Stay at Home Jobs: Must-Try Opportunities for Beginners

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Work-at-homers come from all walks of life. We all have different educational and professional backgrounds. We all have different reasons for wanting to work from home. We also all have our own sets of challenges and strengths.

Many of us, however, are looking to make a life change. We don’t so much care about going into the same field of work we are coming from. We are willing to try new things as we enter this next stage of our lives.

Some of us want to loosen up our finances a bit with some extra spending cash. Others want to create or replace a full-time income. No matter what, we all want to start making money from home.

If any of that sounds like you, but you aren’t quite sure how to begin, you’re in the right place! This is a great list of stay-at-home jobs for beginners. Let’s jump in!

Customer Service

Answering customer service and sales calls is one of the most plentiful and easy-to-attain work at home opportunities around. Not only do many online retailers contract virtual workers, but there are also several companies that handle the virtual call centers of several businesses.

Most of these remote jobs require high-speed internet and a landline to receive incoming calls. While this may not be your dream job, the pay is usually pretty good. That $10 to $15 per hour can certainly help pay the bills while you find the perfect side hustle.

Alorica @ Home

Alorica is a well-known name in the work-at-home world. They hire in many U.S. states. Training is paid. Direct deposit or pay card are the methods of payment available.

Enterprise

This is a company you are likely familiar with. Work from home helping people book rental car reservations.

Kelly Connect

Kelly Connect is the work-at-home division of the international temp agency Kelly Services. Kelly Connect offers weekly pay.

Intuit

Intuit regularly hires seasonal customer service reps and tax advisors to cover the busy tax season. Under “location” choose USA Remote on the job board.

LiveOps

LiveOps offers a variety of at-home customer service positions from taking food orders to payroll support. You will need a dedicated phone line and if offered a position pay for a background check which costs approximately $45.

Sitel

Sitel offers a guaranteed hourly wage. Health insurance and a 401K plan are available to full-time employees.

Sutherland

Sutherland offers paid training and paid time off. They also have a military spouse program.

Sykes

Sykes was named a 2019 Top 100 Company with Remote Jobs by FlexJobs. This company has been offering stay-at-home jobs for a long time and frequently has openings.

TTEC@Home

TTEC reps often provide customer service via phone, text and even on social media. This is a FlexJobs Top 100 company as well.

U-Haul

Here’s another company you know! U-Haul hires for a variety of customer service positions from reservations to roadside assistance. A variety of schedules are often available. Check their careers page for current openings.

Working Solutions

Working Solutions invites you to become part of the “Woohoo Crew.” This is a well-known and trusted company in the outsourced customer service industry. At the time of updating this post, they were not hiring in California, New York, Pennsylvania or Washington.

Search Engine Evaluation

Many people really enjoy evaluating search engine results and rating ads for quality. No phone is involved and the pay is pretty good, usually around $13 to $15 per hour. It’s also flexible allowing you to work around other commitments. The only complaint is usually that work isn’t as readily available as many would like. Unfortunately, this probably isn’t something you can depend on to cover all of your bills. But, it’s still a good gig to cover some.

Lionbridge

Current openings at Lionbridge include rating, translating and interpreting. Requirements will vary by position.

Appen

Appen offers similar positions to Lionbridge plus some small task opportunities. Be aware that you usually cannot hold a search engine evaluation position with more than one company.

Transcription

Transcription is listening to an audio file and putting it into text. While many companies hire without experience, you will need to have excellent typing speed and accuracy. Transcription is almost always production-based, meaning you get paid by the audio minute and not how long it takes you to type it. The faster you type, the higher your hourly income.

If you’re interested in being a transcriptionist but you aren’t sure how your typing skills measure up, you can take the free typing test at TypingTest.com. There are lots of programs, software, and apps you can buy to learn how to type faster, or use the free typing course available at Typing.com to practice your new skills.

These companies offer at-home transcription work:

CastingWords

CastingWords hires freelancers to complete transcription assignments. Assignments include transcribing audio and video files and improving and editing transcripts. Because this is freelance work you can choose the assignments you would like to work on and complete them from anywhere you have a computer! Pay starts at 8.5 cents (USD) per audio minute. Payment is issued every Friday via Paypal.

