Get Paid to Stand in Line
This is true. You can professionally be paid for standing in line for others. In this job you can stand online for hours and even days for money. The longer you stand in line the more you get paid. One thing good about this job is that it can be done by even people with little skills but have plenty of time to spare. There are lot of people who can do this job.
Why There is a Demand for this Service
Many people who avail of this service are just too busy to spare an hour or so waiting in line to avail of a particular product or service. There will be instances where people will have conflicting schedules that is why they need to be in 2 or more places at the same time. For example there are patients in China who pay people to wait in line for their doctor’s appointments.
Then we have to factor in people that are too lazy or impatient to even wait in line. Maybe they think rising up very early in the morning just to wait in line for hours is just too much for them What is important to know though is that there are people who value their time and effort more than they value money that is why they are willing to pay for this service.
This is especially so when waiting in line means you have to contend with the elements of nature and people. There can be rowdy people especially groups waiting in line together who might harass you and other people waiting in line. Maybe some people can be very noisy while you are waiting. Just think of the bad experiences you encounter when you are in a crowd as a visualisation.
Then you have to contend with the weather especially if you are waiting in an open space without any protection for those waiting in line. Rains even light and short ones can ruin your day. The cold can get to you especially when there is snow. Even a windy weather is uncomfortable. Then there is the flipside of having a very hot weather that you sweat buckets while waiting in line.
The Apps have Taken Over
There are several apps that provide this service. Some of them are: LineAngel, TaskRabbit, InLine4You and so on. You can check them out as well as other articles about being paid to stand in line by searching the Google term “get paid to stand in line”. It seems most of these apps are based in the USA but you can localise your search by adding your country in the Google search term.
Can You Make Serious Money with It?
In the articles I found online you can get as much as $25 per hour when you do this job. But since this is not a paid regular job with regular work hours and pay your compensation will vary from others. I however found an article online which tells the story of a man doing this job professionally and earns more than $50,000. He is based in the USA.
Equipment You Would Need
Mobile phone: You cannot function without a mobile phone. You need this to book your jobs especially if you are dependent on apps to provide you with service. You also need this to communicate with your clients.
Chair foldable: If you are standing in line for hours then your feet would become sore unless you stretch and relax them. A foldable chair not only reduces the stress in your feet but may be an opportunity for you to earn extra income by offering any extra chairs to other people waiting in line. Extra chairs could also be an ice breaker for you when you are trying to market your services to people in the line.
Umbrella: This is the best protection of most people against rain or the extremely intense rays of the sun. Just like the foldable chair extra umbrellas could be another source of income for you while you wait in line or an ice breaker for you when you are trying to market your services to people in the line.
All Weather Clothes: It all depends on how you gauge the weather to be. The weather could be fine one minute and another minute it might become extremely uncomfortable and even hostile. Best to bring comfortable but all weather clothes to tide you over while you wait in line. I do not think anyone would pay you in case you get sick performing this job so be extra careful.
Water and Food: If you wait in line for hours chances are you will need water and food when you experience thirst and hunger pangs. You could also save time for example by taking your breakfast while waiting in line. Just be careful you pace yourself and not drink and eat too much which might force you to leave the line as you have to go to the toilet.
What Can You Do While You Wait In Line?
Since all you have to do to get paid is to wait in line and do not much else for a long period of time you can use this time to do more productive things like income generating ones. For example if you are a freelance writer then you can use this time to write or look for online writing jobs. You can also use this time to blog and even take videos of your experiences waiting in line for different products, services and crowds.
Is It a Long Term Career?
There are already apps that market this service you can create your own app and compete with them or you can setup a smaller company where you book waiting in line services and have your employees doing the actual work for you. Just like any business this service business can be scaled to be more profitable for you while you have more time for yourself.
Negatives and Positives
The positive of it is that it is a job anyone can do even low educated and skilled people can do it. It does not take a lot of training to do it as well. The negative of it is that since it can be done by anyone with little to no training you will face a lot of competition especially since this kind of earning opportunity is getting more and more popular. Then again most jobs have the same problem.
You could also be exposed to the weather elements which could be very uncomfortable and even hostile. Then again many people who work outside are also exposed to the weather elements so this is just a part of the job. Your advantage to this people is that you only need to endure the weather elements while you wait in line and do not have to do another task at the same time.
International Scene
Many articles about this job is about the scene in the USA. I however have seen articles for this kind of job in such countries as Australia, China and India. In India for example the recent demonetisation of their currency have caused bank customers to pay people to wait in line in banks to avail of bank services before their currency becomes worthless.
Conclusion
This kind of earning opportunity has existed for a long time. The oldest online article I read about this dates back to 2015 but I am sure this earning opportunity has existed for a long time informally. There are many people who have more money than the average person but even they have to avail of products and services they need and have to wait in line. These are the clients you should be targeting.