Stay at Home Jobs: What They Are and How to Know What’s Right for You
What are “stay at home jobs”? How do you decide if they are right for you? How do you find one that fits? Before getting into those questions, we need to define what “stay at home jobs” are. In one sense we are simply talking about methods of generating an income without the need to show up at a specific job location. But that definition needs to be refined if we are going to get an idea of how to approach this.
One understanding of this term is a type of self-employment where you set up your own business and base it at home. In other words, you are a self-employed individual and you have your office and do most of your work at home. There are many careers, both full- and part-time that fit into this category. The key here is that you do not have an employer. You really are your own boss.
Another understanding of stay at home jobs would include employment situations where you truly arean employee of a company but are permitted to do much or most of your work from your home. Often the term telecommuting is applied to this arrangement. For many, this is very desirable arrangement because it couples the relative security of actually being on the payroll of an company but eliminates the need to report to a job location. The cost and time savings in not needing to commute to a job location and to pay for day-care is very attractive to mothers of young children.
Which is right for you?
Realize that there are many choices within each of these two categories of stay at home jobs discussed above. And realize that jobs with very similar functions and responsibilities could fall under either category.
Here’s a short check-list to help you clarify your thinking as to how you want to approach this:
- Do you seek independence and are you willing to accept responsibility for the success or failure of a business?
- Are you reluctant to leave what appears to be the relative security of the regular paycheck?
- Do you prefer to work on a well-defined set of tasks determined by others, or are you comfortable with the wide array of responsibilities that come with self-employment?
- Do you need income right now or can you afford to wait until your business grows to the point where it can pay you an income?
- What other family and personal considerations need to be considered in making your decision?
- What are your job skills and your employment experiences?
- Are you able to discipline yourself to work independently without supervision?
- How do you feel about working by yourself with little regular contact with others?
That list is not complete, of course, and as you think about these things you’ll come up with more factors to consider. But hopefully I’ve clarified some relevant issues for you as you review your options regarding stay at home jobs. Best wishes!