Does anyone know of any LEGITIMATE "work at home" opportunities in the US? My wife is pregnant (high risk) and under a "Do not work" order from Doctor, so she's at home and she likely won't be able to return to work until after little one arrives, and things are getting tight. We've sold about everything we can, but bills are still stacking up. I know 99.9% of those ads are bunk, but I didn't know if anyone on the boards had any luck or personal experience with any. My hope is to find something she can do at home while resting, medical transcription, book reviewing, anything, really, that will actually pay, without a ginormous investment up front... I'm looking at a second job myself, but she needs a certain amount of help around home and generally at least one appointment each for Doc and State assistance every week, so finding an after hours job that flexible is pretty scarce, too... Any info/feedback is appreciated!
They exist, but its not the kind of thing you just get into. There are businesses that people run from a home office, and there's plenty of jobs that allow for telecommuting, but that's usually once you have the office job. Medical transcription can often be done from home, but again, you need the job to begin with, as well as the certification. Then there's the jobs like writing, painting, etc. from home, but that's not really applicable here. Could she maybe talk to her employer (if she has a job) about work that she could do from home or through telecommuting? I can't think of anything that's short enough term though.
Here are the following things that immediately jump to mind: 1. If she is a capable writer, offer paper-editing skills on craigslist or a similar pay-for-edits site. 2. There is some money in work-from-home telemarketing. All you need is a stable phone line and internet connectivity. 3. If she has any skill with web page design, you can occasionally get some contract work doing pages for small groups, fan organizations, etc. Best of luck, dude. I'm fast approaching a similar situation myself.
Well that sucks. I'm just asking though, but why didn't you guys plan ahead? The only worthwhile online work that I can ever think of is comedy (ie: Cracked, College Humor, Webcomics, etc). If your wife is hilarious and tech savvy, that's her calling.
The only jobs I can think of that your wife could do at home are: 1) Web design -- if she's knowledgeable about web design, then I would tell her go for it. 2) Writing -- for blogs, online newspapers, etc. 3) Arts/Crafts -- if she knows how to do any arts and crafts, she could do a whole bunch of them and sell them online, which is something that TFW2005 member Puppylove does. 4) Webcomics -- if she's a good comic drawer, then she should see about starting a webcomic... there's quite a number of people who make money by making webcomics, such as Fred Gallager of Megatokyo fame. That's pretty much about it. Unless she can find a company in which would allow her to do business right in the comfort of her own home, there isn't really a whole lot of at-home jobs out there.
Become a realitor. Just pop into the office once a week and go on a couple of appointments. Otherwise you a re taking calls and sending emails from home.
Try selling other people's things on ebay for a fee. I know of a few people that have done it in the past. Have you thought about selling your Transformers?
Current employer isn't really feasible because she's a Vetrinary Assistant. Not much T/C ability there... :-/ 1 & 2 are both great ideas, thanks! Comedy is a no-go, she has a very... off-beat... sense of humor, lol. Planning ahead wasn't a factor, because we'd been told we couldn't have kids due to some medical issues on her side. SURPRISE! And she doesn't have insurance because her employer said they offered insurance, but it turned out to be AFLAC supplementary, not "true" insurance. She was going to be added to mine through work this coming December in open enrollment, but obviously that's a toss now, due to pre-existing conditions... *sigh* #3 is interesting, she does a lot of crocheting... with the holidays coming up, that's an very valid thought... Already sold about 12 boxes worth of TFs, Star Wars items, 300-ish CDs, and 2 bookshelves worth of books... Thanks everyone for your input and feedback, truly appreciated. Even TheIncredilbeHulk.
Stuffing envelopes...Those ones full of coupons. From what I understand, they send you or drop off all the stuff, and you put them together, then someone picks them back up. I had a gf once who did that for a while when she was incapacitated, she said it paid pretty well
If she can sit in front of a computer for a few hours she could look into this company, they have quite a few CSR's that work at home: Convergys Home Agent Program and they are all over the USA, with many different departments. They will ask to check your computer for compatibility and then you can see if it will/could work out for you guys. Good luck!!
I know a woman who is a mystery shopper for 2 different companies and gets paid rather well, and picks her assignments. She takes pictures with a camera of certain things, photocopies receipts of her purchases and sends in surveys. She used it to fund her relocation to Panama City Beach from here in Alabama- paid for almost all of her expenses and gave her a little time to find a better job (benefits, insurance, etc.) she still does it on the side for extra cash for her vacation or holiday shopping chores.
Not sure if this applies to your wife or not but I know some companies you can work from home entirely. I know IBM is one such company and they hire a wide range of people so maybe your wife can get a job there. Also don't believe anything on the internet or T.V. about working from home, it's bullshit. Stocks are also something fairly easy to run completely from home.
