Local Nerd jobs in Hays & Northwest Kansas
Become a Local Nerd in Hays.
Hays is the hub of northwest Kansas, and this market runs from Hays, Victoria, Ellis, Catharine and Plainville out to Russell, WaKeeney, Stockton and Ness City. If you live in Ellis County or the counties around it, this is the market you'd apply to.
- Bookings come through the Nerd HQ app
- Independent contractor, 1099
- You set your own availability
- Typically $47 to $87 an hour
The ground you'd cover.
Distances are measured from downtown Hays. The towns below sit in Ellis, Russell, Rooks, Trego, Rush, Ness, Graham and Phillips counties. Every market reaches 75 miles from its downtown in three travel bands, and the farther bands pay a higher hourly rate because the drive is longer. You choose which bands you take, and you can change it later.
Within 25 miles
Hays, Catharine, Victoria, Schoenchen, Ellis, Walker, Pfeifer, Liebenthal, Gorham, Mc Cracken, Ogallah, La Crosse, Plainville, Russell.
25 to 50 miles
Paradise, Bison, Otis, Brownell, Natoma, Palco, Rush Center, Nekoma, Alexander, Wakeeney, Waldo, Olmitz, Bunker Hill, Damar, Albert, Bazine and 20 more nearby towns.
50 to 75 miles
Osborne, Morland, Glade, Logan, Kirwin, Tipton, Garfield, Hanston, Portis, Cedar, Gaylord, Downs and 12 more nearby towns.
Not sure which market your town belongs to? Apply for the city nearest you and tell us where you live. The markets overlap on purpose, and you tell us which queues you want bookings from. What customers here are told is on the Hays page.
What the work looks like here.
Hays is Fort Hays State and the hospital, and the Volga German towns around it have farmhouses built of post rock limestone that Wi-Fi doesn't get through. I-70 makes Ellis, Victoria and Russell quick. Everything else is wheat ground and two-lane roads between county seats, WaKeeney, Stockton, Hill City and Ness City, where the first question is often which internet service reaches the house. Those drives pay the higher band rates.
You keep the majority of every booking, and every tip is yours. You see the split up front. Tips are paid out weekly, in full.
You set your own availability. Open the times that suit you in Nerd HQ. A few evenings a week or full time, that part is your call.
Bookings come through the Nerd HQ app. Customers book the open time you publish, with buffer time built in around each visit.
Nobody negotiates money at the door. Every booking takes a deposit up front and holds the card. The customer signs off on your phone at the end and the rest charges itself.
You're independent. Your own tools, any reliable and presentable vehicle, and free to work elsewhere whenever you like.
You have a team behind you. You get the Nerd HQ app, a direct line to HQ, a team that meets over video, and other Local Nerds to ask when something's strange.
Questions people in Hays ask.
Do I need to live in Hays itself?
No. Apply for this market and tell us your town and ZIP. Distances are measured from downtown Hays, but you can live in Victoria, Ellis, Russell or anywhere else in the market.
How long are the drives?
Victoria, Ellis and Plainville are a short run. WaKeeney, Stockton and Ness City are in the 25 to 50 mile band, Phillipsburg and Smith Center in the outer one, and the farther bands pay more per hour. You pick which bands you take.
One form, then a real conversation.
Apply online. About five minutes. No resume needed.
We read it. A real person reads every application, and if it looks like a fit, we reach out.
A short pre-screen on your phone. Two quick videos and one typed answer, about fifteen minutes. A person watches every one.
A thirty-minute video call. To meet you and walk through the role together.
Background check, and we pay for it. Only after we've talked. You enter your details with the screening provider, never with us.
Onboarding, and you're live. Your Nerd HQ account, your hours and a short orientation, then your first booking.
The full picture, including the map of every market, is on the Become a Local Nerd page.
Local Nerd jobs in other markets.
This page describes an independent contractor opportunity and is not an offer of employment. Local Nerds are independent contractors, not employees: you set your own availability, use your own tools and vehicle, and are free to work elsewhere. Compensation is a revenue share paid on completed bookings. Nothing on this page guarantees any level of income or booking volume, in this market or any other.