Caring for people and pets

You look after people or animals. Trust is the whole job, so background checks and reviews matter more here than anywhere else.

4 gigs.

Gigs that match

• Get a Stipend With AmeriCorps Seniors

  $4 an hour

  $4.00 an hour is the rate AmeriCorps uses to build its grant budgets, not a promise to any one volunteer.

  Help an older adult or a child one to one, as little as 5 hours a week. If your income is low, some programs pay a small stipend. It is budgeted at $4 an hour.

  • Background check
  • Some standing
  • In person
  • Start cost not stated

  First money: Not stated. The pages we read give no time from sign-up to first stipend.

• Pet Sit on Your Own

  You set your rate

  You feed, water, and check on pets in an owner's home, or stay overnight there. It isn't boarding at your place. No source publishes a sitter's pay.

  • Car helps
  • Phone helps
  • Some standing
  • Under $50 to start

  First money: No waiting period once you have a lock box and a first booking. Some sitters get paid the same day.

• Visit Older Adults With Papa

  $13-18 an hour

  Papa's sign up page states a base rate of $13-$18 an hour, plus bonuses.

  You visit older adults to keep them company and run errands. Papa states its base rate of $13-$18 an hour, plus bonuses. Papa runs a background check. Its pages list an insured car and a driver's license, and you must be 21 or older.

  • Car needed
  • Phone needed
  • Background check
  • Some standing

  First money: Papa says approval takes 1 to 2 weeks. Papa's blog says you may not see many visits at first.

• Walk Dogs on Your Own

  You set the price

  You walk dogs for owners who hire you straight, no app between you. A walk is priced by its length, your area, and whether the dog walks alone or with others. No company or the government publishes what a solo dog walker takes home. You need only a leash and bags to start, no vehicle required.

  • On your feet
  • Phone helps
  • Under $50 to start
  • No car needed

  First money: No waiting period once you have a leash, bags, and a booked walk. Some walkers get paid the same day.

All gigs and filters or how we check things.