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Pwithlovingcare Asked April 2017

Can anyone recommend a legitimate work from home job?

I am a full-time caregiver with little assistance and I receive help from hospice, but I would like to work from home. I am looking to work from home looking for legitimate work from home jobs with or with out benefits. I have used up much of my savings caring for my mom.

ASusan48 Apr 2017
Summer makes an excellent recommendation here - I checked out the site she recommended and I see no issues with it at all. It appears to offer genuine work-at-home offers for legitimate companies (like U-Haul).

Summer55 Apr 2017
Go to the website ratracerebellion there are wah jobs where u can wk part-time or full-time and make your own hours. Good luck! Just remember that looking for jobs on the net can be tricky.  They say out of every 50 wah jobs 48 r scams.  If they ask for money up front(other than background checks) run... But ratracerebellion is a descent site.

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ASusan48 Apr 2017
Unfortunately, the edit option goes away after there's any activity on a post. Let me add: My statement about "real life advice from someone who's done this" was in no way meant to be derogatory to those who have been in the same situation I was.

ASusan48 Apr 2017
Ok...let me step in here with some real-life, valid advice from someone who's done this.

Not trying to step on any toes, but some of the posters aren't going to like my advice. Sorry, but I've been working from home running my own business for over 6 years, so I've been "in the trenches", so to speak.

1) Google work-at-home jobs: Don't do it. If you are not experienced in discerning the good from the bad, you can and WILL get scammed. There are "companies" out there that do this all day, every day - they drop the bait of excellent pay, work from home, make your own schedule, etc - then you never get paid, or they want you to pay up front to get your "work materials". Don't just go on Google and type in "work from home" - just don't do it. It's a waste of time.

2) Night Time Sex Worker: Ok. If you want to do this and are comfortable with it, AND you can find a reputable company that will pay you to do it, then go for it. Not my cup of tea, and I wouldn't be comfortable explaining what I do to others - I'd have to lie about it, and I'm not comfortable with that either. But that's just me.
And what happens when your loved one requires help in the middle of a call?  "Oh baby, you're so big and strong..." (Mom yells "COME HELP ME, I GOTTA PEE!!!")  Pretty sure that won't work out so well.  

3) Medical Transcription: Yes, you can do this, and it's a valid option, but you need education first. You can't just jump in and do it. You have to take courses to know how. If you're interested in this, look at Groupon.com for some online courses you can take at a discount. 

4) Cleaning Houses, Running Errands, Care.com:  I don't recommend this. Your profile indicates that your mom is up and down all night and has dementia.  You will have to hire a caregiver to come in to care for Mom if you are out of the house running errands or cleaning houses for other people - you will pay out everything you earn to the caregiver, which defeats the purpose.

5) Book Editor: You need more than just a good knowledge of English - again, you can't just jump in and be a book editor. You need knowledge of styles, formats, grammar, spelling and much more. It's far more than just reading a book and looking for typos. There are courses available for this as well.

6) Using Freelancing Sites: Sites like Guru.com are a valid option, but again, you need skills - not knowing what skills you have or your work background, it's hard to say where you would fit in there. With over 25 years of administrative experience to my credit, I did very well starting out on websites like that - it's how I found my first few clients, and then the referrals from those clients started rolling in, so I haven't had to use any freelancing sites for a while. However, keep in mind that these sites all have restrictions and rules, and they all charge a percentage of your income to use the site - sometimes 8% or more.

Now to the idea of working at home while caregiving.
I've done this, as have others here, and depending on your loved one's situation, it can be very, very difficult. As hard as it might seem right now, you'll end up wishing it was that easy later on. Caregiving *never* gets easier - only harder. That's just truth, unfortunately. You need to give serious thought to whether you can do both.
I was blessed to have very understanding clients who were great about me taking time off to run Mom to the doctor - but when Dad fell and ended up in the hospital 10 times over the space of 6 months before he finally passed away, I spent many a night sleeping in a recliner or on an uncomfortable couch and many a day working with my laptop in the hospital so I could be there to answer the doctor's questions and make sure they got the info they needed, because Dad had dementia.

