The World Has Changed!! And it is about to get a lot uglier with this new coronavirus that is sweeping this planet. At this writing, there are now over 250,000 cases worldwide with over 15,000 deaths. New York, California, Illinois and Connecticut have all shut down and are telling their residents to STAY AT HOME!! More states are following their lead and shutting down as well. Millions of folks are losing their jobs with no end in sight. It sounds like the end of the world. And for many people, it might just be that. Companies are closing their doors and sending all employees home. Every person I know is now working out of their home. They are the lucky ones because many people can’t work from home. They are in service jobs that rely on customers coming into the store, restaurants, bars, sports arenas… the list is endless. However, there is a way out if this mess with a lot of hard work and the willingness to change. There are many companies seeking workers to work online. And they are paying really decent wages as well. I have listed several of the top jobs that are paying the best. Look them over and see if any of these areas appeal to you. Because, there is a growing acceptance of the many ways to communicate online or over mobile devices. Work From Home careers have seen a boon in the last several years and are now set to soar exponentially. Today, more and more people are working their high profile jobs with very large companies from the comfort of their own home.
There are obvious benefits of working from the house. No commute – which means NO rush hour traffic either way. You can work at the times you set so NO more punching the clock. So your schedule is extremely flexible. This may sound silly, but you can work in your bathrobe if you want to. You are in the comfort of your own home. Now I have to add that there are some negatives working from home. Some people do not have the ability to separate their work from their home life, so you have to be very responsible and a self-starter to make this new schedule work for you.
As long as you have the drive and skills, you can excel in several work from home careers that are available today. Here are five good stay at home careers that you could start up today.
Transcriptionist
There is a strong need to transcribe dictations from doctors in the medical community. Although many medical transcriptionists work for hospitals or physician’s offices, most are able to work at home, and at a time or place of their choosing. It might be difficult to find this type of work because experience counts in this industry. Your job would be to listen to tapes that doctors record and type them up in a coherent format. Since their tasks involve transcribing recorded medical dictation, a computer, desk, and earpiece are generally the only requirements after completing a postsecondary medical transcriptionist program. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), medical transcriptionists earned a national median wage of $35,720 in May of 2016, or $17.17 an hour. Although many medical transcriptionists are self-employed, many find jobs through their local hospital, physician, or community college or vocational school.
Virtual Assistant
Being a virtual assistant can be extremely flexible and rewarding. With so many businesses operating mostly, or even completely, online, it’s no wonder that many of these companies hire virtual assistants to help keep them organized and complete administrative tasks. Small businesses look for work from home employees they can hire cheaply instead of hiring full time employees to take care of a myriad of items for their business. This type of work can be extremely lucrative if you can work your way into a great company and have a lot of different skills. This opportunity would be great for stay at home moms who gave up their professional life to stay home with the kids but are looking for work from home careers that offer more flexibility and can also challenge them.
Although virtual assistant jobs vary drastically, tasks can include composing and responding to emails, creating and distributing business-related documents, responding to media and business inquiries, writing and creating content, and more. Check out virtual assistant jobs at sites such as Upwork.com and Zirtual.com. While pay varies, virtual assistants can typically charge between $15 and $75 an hour. However, what you’ll earn depends on who you work for and the level of skill required for your daily tasks.
Website Developer
The most popular of the work from home careers available today begin with website developers or website designers. There are several job boards like ODesk.com that offers thousands of new job offers daily for you to bid on and find work. Information technology has the highest rate of work from home employees. Even larger companies allow technical people who are otherwise sitting in front of a computer all day, work from home in more numbers today than in years past. The opportunity is definitely there, you just need to make sure your skills are up to par as well.
It’s fairly easy to build your own website if you take advantage of the many free learning opportunities online. However, much of the population isn’t equipped to build their own site or don’t have the time, which is why so many people make a living building websites and blogs for others. According to the BLS, around 16% of web developers were self-employed in 2016, with the vast majority able to work at home, or anywhere with a laptop and speedy Internet connection.
