Working From Home

Working from home.....the dream of so many people. Imagine getting up in the morning and going to the office in your jammies.....a cup of steaming coffee in hand, smiling at your family as they head off to fight the traffic and weather making their way to school or office jobs....But not you, you work from home, making a living in your living room. It's fabulous isn't it ?

Or is it? There are seemingly lots of possibilities for people to work from home, the internet is full of ads suggesting you can earn a living from home with nothing but a computer, doing surveys for example, or maybe writing a blog, or day-trading penny stocks, selling something, maybe working for a call centre, in your own little home work cubicle. No co-workers, no lunch dates at the restaurant, no inter-office affairs, no gossip, no official break times or lunch. Like I said,  "Living the dream"

There are opportunities to work from home, but they take some research and some serious soul searching on your behalf. Are you driven enough to work without a supervisor keeping an eye on you? Can you work independently, without having to ask a lot of questions. Can you afford to work at a job where the paycheck may vary, up and down, depending on the work you do, what you sell or produce. Are you willing to work long into the night to get things finished so you get paid?

Doing surveys.....sounds simple right? Except, most of these survey companies want to pay you in 'points' which you can later redeem for products if you get enough....doesn't pay the power bills.
Writing blogs, and collecting on ad revenue or affilliate sales. Do you know how few people actually make a living from blogging? Don't believe all the hype, it isn't easy money.
Stuffing envelopes....I've known more folks who have gotten into envelope stuffing programs, and find themselves swamped with things to mail, and having to stuff until their arms fall off to make any kind of money, and even that isn't  much....it ain't easy.

Sure, there are people, and there are programs that can help you earn a living from the comfort of home. There are jobs where home is your office, perhaps selling something like insurance or real estate, but you do have to go out occasionally, and you do need certifications and you also need to have an ability to meet people and sell them something, both tasks that people who like the idea of working from home, usually don't like....let's face it, one of the reasons why working from home appeals is because you are somewhat of an introvert, and don't really want to be bothered with people.

All I'm saying is that if you are thinking about a career working from home, think it through. There are some programs that can be lucrative, although care needs to be taken before you sign up for anything, and don't go paying the company....remember, they are supposed to pay you.

There are some useful reports you can purchase to give you a background in ways to make money from home, such as Doing Surveys and Making Money From Clickbank and Legitimate Online Jobs

There are others too, such as making money through affiliate sales,  The Super Affilate and Sources for Flexible Jobs and a Work From Home Job bank

If you like photography, you might find this site will show you how to make money from home with your camera

There you go, some thoughts about working from home, and some programs that might help you if you decide the work from home life is for you!

Part-Time Jobs

You know what really sucks in the job market these days? Part-time jobs! While I see the need for parttime work for some folks like students, retirees and others looking to supplement their incomes, I don't agree with the current move among companies, particularly bigger retail companies, to hire only part-time staff.

Companies like big grocery store chains who want us to believe they are great corporate entities, who do the right thing for their communities and society, are hiring part time staff to replace full time workers on a regular basis. These companies have almost no full time staff other than management type positions. The rest, the folks in the trenches, cashiers, inventory personnel are being hired as part-time staff so the company, that corporate superstar, doesn't have to pay benefits like sick leave or medical/drug plans.

It's a beautiful plan, two staff for the price of one, keep their hours low, and avoid paying benefits. These are typically not high paying jobs, and granted, they are suitable for some folks, but there are many people who need a full time job, 40 hours a week, and preferably in one place. They are being forced to work two or sometimes even three jobs to make ends meet, and get enough hours for a week's pay. I don't agree with this at all. Companies, large department stores, large grocery stores, many of whom are important entities in the communities where they are located, are not being corporately responsible when they hire mostly part-time workers. They are being fiscally responsible to their shareholder which is arguably what they need to be, but I believe these companies should have to demonstrate some social responsibility as well. The ratio of part-time to permanent full-time workers should be at least 50-50.

When I was starting out in the work world, I worked for a retail store who had more full time staff than part time staff. The parttimers were used to supplement the workforce, allow some of the full time staff to get a night off, or perhaps a two day weekend occasionally. Now, those types of jobs are almost non-existant, and the store I worked for would have to do some searching to find a full timer on the sales floor.

It doesn't look like it will be changing anytime soon either, as more and more retailers turn to part time staffing models, citing all kinds of reasons, but meaning the bottom line is all that really matters.

Some folks like part-time work, and to be fair, I am not suggesting that it should go away completely, but there should be options, and there should be some full time jobs for qualified people who want them. Part timers exhibit much less loyalty to their brand, or store, and often work in more than one retail location on a daily basis. That means they are ready to jumb ship as soon as full-time employment comes along, often leaving the company on short notice. After all, they only put in what they can expect to get back, and if your family comes first, and for most it does, part-time work is not enough.

Is it time for governments to step in and legislate some requirements for these places, especially the larger square footage stores, like the big box stores, and the large mega grocery stores who are turning huge profits for their owners?

The free enterprise entrepreneur in me says no, but the socially responsible person in side of me says yes....what about you?

Recession Proof Jobs

Choosing a career is never easy. It gets even more difficult with hard economic times and recessions, which tend to reduce the job opportunites and career choices. Let's face it, as times get hard, jobs and careers get harder to find and then if you do find one, the competition is often fierce for very few positions.

However, despite the recession and the loss of jobs, as companies lose money and shut their doors or lay off workers, there are some jobs that are growing and experts predict will continue to grow in the future. These are jobs in nursing, science and engineering, accounting, security, and the skilled trades, of which there are many different jobs and career choices. I'm sure there are more, if a person gets creative and puts some thought into it as they look for a new career.

Look around, what places are busy, where are things booming, what do your friends who have jobs do? By careful observation of your local surroundings you can probably get an idea of what career fields are needed and will continue to be needed into the next decade.

That means that job seekers and persons thinking about a mid life career change, or those who are forced into a career change would do well to look to some of the employment fields mentioned as opportunities to find meaningful employment as they go through the career planning process.

But don't take my word for it, instead, find out more about each of the above career choices at Recession Proof Jobs