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Working at home sounds like a great idea, but with all the scams out there, where do you start?
I literally stumbled upon legitimate work at home positions. There is a plethora of things that can be done from home. Most of my work experience has been customer service/call center work, so that's what I'll focus on here.
I won't pretend to know it all, about the subject but I can tell you what I've found out. I will also give you the links to the forums I visit, where you can find a wealth of information to help steer you away from the scammers out there.
Many of the companies that offer "work at home" positions do not hire you as an employee. Instead, you are considered an Independent Contractor (there are a few who do hire at home agents as employees). What does this mean? Well quite simply it means you do not get any benifits (insurance, etc), and you have to pay your own taxes. SE tax = Self Employment tax, you pay the employer AND the employee portion which works out to like 15.3%. You can take the taxes out quarterly (which is usually an of estimated things, and that's near impossible to figure out when you're payed by the minute) or just deal with it at tax time (that's what I do). If you're worried about the taxes, then open a savings account just for this and each paycheck take 15.3% out and put it in that account. Then at tax time if you need to pay the money is there if not you have a nice little bonus!
Many states make it hard for companies to have "at home agents" and therefore a lot of the larger reputable companies have stopped contracting in certain states. Each company has different state restrictions, so check each one.
As an Independent Contractor (IC), many of these positions pay a per minute rate (for example 20cents for every minute you're actually talking on the phone), some projects will pay a guaranteed hourly rate, but those aren't the easiest to get.
As an "at home agent", unless it's specifically stated, the calls are all inbound... just like at a brick & mortar call center, the calls are routed to the next available agent in the queue, the only difference is that instead of the call center being in one building, it's virtual (stretched all over the country).
While the basic rule of thumb is "if they want money from you it's a scam" is true, there are a couple of exceptions:
Some of these companies want you to pay to cover the cost of the background check on you, usually $30. That is actually an acceptable fee (it's just like when renting an apartment, some apartments make you pay the fee for the background check, this is no different). Some require you to pay for the training courses, but those companies are usually the ones that require you to be a "cyber-corp" and as such you are basically your own business, so it would be an expected business expense.
Start-up costs are USUALLY just a headset and high-speed internet access. You can get a really good headset for around $30 at any office supply store. Some companies require you to have a corded phone, there are corded phones with headset jacks for less than $50 out there. There are a couple of companies that want you to have a dedicated phone line (a 2nd line), costs will vary depending on your phone compnay. They all will want any extra features turned off (i.e.; call waiting, voice mail, etc). Remember they can monitor your calls so they'll know if your call waiting beeps!
You do need to have a quiet place to work, you can't have your dog barking or kids screaming in the background. While you are logged in to work, your workspace is, in effect, a call center, the person calling in shouldn't know you work from home.... remember be professional! Besides, many projects run 24/7 and since you choose the times you want to work from the available hours on the schedule, it shouldn't be hard to find time to work when your house is quiet.
The decision to work from home, as nice as it sounds, shouldn't be taken lightly. You need to weigh a lot of different things here are a couple that come to mind:
What does it cost for you to work outside the home? gas, daycare, clothes, makeup, lunch, wear & tear on the car, the amount of time you're spending commuting.
Does what I make working at home (which will sound like a lot less), actually end up saving my family money?
Do I have a quiet space to work?
If you're a homemaker and haven't worked (or it's just been a long time)then financially it's a win-win. Something to keep in the pro column..... you'll be earning points towards your Social Security!
Here are what I consider to be the big 3 companies, they all consider you an Independent Contractor:
West - http://www.workathomeagent.com (I've been with them since July 2005)
Live Ops - http://www.liveops.com/
Working Solutions - http://www.workingsol.com (waiting on my first project!)
Here are 2 great resources, you should visit they are packed full of information:
Work Place Like Home - http://www.workplacelikehome.com/forum/
