Searching jobs you do from home used to be a matter of reading the Sunday classifieds for
offers to make you earn money fast by data entry work.
Now days exposure to at-home employment opportunities has increased many folds and a variety of job ads are just a mouse click away. But so are the scams too.
Few years ago, when we began tracking at-home jobs, there were 20 scams for every legitimate opportunity. Now, with 5,500 to 6,000 work-at-home job ads screened weekly.
Nevertheless, there's no shortage of people who dream of beating the odds and earning a living from home.
Websites and companies involved in conducting home-based and virtual career training programs, according to them people looking for work-at-home jobs opportunities primarily are:
- Retirees requiring supplemental income.
- Parents who want to spend more time with their children.
- People with disabilities.
- Trailing military spouses who need to pick up and move every few years because of their partner's career.
Steven Rothberg, founder of CollegeRecruiter.com, says "an increasing minority" of entry-level workers, are attracted to these gigs. He says he believes social introverts make good candidates. "They like working with people (but) they like interacting by e-mail and by being on the phone. They dislike working in person with a lot of others," he says, due to meetings and other "time-sucking problems" at an office.
It's difficult to be a good parent and simultaneously work well at home, as most jobs require uninterrupted time to accomplish tasks, and children's schedules are less than predictable. For those who do choose to walk the tightrope between paid work and parenting, consider deadline-oriented work..
Discipline, Self-motivation, independence and job skills are key characteristics for at-home workers.
A growing number of employers appear to believe telecommuting is a good deal for them as well. It reduces overhead expenses, allows access to talented workers who may not be available locally, provides off-hours support and helps retain employees.
Consider these 10 jobs -- some unexpected and others rather traditional -- for interesting at-home work and good (if competitive) prospects.
Franchise owner
It's a no-brainer: Owning a business can be the road to at-home work. For an initial investment, franchises may offer a ready-made business with brand awareness, a system and a territory. It will be wise to consider businesses that target the over-50 crowd or the self-employed, involve health and wellness, relate to the "green" movement, or involve electronic or online devices (i.e., accessories, applications).
Web developer/designer
Information technology is the sector, where most of the home-based hiring is being done. A virtual assistant and Web developer can offer services such as custom Web site design, template modification and redesigns, code updates, hosting, and usability reviews. You can held administrative positions in a variety of industries, and make a higher per-hour rate now. The job is in high demand. Of the more than 15,000 new monthly work-from-home job postings. Web developers are in the greatest demand.
Virtual assistant
This is a field with much potential, in part because the title description covers many things. "You can fit your offerings to what you know how to do," says Foster. One can own a virtual assistant business or work from home for a company that makes you available to other employees or clients. Small businesses hire virtual assistants to help when they can't justify a permanent employee.
Translator
Those with fluency in more than one language translate audio files or documents, not just word for word but often with cultural differences in mind. "Companies can access home-based translators with hard-to-find language skills without being held back by geographic location," says Fell.
Foster's site lists 15 companies that seek home-based translators. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Outlook Handbook 2008-09, which groups translators and interpreters, notes a projected employment increase of 24 percent over the 2006-to-2016 decade, much faster than the average for all occupations.
The national mean hourly wage for translators and interpreters was $20.74, with a mean annual wage of $43,130 as of May 2008, according to estimates by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Some industries pay significantly higher, with the highest paying jobs generally in the management, scientific and technical consulting services areas, in which the mean hourly wage was $56.50 and the annual mean wage was $117,530.
Medical transcriptionist
A medical receptionist is a demanding job, and nearly every company seeks applicants with experience and/or training from certain schools. The work involves listening to and typing up dictation from doctors -- some of whom have difficult accents, slur words together, and even "eat, drink, chew gum (and) talk to other people in the room" while dictating, she says. But hearing about medical matters can be interesting, and good transcriptionists are in very high demand. Expect initial earnings of less than $10 per hour, but some transcriptionists earn $20 or more per hour.
Call center representative
When you phone to order something from a catalog or infomercial, a big office with rows of cubicles may come to mind. But the person on the other end of the line is likely to be sitting in a home office. "It's a huge and growing industry," says Durst of companies that hire independent contractors to take calls from home. She says the "home-shore movement" started in response to complaints about the many companies that looked offshore for workers. While some Web sites, such as Alpineaccess.com, actually hire representatives, most use subcontractors. Just be aware that the pay may be by the minute rather than by the hour, so you may not be paid for time you spend waiting by the phone. A list of companies that hire call center reps can be found at Homewiththekids.com.
Tech support specialist
Call centers also hire technical support specialists to work remotely. Kate Lister, co-author of "Undress for Success: The Naked Truth About Making Money at Home," names it as one of her top three "best-bet work-at-home jobs." And according to the Occupational Outlook Handbook, jobs for computer support specialists (on-site and remote combined) were expected to increase by 13 percent from 2006 to 2016 -- much faster than the average for all occupations -- with 71,000 new jobs.
Travel agent
Scams abound in the travel industry -- particularly organizations that charge for information on how to break into the field. But operating a home-based travel agency can be an excellent business, says Tom Ogg of the Home Based Travel Agent Information Center. "Real home-based travel agents have experienced robust growth over the last decade, and there are probably around 35,000 of them and growing." A growing (although small) number of people earn $100,000 or more a year, he says. "A solid business concept and plan focused on profitability will take you a long way to achieving your monetary goals." There's also the joy of helping others enjoy their leisure time.
Teacher
High-speed Internet connections have created more opportunities for teachers and students to work together from afar. From post secondary education to elementary schools, there are opportunities for students to learn virtually. Along with that, come opportunities to teach (and tutor) virtually. While distance learning is not new, advanced technology, collaborative multimedia software designed for schools. It is also noticed more teacher jobs being posted, and there are professors who makes six figures working mainly online. Income depends on how many hours you're applying to it and the type of classes you're teaching.
Writer/editor
These days frequent listings for writing, editing and proofreading, particularly for the Web are posted on paid to write sites. Even those without writing experience can join the blogosphere. Not only can blogging be lots of fun, Foster says, but also there's money to be earned blogging for someone else's site, getting paid to post on your own blog or through revenue-sharing arrangements. A list of blogging opportunities, for which the pay range is less than $5 per post to more than $20 per post..
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