Long gone are the days when stay-at-home moms were laughed at, seen to be giving up their earning potential, or submitting to a male-dominated world. Today’s stay at home moms do more than just prepare meals and teach the kiddies to read- many operate successful online businesses or telecommute, oftentimes becoming the largest contributor to the household budget in the process! You know what else? These days, it isn’t unheard of for Dad to get in on the action, as well! More than ever before, being a stay-at-home dad is a badge of honor that other dads wish they could wear as well.
That doesn’t mean that living slows down, though. These days, it’s more critical than ever to keep the family supported comfortably, and work your way to retirement, putting aside as much as possible. That means that parents who choose to stay home with the kids usually have to have some plan for how they can bring in a paycheck. It’s not easy, but it can be done.
The hardest part is wading through the tide of misinformation that passes for professional advice out there. Work from home jobs can be one of the biggest scams you’ll run into when you dare to type “work at home jobs” into any search engine, so before you enter, beware. Before we get into the jobs that really are real, let’s have a look at some of the things you really need to watch out for.
First off, the old saw is absolutely true- if it sounds too good to be true, then it is. There’s no easy way to make $100,000 a year, and you definitely won’t be able to do it assembling craft products on your kitchen table. While it’s true that those particular jobs do exist, they’re one of the worst ways to try to make money at home. Piece rate work for crafty project work means you’ll probably have to buy the materials yourself, cutting your profit. You’ll also have to pay contractor-style business taxes, which won’t be pretty come April 15. Put simply, you’re not going to make money that way, so don’t bother with it. In fact, get the idea of “easy” out of your mind all together. These are skilled positions that all require you to use your mind. They’re perfect for stay at home moms who need a flexible schedule, though, so don’t let the professional qualifications scare you off!
1. Proofreading. For the most part, this is freelance work, but it pays well most of the time, and there are a handful of companies out there who cater to professional organizations, so don’t think it’s all a matter of bidding on some kid’s term paper for biology class. More often, it’s the last look over of a doctoral thesis, scientific paper, or biographical essay.
2. Medical transcription is a real at-home job, but don’t be suckered in by the for-profit universities promising medical transcription training. It isn’t necessary to pay their highly inflated tuition costs. This is the perfect at home job for nurses seeking a break from the crazy work world, but if you’ve got a good handle on medical terminology, you can be successful. Check out companies like Amphion Medical to get an idea of what’s required.
3. Web design. This is far from a tapped-out market. The world is moving with undue haste toward a mostly-online world, and there’s plenty of room on the internet for a whole bunch of Facebook/Amazon/Yahoo/Google success stories. While these mega-companies are the very top of the heap, you’d be surprised how much successful web designers of smaller sites make. How’s $40 an hour sound to you? Close your eyes a moment and consider that for a moment- a 4-hour work day could potentially completely replace your current income, and then some. Additionally, many web designers operate their own businesses, so you’d only have to answer to yourself and your clients (and your kids begging for their macaroni and cheese lunch, of course!)
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