Four years ago, you couldn’t convince me that there were any real work-at-home opportunities out there that didn’t involve spending a ridiculous amount of time filling out surveys, data entry, MLM, and cold calling (*shudder*) for pennies.
Gag.
Let’s be real. As a parent, the last thing we want to do is waste our time with scammy non-opportunities that suck up our time and leave us with little in return.
As a new mom, I remember spending a TON of time looking for ways to bring in some extra income so we could slow down our monthly paycheck-to-paycheck merry-go-round.
(Time to shut that ride down, Life! No one’s in line for that disappointment.) 😉
From repairing and selling used children’s shoes to consigning my kids’ used clothes, to yes, even hopping on the furniture painting craze, I tried almost everything to generate a side income that was actually worth the time involved.
But when we faced new health insurance premiums that made my side income look sad, those time-consuming side hustles just weren’t cutting it anymore.
So I started getting my hands dirty and looking for ways to earn a real income from home. And people! They’re out there.
After taking a few training courses that have morphed into what has now become a full-time income, I have officially graduated from side-hustle wannabe into a full-time work-at-home career that I LOVE.
You guys, I never would’ve thought that I would eventually earn a full-time income from home doing something I love, that my husband would be able to quit his full-time job, that we would be able to purchase our first home, and that both of us would be able to be home to raise our boys together.
I love my life!
Are you someone who has been side-hustling themselves into oblivion without getting anywhere? Or are you thinking about learning some real skills that you can build into a real work-at-home career?
Here are some awesome training programs that offer training in real skills to build a real work-at-home career! And yes, some of these programs helped me to get where I am today!
1. Proofreading
If your English skills are good and you love reading, proofreading might be your jam! Art of Proofreading offers training in both copyediting and proofreading, and is run by a 16+ year proofreading and copyediting veteran!
At Art of Proofreading, you have the option to enroll in their High-Level Proofreading Pro course to learn how to proofread and copyedit written media — especially books!
Anywhere there’s text, there’s probably a proofreader somewhere close by — or at least, there should be. 😉 Proofreading is where I got my start, and I know first hand that there’s a huge need for qualified, well-trained proofreaders.
To learn more about where Art of Proofreading came from, check out my interview with Phon Baillie here (the program creator) where she talks about her favorite book genre to proofread — romance novels!
Phon has been able to spend time with her young son while providing a nice income for her family with her proofreading skills, so this is definitely a great niche for parents!
She also offers a free intro course available for those interested in getting started as a work-at-home proofreader and copyeditor. If this sparks a little curiosity in you, I highly recommend signing up!
This is a great option for parents with children of any age.
2. Transcription
Anyone who has Googled “jobs that can be done from home” has probably heard of transcription. Likely, you’ve heard of medical transcription. Unfortunately, medical transcription is all but dead.
But legal and general transcription is booming!
Basically, transcription is turning the spoken word into text by transcribing recorded audio files into readable documents.
Transcribe Anywhere, the sister site to Proofread Anywhere, offers affordable training in both legal transcription and general transcription.
Legal transcription usually involves transcribing dictation from lawyers, legal proceedings, and correspondence, while general transcription is for pretty much everything else (insurance claims, interviews, webinars, video courses, radio shows, etc.).
TA also offers free intro courses for anyone who is thinking about enrolling in their two courses: General Transcription and Legal Transcription.
For another in-depth review, check out my post about it here. (Yep, this is another course I’ve taken that has helped me build my own work-at-home career!)
This is a great option for parents with children who are a little older and don’t need constant supervision as it does require the use of headphones, which can impede your ability to keep a close eye and ear on your kiddos.
3. Bookkeeping
If numbers are your thing, becoming a freelance bookkeeper may be a really great option for you! Bookkeeper Business Launch is a fantastic training program created by Ben Robinson, veteran CPA and instructor.
Ben’s course teaches you how to work with clients all over the nation to provide them bookkeeping services using online modalities of data exchange (how they get their records to you as their bookkeeper).
Becoming a freelance bookkeeper is a fantastic way to keep the flexibility you’re wanting in a work-at-home job while also earning a very respectable income. To learn more, you can sign up for the Bookkeeper Business Launch free training.
This is a great option for parents with children of any age.
4. Virtual Assisting
If learning multiple skills at once is your thing, you may like becoming a virtual assistant. Virtual assistants do a myriad of different tasks for business owners, including email management, customer service, copywriting, content management for blogs, graphic design, project management (what I do!), etc.
This is by far one of my favorite ways to earn a living from home! I’ve learned so many fun skills that I never thought I could, and I couldn’t be happier doing what I do.
There are a lot of really great VA courses out there. One is Horkey Handbook by Gina Horkey. She also offers a writing course for anyone looking to get into copywriting! You can check out my interview with Gina here.
Virtual assisting is a very broad field, giving you a lot of room to branch out into a niche skill set and find what works for you. Getting to work with a variety of different people and business owners can be really fun and exciting, especially if you’re doing a lot of different kinds of tasks.
So what is it that I do specifically? I’m a full-time project manager for a popular blogger. I manage all of my employers projects and product development, keep people on task, and manage her email marketing systems. I also do a lot of graphic design and web design as well.
It’s SO much fun to create digital products and the systems needed to get projects from idea to delivered. If you think project management might be your thing, check out my FREE intro course here!
This is a great option for parents with children of any age.
5. Scoping
Okay, so most people have no idea what scoping is. No worries! I didn’t either until I started proofreading for court reporters.
Scoping is like the copyeditor for court reporters. They go behind a reporter after they have translated the transcript from steno (a special shorthand language learned by court reporters to transcribe legal proceedings at lightning speed) to English to ensure there were no mistranslated words or words that didn’t get translated properly at all. They also look for inaccurate information and typos as well, along with other discrepancies.
