Why should you trust the information on this web page?

What do work-from-home jobs / remote jobs really look like?
  & how do you avoid scams?

credits and disclaimer

I'm writing this as someone who has worked from home, off and on, since 1998. And note my comment: "off and on." Most people who work from home do not do it for decades - they do it as positions they hold allow, and as positions change, so do work from home arrangements. Most people who work from home do a mix of onsite and remote work - for the same job, they may work from home some days in the office some days.

To get paid for any of these activities, you have to have the expertise necessary and you have to find a company or individual willing to pay you to do so. Most employers advertise for such jobs just like they do onsite jobs. It's possible to find many of these jobs via indeed.com. For some jobs, you can just google keywords and web sites will come up that advertise these jobs specifically.

Some people create their own web sites to advertise their services, and hope that potential clients will contact them (clients find them through web searches).

Some people advertise their professional services via TaskRabbit or Thumbtack or Fiverr.

Jobs where you will work talking with clients via audio or video may require that you can prove you will work in a space where you can close the door, where your children and your pets will not be in the same room when you are talking with a client, where no one else will be working, etc. They may require you to have a neutral background on any video that shows only a blank wall - no books, no posters, nothing visible that has any words on it. MANY require you to plug your computer directly into a device that is wired to the Internet - they do NOT allow you to use a wi-fi connection to work. Some require you to already have noise-canceling headphones and an external microphone.

There are some non-computer related work-from-home ideas near the end of the list.

Warning

Whatever you do: NEVER pay for an online or remote job. NEVER. Never pay a registration fee, a subscription, a deposit, NOTHING. Any job that asks you for money is a scam.

Credible jobs will NOT ask you to buy or rent equipment - but many may expect you to already have such (laptop or desktop, video camera, microphone, headset, etc.). If you are asked to buy equipment from the employer, it's a scam - DON'T DO IT.

Do not write me and say, "I got this offer for a job. Is it a scam?" I've told you everything you need to know if it's a scam. If you write me and ask me this I'm not going to reply.

Do not write me and say, "How do I get to be an online tutor" or psychic or whatever. Search through indeed.com, go to the web sites of companies where you want to work, do Google searches - but don't ask me on how to find an online job.

If you are in a developing country

Most remote jobs for people in developing countries do NOT happen from the person’s home - you work from the office of a company that has contracted with a business or agency in the USA. If you want to work remotely for a company in another country, MOST of the opportunities will NOT be from your home - you will have to go to an office and work from their workspace. Where to find these jobs? Wherever there are legitimate want ads for any jobs posted, online or onsite. A work-from-home job, using a computer, is RARE in these countries. Yes, there are people who do it, but you have to have an incredible amount of skills and expertise and you need to have a deep portfolio of clients - former employers who trust you to work from home for them.

Examples of Roles & Tasks By Remote, At-Home Workers

Reminders

This document may, unintentionally, have incorrect information in it. Please see these other disclaimers.

If you want to translate this document into another language and post it on your own web site, feel free - however, please do not use the author's name anywhere on the site.


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