There are a lot of motivations for working from home, and a number of ways to do it. You can work as an independent contractor or freelancer, or you can work remotely for one of the hundreds of companies hiring remote employees. Some even employ entirely remote workforces, and don’t even have a home office at all.
Whether you want to work from home for the flexibility if offers those with families or just because you are more productive there, or to do something better for the environment by skipping the commute, there are jobs out there for you.
If your current employer does not offer remote work at the moment, suggest it to them for certain positions. You never know what you might start. If you would rather not work for someone else, you can start your own freelance business.
Of course, there are expenses associated with doing so, including purchasing your own domain name, paying for hosting, and choosing a web design or theme. You can do the design part yourself if you have the skills, but much of freelance work is doing over the internet now, so having a “home base” where people can find you and your work, contact and hire you, is a must.
Once you have decided if you want to work for a company or start your own business, you can look at professions where you can work remotely. Here are the top five jobs you can work remotely in 2018.
Medical Transcription
Medical transcription is a common job, but it is still popular. The more doctors and medical practices move toward Electronic Medical Records (EMR), something now mandated if they are going to take Medicare funds, the more this type of job will be in demand. Here are the skills you need to have:
- Knowledge of medical terminology,
- Typing Accuracy
- Typing Speed
- Punctuation, Grammar, and Syntax
- Multi-Tasking Skills
- Computer Literacy
- Problem solving Skills
- Listening Skills
- Research Skills
- Attention to Detail
- Self Motivation
If you have all of these skills, or even a portion of them, there are training programs for medical transcription, and it is a profession that earns a decent living if you are dedicated and fast enough.
Consultant
Are you an expert at what you do now, or in some other area? You can work as a consultant, something that can be quite satisfying. You can still work in your profession, but you don’t have to do the actually day to day work. Instead, you simply share your expertise about how things should be done.
This is especially liberating, because you can do this for several companies, not just your own. While you may have to travel sometimes, much of your work you can do through video or audio conferencing. The composition of reports, suggestions, and follow ups can be done for the most part through email and messaging.
In many fields, consultants are in high demand and can earn a great living for work that is, in essence, part time. Or you can earn even more by pushing yourself, ad working more hours. This can be especially good to leverage with startups in your field, who are most in need of your insights and advice.
Freelance Writer
Do you have writing skills? Being a freelance writer is in some ways like being a consultant without the conversations. You create articles about the things you already know about, and sell them to companies, magazines, or even agencies who are looking for well-crafted articles on particular topics.
There is also a growing industry of writing for various SEO agencies looking for posts that contain links to certain client websites. This kind of writing is fairly simple, and can pay well if you are both skilled and fast. It will take some getting used to at first, but once you are well versed in the process and have developed a good system, you can make a significant living.
The point here is that nearly everything you read on the internet or elsewhere was written by someone, and that someone was paid to write it. That person can be you.
Blogger
You don’t always think of being a blogger as a way to make money, but it certainly can be. There are a number of ways to monetize a blog, and if you are working at home, you can even own several of them. You don’t even have to create all of the content on your own. Here is how it works:
- First, you build an audience and authority. You do this through your own posts and through accepting guest posts.
- Once you have enough content and traffic, you add some advertising to your blog, starting with native ads by Google AdSense or OutBrain. Even Amazon offers these ads. You get paid every time someone clicks on them
- Add Affiliate links to your site next, links that go to a specific product page or website. You get paid whenever someone makes a purchase through these ads.
- Sponsored posts: SEO companies, brands, and other companies will pay you to feature one of their posts on your site, and you often gain traffic as well by adding these posts.
- Site Sponsor: If you can get a site sponsor, a brand or company that wants to be featured on your site regularly, it can turn into a regular stream of revenue.
If you follow these steps with one or more blogs, you can make some good money as a blogger. It will require some of the same self-discipline as the other work from home professions, but you will largely control what that looks like.
Graphic Designer
Just as writing is in high demand, so is graphic design. Every banner, logo, and ad you see on the internet, in magazines, and elsewhere was designed by someone, and that someone was paid. This includes things like book cover designs, business cards and other promotional materials. If it needs to be designed professionally, someone is getting paid to do so.
If you have a good eye for design and font elements, are artistic, and have good photo manipulation skills, you can make a solid living as a graphic designer. You will need to find and build your clientele, but once you gain a steady client base, you will be well on your way.
These are just five of the professions you can do from home. There are many more work at home opportunities in 2018. It is up to you to find and explore the one that is right for you.
