No at home jobs, huh?

[tjdee]

A few years back, when kiddo was just a baby, I looked for online/telecommuting jobs and had no luck. You either had to start your own business or buy into a franchise like thing (like Avon,etc.).

Doesn't seem like that's changed. I would love to get a second job, but I'm a single parent, so paying a babysitter seems kind of counterproductive (not to mention never seeing the kid). Any ideas?

[mbee]

1. When my son was a baby quite a while ago (20 years) I was looking

to get some bookkeeping work at home so when I responded to ads for this I mentioned I had an infant and was looking to do work at home. I was able to get some work that way and then later I was hired for a job outside the home, but I made arrangements to go in 3 days and week and then work at home 1 day a week. You may find what you are looking for, but you have to let them know ahead of time before the interview.

[tjdee]

8. See, I don't think anyone will agree to that, LOL.

Obviously some would, as happened with you... I just don't think anyone's inclined to be helpful. But I guess it doesn't hurt to try... hmm. Thanks for giving me something to think about !

[Kat45]

2. Check out the job listings on Craig's List

I've noticed that they sometimes have listings of jobs to be done on your computer at home. Of course, they're always contract work, and often just for a short time, but you never know--you might find something that way.

[tjdee]

7. Wasn't sure if that was legit....

so the recommendation is appreciated. :)

[serryjw]

3. Try this .........

May help......I'm in sales and there are many legit work at home

http://www.tjobs.com/jobopps.shtml

[tjdee]

6. Thank you for the link!

:hi:

[OneGrassRoot]

21. Question about this link...

Just wondering if you actually paid to gain access to the job postings, or know anyone who has, and if it's been beneficial? I search Craigslist daily (the crazylist thing so it covers more than just one city) for my SO, but this site looks promising - it's just that it requiring a fee for a password makes me hesitant.

Thanks much!

[serryjw]

23. Sorry, just saw your post

I was looking for a work at home sales position, which I found, w/o joining on Craig's list. If I remember it was $15?? Worth the money IMHO. They sound legit.

[Crazy Dave]

4. I think it's an ego thing with the bosses

Not only can my job be done at home, I can get twice as much work done at home which would mean twice as much work could be invoiced and clients that get their work twice as fast are usually very happy clients.

[tjdee]

5. Ain't that the truth.

I could do 90% of my job at home. But if they want to pay for the office space, go ahead, I guess. Just makes it hard when the kid gets sick, etc.

[bliss_eternal]

9. Have you considered medical transcription...?

I'm not sure it would fufill all of what you are seeking, as it would be considered your own business, or at least an independent contractor. I've known of several people that have pursued this work. It paid well and they could do it from home. It's also pretty recession proof. Doctors always need transcripts in good economic times and bad.

If you are interested, let me know. I'll post a few of the resources listed in a book I have about home-based businesses.

:hi: Hope this is helpful.

[hermetic]

10. I am extremely interested in what you have

I have worked in a hospital and have lots of medical terminology experience and am desperately seeking work I can do at home. Thank you thank you. :hug:

[bliss_eternal]

12. This is courtesy of a Paul and Sarah Edwards book--

The Best Home Businesses for the 20th Century and Beyond. I would suggest that if you have a library nearby, or a bookstore, like Barnes and Nobles or Borders to see if they have the third edition of this book. Look for the chapter on Medical Transcription services and read it. That could give you a basic idea of what the job consists of, what temperament you need to do it, etc.

Use the web resources I've provided below to seek out other transcriptionists that may be able to help tell you what's required, where to find training, what you can do now, etc. :)

American Association for Medical Transcription-www.aamt.org :According to their book, they will send a carrer package if you send a SASE. I haven't visited the website personally, so I don't know if this is true.

MT Daily: Mary Morken has operated this site since 1995, and it has many pages of information, message boards and lists of companies that contract out work. www.mtdaily.com

The book says the following about training:
You can do one or a combination of things to learn medical transcription, including taking home-study course, correspondence course, or classroom training in a vocational education program, community college course or hospital course.

Personally, I would check the mtdaily.com site--if they have message boards, someone there (or the site owner) may be able to direct you to appropriate training options for you. I say this as I know with some careers you can work from home in, there are people out there that prey on those interested in such careers, with alleged courses that will do nothing but take your hard earned money from you.

I would also ask those at mtdaily.com about whether or not their work has been threatened by offshoring. There's a post on the topics page of this forum, (almost at the bottom). The topic is entitled Medical transcription. I think the person that posted that also stated that they felt there was plenty of work available in the field, too. :)

Good luck! Let us know how it goes!
bliss_e :hi:

Edited to add link to post from this forum about medical transcription. Posted by Horse with no Name. Apparently this poster also knows people earning a living in this field, and were doing quite well as of December 2005, a few months ago. Can't imagine the field has drastically changed in a matter of a few months. I clicked on the link she provided and the website was still full of information.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=362x25

Best to you!

[area51]

11. med. transcription

I hope your friends continue to be able to work in this profession; I've heard stories that medical transcription is being offshored like everything else. I wish them the best of luck, should they need it.

[bliss_eternal]

13. Why discourage others based on "stories you've heard?"

:shrug:

Why not actually do some research on the field before taking the wind out of someone else's sails regarding a possibility for their life?

