Help! Working at home, being your own boss, setting your own hours?

[Number Of The Priest]

Does anyone here happily work for themselves at home and set their own working hours (working as little or as much as you choose)? If so, what do you do, how did you come about doing it, and how would you rate it compared to traditional careers?

Here's my situation. I graduated university in spring 2006 and just recently finished a 7.5 month contract term with the government. So I'm looking for work again.

With this free time this past week, I've recently felt like I actually DON'T KNOW WHAT I WANT TO DO WITH MY LIFE. All I know is that I won't settle for anything less than I deserve.

What kind of work is out there in terms of working for oneself, while earning enough to live comfortably? I'm not asking for much. But I don't want to be scammed... a lot of those "work at home" ads on the internet look pretty shady.

Thanks in advance.

[texasfury]

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[Number Of The Priest]

B.Sc in biology/biotechnology. Probably not much I can do with that at home.

But I'm actually quite open to suggestions. Working in a lab or health science environment is not my number one passion although that's what I'm most experienced in. I'd love to either have a simple-to-do job (ie- working at home) that comfortably pays the bills and requires minimal hours so that I can pursue my passions, or somehow have my passions BE my career.

And I've been doing a LOT of thinking lately about my passions. I STILL don't know what they are... but I know that "music" and "people" are probably a part of it. A girl at work got me reevaluating my purpose and what I REALLY want to go after in life. So right now I'm pretty disillusioned.

Going back to university is NOT an option right now. I have absolutely NO DESIRE to pursue an academic discipline at this period in my life. I feel like I won't put my heart into it and it'd be a waste of time and money. Maybe later when I actually HAVE a thirst for more knowledge. But not right now.

[livebiz]

...a simple-to-do job (ie- working at home) that comfortably pays the bills and requires minimal hours...

Please, please, be sure to let us all know when you find this job.

[RacerX]

But I don't want to be scammed... a lot of those "work at home" ads on the internet look pretty shady.

I'm gonna say they're ALL shady, NOTP.

Check out this snopes article about the re-shipping fraud:

http://www.snopes.com/crime/fraud/reshipper.asp

[atomic charvel guy]

i work at home because I've had 17-18 years of flipping computer chips , modules, flash cards, you name it, if it's computer part related I've sld it, and in high volume, but I've finally got to the point where a guy who I used to a sales manager of , opened his own company about 6 years ago, he came over and askedme to work for him, and i said on one condition, i get to work at home, he said no problem. The market is getting better, I have my bread and butter accounts, but sometimes I get stuck not making the calls i used to make, I tend to slack a little more at home, in an office i don't stop calling as i figure this day is shot why not make the best of it and try to kick ass. It's getting better, but it has taken time to get even remotely disciplined working from home. I have to have a skateboard cruise at some point, see the water at some point, or what's the point of living in southern cal? Ya know. I'd say start in a job that's not from home, but after all these years , what do I know?

[rjohnstone]

I have the option to work from home if I choose.
I can do my job from anywhere so long as I have a fast and reliable internet connection.
I choose to work in the office as I find myself too distracted when I'm at home.
My wife works from home already and my daughter only goes to preschool 3 days a week.
So if you're the technical type or can program, you can earn good cash while working from home.

[ABSOLUT CHARVEL]

my wife is self employed, and she said her boss is a bitch! no paid vacations, no medical, no sick leave, no excuses.

there are those tax benifits though. she is a bookkeeper and has more clients than she can handle. it a great gig for her because she works at the clients part of the time, then also at home. there is a huge demand for Quick Books specialists. i think she bills $45 an hour, so the money is there.

[Number Of The Priest]

Thread resurrection!

Please, please, be sure to let us all know when you find this job.

My reason for the thread bump is because I might have actually found it...

Nothing's for certain yet, but I always hated my father's philosophy of "Work hard every day of your life so it pays off" instilled in my upbringing, because he believes nothing in this world comes easy. He had a difficult life growing up and it's made him into the hardworking person he is today. I respect that.

But that's not me. I've always had faith in the realm of possibility that good things can come to those who actively search for it and are willing to open their friggin' eyes to the paradigm that there is more than one "correct" way to do things in life.

[GodOfRhythm]

Would you care to divulge any info about it at all?