No experience required but upon signing up you will need to pass a short test transcribing an audio file.

GMR Transcription

GMR offers transcription work, allowing you to create your own schedule and choose how much you would like to work. GMR transcribers typically earn $1000-3000 per month depending on their skills and what kind of work they would like to take on. More difficult assignments or assignments with quick turnaround times pay higher. No experience necessary to apply!

Quicktate

Quicktate hires freelance contractors to transcribe for a large variety of projects. You can set your own schedule and work whenever you would like, some transcribing assignments are short at about 2 minutes and some can last several hours.

Applicants must pass a typing test and upon hiring pay $20 for a background check.

Tigerfish

Tigerfish is hiring quick typists with strong written English skills as transcribers. Beginners and experienced transcribers are encouraged to apply and earn around $15 working from home. Tigerfish offers flexible hours and you can choose your workload.

In order to work for Tigerfish, you must be a U.S resident, have access to high-speed Internet and a Windows-based computer.

Ubiqus

Ubiqus seeks US-based residents for home-based transcription jobs. The work is part-time and can be tailored to your schedule. Transcriptions include legal, medical and various other documents. 1-5 years of experience is preferred but candidates with no experience will be considered as well. All you need is a computer and internet access and you can work from anywhere!

TranscribeMe

TranscribeMe offers the opportunity to have a transcription job with a steady work stream and uplifting work environment. All you need is a computer and internet access and you can work from home or anywhere you choose. Earnings start at $15-22 USD per audio hour. Taking on medical and legal transcriptions offer higher pay. No experience is necessary to apply for TranscribeMe.

Rev.com

Rev.com provides at home transcription jobs with flexible hours. Choose your own schedule and workload depending, as well as selecting which projects seem interesting to you. Rev pays weekly with the average monthly salary being $245 but top earners can earn up to $1495. Payment is issued each week via PayPal.

You may also be able to find transcription work at sites like Upwork and Fiverr. Learn more about transcription in this free 7-day series. And if you are interested in medical transcription/editing, Career Step is my go-to training resource for this specialized industry.

Chat Agents

Usually, people who don’t want to work customer service by phone don’t mind doing it by chat. Unfortunately, that means the competition for these positions can be high. Like most independent contractor customer service positions, most of these companies only pay for the minutes you are actually servicing customers as opposed to hours logged in. That usually averages out to around $10 per hour with most companies, with some minimum wage.

Like transcription work, you need to be able to type well if you’re going to succeed as a chat agent. Aim for typing 60 words per minute to do well, though some jobs only require a minimum speed between 30 and 40 wpm.

If you want to look into becoming a Chat Agent, check out these companies:

the Chat Shop

The Chat Shop is a UK based live chat agent company. The work is unique and varied, as you may be chatting with a property investing service one moment and planning a ski holiday for a customer the next! The Chat Shop provides training and tools necessary for the job. A strong ability to multitask and stay focused is required because the work will often be high pressured and varied.

You must be able to work between 20-4o hours a week and have a typing speed of 65+ words per minute. The Chat Shop is currently hiring in the UK and in the following U.S states: Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Missouri, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia.

SiteStaff

Site Staff hires chat hosts with ‘Grade A’ problem-solving skills to work from home. An ability to multitask is crucial for this job, chat hosts can hold 3-4 conversations concurrently. Though you will work remotely you will work with a close-knit team for guidance, assistance and coaching. Pay starts around $10 an hour.

Ginger.io Mental Health Coach

Ginger.Io is seeking remote mental health coaches who want to help people learn to live healthier lives from the Ginger.io app. Applicants must excel at empathetic listening and building strong rapport both through text and video calling. Qualifications include 6 months of supervised experience as a coach, counselor or therapist and an MA degree in psychology or coaching certification. Benefits with this job include health coverage, wellness events and a professional development budget.

Check out this link for current openings.