Internet Scoping School is one of the most reputable training programs in the court reporting industry. Owned and ran by veteran scopist, Linda Evenson, ISS offers the most comprehensive and in-depth training program under the instruction of the one of the industry’s most respected scopists.
One caveat is that this program is much more expensive than the other programs I’ve listed, especially when you count the special software that’s required. However, it is far less expensive than scoping courses that are provided in colleges (that is, if you can even find one!).
ISS offers a free mini course for anyone interested in learning more. You can also check out my complete interview with Linda here!
This is a great option for parents with children who are a little older and don’t need constant supervision as it sometimes does require the use of headphones, which can impede your ability to keep a close eye and ear on your kiddos.
Do you know of any other really awesome work-at-home training programs? I want to know! Leave me a comment below and tell me all about it!
Hi Katie,
Just curious as to how you NOW feel about proofread anywhere ? I’ve read in other places you got your start there, but now you’re advertising “The art of Proofreading”.
Have you soured on PA ? If so, what was it that makes you feel this way ?
Thank you
That’s a fair question, Frank!
I’m not sure what you mean by “soured,” but I will say that I have been thoroughly impressed with Art of Proofreading as a general proofreading training program—especially for proofreading novels. I never took Proofread Anywhere’s General Proofreading course, so I cannot speak to the curriculum for that program. I took the Transcript Proofreading program from PA and found that the curriculum adequately trained me to perform the work and get clients. Art of Proofreading is a separate program designed to train people how to proofread for authors, publishers, content marketers, and more. Phon Baillie is FANTASTIC and has a substantial amount of experience under her belt, which is why I recommend that program for all general proofreading. 🙂
I was interested in the Transcribe Anywhere course and even paid for the 1st part of it. I tried to log in this weekend to pay for parts 2 and 3 but I’m getting a security credentials error message about the website and when I emailed Janet the email came back as undeliverable. Have you heard anything about any possible problems that they are facing?
Hmmm. It sounds like they’re having server issues. I’ll reach out to Janet and let her know you’re having issues. I’ll cc you on the email so you can hopefully get the answers you need to move forward. 🙂
Love this list of legit work from home opportunities! I signed up for the 7 day free trial of Proofread Anywhere and I just started day one today. In the first email Caitlin invites you to follow her on FB. When I checked her page it was not the professional person that I see in her pictures. In fact she barely has anything about Proofread Anywhere on her page. How involved in the training is she? I’m a little turned off by what I heard and saw. As a fellow believer in Jesus like yourself, any advice or help??? Seriously, a little scared from what I heard and saw. Thanks for your help!!
Hi, Jessica!
That’s an EXCELLENT question! So a lot of the really weird stuff she’s been posting is actually very recent (like, within the last month). Before that, everything was very professional. I’m actually in the process of deciding if it’s still best for my audience to continue to promote Proofread Anywhere because I really don’t want you (or any of my other readers!) to be subjected to what’s going on on her personal page.
I can say, however, that her program is excellent, and as far as I know, she’s very hands off with the training — at least that was my experience when I went through the program. BUT it’s important that anyone who is putting their hard-earned money into a program like that is comfortable with the driving force behind it.
I do know the program is self-paced, so you won’t have any one-on-one interaction with Caitlin. Within the student FB group, she rarely goes in there. It’s managed by her team. So the likelihood of some of the stuff you saw spilling over into the program or the student group is unlikely, but I can’t say for certain it wouldn’t.
I’m so, SO sorry about this. If you have any other questions or concerns about the program, feel free to email me at katie@momismore.com. Hearing feedback from my readers helps me bring them the best, most reputable options out there. <3
I’ve been considering Caitlyn’s course but am really discouraged to hear this. I’m going to have to think about it some more at this point before spending my hard-earned money.
Thank you for the info.
Hi, Lori! I have updated the post with a new recommended proofreading/copyediting resource that my readers are absolutely loving! Some PA students have taken the Art of Proofreading course (the one I now recommend in the post above) and have been thrilled with everything they’re learning that wasn’t necessarily in the other course. Phon is also offering a masterclass tomorrow as well, so that might be a really great option for you to get to know her and her program as a viable option for your proofreading skills! 🙂
This was an encouraging post. So glad I found it. I’m a mom-to-be who is burnt out on the traditional 9-5 in-person job and want to generate income now so I can be a WAHM. Thank you for sharing these resources!
My pleasure, Arcelia! Congratulations on your growing family!
How do you find jobs after you complete the courses? I became a Certified Medical Administrative Assistant after completing the rigorous online courses and taking the certification test but I can’t get a job because I don’t have experience.
That’s a really great question, Margaret! All of the courses I recommend actually teach you how to find your clients, which is something I’ve found lacking in traditional courses. I’ve found in my experience as a proofreader, transcriptionist, VA, and project manager is that they care less about “experience” and more about skill. I’ve never once been asked for my resume in the line of work I do. Not once. Most often, they want to see you demonstrate your skills. If you can do the job well, that’s all they care about.
Being an MA is a bit different. With in-person jobs like that, they usually vet candidates by their resumes and references. It’s a great job, I’m sure. But with those kinds of jobs, it can be very difficult to break into the workforce in my experience.
For MA work, have you thought about going through a medical staffing temp agency? You might find a medical staffing agency near you that can help you prove your skill set and land a job. Usually you don’t have to pay for the service; the company who uses the staffing agency does. So that’s just one thought. 🙂
Nowadays numbers of the students are jobless and I m sure this will help them.
Keep sharing with us.
It’s a sad truth, but you’re absolutely right.