About Telecommuting Jobs for Stay-at-Home Moms
Telecommuting is working outside the traditional office environment, usually from home. It is an opportunity for stay-at-home moms to bring in an income without having to report to an office on a set schedule. The internet has made telecommuting more common. Telecommunications equipment used by stay-at-home moms include telephone, fax machine and webcam.
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The Facts
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According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than 20 million Americans did some work from home as part of their primary job in 2004. About one-third of those who work from home are self-employed. Telecommuting options include sales, customer service, writing, computer programming, accounting, transcription and marketing. More and more companies have telecommuting opportunities. Examples of companies that hire telecommuting workers are AT&T and Aetna.
Advantages
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There are several advantages of working from home. Stay-at-home moms don't have to report to work during specific hours, and they can structure their workday around their baby's naps or work after the kids have gone to bed. There is no commute in rush hour traffic. Telecommuting workers save money on clothing and transportation costs. For stay-at-home moms, working from home allows them to be available to their children and might mean they don't have to send their children to a day care.
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Disadvantages
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Some stay-at-home moms find telecommuting positions to be lonely. They may miss the camaraderie of other adults. There might not be a steady paycheck, and telecommuting jobs often lack benefits such as health insurance, 401k match, vacation pay and sick pay. There is little or no chance to impress a supervisor, because of lack of face-to-face interaction. Working at home can be stressful because of continual distractions, such as the TV, telephone and children.
Finding Telecommuting Jobs
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To find telecommuting jobs, search job banks such as Monster or CareerBuilder by using keywords such as "freelance," "work from home" or "telecommute." Stay-at-home moms who have specific job skills, such as writing or computer programming, may be able to find these specific types of work on Guru, Elance or RentACoder.
Considerations
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Stay-at-home moms looking to make money from home are often discouraged by being told that all home business opportunities or telecommuting jobs are scams. This is not true. There are scams out there, but there are also legitimate telecommute opportunities. Options for telecommuting are growing as more companies outsource work. Network with other moms and be persistent.
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References
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- Photo Credit Mom image by Mat Hayward from Fotolia.com