If you'd actually taken the time to personally do any research on the field, or could provide some sources of information that stated that this was a poor career choice I would be more inclined to give your comments consideration.

After posting this response yesterday, I noticed that Horse with no name had posted this:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=362x25

on this board. Apparently this poster also has friends that are doing well in this field. I didn't see you posting on that thread stating you wish those people luck...

[calico1]

14. I am curious to know where you have heard

all these stories? Medical transcription is something that I am currently considering as I recently got laid off. I am still doing research but all the research I have done so far indicates that although some jobs will go overseas there is such a high demand for good medical transcriptionists and not enough of them that it is still a secure job for anyone here looking to get into the field.

[2Design]

15. looked into this about 5 years ago - most are 7 or 8 dollars

an hour - the ones outside an office were for people who had been doing it awhile - many of the tapes were doctors whose native language was not english and therefore hard to understand - perhaps it has changed and improved - but I decided after first night of class that it was not for me

[OneGrassRoot]

22. I've been doing medical transcription since 1992...

so I have lots of direct, personal experience. Granted, the situation - like most jobs - vary from region to region.

I'm in the Raleigh-Durham area, though I've also done digital transcription for clients in a variety of areas.

My experience is this:

First, it is definitely NOT an easy field to get into. In training dozens of people I've trained throughout the years, I've found most courses are useless. This is truly one of those jobs which is best learned on the job. It's a real catch-22 situation though because, without experience, very few will hire you. Especially large corporations which have an online presence - they'll require experience. I was fortunate in that I found a small local transcription company who trained me from scratch.

It's not simply a matter of having good word processing and grammar skills. Medical terminology is truly a language in and of itself. You must be able to combine excellent typing, computer, grammar, terminology, and transcription skills. Additionally, you need to have a knack transcribing for persons with accents. 90% of those I've trained throughout the years (including nurses) don't last - they are only thinking of the "at home" aspect of the job, and the demanding nature of the job itself is a surprise. I realize I sound negative, but so many simply don't have a realistic expectations. Yes, you can make good money if you work as an independent contractor, but it takes a while to get to that point. You must get to the point that you don't have to look everything up and the other skills all come together before you are making decent money, since you are paid on a production basis, not hourly.

As for outsourcing. There was a time several years back when this area went through an outsourcing phase. It didn't last long. I recently read that, even hospitals (which were the primary ones to outsource transcription), are no longer doing so because of compliance requirements. There's a fairly new law which is being enforced (HIPAA) which deals with the confidentiality of medical records (amongst other things), and it turns out outsourcing overseas jeopardized this confidentiality. Plus, it turns out there are other drawbacks to outsourcing medical transcription. We all thought voice recognition would be the end of transcriptionists, but that is still far from being the case. All in all, I think the need for experienced medical transcriptionists is intact for a while. Again, the rub is that one needs to get experience first, and that is so very difficult. I know I no longer have the patience or resources to train people from scratch (it takes six months to get someone to a truly functional place).

Hope this helps, even if it seems negative. You never know - you could make a call to a local, smaller transcription company at the right time and they might be willing to train!

Best of luck to everyone. It's rough out there for so many. I'm looking for work for my SO and it is quite discouraging.

[DaveJ]

16. Take control

Do it yourself. Think of something that you passionately enjoy, base a product on that, and sell it. Why sell someone else's product or service and just receive a fraction of the profit? While not at work, I've been working on developing my own product for the last 2 years and it's almost ready for distribution. If it doesn't work out, I know I can tweak the idea and I'll just keep doing that until the modified product works. Personally, I don't know of any ready-to-go plans.

[tjdee]

17. I would LOVE to do this, but I have no ideas.

That would be my preference. I see people starting businesses every day, and it's like my mind is a a blank space when it comes to ideas of what I can sell. And the things I would like to do, I am not qualified to do (making my own handbags, etc.). I'm awfully self-defeatist, it seems from this post, LOL, I may want to work on that first.

It would be one thing if I could make something as you've done. Good luck with it!

[bliss_eternal]

18. Are you in or near a city with a Learning Annex?

They offer a class on starting your own handbag line. You don't necessarily need a degree or experience in the field to do that sort of thing. There are quite a few people that didn't...like Kate Spade. ;)

Even if you don't have a Learning Annex near you, they sometimes sell the courses as e-books, or on-line lessons. Most classes are only a few hours long.

Also, if you are near a Borders or Barnes and Noble booksellers--look for a magazine called Bust. It's a feminist magazine for young women (and older too). In the back of their magazines they have ads for businesses owned by women, most small--out of homes or small studios selling all range of things--crochet hats, handbags, jewelry, etc. It's quite an inspiration. It shows what we can all do if we want to and try...

Let me know if you are interested in more resources, etc. :hi:

[tjdee]

19. Thank you so much for the post...

I've been very AWOL on the boards except the lounge.

Those are things I wouldn't have thought of, though now they seem like where I'd ought to start. I'm not near a Learning Annex, but I did not know that they sometimes offer things online/ebooks, etc.

I very much appreciate the suggestions, helps me to start working those rusty gears in my brain LOL.

[bliss_eternal]

20. Happy to help...

...when you are open to the possibilities, you'd be surprised the creative ways many have found to earn a living on their own terms. Also check out books like "Making a Living without a Job" by Barbara Winter (available on amazon.com).

...let us know how it goes! :hi: