Working at home isn’t for everyone. Although many people love the idea first thing in the morning when the alarm goes off, the fact is, it requires a lot of dedication and persistence. The work needs to get done, even if you decide to sleep in!
If you think you have what it takes to manage your own schedule, consider a career that doesn’t require you to leave the house. It may take hard work, but working from home also comes with many benefits:
- You’ll save money on gas
- You can create a schedule that works for you
- You can minimize or eliminate busywork and meetings
- It can be easier to stay focused
- You can avoid office politics
Convinced that working from home is right for you, but not sure how to take the next step? Consider one of these five career choices that are friendly to stay-at-home workers.
App Developer
Mobile apps are a big deal. Although certain platforms have made it easier to design an app on your own, many companies are willing to save time by paying someone to help make sure everything works properly.
“You need the right tool to produce functional apps, and the right idea to get you the app valuation you want.” BuildFire continues by saying, “But more than that, you need the right programming language that’s compatible with modern mobile platforms.”
App valuation and programming language are enough to chase most people away from building their own apps. If you can learn what it takes to create a successful app, you can work from home building them.
Web or Graphic Designer
Before there were mobile apps, there were websites. Companies, associations, and individuals are still in need of website help, especially if they want to stand out from their competitors, or if they don’t have enough time to figure out how to do it on their own. When you become a web designer, you can work for yourself, finding your own clients, but many larger businesses are happy to employ designers who work from home.
In the same vein is a graphic designer. It’s a great option if you really like the artistic angle of web design, without all the mechanics of building page layouts.
Virtual Assistant
Becoming an app, web, or graphic designer takes quite a bit of time and training, and in many cases, employers and clients will want to see that you have a degree that supports your skills. If you like the idea of moving into a career that doesn’t require so much time and money, consider becoming a virtual assistant.
Many people are willing to outtarget things to a virtual assistant like bookkeeping, online research, and email management. In many cases, professionals just need a little personal help, like booking a flight or sending out thank yous, which can all be done from the comfort of your home.
Freelance Writer
Have a knack for writing? Consider launching a freelance writing career!
Being a writer doesn’t have to mean you sit at home and work on a novel, broke as broke can be, hoping a publisher will pick up your book.
There are many different kinds of projects a freelance writer can write about from home including:
- Website content
- Blog articles
- Social media content
- Editing
- Email newsletters
- White papers
- eBooks
- And more
That doesn’t mean you should write about it all as a freelance writer. If you want to be successful, you should choose what kind of writing you want to specialize in.
Customer Service
Customer service is a great way to get into working from home. Not to mention, it’s the best place to do customer service because you aren’t competing with the noise and distractions in an office!
It isn’t just small businesses that hire customer service agents to work from home. Big-name companies like Amazon hire at-home customer service agents. That means you can look for a job the traditional way, by submitting resumes and having interviews, as opposed to searching the web for clients, which can be the case with some of the other options on this list.
It’s true that working from home requires focus, but once you get into the swing of your routine, you’ll realize just how much better it can be than working in a traditional office. With the ideas on this list, you can find a way to transition into your home office that plays to your unique set of skills.