I made $124,000 last year answering people’s questions about their antiques. Here’s how I turned my passion into a remote job that gave me financial freedom.

• Nora Curl worked in the art world in New York before she moved to Pennsylvania to care for her mom.
• She started answering antiques questions on JustAnswer, where people can quiz experts.
• Curl shared how it works, how she made $124,000 from it last year, and why she loves it.

This is an as-told-to essay based on a conversation with Nora Curl, an antiques appraiser from northwestern Pennsylvania. Insider confirmed her job and income. The following has been edited for length and clarity.

My parents used to take me to auction houses in the country when I was a kid. They had a hobby of collecting antiques, though not much.

After college, I moved to Los Angeles and got a job working for a Hollywood producer. Everyone barked orders at me, and I wasn’t paid much.

On weekends, I went to museums, auction houses, art galleries, and antique shops with friends. That was my release.

“That’s a Tiffany lamp,” I’d say to friends. That’s Rookwood pottery.”

They were surprised that I knew these things — but I assumed everyone did.

I worked in the New York, London, and Miami art world

I realized I had a talent for antiques appraisal and decided to apply for a postgraduate program at Christie’s auction house in London.

There were many people at Christie’s who were related to royalty or had family ties to antique dealers. I finished first in the class.

I relocated to New York and took a job at a fine-art gallery and auction house.

I eventually became Nelson Shanks’ personal assistant, having painted the presidential portraits of Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton. It was an exciting time. I handled exhibition contract negotiations and sourced Renaissance and Baroque works for his collection. My desk chair was a 16th-century Venetian Sgabello.

I also worked for Art Review magazine and the Art Basel show in Miami.

I returned to Pennsylvania to be near my mother.

In 2012, I had to return to northwestern Pennsylvania to help care for my mother, an elderly widow.

I left the New York art scene, concerned about how I would make a living selling art and antiques there.

For a time, I sold antiques I’d purchased on eBay and Etsy and did freelance work for New York clients.

I wanted to work in antiques remotely.

I aspired to be able to work from home, assisting people all over the world in determining the worth of art, antiques, and collectibles.

In September 2012, I discovered an online antiques appraisal job posting. I knew I was qualified. One week later, I received an email stating that I had been approved to appraise antiques on JustAnswer.

I respond to people’s questions as they appear on my screen. There is no boss in this job.

The site keeps track of how much I earn each time I answer a question — and questions are coming in all the time. I made over $1,000 in the first few days. I couldn’t believe it. My first month’s earnings were $4,000.

It’s fast-paced and addictive

I provide quick, written online antiques and art valuations. I tell people how old something is and what it is worth.

Most customers want to know how much an item is worth, but a few just want to know what it is.

It moves quickly. Customers’ questions have a five-minute timer; they can be quite impatient.

Fortunately, I am a quick researcher and typist. There isn’t much I haven’t seen. I also use paid subscription databases to help me find comparable items to identify.

Some people have antiques worth seven figures.

I’ve been asked about everything from 18th-century paintings to contemporary prints, porcelain figurines, and collectible dolls.

I have a talent for identifying paintings with illegible, scribbled signatures. It’s so exciting when I figure out who painted it that I sometimes do a little dance at my desk.

When I’ve determined who the artist is, I send the customer proof, such as images of comparable paintings by the same artist with their signature and a link to the artist’s biography.

It’s a lot of fun telling someone that their painting is worth six or seven figures.

Someone once asked me about a silver chalice they’d been given a few years ago. They had no idea what it was. It had an inscription from Samuel Clemens on it.

I was aware that Samual Clemens’ pen name was Mark Twain. I was overjoyed to tell the customer.

I’ve gotten better at dealing with rude customers.

Customers are occasionally disappointed with what I say and respond in an unkind manner.

Many people believe they own an item that sailed from England to the United States on the Mayflower. If everything that people claim came from the Mayflower was true, the ship would have sunk from being weighed down.

People’s negative responses hurt at first. I had worked so hard to reach this level of expertise, and people were skeptical. But now I’m confident that I’ve given them the correct response.

Because of this job, I was able to purchase a home.

I was especially busy during the COVID-19 pandemic. Everyone was at home, cleaning. They’d come across a painting their auntie had given them and wonder where it came from and how much it was worth.

I used to answer questions for 14 to 16 hours a day. It was very profitable. In 2021, I made $152,600 from JustAnswer.

I work seven days a week, eight hours a day on average. Working so much doesn’t bother me because it’s something I enjoy.

I consider myself extremely fortunate to have control over my daily schedule and to live next door to my mother. I don’t have to ask permission to take time off work to care for her if she has an appointment or an emergency.

I earned $124,000 from JustAnswer last year. I was able to pay off the debts I had accumulated while living in New York, and I was able to buy my lakeside home for $86,000 in cash in 2016.

I’m grateful for this job because it has provided me with financial independence.