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BUILD A WORK-FROM-HOME CAREER
Career builders must acknoledge the fact that in the past decade the work-from home career community has grown exponentially. Nowadays a considerable percentage of the workforce is actually home-based. Working from home is the dream of many cubicle-confined office workers, and with laptops everywhere and high-speed Internet service becoming nearly as ubiquitous, it's easier than ever to start. But just because you can hold a teleconference in your pajamas doesn't mean the residential office is workplace nirvana. Computer problems, phone and power outages, and family interruptions are all potential problems that could make the old cubicle farm seem serene.
In 2003, about 42 million people, or 29 percent of the total labor force, spent at least one day a month working from home, according to a national survey by the nonprofit International Telework Association and Council, based in Silver Spring, Maryland. For workers hoping to move from the office to the house, the first step is getting permission from the boss. That can be easier in small companies, experts said, but even large corporations are starting to offer work-from-home options, thus spending less money in office space and equipment.
There are many advantages to working from home:
• Working from home normally means a total flexibility in terms of the schedule, unless you’re subject to reachability at a particular timetable.
• Working from home gives you more time to be with your family, look after an ill relative or take care of babies and little children.
• Working from home allows you to combine leisure, rest and work in an easier way.
And these are some of the cons:
• Permanent distractions may affect the quality of your work.
• Employers will normally be scared that you willnot work all the time, so it will be hard for you to obtain a payroll job. You will normally get contract jobs, that is, you’ll be an independent worker selling your time on a project basis. This, of course, can be turned into an advantage as you might end up earning more than you would on a salary basis.
• You may feel isolated from society as you will be confined to your home most of the day.
Career builders wishing to develop a career based upon the work-from-home premise should:
• Make sure that their profession and skills are compatible with home working, as not all professions can actually be conducted that way.
• Make sure to separate the work space from the rest of the home. A specific part of the house needs to be dedicated to work, and this area should not be invaded by home and family tasks (like laundering), or by kids or pets and other potentially disturbing elements.
• Make sure to have the rest of the family understand that your home office needs to be respected and that, even though you’re at home, you certainly ar at work as well and you need to create the proper conditions. For instance, you can generate a simple code to let the others know when they can come in your work room and when that option is simply forbidden. The whole family household may depend on this, so the code should be respected.
These are some of the main careers you can conduct from home:
• Recruiter
Attracting the most qualified employees and matching them to the jobs for which they are best suited is important for the success of any organization. Employment, recruitment and placement specialists recruit and evaluate applicants and attempt to match them with client firms. Most work in the personnel supply services industry.
• Computer programmer
Given the technology available, telecommuting is becoming common for a wide range of computer professionals, including computer programmers. As computer networks expand, more programmers are able to make corrections or fix problems remotely by using modems, e-mail and the Internet to connect to a customer’s computer.
• Financial advisor
Personal financial advisors generally assess the financial needs of individuals, providing them a wide range of options. Personal financial advisors, also called financial planners or financial consultants, use their knowledge of investments, tax laws and insurance to recommend financial options to individuals in accordance with their short-term and long-term goals. Some of the issues that planners address are retirement and estate planning, funding for college, and general investment options.
• Media buyer
In the advertising industry, media buyers track the media space and times available for purchase, negotiate and purchase time and space for ads, and make sure ads appear exactly as scheduled. Additionally, they calculate rates, usage, and budgets.
• Medical transcriptionist
Medical transcriptionists listen to dictated recordings made by physicians and other healthcare professionals and transcribe them into medical reports, correspondence and other administrative material. Many medical transcriptionists telecommute from home-based offices as employees or subcontractors for hospitals and transcription services or as self-employed, independent contractors.
• Graphic designer
Graphic designers plan, analyze and generate visual solutions to communications problems. They use a variety of print, electronic and film media and technologies to execute a design that meet clients’ communication needs. Graphic designers use computer software to develop the overall layout and production design of magazines, newspapers, journals, corporate reports and other publications.
• Public relations specialist
Many radio or television special reports, newspaper stories, and magazine articles start on the desks of public relations specialists. Public relations specialists handle organizational functions such as media, community, consumer and governmental relations; political campaigns; interest-group representation; conflict mediation; or employee and investor relations. They prepare press releases and contact people in the media who might print or broadcast their material.
• Real estate agent
Although these positions are telecommute-friendly, real estate brokers and sales agents often work evenings and weekends and usually are on call to suit the needs of clients. Besides making sales, agents and brokers must have properties to sell, they spend a significant amount of time obtaining listings - agreements by owners to place properties for sale with the firm.
• Writer, editor, translator, freelance journalist...
This category includes technical, science, medical, freelance and online writers. Most jobs require a college degree in communications, journalism or English, although a degree in a technical subject may be useful for technical-writing positions. Most writers and editors have at least a basic familiarity with technology, regularly using personal computers, desktop or electronic publishing systems, scanners and other electronic communications equipment. Most translators work from home and send their work by email to the agency obtaining customers for them. The same applies to many freelance journalists, web copywriters and other writing professions.
• Sales representative
Sales representatives are an important part of manufacturer and wholesaler success. Regardless of the type of product they sell, their primary duties are to interest wholesale and retail buyers and purchasing agents in their merchandise, and to address any of the client’s questions or concerns. Sales representatives represent one or several manufacturers or wholesale distributors by selling one product or a complimentary line of products and also advise clients on methods to reduce costs, use their products, and increase sales.
• And activities like...
Over-the-phone services of all kinds.
Painting, sculpting and other artistic careers.
Architecture design.
Any engineering design that you can then send via Internet to your customers.
Most tertiary activities.
Running a small services company without a need for a public office.
Medicine (depending on which specialty) if you can create a separate area for the patients to wait.
Multilevel activities.
Etc.
Related:
Setting up a home office
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Build a work-from-home career
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