9 Work At Home Jobs That Are Actually Legit
We’ve already established that there are a number of scammy “jobs” that try to hook stay at home parents with promises of fat stacks or “total flexibility!” where all you have to do is pay four easy installments of $99.99 or sell stuff to your friends for a sad commission. But what about the good stuff?
Believe it or not, there are legitimate telecommuting jobs that let you work from home, and pay you actual money as opposed to internet funbuxx. They are just a pain to source. So, because I love you all so much, I found some that I know are legit; either because I’ve done them myself or know someone who has.
1. Customer Service Jobs
If you have the stomach for it, there are actually quite a few customer service jobs that offer a decent wage and no start up costs as long as you already have a computer, internet, and usually a land line. Starwood, for instance, has legitimate call center careers. The obvious downside to a CSR job is that if your kids aren’t in school yet, it can be tough to work on the phone. Fortunately, companies like Apple offer chat or email-based work if that’s more your thing. Also, you’ll have to watch out for wonky hours, as some of the shifts are graveyard.
2. Errand Running
If you just want to earn a little extra money here and there, sites like TaskRabbit might be what you’re looking for. Basically you go on to the site, register, and complete a background check, and then you can bid on tasks or errands in your area. Some are total junk, but there’s quite a few good ones that you can do while you’re out anyway, like picking up someone’s dry cleaning or delivering coffee. Postmates works the same way, only instead of bidding it’s first come, first served, and it’s limited to courier services only–so no housecleaning or dog walking. The downside here is that you’ll be driving around, not technically “at home”, and both services are only available in certain cities.
3. Freelancing
Ah, the wonderful world of freelancing. It is a decidedly tough thing to break into, but once you have there are opportunities available for everything from writing and graphic design to voice over work and app development. When you’re first starting out, you might want to hit up sites like Elance or Odesk so you can vet your potential clients. Just know that you will have to sift through a whole lot of crappy jobs first, and that both sites take a chunk of your earnings.
4. Community Management
I loved doing community management. A community manager’s job ranges from monitoring forums to handling social media platforms, and it’s way less boring than taking tickets all day. Companies like Metaverse Mod Squad can hook you up with social media and forum moderation jobs that you can do from home. They also have CSR jobs that start at about eight dollars an hour, and social media manager posts that run up to $16.
5. Virtual Assistant Work
Not all virtual assistant jobs are legit, so make sure you do your research. There are some that definitely are, though, including Zirtual, where you can work from home at $12 an hour and get benefits. They have part time work available too for less pay, and you must have at least one year of college education.
6. Online Tutoring or Teaching
Again, there are a few tutoring companies out there that masquerade as legit but actually suck. The fact is, any legit tutoring or teaching company, like Aim4A, or k12 want people who are already certified to teach which is why they offer decent compensation and sometimes benefits.
7. Sell A Course
If you aren’t qualified to teach an academic subject, but know everything there is to know about something else–like how to make your own baby food, kid’s yoga, or underwater basketweaving, you can sell that online. Some platforms are better than others, and it all depends on what you’re looking for. Skillshare, for instance, will let you upload a class for free but take a 12% commission, which is actually pretty reasonable. They are also pretty discerning about what they post, so make sure you know your subject in and out.
8. Test Scorer
I’m not going to lie to you. Working as a test scorer is incredibly dull. Soul crushingly, mind-numbingly dull. Still, if you’re qualified, the pay is pretty decent, and companies like ETS and Pearson pay pretty well per project, anywhere from $10 to $20 an hour. As a bonus, they take taxes out before they pay you, which is a huge plus for WAHMs.
9. All This Other Stuff:
Not every work at home job falls neatly into a category, and there are actually quite a few businesses that have openings for everything from Project Management to Human Resources, and have the added benefit of being full-time positions with benefits and training. The downside, of course, is that for the most part, these are not entry level jobs.
You’ll have a lot less flexibility, and your employer will expect you to stay in contact all day, just like you would in an office. Airbnb, Salesforce, and Autodesk, all have legitimate jobs that you can do from home.
Basically, working at home comes down to this: if someone promises you a fun, flexible, easy job that will make you lots and lots of money, they are lying to you straight out of their lying mouth hole.
The legitimate, decent paying stuff usually requires education and experience, and it is extremely unlikely that you will ever become rich working at home. Additionally, there is a lot of competition for the good stuff, so chances are slim that you’ll find something right away.
The fact is, working from home is not a walk in the park. You’ll often work weird hours, end up paying for child care anyway, or feel bad for ignoring your family. That’s not to say there isn’t good stuff, though. For instance, pants are mostly optional. There’s benefits and drawbacks–just like working out of the home and momming full-time. Anyone who says otherwise is probably trying to sell you something.
(Image: spotmatik/Shutterstock)
