Work from Home That Is Not a Sales Job?

That's because you can't find most of them "looking around". Like the other responders, I work from home, and like them I earned it. I've been with my company almost 14 years. When I first moved away from corporate I was told they would get rid of my job within 6 months - even though I was still going to a branch office. I proved myself and 10 years later I'm full time from home with flexible hours. Keep in mind some things don't change whether you are at home or at the office: if you have daycare age kids they still need to go to daycare, school age kids need aftercare and summer care, the projects are just as demanding if not more so. The major bonus for me is that I get to work in my sweats (pjs some days!) and don't have a commute. That's it. I work more because work is always here. I work harder because I have to do everything over email/phone - I get no face time. I have limited career options because most advancements would require me to go to the office. I am more productive and as such have a ton of flexibility regarding when I work - but I earned that over 10+ years.

Working from home is not for everyone. It's isolating. It forces you to step up and problem solve on your own because there is no one else there to help you.

Where do you work now? Would they consider a partial WAH schedule? That's a good place to start - with what you know and where you are.

I do, but I didn't start from home. I went to the office every day for 4 years before asking for some flexibility to be able to leave the office early on Mondays and Friday so that my oldest son could come home from extended-day Kindergarten and not have to also stay for the after-school program (which he did stay for Tues - Thurs). After a couple years of that, I was offered a FT ____@____.com position with my company that I didn't take but used for leverage to negotiate three days at home with my boss and I've been doing that for 8 years. I work for a large global company in benefits administration analyzing data.

My company and many like mine do hire experienced people into remote work arrangements but you have to have the same qualifications as someone who would work in the office in terms of education, experience and references. You also have to work FT regular hours with child care. You can't work for a traditional company without childcare - my kids are older now (ages 8-16) so I don't have hired childcare after school but when they were younger, they went to day care and after-school programs and the younger ones still go to day camps during school vacations and summer vacations.

If you are interested in a FT job and can arrange for child care and have a degree and work experience from before staying at home, look into whatever industry you were in before, check out those company websites and see which jobs are listed as remote locations. Assuming you're really in Watertown, there are lots of finance and health care (insurance) companies in the area that have processing-type jobs that can be done remotely.

Ditto what everyone else has said. I work part time on a contract basis from home for a company I used to work for full time. It's all about contacts and my prior work relationship with the company. Even though my kids are now teenagers it's very distracting to try to work when they are home so I do it during school hours. I also have special training--I have a law degree, which is required for my work.

My biggest challenge is not having an IT department or person. The company doesn't really provide that for me. I do all of my work on my computer and all projects are sent and returned via email. When there are technical problems and glitches (and there have been many) I have to figure it out mostly on my own or call an outside service. I am not very good with computers, unfortunately.

G.,

I work from home. I do recruiting and staffing management. I EARNED this. My boss knows I produce. He's NOT paying me to watch my kids.

What do you do?
What CAN you do?

Working from home is just that WORKING!!! It's not some free ride. You need to get up every morning acting like you are going to work - because that's what you are doing - WORKING!!!

Go to Craigslist.org and check out jobs there. Check out hiremymom.com - I believe you have to pay to get your resume out there but supposedly it's a service.

Just remember - you are WORKING!!! You aren't taking your kids to the pool, watching movies, etc. YOU ARE WORKING!!!

Yes, I work from home with my husband running our company. Its it WORK..... there is NO WAY I could do this with a little one around me because my job has to be 100% spot on or I could cost us thousands of dollars.

Most people who do work from home and are not in MLM, Direct Sales, Pyramids, etc... do so after they have proven themselves as dedicated, self motivated and self driven people in a company.

You cannot efficiently work from home and watch your children... no one will pay you to do that unless you are in day care. Most people who do work from home do so when children are at school (my daughter is now 19 and moved into her condo), at night or in day care because work is work and if you bring in a paycheck, you are expected to work for it.

I do have a QuickBooks person who helps me on occasion when I have questions and she runs her accounting business from her home... when her son (15) is at school and at night.

If people could work from home and watch their children, there would be no one in corporate America actually working.

Good luck and beware. Do NOT pay anyone to get signed up on a site to work, etc.