Companies like Uber and Apple also hire at-home chat agents, so don’t overlook the opportunity to work for large companies you know and recognize. You can also search for chat agent jobs on job sites like Upwork, Indeed, and FlexJobs.

Community Moderation

Even though many of us have moved our conversations to private groups on Facebook and Google+, there are still plenty of booming forums out there. Those forums need moderators to keep out the spam and answer questions. Some of these gigs also carry over to social networks and even blogs.

Do be aware there is a lot of competition for these openings and the pay isn’t always great – usually around $8 to $10 per hour. However, it’s easy work and can usually be done with other activities.

BabyCenter

Baby center is looking for friendly people to become community moderators. Responsibilities for this position include encouraging friendly community conversations and thoughtfully handling violations of baby centers online community guidelines. Candidates must be able to work well on a team, multi-task and have creative problem-solving techniques. A bachelor's degree is preferred but not required.

ModSquad

ModSquad is hiring freelance contractors from all around the world to join their team of digital engagement services. You are able to set your own schedule and choose which opportunities interest you most or create the most earning potential. Jobs offered through ModSquad are varied and include live chat help, forums and social media. Requirements for jobs are post specific but usually, you will only need a computer, internet and quiet working space.

LiveWorld

Liveworld provides work at home moderator opportunities to applicants from all over the world. Work will vary depending on client, some work includes checking businesses social media content or moderating chat boards. Payments start around $8 hourly and are issued bi-weekly. Work hours are flexible and training provided.

Writing

This is another industry in which there is an endless amount of work for those with the want and right skill set. Skillset doesn’t mean a degree in journalism or English however, it simply means good grammar and research skills.

Freelance writing is also very lucrative once you break out on your own and get away from the “content mills” (sites that offer articles for sale cheap and pay their writer accordingly). If you are looking to dabble in online content writing without any commitment, check out the sites below. Just be aware that you have better options.

Textbroker

You can make money writing from home anywhere in the world with Textbroker. There are thousands of orders through the site every day so you can choose how much or how little you snag to write. An experienced team of editors regularly rates your articles and gives feedback so you can always improve your writing skills and earning potential. Payment is issued each week and income varies based on the quality of your work.

Verblio

Verblio hires talented content writers that can work from home. Ideal writers have grey research skills and knowledge of content marketing and SEO. Work is always available and the more you work and build up your client base, the more chances for income you will create. You create your own payment schedule, depending on if you want weekly or monthly. Applicants must be U.S citizens.

Skyword

Skyword connects freelance writers to brands who need content services. There are many opportunities to create content either Skyword clients and you can choose how many projects you would like to take on. Applicants from all over the world and invited to apply. The work is consistent and Skyword pays on time twice a month.

Writing is one of my top recommendations for those looking for a flexible work-at-home schedule. You can learn more about it in this post on freelance writing for beginners.

Virtual Assistant

If you come from an administrative background, you may want to consider getting a virtual assistant job. In this position, you may be helping small businesses and solopreneurs handle their day-to-day tasks. That may include customer service, social media, travel arrangements, light bookkeeping and more.

There are a number of virtual assistant firms around today that will allow you to get your feet wet before venturing out on your own – provided you want to venture out on your own that is. These companies pay anywhere from $10 to $20 or more depending on the skills needed.

Worldwide101

Worldwide101 offers opportunities for experienced administrative assistants to work full time for exciting companies from home. A minimum of 7 years in an administrative role or equivalent is required. Pay starts at $20 hourly and schedules are flexible. Worldwide101 offers paid vacation and parental leave. Applicants must be US citizens and reside in states which are currently hiring.

Time Etc

Time etc hires at home virtual assistants who are able to work at least 3 hours each week. Part-time work is available and the peak hours are Monday-Friday. At least 2 years of experience in a similar position is required. Virtual assistants must supply their own computer and Office Software suite.

BELAY

Belay offers flexible at home virtual assistant jobs. Belay will connect you to different contractors for varied work. Some positions are part-time while others will require a 40-hour-per-week commitment. Belay provides training upon hiring and ongoing training through your career. A bachelor's degree is preferred but not necessary to apply.