That Q's coming from a fellow Uni-going adolescent who has NO clue what to do with his life but knows he despises a 9 to 5 deskjob or any other traditional work.

[DonP]

I have the option to work from home if I choose.
I can do my job from anywhere so long as I have a fast and reliable internet connection.
I choose to work in the office as I find myself too distracted when I'm at home.
My wife works from home already and my daughter only goes to preschool 3 days a week.
So if you're the technical type or can program, you can earn good cash while working from home.

This is what I do for a living, and I feel the same way. In the office, it's easier to "read" people. Part of hanging on to a job is the office politics game. I really don't need to play because my tech level is why I make money, but every little bit helps. Companies frequently take a shit, and when the numbers aren't looking good and the possibility is for layoffs, I'll be glad I didn't call everyone assholes, even if they deserve it.

[Number Of The Priest]

Would you care to divulge any info about it at all?

That Q's coming from a fellow Uni-going adolescent who has NO clue what to do with his life but knows he despises a 9 to 5 deskjob or any other traditional work.

Haha, then you're just like me... I hate the idea of spending my life doing regular work. When I'm finally trained in the new job, apparently this is the prime demographic to target!

I'll update again when I find out more info. For now, I've only had one three-hour meeting with a friend who is into this sort of thing and has started doing it as a full-time job a few months ago. His mother has already been doing it for 15 years very successfully but she never pushed the idea on him, instead waiting for him to realize on his own that he would hate traditional work and would come running for salvation. He gave me an introductory presentation about this line of work and my head was ready to explode. I was overwhelmed with a lot of information...

From what my puny reptile brain can comprehend, it's being a financial adviser. That was pretty anti-climactic to me. I also thought this was absolutely ridiculous considering my background is in science and I have no clue about how money works. Apparently I'm going to be trained. My first meeting is this upcoming Tuesday. It feels like a friggin' cult. I actually mentioned that to my friend too.

The premise is that people have a lot of untapped money that gets wasted when people should be experiencing total financial security for life. Canadians have something called an RRSP (Wikipedia article) and we find ways to help people utilize it, get high interest rates (up to something like 15% rather than getting 3% at their banks), and slash their income taxes so that they can retire securely as millionaires. That's one part of the job. It's simply wise spending and investing advice for financial security. I said to my friend in disbelief, "THAT'S IT?!?!?" I was actually blown away by the percentage of the population that is oblivious to basic financial knowledge like this and how this isn't a more popular job. Hence the anti-climactic aspect of it for me personally. It feels like an untapped resource and people are blind to it.

If I sound like I'm speaking jibberish or have my terminology incorrect in this reply, it's because:

1.) I don't have very much financial background.
2.) I haven't been trained in this job yet. I'm just relaying some of the information I absorbed from my three-hour presentation.

Facebook has a new feature called the Marketplace. I've noticed a few similar "work from home easily and make craploads of cash" job postings already, but neither my friend nor I can deduce what exactly they do to earn their money. Frankly, we don't care too much, and I don't trust them. I didn't trust the random websites and kits sold on eBay that promise "easy work". I trust my friend because he's my friend and his mother is successful doing it. I wouldn't have done it otherwise.

[gemini8026]

"I actually DON'T KNOW WHAT I WANT TO DO WITH MY LIFE."

Welcome to the last 10 years of my life :|

Ive got one of the shittiest jobs you can imagine(roofer), but I work with friends, and thats what makes it ok. Working at home can be a mixed blessing, but from my limited experience, it drove me nuts being couped up in the same setting for so long.

I know what you're trying to accomplish, and I wish you luck, but at some point you have to pay some dues and that only comes through some true hard work.

[Number Of The Priest]

The "dues" come early, or so I'm told. Work as hard as you want for as long as you want for more reward. Then coast.

[Number Of The Priest]

Note to self and others after some digging around on the net... buyer beware.

Had to look up pyramid scheme, Ponzi scheme, and MLM (multi level marketing) to confirm.

All I can say now is that I love my cheapass nature which compels me to do extensive research before spending a cent on ANYTHING. When it's something I can't see or touch, like a product in a local store, I am never impulsive. Sticking to this rule has probably saved me numerous times in the past.

Gonna approach this with a renewed sense of skepticism again.