Help! Advice needed on work from home jobs

[mahayana]

Hello fellow freedomainers. I’m hoping that you guys could share some of your knowledge with me & help me to take my first step in getting out of this rut I’ve been in. I’m in desperate need of guidance & advice on employment. I guess I actually have two questions, but the first is advice on jobs that can be done from home. This takes priority since I really need to start earning income.

I’m a single parent with a six year old currently attending public school. My goal is to have the option to homeschool her. Currently I’m not working apart from bringing in a couple hundred monthly from my eBay store. I’m making ends meet by this money and the child support I receive from my daughter’s father. (Just FYI, him & I are very cooperative & have done everything without the courts. The child support he pays is what he decided he could do) I would really like to have financial independence & not have to rely on his money in case for whatever reason he could no longer supply it.

I’ll give you a brief history just to give you an idea of what led up to this point. From the time I graduated H.S. I have worked full-time jobs & completely supported myself. My longest line of work was working for print shops doing copies & simple graphic design. I’ve never made large amounts of money but just enough to make ends meet & be able to go out with friends and have dinner, drinks, etc… I was pretty content with this and never felt the need to acquire a better paying job nor did I feel I had the means to pay for an education to learn new skills. Education has never been a focal point in my life.  I was raised primarily by my mom. My parents are married but my dad worked graveyard since I was a baby and I hardly saw him. My mom’s highest education level was second grade. She has never had an IQ test but I know she would probably score at the level where she would be considered mentally handicapped. She doesn’t know how to read, do math & is incapable of simple reasoning. She was extremely abusive and I ended up moving out at sixteen to live with my older sister because I was in fear for my life at home. Needless to say, education and careers were never a priority for me. When my friends in high school were visiting colleges, I was preoccupied with thoughts of whether or not my mother would be in another one of her moods when I got home. My only goal has been survival and everything was going okay until I became pregnant with my daughter.

After having my daughter, the hardest thing I've ever had to deal with was not being able to financially support myself. I’ve never felt so helpless. Her father and I attempted to work things out but failed. We split up by the time my daughter was one. I ended up living with my sister for a while and then to a rental house my parents own where my daughter & I currently reside. (Even though they are charging me very little rent, I would like to be able to move from here.)  I decided to go to a local community college where I earned an associates degree in web design. It took a little longer than usual because I didn’t want my daughter to be in daycare all day. I have been extremely lucky to have gotten to spend as much time as I have with my daughter in her formative years. The degree I received was worthless IMO. It barely scratched the surface & the computer teachers were the worst I’ve ever seen.

Along the way I stumbled across FDR which has been a lifesaver for my daughter & I. My life is incompatible with my new virtues and values. The thought of getting a 9-5 job and leaving my child with after school care is heartbreaking to me. If it is within my power to not let that happen, I have to attempt it.

Finally on to my question. Are there any work from home jobs anyone is aware of? I have considered freelance graphic design but I honestly do not have the self esteem or confidence to pursue that. (Graphic design takes massive amounts of confidence so it was probably not the best that I fell into that field) I’m a fairly fast learner, a very fast worker and am competent with most of the Adobe software. I dabbled in CISCO & programming but I’m really not sure if I’m intelligent enough for that. I would love to take an aptitude test to see what I might be good at. Does anyone know of online aptitude or career counseling services?  I’ve been making progress with self knowledge but I’ve been procrastinating on finding work for the last year and wasted a great deal of time. I’m willing to do anything I can do at home to earn money. Any ideas & input would be greatly appreciated, and please don’t hold back. I welcome all criticism, if I’m being a selfish lazy fuck, then please let me know.

Second question, how does one find their dream job? To me this is like asking yourself what you would do if you won the lottery. The idea is so farfetched to me that I've never entertained the notion. After I find something in the meantime to earn money, I would love to work on finding what my true calling is.

Sorry this is so long! I would really love any advice, I don't even know where to begin.

Just FYI about my daughter. As unstable & chaotic as my life seems, I put a lot of work & effort into her. Although her life isn’t ideal, she is safe & loved. She’s a really happy, empathetic, and intelligent child.

To those who didn't say TL,DR right off the bat, thanks for listening

[Copper_Heart]

Hi,

 

I think this is something quite complicated. I am sorry I can give you virtually no advice because I think it is very entangled and complicated. Have you considered to call Stef? Economy is in shambles and homeschooling is an alien topic to many. I guess you live in USA.

 

Sadly I have no slightest idea how to help you and I think people who read your post had not, too. I know calling Stef is not much of advice per se.

 

My best wishes,

Cooper.

[mahayana]

Hi,

 

I think this is something quite complicated. I am sorry I can give you virtually no advice because I think it is very entangled and complicated. Have you considered to call Stef? Economy is in shambles and homeschooling is an alien topic to many. I guess you live in USA.

 

Sadly I have no slightest idea how to help you and I think people who read your post had not, too. I know calling Stef is not much of advice per se.

 

My best wishes,

Cooper.

 

oh geez, I had no clue. I should have simplified my question and left out the personal history. This is the side effect of having very little communication with people other than trivial conversations with soccer moms for the past two years. I feel like I'm learning how to communicate all over again. I didn't mean to vomit out such an incoherent mess.

 

A job from home would be really good even if I do keep my daughter in public school. With minimum days, illness and vacations, there aren't many employers who are willing to work around such an inconsistent schedule. I was hoping maybe others had experience or knew of others that had jobs from home.

 

Medical billing is one promising lead I'm looking into. It's not ideal to work in an industry so screwed up as a result of gov't intervention, but I know it's something I can easily do. I already wasted so much time in getting my web design degree, I'm really trying to be careful this time to find something that will actually yield a job.

 

Thanks Copper Heart, I really appreciate you letting me know. I'm always wrapped up in the chaos of putting out fires in my life. It becomes hard to focus on one. Maybe I'll attempt calling in to Stef when I'm better at gathering my thoughts.

[Copper_Heart]

oh geez, I had no clue. I should have simplified my question and left out the personal history. This is the side effect of having very little communication with people other than trivial conversations with soccer moms for the past two years. I feel like I'm learning how to communicate all over again. I didn't mean to vomit out such an incoherent mess.

 

A job from home would be really good even if I do keep my daughter in public school. With minimum days, illness and vacations, there aren't many employers who are willing to work around such an inconsistent schedule. I was hoping maybe others had experience or knew of others that had jobs from home.

 

Medical billing is one promising lead I'm looking into. It's not ideal to work in an industry so screwed up as a result of gov't intervention, but I know it's something I can easily do. I already wasted so much time in getting my web design degree, I'm really trying to be careful this time to find something that will actually yield a job.

 

Thanks Copper Heart, I really appreciate you letting me know. I'm always wrapped up in the chaos of putting out fires in my life. It becomes hard to focus on one. Maybe I'll attempt calling in to Stef when I'm better at gathering my thoughts.

 

No worries. You can just separate economical and psychological/biographical parts of your posts. Still you are in tough situation: you want to homeschool plus you have to work from home. Probably people just do not know what to advise you because of rarity of your situation. What if you talk with Michael about your question to Stef. Do not ask only about job, but ask about life in general. It may be interesting topic.

 

Best of luck!

[VolT]

Hello Mahayana,

 

What would help clarify the situation for me is a few questions:

 

1) How much time would you be happy spending working from home per week?

2) What level of income would you like to achieve that would make you happy?

3) Ultimately why do you want to do this. In other words, what are your thoughts and emotions that is making you want to do this?

-- Are you looking to satisfy short term money needs only?

-- Are you thinking into your future for retirement?

-- Are you thinking about your daughter?

4) How quickly do you wish to see results?

5) Why work from home?

 

I think when it comes to working from home, my thoughts operate across the spectrum of creating your own business to consulting to running errands. So your answers will help focus.

 

Why don't you tell us a bit more about what a dream job means to you?

Why are you seeking it?

 

Last set of questions:

What is it about freelance graphic design is holding you back?

The consultation? Agreeing upon project deadlines, cost, standard of quality?

The actual work? You think they might not like your work?

Work aftermath? Providing support for your work?

Can you establish a business procedure that will support your emotions? Rapid customer feedback systems?

 

I am not sure if I may be of assistance, but having clarity on these questions will help everyone.

[john cena]

Just my 2¢,

https://www.freelancer.comis a great place to start being self employed. You can select from any number of skill sets. Basically, it's eBay for outsourcing work. I myself do work through them programming. Some people make fantastic money, it all depends on how many jobs you do and of what quality. I see jobs anywhere from $20 to $20,000 in the Java development field, but anything is possible. 

 

If you did pursue graphic design, you could work and earn small profit while still learning on that site by completing jobs for down to $20, like making small logos. You can build reputation just like eBay and as you progress make more and more money. It's really the capitalist ladder at it's best.