The ability and capacity to work from home is based on your skill set too. What can youi do and can it be done from home? My husband works from home but he has been in his industry for over 20 years and has a college degree. My best friend works from home too. She does some technical internet computer type work and writes professionally.

All of this work is work. The more you know the more it would be possible for you to work from home. You may need more skills and connections to get to work from home. Keep this in mind but no one can answer specifically for you about working for home and what to do.

It seems that most people who work from home already have a job or skill that can be done remotely, like accounting, web/graphic design, writing/editing, etc. (and of course, sales.) I have a friend who runs a very successful custom jewelry business, but she tells me she doesn't get much work done in her studio during the day because it's just not possible to focus on her work with her four year old running around. She tends to work a lot in the evening, when her husband's home to take over.
So if you have a skill that allows you to work remotely, look for jobs in that field. And if it requires working during business hours be sure to factor in the cost of child care, or at least a mother's helper to come in and help with your three year old. You can't take conference calls or participate in meetings and webinars with a child running around in the background.
ETA: you could always do childcare, even just a few kids, either full or part time would bring in some extra money.

the problem with working from home is that so many have the idea that this means we can keep our kids out of daycare, and take care of them while bringing in a little extra cash.
unless what you're DOING is daycare, that's almost never the case.
when i had my abstracting business (during the homeschool years) part of it was done at home. it was lovely not to have to get dressed and put on makeup, but the focus and accuracy required didn't change one whit. so i still had to do that part of the job, at least while the boys were on the younger end of the spectrum and required more supervision, when my husband was doing things with them, or late at night.
so if you ARE lucky enough to find a no-solicitation work-from-home job, just be aware that you will still probably need to work out some sort of daycare arrangement. often it's just not financially worth it.
khairete
S.

working from home has alot of drawbacks! It is ok for the short term but in the long run I don't recommend it. I've been working from home for 3 years, for a company that I worked for before that in their office. It works for now but I am in school at night to become a teacher...

A friend of mine does transcription work and gets ok money for it. But now that both her boys are in elementary school, I believe she is taking the test to be a 911 dispatcher.

Another woman I know did medical billing.

So I know there are options out there.

I don't know of any real jobs that a person hasn't worked for the company for years. Or that has a college degree that is specific enough they can become a consultant.

I'd suggest you get the kids child care lined up and start looking for a job that suits you. If you don't know what you want to do I suggest you go to the local Jr. College and enroll in some basic classes. I found I loved Psychology. I'd never had it in high school and it opened the door to me for my career the rest of my life.

Why try and try and try to find a job you can do at home when that sort of income is iffy and often not coming in at all? What about doing something that would actually produce some income?

Go find a job that will provide a stable income, insurance, retirement benefits, stability, and a source of pride.

If you go to school full time you may even qualify for financial aid too. So school would cost nothing or very little. Once you find your niche you can start networking and get some employers on your side to give you contracts that you can do in your own home.

A skill set would also help us advise you. If you have no college, maybe not even a high school diploma or a bachelors degree....it's hard to say much other than find a real job that will provide income for your family and once you've established yourself you can go from there.

Are you entrepreneurial? I have hired people from elance.com. Most of those people are home based business owners. Find something that you are good at and search those jobs.

If you are not entrepreneurial, then working from home is way harder. Most people who have an employee mindset don't get to work from home. Their bosses know that they will only work when being watched so working from home is not in the best interest of the employer.

If you are entrepreneurial, you may want to take a look at a network marketing company, not a direct sales company like the ones you mentioned. I know how you feel, I felt the same way too, I used to be terrible in direct sales...but then I found network marketing. And I learned the basic skills necessary and now I earn as much as I did when I was teaching but I get to stay home with my kids.

G., I do hope you find what you are looking for. I believe that every woman deserves to live a healthy life, full of energy, doing what she loves, while being paid what she is worth.

B.

If you have EXCELLENT listening and typing skills, you could try to do legal transcription. But your listening, not hearing, but LISTENING skills have to be excellent because you will be transcribing police interrogations/interviews and the like and you have to get every "you feel me, man" "know what I'm saying" and all the stutters and everything verbatim. If you think you can do that, then check around in the legal support field. You will no doubt have to invest in some transcription gear (headphones and software with foot pedal)