Wrong place to ask but: Work from home?

tnhillbillygal went on a bit of a rant said Thu, Jul 25th 2019 at 3:41pm ET

I have been at home with my kids homeschooling for the past 5 years and they have now gotten to the point where I can seriously look at taking on a full-time work from home job. In the past I have done some freelance writing for our local paper and worked on mturk but I am wanting something more.

I have been researching opportunities online. I have also been reading work from home suggestions on Reddit and LinkedIn and see that I might need to look into getting a medical transcription certificate. I am not opposed to this but I need to find the most cost effective way to pursue it. (I know a large portion of those on reddit pushing folks to transcription are not legitimate users but sometimes you come across a good suggestion over there.)

I am also looking into online customer service jobs. However, data entry is my preferred work type.

So, my fellow meh’ers, any suggestions or guidance for the work from home game? Any tips on getting my foot in the proverbial door?

8 comments, 1 reply
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therealjrn said Thu, Jul 25th 2019 at 3:53pm ET:

Here’s legitimate article, from consumer advisor Clark Howard. It looks like it was posted July 17th, so it should be fresh. Clark Howard is a great guy. If you’ve never heard of him, he has a syndicated radio show plus he does a little bit of TV. Good Luck!
https://clark.com/employment-military/work-home-guide/

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mandirose said Thu, Jul 25th 2019 at 3:55pm ET:

https://remoteok.io/remote-jobs - I’ve known people who found a job on this site!

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capguncowboy said Thu, Jul 25th 2019 at 5:06pm ET:

I’m not sure what the timeline is, but United Healthcare has a facility in Kingsport (not TOO far from you) and has work from home positions available after a required stint in the office – but they’re mostly phone jobs. Also offers full benefits package.

Apple also has positions that they’ll allow you to start working from home on the first day. Once again, they’re mostly phone jobs, but the pay is competitive for this region and the few people I know that work for them like the company (good benefits, etc).

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ybmuG said Thu, Jul 25th 2019 at 6:05pm ET:

The biggest hurdle is the internal one. Am I willing to take the risk? How do I know what to focus on, what will “sell” vs. what I think I’m good at? What if I fail? If you can get past that, you are well on your way.

I would start with two kinds of people if possible: 1) someone who is already doing what you think you would like to do (or something similar), to give you insight into what life will be like and what’s really important, and 2) someone who is a potential client or customer to understand what they find important or what they feel is lacking.

If there are any freelancer groups in your area, you may consider joining one, even just for a meeting or two. And networks like LinkedIn are a great resource as there are interest groups in about every area and opportunities for lots of connections. Ask tons of questions. It’s ok, we’ve all been there. There are a lot of is out here. You’ll find you aren’t as alone as you might think.

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ybmuG said Thu, Jul 25th 2019 at 6:33pm ET:

If you’re really interested in medical transcription, let me know and I can post a question to my LinkedIn network (mostly healthcare) about certification providers and post their answers back here.

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lseeber said Fri, Jul 26th 2019 at 11:13am ET:

Start learning photography. I know 3 young ladies that learned it all on their own and in very short order, they are making $$ hand over fist and setting their own schedules (mostly weddings/graduations).

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cansparkle said Sat, Jul 27th 2019 at 12:32am ET:

ratracerebellion.com is a great place for a variety of work at home jobs.

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tnhillbillygal said Sat, Jul 27th 2019 at 3:30pm ET:

Thank you all for the resources and suggestions. I have bookmarked the pages and am looking into everything. As soon as I make the final decisions on my homeschool curriculum for this year, I can turn full attention to this job hunt and will utilize all the information you each have given.
/giphy much thanks

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- @tnhillbillygal Good luck on the homeschooling curriculum. We did it for several years. Best thing for our son at the time. I did post to my LinkedIn. Lots of views, nothing substantive yet. I’ll keep you posted. If you want to connect, let me know. And if you want to keep your LI profile private from this group, pm me.
  
  ybmuG said Sat, Jul 27th 2019 at 3:50pm ET
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