Equivity

Equivity hires US-based virtual assistants to work completely from home. Virtual assistants must be organized and detail oriented. Applicants must be located in the US and have a bachelor's degree. Future virtual assistants must have a computer and smartphone with internet access. You can enjoy working from home and flexible hours and work with Equivity

Vicky Virtual

Vicky Virtual matches at home virtual assistants with clients for various administrative needs Virtual assistants must be located in the US and have their own computer, phone and quiet workspace for taking calls. Compensation starts at $10 per hour. Virtual Assistants should be excellent multi-takers as the work is varied and always different.

Tutoring

Tutoring is something most of us know about doing in person, and that’s certainly always an option. If you’re skilled at something that others need to learn — anything from playing the piano to speaking a foreign language to basic high school geometry — you can start tutoring from home (or near home) and make a great hourly rate.

There’s nothing stopping you from putting up a flier and contacting the local schools, PTAs, or college departments to advertise your tutoring services. You can also post an ad on Craigslist or in community websites and publications.

Tutoring is also something you can do easily online. Quite a few online tutoring companies hire at-home tutors to give lessons on the computer using video and chat. You’ll need reliable, high-speed internet to be able to tutor from home, and most (but not all) companies have a minimum education requirement with the exception of those teaching English online who may not have a teacher's degree prerequisite.

These are some companies hiring online tutors:

Aim-for-A

Aim-for-A provides tutors with an opportunity to work from home, tutoring children grades 1-12 in a variety of subjects. Classes include math, science, language arts and test preparation. Tutoring is done completely from home using Skype. Applicants from all over the world can apply but most hours accommodate students who live in the U.S, Europe and Australia. Tutors hours vary but must be able to work weekends. No teaching qualifications are needed to apply. Online tutors can expect to earn $10-15 per hour.

Chegg

Chegg hires work from home tutors to help students with their favorite subjects. Whether you want to teach astrophysics, computer science, zoology or anything in between Chegg will match you with a student. You can work with students of all ages or business professionals. Chegg pays each week and you can work from anywhere with stable internet!

Kaplan

Kaplan hires tutors and educators in a wide variety of subjects and skills. With over a million students, work is always available and Kaplan offers reliable pay. Qualifications include a degree and experience in the position you are applying for. Support and training are provided to tutors. Pay ranges from $17-38 per hour depending on the subject.

TutaPoint

TutaPoint is an online tutoring company hiring remote tutors to work with students via video calling. They cater specifically to high school students. Tutapoint offers instant live tutoring from 9 am to 1 am EST, and requires a minimum of 5 teaching hours per week. Applicants must be college graduates and U.S citizens to be hired. Payment is $14 per hour and pay is issued twice monthly.

Tutor.com

Tutor.com assigns passionate teachers, professionals and PhD candidates to students who are eager to learn. Students range from kindergarten to adults and will share their feedback so you can grow as a tutor. Hours and work is very flexible, log in whenever you are available and work remotely from anywhere! Payment is made on a regular schedule, with the average tutoring rate being around $11 per hour.

Teaching English as a Second Language

Even if you don’t have a teaching degree or certificate, you can still make money online tutoring. Many companies today specialize in teaching English as a Second Language, or ESL. Many of these companies require a bachelor’s degree, but it can be in any subject.

Many of these companies cater to Chinese students. Therefore, the shifts are often very early morning here in the U.S. and weekends. That being said, many people in my community love the flexibility these jobs offer. And the good pay in many cases!

VIPKID

VIPkid is a Chinese based online education company where you can teach from the comfort of your own home. The company offers fully immersive one-on-one English language instruction to children ages 4-12, no Chinese language skills required! You are able to choose your own working schedule but all hours are based on time in Beijing. Pay scale is $14-22/ hour.

A Bachelor’s degree is required for VIPkid and an educational background is preferred but not necessary. VIPkid provides all lesson material, you can bring props, games and whatever you want to make your classes special!

