and what the person is not saying.

To be a substance abuse counselor requires certification in undergraduate study as it relates to alcohol and drug abuse counseling.

Also, certification by the state of residence is required.

The average median salary of a substance abuse counselor is roughly $43,300.

 

4. Minister 

A minister is a man or woman who feels that they have a calling from God in making a difference in people’s lives.

Often, individuals come to ministers because they are overwhelmed with a feeling of guilt and associated pain.

The role of the minister is to listen to the individual and let them release their painful thoughts and if they wish to share with the minister, in confidentiality, their actions that have caused this grief in their lives.

Often, an individual just needs to confess or unburden themselves over actions that they have taken in their lives and possibly wronged or hurt other people.

The role of the minister is not to judge, but to listen and to remind the individual that everybody has at one point or another in their life failed to do the right thing or has hurt people in the process.

A minister is provided with a salary and generally, the educational background of the minister is earning their bachelor’s degree as well as moving on to Divinity school.

The median salary of a minister is $44,250.

 

5. Psychologist 

The function of a psychologist is to allow people to talk about the challenges and the problems that they are facing in life.

A psychologist is like a guide that helps the individual to define the challenges that they are facing and try to achieve a moment where the root cause can be exposed.

Becoming a professional psychologist requires that the individual earn a bachelor’s degree, move forward in their education by earning a Master’s Psychologist Degree, and then continue to earn their doctoral degree.

Once these educational steps have been taken, they will be able to gain practical experience and move on to obtain licensing to practice.

The average pay for a psychologist is $111,034 per year.

 

6. Life Coach 

A life coach is an individual who listens to others and works alongside that person to develop a strategy in meeting their life goals.

A life coach generally draws upon their own life experience in education and can demonstrate success in their life as proof that their coaching skills can be successful in the lives of others.

The major role of a life coach is to listen to an individual, work with that person, and help them to achieve their self-confidence realization of their goals.

Some particular goals could include getting ahead in the workplace, overcoming certain vices in their life, losing weight, etc.

There is no degree associated with being a life coach and the average median salary for a life coach is $57,040 a year.

 

7. School Counselor 

A school counselor interacts with students and helps those students to work through any issues that may be experienced at home as well as helping to develop goals and career paths.

A school counselor, above all, should be a good listener and listen beyond what the individual is saying and listen to what is not being said as a reflection of underlying concerns or issues that may be under the surface of an individual’s mind and heart.

The role of the school counselor is not to tell a student what they should do or how they should proceed in life but come alongside that student, guide, and nudge in certain areas.

The median pay range for a school counselor is anywhere from $56,984 and upwards.

To become a school counselor requires that the individual have a bachelor’s degree and perhaps have attained a Masters’s degree in guidance and school counseling.

 

8. Mental Health Counselor 

A mental health counselor is an individual that should have a high level of listening skills to hear what the challenged individual may be expressing.

The individual being counseled may have mental health challenges that they are facing.

Some of those mental health issues could include a lack of self-confidence, struggling with past events in their life that have skewed their ability to think clearly and rationally, dysfunctional relationships, depression, lack of boundary settings, thoughts of suicide, etc.

To become a mental health counselor requires that the individual have specialized personality and character skills as well as educational acumen.

Specifically, they should have earned a graduate degree in the field of Master of Science in Counseling Psychology.

The average median salary for a mental health counselor is $46,438.

 

9. Online

If an individual wishes to get paid to listen to people, it is also important to remember that we live in a world where through technology just about any service can be rendered.

Therefore, it is important to remember to look to the Internet and research positions that alleviate their loneliness.

 

10. Apps

Another medium or venue that you can utilize to listen to people and earn money is through your smartphone and the downloading of certain apps.

 

 

10 Best Companies & Programs That Pay or Help You Get Paid to Listen to Other People’s Problems

 

1. Virtual Friend 

If you have good listening and strong social skills, you can make money by becoming a virtual friend.

Several sites allow you to earn money by providing this service.

The various sites require that you become a registered member and soon you’ll be receiving requests from individuals who wish to talk to you.

Also, these sites allow you to focus on what you are willing to do and provide a description of your skillset so that particular clients will be able to connect.

 

2. Friend PC 

FriendPC is an opportunity for an individual with good listening skills to earn money.

The process involves signing up as being a virtual friend and when completed the virtual friend can interact with others who need a companion to talk to, play video games with, text, message, have a conversation, or just listen to what you have to say.

There is no cost to sign up for an account and become a member.

