How to Work Online From Home and Get Paid

For so long now, people have been looking to work online from home and get paid. For that matter, even before the internet, people were wanting to work from home! The promise of no more commute and better work life balance is almost irresistible. Luckily, it’s easier now than ever to find a job you can do from home.

Benefits of working from home

The perks of remote working are many. You can eliminate your daily commute. No more investing in expensive office attire. In some cases, you can set your own working hours. Your new home job may even accommodate alternative work formats allowing you to work from anywhere and/or anytime. 

While there are certainly benefits to remote working, it’s also important to consider the other side of the coin. If you are looking into a work-from-home job because you have small children at home and want to eliminate childcare costs, you may be surprised at just how many distractions you experience during the day. If you have a tendency to overwork in a traditional work environment things may only get exponentially worse if there are no clear boundaries between work and home. Some personalities simply don’t work well without accountability. Therefore, it’s really important to be honest about your strengths and weaknesses before venturing into remote work. 

What You Will Need to Work from Home

The type of home job you choose will dictate the requirements to work remotely. Work-from-home customer service jobs, for example, typically require a computer 3 years old or newer, a landline phone and ethernet internet access in addition to a noise-cancelling headset. You also can’t have any background noise. 

Other careers, such as writing jobs, typically have no equipment requirements. You can even do your remote work in a coffee shop. 

Most companies do want you to have a quiet office space free of distractions. Regardless of the online job, you will need to stay focused and do the best job you can. 

Popular Types of Jobs You Can do from Home

Technology is ever-changing and every year we see more opportunities for the remote worker. Many computer-based jobs can now be done remotely. 

Virtual Assistant

If you come from an office administration or secretarial background, you may be surprised at the freelance job opportunities becoming a virtual assistant can offer. This remote position can be exceptionally varied in tasks and therefore available to many qualified candidates. 

Remote tasks may include calendar management, answering phone calls or emails, research, making travel arrangements, digital file management and more. It’s very important to know your way around popular online software such as Google Docs, Dropbox, Gmail, etc. 

Social Media Manager

While social media management used to fall under the virtual assistant umbrella, it’s now a remote job in itself. Social media managers may be responsible for community moderation, social media content creation, analytics, advertising and more. While large companies may require a bachelor’s degree in marketing or a similar field, many smaller businesses are open to those who have completed online training and can show a positive track record and referrals. As a job seeker, always include applicable accomplishments in your online resume. 

Customer Service Representative

Remote call center jobs are some of the most abundant and where many WFH professionals get their start. It’s not unusual to see several Fortune 500 companies hiring at any given time. Every industry from rental cars to hotels and major retailers to healthcare need compassionate people answering customer queries. 

A few big companies that employ a remote team include:

• Amazon
• Enterprise 
• Hilton Hotels
• UnitedHealth Group
• Williams-Sonoma
• And more!

Freelance Writer 

If you love research and have a creative spark, freelance writing jobs can be very rewarding. This type of job will allow you to focus on topics you are passionate about while you create educational or entertaining content for others. As you gain experience, freelance writing can also pay quite well. This is especially true for those willing to go out there and get their own clients. 

If you are looking for a remote employee position that offers benefits, most freelance positions will not cut the muster. Independent contractor roles typically offer a lot more freedom and can be a flexible work option, it usually comes at a cost. You are often responsible for your own health insurance, office expenses, tax filings and more. 

Transcription

Transcribing audio or video files into text is a popular home job for those who don’t want to be on the phone. While there are general transcription jobs that don’t require experience, they typically don’t pay very much. It’s only when you get into specialized areas like legal or medical transcriptionist that you can expect a higher median annual salary. 

Training is usually required for those avenues. You can look into medical transcription training at a legit training company like CareerStep or Transcribe Anywhere for general and legal transcription training. 

Online Tutoring

If you have an educational background or bachelor’s degree, you may find a rewarding career waiting for you in the online teaching or tutoring industry. This type of remote work runs the gamut from flexible positions teaching English as a second language to children around the globe to full-time steady remote employee positions with companies like Kaplan or K12 teaching children here in the USA. 

These positions typically happen via video conferencing so you should be comfortable being on camera. You can also venture out into test prep or test scoring with the right credentials. 

What’s Not a Real Remote Job

There are a lot of scammers out there promising big bucks for little work. You will likely run into job listings ads for paid survey, data entry job or typing job opportunities that offer full-time pay. If it sounds too good to be true it probably is! 

If it was really that easy everyone would be doing it by now. The internet has been around for a long time. These are typically attempts to get your personal and bank information. Don’t fall for that. If something smells fishy, walk away before it’s too late. The easier the job, the less money it’s probably going to pay. Remember that. While there are legit paid surveys and small task opportunities out there, they should be considered extra money at best. They aren’t going to provide steady income that will pay your bills. 

Where to find online jobs

If you want to find a legit online job, you need to stick with a legit job board when conducting your job search. Indeed is a popular job board on which you can find a lot of WFH jobs. Always do your research prior to handing over any personal information. Look into the company on Glassdoor. Make sure their email address matches their website. No legit company is going to use a gmail address for job applications. 

If you seriously want to cut the fat – and the risk – you can become a paid member at a site like FlexJobs. They research all of their job postings for legitimacy. Membership comes with additional perks as well.