 

I don't mean to sound disheartening, but you don't need to be thinking about a dream job at the moment, you have a daughter to raise. I don't mean to take a job you absolutely hate, but something you relatively enjoy and are good at is what I would pick if I were in your situation. As your daughter gets older and you don't have to spend as much time with her, definitely pursue your dream goals though. I say this just to prevent you from sitting still in a fog of inaction due to waiting around for an opportunity that may not manifest soon enough to get the money you need to home school your daughter, as this seems to be the most important factor in the situation. 

I do wish you the best.

[mahayana]

Hello Mahayana,

 

What would help clarify the situation for me is a few questions:

 

1) How much time would you be happy spending working from home per week?

2) What level of income would you like to achieve that would make you happy?

3) Ultimately why do you want to do this. In other words, what are your thoughts and emotions that is making you want to do this?

-- Are you looking to satisfy short term money needs only?

-- Are you thinking into your future for retirement?

-- Are you thinking about your daughter?

4) How quickly do you wish to see results?

5) Why work from home?

 

I think when it comes to working from home, my thoughts operate across the spectrum of creating your own business to consulting to running errands. So your answers will help focus.

 

Why don't you tell us a bit more about what a dream job means to you?

Why are you seeking it?

 

Last set of questions:

What is it about freelance graphic design is holding you back?

The consultation? Agreeing upon project deadlines, cost, standard of quality?

The actual work? You think they might not like your work?

Work aftermath? Providing support for your work?

Can you establish a business procedure that will support your emotions? Rapid customer feedback systems?

 

I am not sure if I may be of assistance, but having clarity on these questions will help everyone.

 

VoIT, thank you for the questions. They really help clarify things for me. I'm embarrassed to say I hadn't thought through a lot of them. 

 

1) How much time would you be happy spending working from home per week?

30-35 hrs a week. 5hrs a day is ideal. I could definitely make accommodations to work more for big projects, but ideally this wouldn't be more than once a month or so. (This is just while my daughter is this young. I will be able to do longer hours the older she gets)

 

2) What level of income would you like to achieve that would make you happy?

25-30k annually would be ideal at first. Realistically it'll be less. I just need to cover rent & bills at this point. My daughter's father is heavily pressuring me to move to Los Angeles which would require at least 10k more as it is much more expensive to live there. (I won't even consider this possibility until I am working where I am now and am in a better position to make such a decision.)

 

3) Ultimately why do you want to do this. In other words, what are your thoughts and emotions that is making you want to do this?

-- Are you looking to satisfy short term money needs only?

-- Are you thinking into your future for retirement?

-- Are you thinking about your daughter?

The main reason is that I don't want my daughter in after school care. She already goes to school 6hrs a day, having her in an additional 4 or so would make me feel horrible & I'm sure would not be healthy for her. If this were the case, she'd be spending more time around strangers than her own family

each day.

Second is financial independence. I would like to be able to pay rent & bills entirely on my own. Right now, I'm only making this happen because of her dad's help. Not being financially independent causes me so much stress & anxiety.

Third, I need to model a good work ethic for my daughter.

With regards to retirement, this is something I would focus on after meeting my basic financial needs.

 

4) How quickly do you wish to see results?

A couple months after establishing my business model I guess. I'm willing to maybe go to a 6month/short term trade school as well before starting work.

 

5) Why work from home?

Flexibility. Not many jobs are understanding to a person that needs to pick their kid up when they're sick & stay home with them. Eventually I would like to homeschool my daughter. Working from home is the only option if I do that.

 

When it comes to my idea of a dream job, I just want what everyone wants, a job that doesn’t feel like a job. It would be so amazing to actually do something where you feel like you’re making a difference or are at least passionate about it. Working 10 hrs a day at something you don’t enjoy and coming home too exhausted to spend quality time with your loved ones is just insane to me. What’s the point of living life that way? A dream job is something I definitely have to put on the backburner. I'm just bothered that this doesn't come as easy to me as it seems to for others.

 

As far as graphic design goes, it's just really not something I've enjoyed doing. My 2nd job was at a kinko's helping customers make photo copies. It was so boring and I envied the graphic designers that got to hang out in an office, listening to music while they worked. They were always having fun. I became friends with them & on my free time had them teach me what they knew. I started working with them shortly after and just ended up staying in that field. The creative demand for a place like kinko's is very low compared to real graphic design firms. I simply don't have what is takes to create the amazing graphic art I see online. I do enjoy doing creative things but it's just not something I can do on demand. Stress & anxiety makes it really hard for me to create. I do worry a lot about my output not living up to expectations. My ability to do layouts & file set up is definitely a useful skill but I don't want design to be the focus of my services offered.

