Working from home is relatively a new term when it comes to some countries. It’s much a newer term if you don’t want to be in corporate industry and just work online for an organization which might not have a presence in that country.
Online jobs or work from home jobs are always frowned upon as most of the jobs which you come across are scammy especially in countries like India, Malaysia, Germany, Australia, U.K, France, New Zealand, etc.
There is a reason why this is the usual reaction; telecommuting has not become a common thing in most of the countries except for U.S.
Is there a need for work from home jobs in these countries?
Yes.
There is an increasingly stronger need for telecommuting or online jobs in all of these and many more countries which are much smaller in demographics than the U.S.
Because of more people trying to get work in corporate sectors and trying to strive for the work-life balance, there is a stronger need for work from home option.
Many people are looking for working from home option even with bigger organizations like IBM, SAP, Microsoft, etc., as these companies have been giving the flexibility for such options.
Are all the jobs online in these sectors scammy?
Not necessarily.
As the market for working online is growing and as the companies which recruit workers from home are increasing, there are less number of scammy jobs out there.
But, it requires proper research and careful thinking to decide on the legitimate jobs. It also depends on the sector of the jobs you are choosing. There might be a good number of scammy jobs in data entry sector as it is exploited a lot, but if you do a deep research, you might find a good legitimate company to get employed in data entry.
Can I make decent money with online jobs in these countries?
Definitely.
Most of the people have an impression especially when it comes to working from home, that it cannot generate substantial income as compared to the office dwellers. This is not the case even in the countries like India, Malaysia, New Zealand, Egypt, etc. I know a lot of people who are making a killing with work from home jobs.
It might be that you have to do two jobs on a flexible schedule or do one with a tight schedule, but it’s surely possible to get a decent income from work-at-home jobs.
For example, if you are doing a freelancing job, you can fit a part time, less demanding web research job on the side. This tallies up to a full-time income, all in the comfort of your home. It all depends on how you juggle the jobs.
Web Research/Internet Researcher
Internet Research is a relatively recent work from home position which is becoming popular. Web researcher or Internet Researcher positions were not many available six years ago. They were very specific to limited countries like U.S, U.K.
One would agree that there has been growing demand for online opportunities. Inarguably, crowdsourcing has increased too. Therefore, work from home options are available in countries like Vietnam, Iceland, Scotland, etc. so has to meet demands of day-to-day operations of the companies.
Web research positions are advertised with many organizations, but the big ones are Lionbridge, Appen Butler Hill, Work Force Logiq (formerly Zerochaos). These companies recruit home workers from time to time.
Translation
Translation jobs have been in the market for a very long time. Most of the time a formal qualification as a translator is required, but there are some opportunities where they do not ask for qualifications. As most of the job is done online, it is quite flexible.
Appen Butler Hill and Lionbridge are into translation recruiting home workers. Apart from these companies, there are many freelancing companies like WordExpress, that hire freelancers working online in this sector. It also helps if you have multi-language skills.
Tutoring
I find teaching as a very rewarding and good income source. As the need for good communication skills increases, the demand for tutoring also grows especially for English. Other languages are also in high demand, and all this can be taught via online tools such as Skype or GoToMeeting. And, this is all interactive.
Though formal qualifications are needed most of the time in the subject or language you are teaching, there are many tutoring opportunities where the employers may not ask for any prior qualifications. To teach for countries like China, Japan and Korea, you do not require any previous experience.
Companies like Tutor.com, Tutorvista, etc. advertise regular tutoring positions for global workers. Freelancing tutor positions are also advertised in many forum or job boards independently.
You can find more job opportunities on the Job Board.
Related:
10 Legitimate Online Proofreading Jobs
7+ Ways to Make Extra Income Online
Top 25 Companies Hiring Remote Workers Regularly
Ultimate List of Legitimate Work-at-Home Jobs
Transcription/Typing
Transcription and typing jobs have the edge over other jobs as the companies which advertise these jobs are more in volume than others. Transcription companies like REV, have expanded into video transcription/ video captioning as well which is more creative than audio transcription. Typing jobs are in large volumes in freelancing space and depend on the speed and expertise.
Companies like VirtualBee (now LionBridge Smart Crowd), Quicktate, Scribie all employ workers from home. A word of caution as the usual typing jobs are dressed up as high paying data entry jobs, so you would have to do proper research about the company before you go further.
More Flexible Options
Test Websites
The pay is $10 per website tested and the schedule is very flexible and the opportunities you get will depend on the quality. Apply for usability testing with User testing, Analysia.
Telephone Mystery Shopping
The pay for the phone mystery shopping differs with companies but the normal rate of pay might start from $5. Apply for mystery shopping gigs with ARC, Call center QA.
There are many other jobs in the global market for many countries, but it requires research and verification to weed out the scams. I do believe that no matter what country you are in, you can always find a flexible job suitable to your schedule.
If you are looking for more flexible jobs, try looking in the “remote” section of Indeed.
So, which country you are in and what are your experiences in searching for online jobs, do share your thoughts on this.