The great news is that the national median wage for web developers was $66,130 in 2016, with the top 10% earning an average of $119,550. And you don’t need an advanced degree to begin start building websites. All you need is some postsecondary education, applicable experience, and a portfolio of successful sites you’ve built and managed. Do a Google search for some basic tutorials on how to build a great website and spend some time learning how to do it. I know form experience that this is NOT as hard as you may think. There will be a learning curve, but after you learn, it is as easy as pie.
Translator
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most translators do their work at home, and many times they are under tight deadlines. Most of the time you will need some advanced education, like a bachelor’s degree. However, the most important requirement for translators is, of course, fluency in at least two languages. And the more languages you are fluent in, the more money you will make. This kind of work from home job is ideal for people who are immigrants or who come from families that are from another country. You will know the home language, and then hopefully you can speak English as well. The median wage for translators was $46,000…however the top earners were earning over $80,000. The more languages you have under your belt, the more you can earn. Again, you can find job postings on Upwork.com.
Travel Agent
Starting and operating a home based travel agency can be very rewarding and lucrative. Although the demand is expected to decrease over the next decade, the opportunities are still there for travel agents who can navigate the Internet to help their clients plan their next great adventure. Good Travel Agents can earn six figures if you have a good business plan and focus on profitability. Not everyone can become a good travel agent and you need to look out for businesses that offer you legitimate training. Be very careful tho!!! There are many “Courses” that claim to teach you how to become a travel agent that may be a scam. Do your research and read about any business you may think of starting before you jump in. Having a business that allows you to help people enjoy life and relax can be very rewarding, especially if you can do this type of career from your house.
Online Marketing Professional / Freelance Writer
One of the highest growth potential work from home careers out there is to become an affiliate marketing professional. More than ever, writers are needed to formulate news articles, create content, and come up with creative ideas that fill the pages of nearly every site on the Internet. You create content like articles and blog posts to promote a product or service. And although many bigger sites have in-house writers, a growing number of sites outsource their content and hire freelance writers and content creators. And if you can drive traffic to the affiliate companies website and the traffic ends up converting into a sale, you can get profits from the sale. This is an interesting career to follow as there are hundreds of affiliate marketing opportunities out there. But also a lot of scams. Writing experience is very helpful, but what you really need to get started are drive, ambition, and the ability to find a unique angle on events that happen every day. Sites like Upwork.com list online freelancing positions, as does Freelancer.com and Media Bistro. To get hired, you’ll likely need to have a portfolio of solid work, or at least some writing samples you can include with your resume. While writing fees vary depending on the job and the freelancer, many writers earn at least $150 per article and some earn up to $1,500 per finished piece.
If you are looking for a way to start working from home, then my advice would be to find what interests you and what you can be passionate about. Even though there are many legitimate work-at-home opportunities, there are still many, many scams to watch out for. But it’s up to you to find them and steer clear, and it’s not always easy to tell the real deal from a scam. Here are several tips on how to steer clear of the many scams that are out there waiting for you.
- Do Lots and Lots of Research: When you find a job posting you’re interested in, take special care to research the company that’s hiring. It is vitally important to know exactly whom you’re working for. Check them out with the Better Business Bureau and conduct a Web search for any complaints or less-than-stellar reviews.
- Ask for references: Any company that’s hiring workers to work at home might have other people working for them as well. Ask how many and find out if you’re able to contact any of them. If they are unwilling to provide references or contact information, it might not be a good sign.
- Think long and hard before shelling out any money: Some work-at-home jobs will require you to purchase materials or equipment to get started, and while that doesn’t mean they’re not legitimate, it should be a red flag. If you are asked to pay for equipment, make sure you understand what you’re buying, and from whom. Also, ask about the return policy for your equipment if your new gig doesn’t work out.
In my experience, when I wasn’t sure this was what I wanted to do, then I failed. Failed miserably. It would really benefit you to sit and think for a bit and determine if this is something thats right for you. There are many benefits from working at home. The freedom, the comfort, no traffic jams and less gas, and less pollution because you aren’t on the roads. However, there are some huge roadblocks that comes from Working At Home. You can sit around all day and not get anything done. And that is NOT in your best interest, because you won’t be making any money. But if you are a self motivator and can set a schedule at home and stick to it… then success is right around the corner. You will have a very rewarding Work From Home Career… and that is what this is all about. I wish you all the bets of luck in your new career.