15 Work From Home Ideas that will Actually Get You Paid

January 26, 2016 Ploymint Legacy Career Advice 0

working from home ideas

When looking through job listings, it’s really easy to stumble upon a bunch of scams. These are posts designed to trick you into applying in order to gather your information. Many of these listings include the notorious work from home jobs – a quick and easy way to make a buck that more often than not, are simply too good to be true.

When you’re searching for a new job, having to figure out which posts are fake and which are not is a hassle that most people can’t afford. Working from home is a viable career option (I do it) but it’s important to understand what is legitimate, and what is not.

Here are 15 legitimate work from home ideas that could blossom to become your career.

  1. Customer Service

This is a no-brainer for businesses across the U.S. People want live interaction and to speak to a human, but the overhead of having to rent or construct call centers and maintain infrastructure is costly. With online access being higher than it’s ever been, hiring people to work from home as a customer-service rep is a viable option for many employers.

Here’s a job for 1-800 Flowers.

  1. Tech Support

If you’re tech savvy and have a degree in computer science, being an online tech support representative is a great job that may offer benefits.

Here’s a job for Dell.

  1. Mystery Shopper

If buying things at the store is your thing, then being a mystery shopper would be a blast. You go into different stores and purchase their products, then evaluate your experience. While it’s not work from home specifically, you set your own hours and don’t have to clock into an office.

Here’s a mystery shopper job with Market Force.

  1. Direct Sales

If you like hosting parties and pushing products on your friends and families, then direct sales could be a route you would want to follow. There are “legitimate” direct sales jobs, but be wary of the pyramid scheme, which dominates this industry.

One of the most common direct sales jobs is working with Avon.

  1. Online Reseller

You know in the wild west how a wagon would travel to a remote village and sell supplies at a higher rate than it was purchased for? Imagine that but online. Resellers buy products at a low cost then resell them.

There are a variety of books and blogs out there on how to do this.

  1. Web Developer

If you have a degree in web development, or practical knowledge of css and stylesheets, then being a web developer may be a very lucrative career. You will develop and create websites and apps for companies, as well as sometimes be paid to maintain them.

The great thing about being a web developer is that you don’t need to go into a physical office.

  1. Remote Assistant

I did this job and it basically required me going through thousands of e-mails and sorting them appropriately. Basically, you will be working as an assistant, but purely online and doing a variety of things determined by your employer.

Check out some opportunities to freelance as an online assistant on Elance.

  1. Copywriter

Writing copy means that you are writing for a product or service with the aim to sell it to the public. It’s different than editorials and requires an understanding of the consumer and the market.

  1. Online Tutor

There’s no need for someone to personally come and tutor your child anymore. Online apps like Skype make it so that someone can now tutor you virtually. If you are already an education professional or a tutor but don’t want to waste time with travel, consider this option.

Check out this job on Tutor.com.

  1. Document Translator

Being multilingual is a huge plus in the world of document translation. This skill is in high demand, and depending on what language you speak, could pay very well.

You can find some opportunities on Upwork.

  1. Transcriber

Though tedious, transcribing legal proceedings or interviews can be a lucrative career. If you have a really high average typing speed, then maybe you should look into becoming a transcriber.

Avoid the scams, check out this website called Speakwrite.

  1. Data Entry

Many companies still require data entry specialists because programs can’t evaluate data the same way a human can. An organization could start you onsite but transition you to a more remote role over time.

  1. Online Account Executive

Interacting with the customer is still a very important aspect of business, especially when you are working B2B (business to business). The need to be onsite for account executives has almost never been there, and now there is a greater ability for people to work from home as technology has advanced.

  1. Search Engine Evaluator

Algorithms for search engines are always being tweaked and upgraded, however still require a human eye to determine the quality of the search results. For that reason, search engine evaluators are required in order to ensure that the user is getting the most relevant information possible. 

Check out this opportunity with Appen.

  1. Writer

It’s what I do. You can work from home, be an expert wordsmith and get paid to do it. It’s best to start freelance and find a good website to work for, but if you have no experience or samples, it may do you some good to work at a content mill first.

You can start off at iWriter.