Again, I'm not trying to step on any toes here, but I've done this and been doing it for many years. I spent over 3 years caring for Mom and Dad while working 60+ hours per week running my business from home. You think you're exhausted now, just providing care for your loved one?  Wait until you're working AND providing care for them. I don't recommend it to anyone, unless you have a loved one to care for that is extremely easy to care for - and even then, you need to keep in mind that they ARE going to get worse - it won't always be easy.

sometimer Apr 2017
If you have a good background in knowledge of English, read a lot of books, etc., you could edit novels for writers. Most writers need several outside editors to clean up their writing (i.e: clichés, grammar, and structure) before the send it off to their agents.

MaryKathleen Apr 2017
I don't know how you would find this job, and it is totally different from what everyone else has said. I knew a woman who supported her invalid husband by working as a phone sex worker at night. You know men would phone her and just talk about sex and stuff. She said she made a good living. She had some steady customers and some just calling once in awhile. She said a lot of her regular customers many times just needed someone to talk to.
She would put him to bed, go to the far end of the house, sign in, usually she did regular hours so her customers would know when she was available.

LivingSouth Apr 2017
There are some freelance jobs on sites such as guru, freelancer.com. If you live near a major city in the US, there is Taskrabbit and a new one Tackl, if you have skills such as hanging wallpaper, cleaning, doing shopping, etc. For shopping or errands, there is care.com, and you can pick the hours and days that you would be available.
I have had to turn down jobs because I simply don't have any 'spare' time.

PCVS Apr 2017
Other than teaching as an online adjunct professor, I never found any that were useful. Yes, there are some that are valid if you already work in that field, but I suspect that as with teaching online, the income is limited. And as your loved one's illness progresses, you will find it harder and harder to continue working the same loads. That said, yes, it can be helpful in the earlier stages. But do watch out for burnout.

mishellster2017 Apr 2017
If you live in the NYC metro area, you can actually get paid to look after your relative. I think you have to take some training courses to qualify, but it's a win-win since you'll be getting paid to do exactly what you are already doing. It's possible your city/state might have a similar program. Look up your state's department of aging online and give them a call, maybe there's something there? Also, there are remote work sites like weworkremotely.com that have lots of legitimate jobs for home workers. Shutterstock.com also hires work-from-home. Good luck!

Globetrotter50 Apr 2017
Rev.com hires work-from-home captionists (training provided), transcriptionsists, translators; however, the company only pays 40-70 cents per finished production so would not generate much money. It sounds similar to the old piecemeal workshops. That being said, if you google work-from-home jobs, there are a variety of positions that will show up, ranging from customer service, medical transcription, virtual administrative assistant and other freelance occupations.

I would like to learn more about your skills, interests and other factors.

Katiekate Apr 2017
AMazon is looking for people..work from home

You must have windows 7 or newer. (Next year they want windows 10). You must have cable provided internet..and direct connect via cad5 to the router (no wifi). You must be able to commit to a minimum number of hours...the the times are flexible.

Go to their website....loads of jobs posted.

Sendhelp Apr 2017
One can train to be a medical transcriptionist in a short time, work from home.

jeannegibbs Apr 2017
I worked from home full time several of the years I was caring for my husband at home. It often took me 7 days a week and some wee hours to complete 40 hours, but the job requirements were flexible. I found my job the easy way -- it was just a continuation of a job I had been doing on-site.

Many jobs can be done nearly anywhere if they consist of computer work. More and more people work at least part of their jobs from home.

Some jobs, obviously, don't lend themselves to online work. Nurses need to be working in person! But nurses who need to work at home may find that their medical experience makes other kinds of online jobs suitable for them.

So first of all, what experience do you have? How might this be used in home-based work? What companies have you worked for? Ask them if they have any work-from-home opportunities.

Look online for at-home opportunities, but be aware of scams. If it sounds too good to be true, it is. I would say sales is out but customer service might be suitable.

Good luck. And tell us if you find something. This would be of great interest to a lot of people.

freqflyer Apr 2017
Being a full-time caregiver sadly won't give you as much time as you think to work at home. I hope others on here who do work at home can tell you of their experiences.

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