 

I think one of the biggest barriers to me getting started is that I don't think I'm good enough. For example, I could easily go around to local small businesses & offer to make a simple web site. I don't do it now because I can't make bad ass websites with all the bells & whistles so I feel unqualified in offering my services. The truth is, a lot of small businesses don't need all that nor could they afford it. My doubt in myself really holds me back & that's the worst mindset to have if you want to freelance.

 

You've been a huge help, thank you for helping me focus on the important questions!

[mahayana]

Just my 2¢,

 

https://www.freelancer.comis a great place to start being self employed. You can select from any number of skill sets. Basically, it's eBay for outsourcing work. I myself do work through them programming. Some people make fantastic money, it all depends on how many jobs you do and of what quality. I see jobs anywhere from $20 to $20,000 in the Java development field, but anything is possible. 

 

If you did pursue graphic design, you could work and earn small profit while still learning on that site by completing jobs for down to $20, like making small logos. You can build reputation just like eBay and as you progress make more and more money. It's really the capitalist ladder at it's best.

 

I don't mean to sound disheartening, but you don't need to be thinking about a dream job at the moment, you have a daughter to raise. I don't mean to take a job you absolutely hate, but something you relatively enjoy and are good at is what I would pick if I were in your situation. As your daughter gets older and you don't have to spend as much time with her, definitely pursue your dream goals though. I say this just to prevent you from sitting still in a fog of inaction due to waiting around for an opportunity that may not manifest soon enough to get the money you need to home school your daughter, as this seems to be the most important factor in the situation. 

 

I do wish you the best.

Thanks for the link Colby. Sites like this are exactly what I need right now. I can at least get a better idea of what's in demand.

 

I totally agree about the dream job thing. I will totally settle for enjoyable right now.

 

Quick question about programming. What's the highest level of math required?

[thebeardslastcall]

Another thing to consider, when determining how much to work, is the whole point of him financially helping you is so you can be more of a parent to your kid. So you might want to limit your work in a way that won't interfere with how well you raise your child so you can be there for them as much as possible and not turn into another working parent that's absent from the child's life. Many people underestimate the value of their preference and just go to work for money instead to the detriment of the child if both parents are full time workers. You're dependent on the father, the kid is dependent on you. There's nothing wrong with dependency if it's functional and useful and desired by both sides for the betterment of lives. A child should be dependent on both parents, that's why dual-parent households do better than single parents when it comes to child raising. It's the plague of feminism that tells women it's bad to be dependent on a man, which has done a great deal of harm to many families. Just something to keep in mind.

[mahayana]

Another thing to consider, when determining how much to work, is the whole point of him financially helping you is so you can be more of a parent to your kid. So you might want to limit your work in a way that won't interfere with how well you raise your child so you can be there for them as much as possible and not turn into another working parent that's absent from the child's life. Many people underestimate the value of their preference and just go to work for money instead to the detriment of the child if both parents are full time workers. You're dependent on the father, the kid is dependent on you. There's nothing wrong with dependency if it's functional and useful and desired by both sides for the betterment of lives. A child should be dependent on both parents, that's why dual-parent households do better than single parents when it comes to child raising. It's the plague of feminism that tells women it's bad to be dependent on a man, which has done a great deal of harm to many families. Just something to keep in mind.

 

Yes, I definitely will make sure work doesn't get in the way of parenting. I don't think my issue with financial dependence stems from feminist propaganda. I'm appalled by the bullshit spewed by feminists so I don't think that's playing a role for me personally although I agree that they are doing great harm to families! I'm totally grateful my daughter's dad helps even though I've never been comfortable accepting it. I hate that I feel that way since it's not for me but our daughter. I know that because of his help, she gets to live a somewhat normal life playing sports, attending bday parties & doing other activities most single parents wouldn't be able to afford. I'm sure this makes her dad feel better too since he rarely gets to see her.

[john cena]

Thanks for the link Colby. Sites like this are exactly what I need right now. I can at least get a better idea of what's in demand.

 

I totally agree about the dream job thing. I will totally settle for enjoyable right now.

 

Quick question about programming. What's the highest level of math required?

It all depends on the type of programming. If you're doing website design, basic arithmetic and some algebra will do, although you don't have to solve any equations, but just learn to write them for the computer. If you're doing something like game engine design which would be a top level job, then calculus or above depending on how advanced the graphics are. If you're a content designer for a game though, you might not need much math at all. It really depends on the type of application you're making. But really though, you can go to Wikipedia and copy any formula you need and simply convert it to code. You will never really have to do much math yourself. I programmed for almost five years just for a hobby

 

The answer is, you can determine what application to write based on your math skills, however more math is mo' money; just not necessarily the only way to get more money.