There may be a small fee depending upon what services you choose to provide as a virtual friend.

You are paid a set amount of money with a percentage going to the website as part of the service that they provide.

As a friend, you can communicate with the individual in just about any means of communication available.

 

3. Listeners

Listeners is an app that connects people who are willing to converse with you about a variety of subjects which could include their problems or challenges that they are facing.

To start the process, you download the Listeners app and register as a listener.

You also indicate your availability and hours that you can connect with others.

The pay that you will earn is dependent upon how much you wish to charge for your services as it relates also to the amount of time that you will commit to.

The app will take a percentage of the process.

 

4. Department of Education 

A company or service agency to work for would be the state department of education either at the state, regional or local level.

These government agencies hire professionals to interact with the citizens of the community and in that interaction get remunerated to listen to individuals’ problems and endeavor to meet those challenges.

 

5. Non-Profits 

Several not-for-profits’s have social workers on staff to help individuals with their basic needs.

Additionally, as part of the committed service, is the provision of social services in going beyond the basic needs of food, clothing, and lodging and helping the individuals as it relates to challenges being experienced in their personal lives.

Therefore, a social worker in a not-for-profit will get paid to listen to people’s problems and interact positively and practically.

One such organization would be The Salvation Army.

 

6. Amazon Customer Service Rep 

Amazon is advertising for Customer Service Reps.

A customer service rep can work remotely and help Amazon customers by listening to their problems and meeting their customer satisfaction needs by addressing any product challenges that they can address.

 

7. Apple 

Apple has a program entitled At Home Advisors.

This service links a customer who has a question about an Apple product or needs tech support if experiencing a problem.

Through the home advisors process, the customer can talk to a customer service representative.

The job entails the individual working from home, and they can perform this employment position either full or part-time.

Benefits include employee discounts, paid time off, and other career opportunities to make upward career moves.

 

8. Fiverr 

Fiverr is a freelance platform that connects individuals needing to have jobs done with freelancers.

When the freelancer registers as a participant on the website they then can create their bio and begin searching for a variety of jobs.

One of those positions that they can search for is the opportunity to listen to people.

When a job is successfully performed, the agreed-upon price is paid through Fiverr with Fiverr taking 20% of the total cost with the difference paid to the freelancer.

 

9. Bartender 

A classic and sometimes sad way to get paid to listen to people is those individuals who tend bar.

Although their primary function is not to be a listener to individuals, serving alcohol helps facilitate people’s loss of inhibitions and they began to share their challenges and life story with the individual serving the drinks.

 

10. Hospitals 

Many hospitals have a social service component to their medical service that they provide to their patients or customers.

A social service worker may be called upon to help facilitate an individual’s transition back to their home life and ensure that the proper care is provided.

A way to get paid to listen to people’s problems and be involved with a company would be a social worker at a hospital.

 

Personal Story

Listening is a significant part of my wife’s faith and religious belief system when individuals can talk to their minister and unburden.

She would often share with me about standing in line to enter the booth of communication.

Humorously she would share stories with me and often talk about the elderly ladies spending a considerable amount of time in this exhibition of their faith.

She turned to her grandmother and said something to the effect of what do these older women have to say that takes so much time.

Also See: Apps to Get Paid to Listen to Calls & Apps to Get Paid Listening to Music.

 

Earn Money Listening to People’s Problems FAQs

 

What Are Active Questions?

When listening to an individual there are active questions that you can utilize to engage the individual and still maintain your listening commitment.

Active questions would include :

• Open-ended questions
• Paraphrasing questions
• Asking specific questions
• Summarizing questions

 

What Are the Best Actions to Take When Listening to Another Individual?

To indicate that you are listening intently to another individual, the best actions to take would include:

• Maintaining eye contact
• Limit your talking,
• Focusing on the individual,
• Ask open-ended questions,
• Focus on body language as well

 

You Can Do It

We live in a society today where the conversation is superficial and often people are facing challenges and issues in their life.

People, for a variety of reasons, don’t often take the time to listen to what is being said and not being said.

Consequently, a great way to earn money and provide increased service in the process is by being involved in a profession or service that requires excellent listening skills.

 

Conclusion

We are social beings and as part of that socialization is communication which involves not only speaking but more importantly listening to one another.

When we feel that people are listening, there is a trust factor developed as well as the feeling that what we have to say is important.

We all have challenges in our lives and listening to one another goes a long way in significantly building personal relationships, broadening our respect and appreciation for our community, and beyond, and facilitating healing in the lives of others as well.