Do you love your job? If you experience social anxiety, you may not jump to say yes. Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is a persistent fear of being judged or watched that negatively affects most interpersonal interactions. This can make the workday extremely difficult, especially if you are in a customer-facing position. Fortunately, there are jobs for people with social anxiety who want minimal interactions with coworkers or customers. If you feel the need to minimize the number of people that you speak with each day, consider the following careers.
Customer-Facing Jobs For People With Social Anxiety
The following positions do require occasional interactions with the general public, but most do not require work with a big team of colleagues or constant meetings with others. If any of these careers apply to you,
Librarian
Want to work in a quiet environment? Consider a career as a librarian! They don’t just work in school libraries or public libraries. You may enjoy a job as a librarian in a law office, a museum, or a university. With advances in technology, librarians have taken on more jobs than just organizing books or shushing people. They digitize items, conduct research, or manage social media websites for the library.
Some universities offer bachelor's and master’s degrees in library studies, but you may be able to start a librarian career by volunteering at your local library.
Veterinarian
Animals can be a great source of comfort to people who have social anxiety disorder. If you want to give back to the furry creatures who bring you joy, consider a career as a veterinarian. Vets and vet techs may work in private practices or for animal shelters and rescues. You will have to interact with humans, but in certain positions, you may enjoy minimal interaction or leave the harder discussions to the head veterinarian in your practice.
If you want a career as a veterinarian, start attending school now. Vet technicians may be able to get a job with a two-year associate’s degree, but most will want to go for a four-year bachelor’s degree or pursue higher degrees of schooling.
Tradesperson
Most high schools encourage their students to go to four-year universities to study business or finance and neglect the benefits of trade school. Trade schools offer education in areas like HVAC repair, plumbing, and electricity. With these skills, you can start your own business or work for a larger company and spend your days working independently. You will have to interact with individual customers, but with enough business, you can also hire assistants to do that work for you and you can do what you enjoy best - working independently!
Landscaper
Landscaping is another job that requires some social interaction before and after the job is finished but can grow into a job with no social interaction if you choose. If you don’t mind being outside (or if you like being outside,) this might be a great job that gets you moving and out of the house. The best part about it is that you don’t need any formal education to get started! You can learn how to provide landscaping services by watching YouTube videos or by learning from a mentor.
Remote Jobs With Minimal Social Interaction
Writer or Editor
There are plenty of people who feel comfortable communicating through written language, but freeze up when they are around people. If this sounds like you, consider a career as a writer or editor. Writers get to flex their creative muscles without needing to go into an office (usually.) And a career as a writer doesn’t mean that you have to write books or sell your published works in bookstores. Copywriters, ghostwriters, and other types of writers make their careers out of writing blog posts, marketing emails, and other forms of “copy” that businesses use to inform, educate, and sell their products. Freelance websites like Upwork and Fiverr make it easy to get started building a customer base, where you can communicate solely online if you prefer! Work from home or work from anywhere.
Education will help you get more jobs as a writer or editor. A four-year degree can help you sharpen your writing skills, but you can also try classes on sites like Hubspot or LinkedIn to help you sharpen your writing skills as they pertain to content marketing or copywriting.
Graphic Designer
Graphic designers and writers can help businesses achieve similar goals, but they do so with different media. Graphic designers may be asked to create logos, format ebooks, or design posters for businesses either on a one-time basis or as a full-time job. Again, you will have to interact with your clients, but you can set up a successful business through freelancing sites or by reaching out to clients online. If you prefer creating visual art for people, consider sharpening your skills at an art institute or by earning a four-year degree.
Virtual Assistant
Want a job that requires no formal education and no costs to apply? Apply to be a virtual assistant. Like graphic designers, writers, or web developers, VAs can find jobs on freelancing sites or social networking sites like Facebook. Unlike graphic designers, writers, or web developers, you can probably get a job without going to school. All VA jobs are different. Some clients want you to keep their calendars organized while others want you to transcribe information for them. Before you start applying, make a list of your skills and what you can offer clients. This will help you apply for jobs more efficiently.
Data Entry Clerk and Transcription Jobs
Another field that sometimes requires little experience or education is data entry. Data entry jobs consist of organizing or inputting data into spreadsheets for an hourly rate. The job might be tedious, but it can also be low-stress and require little interaction with people. Some “data entry jobs” also require people to transcribe videos, TV shows, and other programs that may need closed captions. Freelancing sites, as well as sites like Reddit, are great resources for these types of jobs.
Resources for Overcoming Social Anxiety
It’s absolutely possible to make a career and a life for yourself without interacting with strangers throughout the day. But it might be easier to reduce SAD symptoms first. If you experience social anxiety, consider pursuing the following treatment options.
Brainspotting Therapy. If your social anxiety is linked to past trauma, you may benefit from brainspotting or EMDR therapy. Brainspotting is a great option for people who are unsure about reliving or revisiting past trauma. The therapy methods may seem unorthodox, but have had great success and become quite popular over the past few decades. If traditional talk therapy has not worked in the past, consider a different approach.
Mindfulness meditation. A daily meditation practice can help you tap into your emotions and recognize when you are starting to feel anxious. This awareness is the first step toward recovery.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. Have you been to talk therapy before? If not, you might want to start by working with a therapist who specializes in CBT. CBT analyzes your thought patterns and how they affect your behaviors and decisions. Through CBT, you may be able to recognize what thought patterns cause symptoms of social anxiety, and put those patterns to rest.
