I have been researching work at home jobs for over 14 years now. In that time, I’ve gotten LOTS of repeat work at home questions from people who read this blog and/or are subscribed to my newsletter.
Today, I’ve decided to post some of these along with my answers to these burning questions so many of you have. Some of what I have to share may burst your bubble. And some of it may give you hope!
Either way, I hope if you take the time to read this post, you come away with something you didn’t know before about remote jobs.
Work at Home Questions & Answers
Is work at home real, or are you trying to scam me?
Work from home/remote jobs are real! And this is more true now than it ever has been, particularly since the pandemic.
Back when I first started looking for work from home for myself, it was the early 2000’s and the concept of remote work was relatively new. If you did a Google search for “work from home” back then, you wouldn’t find much besides pages and pages of scammy or very shady things to weed through.
There were so many fake “opportunities” where you’d be promised a job after you paid a set fee or provided some extremely personal information about yourself.
That said, there were things you could do, but it was really hard to find that information and once you did, it was hard to trust it!
It’s not like that now. Companies we’ve all heard of like Amazon, U-Haul, and countless others post remote openings almost every day.
Just check out this list of work from home for reputable companies I created for a sampling of companies with regular remote openings. You’ve probably heard of more than half of them!
Do you know of any jobs from home that require no experience, pay at least $800 a week, come with benefits, and will work around my schedule?
No, I don’t know of any jobs like that because they don’t exist.
Work at home is work. Just because you get to be at home doesn’t mean that everything else will be easy, too. Sad but true!
Just like any job you might find outside the home, you have to apply. You have to be qualified to do the work you’re being paid to do. And in most cases you have to do the work when they need you to do it.
That said, you can find no experience jobs, set-your-own-schedule jobs, remote jobs with benefits, and high-pay work at home jobs. But do you find all four of these factors in one, amazing, perfect job that pretty much anyone could do?
No.
And if you find a remote job listing claiming all of the above, it’s probably a scam.
Do you know of any jobs for people living outside the United States?
This is a US-based website and I search job boards that are populated with primarily US based listings.
I do list opportunities for other countries if I come across them, but I don’t come across them much. It’s not that uncommon for me to find things that are open to the US and also Canada, however.
If you are in a country outside the US and you need remote work, I have some specific instructions to help you find worldwide jobs on Indeed if that helps.
There most likely are companies hiring remotely in your country, but unfortunately I rarely come across those listings.
Because my time is very limited, I’m not able to seek out and post opportunities for each country. So the best thing you can do is learn to search them out on your own.
Why does my location matter at all if I’m working from home?
Some job listings will be open only to specific states. This tends to frustrate people, and I get it.
I wrote an entire post about why location still matters when you work remotely, but if you don’t want to read it, here’s a quick rundown of some of the reasons it matters:
- Some companies want you to be present for meetings and company events
- Some companies won’t hire you until they’ve met you in person
- Some companies are not able to hire in certain states due to those states having a higher minimum wage
- Some companies are not able to hire in certain states due to recently passed laws regarding independent contractors
- Some companies want you to train on-site before they let you work from home
- Some companies are more comfortable with a “hybrid” set-up where you work at least part of the time in the office
I hope that helps if you occasionally get frustrated with the state requirements on some of the jobs that I post.
Can I get paid to stuff envelopes from home?
No. Another example of a scam.
You’ll find job postings (still to this day) for envelope-stuffing jobs, and it’s always a fraud. Don’t fall for it.
In the 14 years I’ve ran this website, I’ve yet to find one single legitimate “envelope-stuffing job.”
I’ve been offered a remote job, but they want to interview me via WhatsApp and they’re offering to send a check to pay for my equipment. Is this for real?
No! Another scam. And this one I see more often than others! Do NOT proceed if you’re in any “talks” with a company for anything like the above.
Legit employers usually don’t interview you on WhatsApp, Yahoo! Chat, or any text or chat-based platform. This is rare. And if they do, and they “hire” you and tell you they need to mail you a check or deposit money so you can get supplies, but then you’re instructed to wire a portion back to them, you are being scammed.
You could actually get in big trouble with this one with your bank. Be very, very careful and don’t fall for this one!
What work at home job is right for me? I’m overwhelmed with all the options!
I do get emails from people wanting me to help them figure out what they should do. I try to help when I can and have time, but you’re always going to know yourself, your background, and your preferences better than I ever could.
I usually just tell people to look at the recent work at home job leads, click through on things that seem like they may be a fit that they may also enjoy, and start applying!
You have to think about your qualifications, experience, the time you have available, and how much money you need to make when narrowing it down to the right opportunity.
And of course, your personality type factors in! If you aren’t a people-person, you might not enjoy a job where you have to talk to people all day (most customer service work). But if you’re outgoing, that may be perfect for you!
I’ve written more about narrowing it down to the perfect work from home job for you. Maybe give it a read and see if you get some insight!
In Conclusion
These are the big work at home questions I get asked the most. If I think of some more, maybe I will come back and add them.
If you’ve had any of the above on your mind, I hope what I’ve posted has provided answers and been helpful.
Good luck!
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Thank you!
Anna Thurman is a work at home blogger and mom of two. She has been researching and reviewing remote jobs for over 13 years. Her findings are published weekly here at Real Ways to Earn.