So you’re at home, and you want work, but you’re at home, without work, because you’re at home! See where this is going? Sometimes it seems like there’s no other way around the typical office style of functioning. But when it really comes to it, there is scope of change around every corner.
When everything’s going digital, why can’t you?
Work from home is a recent concept that has been widely appreciated and accepted by the technology literate public. There are housewives who can’t leave their kids alone at home to go to the office; there are injured and physically disabled people who can’t travel; sometimes, some skills land people in jobs that are practically impossible to travel to on a daily basis; there may be economic concerns regarding extra expenses, safety concerns, time constraints, lifestyle hiccups; it could be a very long list.
This concept is also highly favoured in situations like the current lockdown that requires work to continue without the physical assembly of people in an office.
With reasons being plenty, this concept is safe, dependable and in some cases, more productive to churn out better quality output from employees who find it easier to focus while at home, rather than in an office, with buzzing conversations, loud telephones and constant chatter.
While almost all companies and businesses have their tech team draw out a digital picture of the work they do and services they offer, there now exist an array of digital specific functions and services. Depending on your interests and skills, you can put a foot in either spheres of digitization and land yourself a job that lets you work from home.
Let us help you find your kind of work from home…
We have curated a list of WFH jobs that you may find to your liking. Read on…
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Script Writing & Subtitling
Storytelling is an art. Putting them to words is another art. There is always a crazy demand for ideas, stories and scripts. You got an idea? Pen it down! Rework it, furnish it and polish it; match it to the image in your head. And when you’re satisfied with your work, start pitching it to artists. Your ideas have the potential to be converted to stories, books, movies, music videos, short films, what not?!
It could so happen that someone has a story to tell and they need the flair of a storyteller to script it out. If you’re good at it, grab the chance and start scripting. It’s a great experience and a wonderful treat to your skills.
Besides scripts, there is also a demand for subtitle writers for movies, series and short films. If you like writing, you should definitely put your skills to test and watch it grow over time. You won’t realize when a random idea in the bathroom just became a great piece of art!
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Transcribing & Translation
Transcribing could be tedious in the beginning for some, but once you get the knack of it, it is quick money and fairly easy work. Transcribing is mainly required for oral interviews. Most interviewers need a written copy of their recordings for publishing and / or future reference. Accent, speed and pronunciations sometimes do pose an issue. But eventually, it becomes easier to understand and decipher them.
Similarly, if you are fluent in more than one language, then you could use your knowledge to translate content from one language to another. Be it a foreign language or a local language, too. Translation is required for story books, novels, religious books, textbooks and even dialogues and scripts. Your knowledge of languages can help you make money!
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Content Creation & Editing
Now this is mainly all about websites and/or businesses. This sort of content includes product or service description, marketing pitch, website layout content, blogs, press releases, advertising content, social media content, etc.
Social and digital media marketing require constantly updated content. This requires quick and abundant content creation that is creative, unique and impressive.
Sometimes, there is a lot of available content which may turn out to be too lengthy and boring. Such content might require editing to check for grammar and other errors and to summarize and shorten content.
Content is a wide area and its demand will only increase. If you can handle a lot of content continually, then this is your area to explore.
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Research & Data Collection
A lot of new products and services need to first understand and analyse their market before entering into competition. Companies usually prefer market research and analysis to help them curate a profitable strategy. For this, research and data collection is most often outsourced and an expert is called in to analyse the data. Researchers are paid as per the amount of data they collect based on techniques that companies often suggest.
Depending on your sort of social network and the target audience in question, you can take up such research work and earn right out of your computer desk. Being a local from among the target audience is a bonus.
You could also work as a freelance product tester and enjoy perks, concessions and offers!
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Website & Application Development
For all the engineers who have put in so much effort to complete their course and ultimately, find it difficult to get a good job; coding, website and application designing and development is a demand that is only going to go higher. Since technology is portable, these kinds of work can be done from home, too. Depending on the design and intricacy of the interface and the backend functionality, costs for such work vary from person to person.
This also opens doors for tech supervisors and the support team to make sure everything is working perfectly and smoothly and the processes are void of any interferences or glitches. There are always going to be companies in need of a tech supervisor, from various fields.
If you think your engineering studies have been a waste, well, there just might be good news. *wink*
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Teaching
It is common for most of us to take our studies for granted. Everyone tends to build a career in what they are really good at, which obviously makes sense. But have you considered jumping over to the other side of the table?
A well learned expert who is passionate about his area of interest is always a better teacher. You could make money out of teaching students the stuff you already know. Cake walk, eh?
(Except, you have got to be good with handling a class of students but that is a different ball game altogether)
But as part of a work from home stint, you could take online lectures, home classes, video classes and set and check question papers. This reduces your class size, makes it easier to handle students, give each one enough attention and be flexible with your time.
Depending on your expertise, your demand could range from schools to colleges to coaching classes. There is also non-academic training that is very high in demand like dancing, music, instruments, painting, sports, soft skills…. Maybe there should be an article dedicated solely to this list.
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Recruitment
Bigger companies usually invest in an in house HR team or individual. However, recruitment is just one function of an HR. If that is the only requirement of a company, they may find it feasible to outsource this task as per situational demand.
Data may be given or be made available and you may be put in charge of conducting interviews. This process could also be over the telephone or you could strike an arrangement with the company.
If you have people reading skills, know about the background of the company’s field and know exactly what to look for, you might just be making yourself some relatively effortless money.
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Business Consulting
Which business is closed to ideas? Every business wants to grow and get better. Some entrepreneurs might want to conduct their own research or have their own socially related consultants or advisors. But if you think you know something that a company might want to pay you to learn of, then you have got to sell your expertise.
Business consulting is not as easy as it may seem. It requires an in depth knowledge and a thorough study of the market, nature of business and other factors. It would call for a balanced mixture of economics, business principles and strategies, human psychology, changing trends, emerging competition, unique creativity and financial accounting.
You mix that up well and serve it in a plate and you have got yourself a good deal on your dish.
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Counsellor
It is quite similar to what a teacher does, except, it works as guidance and not education. With growing competition and extending diversities, people often find it difficult to make certain difficult decisions in life.
After Xth grade, should it be Arts, Science or Commerce? What to do majors in? What could be options for specialization? What are the types of jobs available? What is the employment rate in a certain sector? Does this job provide a secure future? What could be a backup plan? ….You get the idea?
Here is where a consultant steps in. An academic consultant would help with various branches of specialization available at each stage. Such experts also provide tests to determine a child’s interest, capability, intelligence and weakness. These results help draw out a list of options that they can pursue.
There are also academic counsellors who work at schools and classes to help students decide which course would be beneficial to them and how a course(s) might help with future endeavours.
A career consultant also takes similar tests at different levels of intelligence and charts out various kinds of jobs that the person might find interesting and might excel at.
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Designing
Now designing is something unique to every person with a flair for creativity. No matter what kind of designing it may be, there are always two parts to it; one is the actual art of creative designing and the other is the skill to use the tools for execution.
A fashion designer could work on different styles, cuts, patterns, layouts, fabric combinations, colours from their home.
Graphic designers can work on logos, creative images, advertisements from their very desktop.
Product designers can experiment with their designs based on research of available and competing products and similar designs.
Likewise, designers can work from home and charge up their creativity, only to pitch their designs to potential investors and markets when ready. This helps them focus better and work at their own pace because creativity cannot be forced.
The next time you think you may not do well sitting at home, well, times have changed, don’t restrict yourself to your inconveniences. Explore your talents and let your brain do its work. Staying home can be profitable, too!