Work from home jobs.
Posted by SnowQueen690 on Jul 18, 2008 · Member since Jun 2005 · 1569 posts
I have been thinking about my options for after the baby is born, and I really do not want to return to Houston after 2 months, I want to stay up in NY with mom. So I was thinking that if I could find a work from home job, that would be perfect. But I have no idea how to find one. I don't need to make that much money because I won't have to pay rent or utilities, but I will have to make at least $500 a month so I can continue to pay my loans, and have money for the baby. Does anyone have any suggestions?
What are your skills / areas of interest?
Skills? Problem is, I have the wrong degree. I am a degreed mechanical engineer, but all those jobs are office jobs. I think I would enjoy web design, but I have no "skills" in that area. I have only done some basic HTML stuff, nothing special, and I have no degree in graphic arts.
I have no idea what is out there, so I have no idea what I would qualify for.
No worries.
$500 should be doable, but you may have to build up to it.
I would check out freelance auction sites like http://www.elance.com/p/landing/provider.html
You can bid on jobs.. and they're not all technical. Many want people to write, build simple documents, organize things, that sort of thing. If you can make a good impression and are willing to work for very cheap at first until you get a name established, it could work.
I see you like photography. If you have unique photos, I'd put them on sites like iStockphoto.com and sell them as stock photos. I plan to do this when I am living in the rain forest, as I'm sure I'll get some killer shots. It just takes one popular photo to have recurring revenue coming in every month.
Anywho, hope that helps.
I can't really help (which is to say, not at all) but I can encourage. I too made up my own job. I discovered very early in the game that the degree I was given at a small Midwestern university wasn't worth the paper it was printed on, in practical terms. I burned out on working at a language school (read baby sitting centre) and DH was totally against my working as a cleaning lady by the hour (cultural/age thing. I asked him why it was OK for me to clean for free at home and yet it was shameful to do it for money...he reminded me I also have sex for free at home but he'd hate to see me do it for money... ;D He's 63). So when I got Internet access a few yrs ago I decided to tutor Eng Lit etc. from home. I don't charge much because they come to me, but I enjoy it (mostly) and my students keep me aware of the outside world. I've even made a few friends this way.
You can do it, probably better than I do, in terms of making money. It can be done. You're young, you're beautiful, and you have your whole rest of your life ahead of you. And the best incentive in the world: a life for you and your son. :)>>>
Go for it.
I burned out on working at a language school (read baby sitting centre) and DH was totally against my working as a cleaning lady by the hour (cultural/age thing. I asked him why it was OK for me to clean for free at home and yet it was shameful to do it for money...he reminded me I also have sex for free at home but he'd hate to see me do it for money... ;D He's 63).
:-D Awesome point.
Also - I also often come across websites that are looking for moderators or admins for their message boards. They usually pay around $500 - $1000 a month, but some much less and some much more. So check out those big community sites.. maybe even ones with an engineering slant.
Of course, there are video sites like Revver.com out there that will pay you a percentage of the money they make from advertising revenue on your video. So if you make some cool videos.. like say a vegan cooking show.. you may be able to get a little money from sites like that.
As you can see, there are lots of ways you can have small recurring revenue coming in. Just keep building it up, you can do it. ;)b
Ok, sorry to keep spamming this thread. Part of my job is helping companies develop online revenue streams..
But also check out Ether.com. You get a free phone number and then set a price per minute or session.
Sooo, if you wanted to offer say advice to up and coming veg mothers, or help tutor engineering students.. you could charge like $5 a call and get listed in their directory.
Where would you search for something like that? Such as, what would your google keywords be? I too am looking for some supplemental income while my book is in the publishing phases. Thanks!! :)
Where would you search for something like that? Such as, what would your google keywords be? I too am looking for some supplemental income while my book is in the publishing phases. Thanks!! :)
Which part about what I wrote appealed to you? Let me know and I'll give more info/links.
The amount of $$ was appealing...and I guess being a moderator sounded doable, since I am...moderate. In general, I too am a single mama and want to stay at home to make some extra money. I am kind of a jack of all trades, but not technically minded. I can do basic things on a computer, but I am very creatively minded (right brained)....
You sound like a wealth of information...thanks!