Cambly

Cambly offers an excited opportunity for native english speakers to tutor and chat with people from around the world from home. You can make your own hours and work as much or as little as you want, if you find yourself with free time and want to earn a bit of money you can log online and start taking calls within minutes! Cambly classes are conversation based, student’s want to practice both practical and fun conversations with native speakers.

Cambly offers different lengths of tutoring sessions and pays 17 cents (USD) per minute, equalling $10.20 per hour. They deliver payment each Monday via PayPal. No previous tutoring experience is required!

Education First

Education First provides one-on-one English lessons to both adults from around the world and children in China. Class lengths range from 20-45 minutes and you are able to choose your own working hours. English First will provide your class materials, all you need to do is add your own teaching style.

Payment ranges from $12-19 depending on experience. Requirements include a Bachelor's degree, TEFL certification and computer with reliable internet connection.

Qkids

Qkids is a Chinese based education company providing interactive gaming-based 30 minute English classes. Class sizes range from 1-4 students and all learning material is provided for you before class. You may choose your own schedule but hours are based on time in Beijing. There is a 6 hour minimum time commitment each week. Pay ranges from $16-20 USD per hour.

Teachers must be based in the U.S or Canada. A Bachelor’s degree and prior education experience is required.

MagicEars

Get paid to tutor kids ages 4 to 12 with this Beijing company. As is typical with this type of online job, you will need to have a bachelor's degree. They also require applicants be a native English speaker from the U.S. or Canada.

Pay rates are based on a combination of base rate, performance, peak times and participation. You will be rewarded for your hard work here.

Test Scoring

Grading tests from home is a favorite gig among those in my community. In this position, you may be grading tests, essays and more.

Measurement, Inc

Measurement Inc. let’s you work from home earning money scoring tests. This opportunity allows your to choose your own schedule and projects, but most hours are available Monday through Friday. You must be a US citizen to be hired at Measurement Inc and a bachelor's degree is required. Most projects last around 4 weeks and average pay is around $11 per hour.

WriteScore

Work at home scoring student essays for Write Score! Grading includes essays from elementary, middle and high school students. You must be a US resident with a two year degree or higher to be hired with Write Score. They will provide training upon hiring but the training is unpaid. The work at Write Score is flexible and you can choose your own hours.

Literably

Literably is a company that hires work at home independent contractors to transcribe and score audio of elementary school students reading aloud. As a Literably scorer, all you need to do is listen to and transcribe the audio of a student reading and find the errors they make. Anyone from around the world is eligible to apply and depending on your scoring speed you can make upwards of $10 an hour.

Online Bookkeeping

If you come from an accounting or bookkeeping background, those skills easily transfer over to remote work. There are a number of companies with which you can find bookkeeping jobs. You may also be able to start your own bookkeeping company from home.

Accountingdepartment.com

Accountingdepartment.com provides full time at-home work for credentialed finance professionals. The company only hires U.S citizens who reside in the U.S. This position includes benefits like health coverage, 401(k) plan and paid holidays. Potential employees must pass a Quickbooks and Bookkeeping test prior to being hired.

Bateman

Bateman & Co hires work at home accountants on a permanent,part-timee basis. Applicants should have a least 3 years prior experience of public accounting. U.S citizens living in Texas are preferred but applicants living anywhere in the U.S can apply. Bateman bookkeepers will prepare corporate, partnership and individual tax returns.

BookMinders

Bookminders provide bookkeeping service jobs, both part time and full time. Candidates must be licensed and have at least 2 years of bookkeeping experience. Bookminders employees are offered great training and career development programs. The income is incentive-based with many opportunities for wage increase for good performance.

ClickAccounts

Click Accounts is always looking for talented CPAs to join their team in providing BPO (Business Process Outsourcer) services. Potential contractors must be honest and transparent in their work. Applicants should be U.S citizens currently residing in the U.S, but can work from home or anywhere with a computer.

These are all great stay at home jobs for getting your feet wet in the work at home world. I’d love to hear about your first virtual job.

Originally published in December 2015. Updated February 2019. 

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