Working from Home

[meathunter]

Does anyone here work from home? I have been a teacher for 17 years and I am really not liking the direction in which education is heading. I have had thoughts of finding some kind of job that I could do from home. Do not really know what I am going to do, but just researching what is out there. Any information you guys could share would be great. I have a family so at the very least I would have to match my current income.

[Johnny Dangerr]

I do, and your avatar is disturbing on a couple of levels.

[El Coyote]

So do I..... Dont do it..... I think you just took over Jaspros spot as most creepy avatar....

[M-2]

I do. Some client facing meetings, but most are virtual. I started not to respond until you change that hideous avatar, but decided I would anyway.
I worked 12 years as the resident tech geek on an elementary campus 1992-2004). I did it so I could have roughly the same hours as my son. When he graduated HS in 2004, I went back to corporate (had been in direct sales prior to having our son).
How tech savvy are you? Do a Google search on "e-learning companies".
I earn more than three times what I made at school. LOTS of former teachers are in the industry. The combination of my sales, tech and education experience got me in the door, but it is very competitive to get IN the door.

[meathunter]

Thanks

[vortech347]

I work from home but only because the company I work for has been reducing office space here in Austin to save money.

So I really work for a very large traditional corporation with a traditional salaried job. I just do it from home and go into the office a few times a year.

I know that doesn't help much but know this. It blurs the line between work and home because you are basically always in the office. Keep that in mind.

[riverbowman]

I did it for a while when self employed and made awesome money, but it didn't really work for me. Too hard to mix family (two small children) with working in the home in my case. I know others do it successfully though.

[M-2]

It blurs the line between work and home because you are basically always in the office. Keep that in mind.

x a million.
The ONLY time I am really "off" is when I cannot get internet access, including weekends and vacation days and holidays. If you have global clients as I do now, it's even worse.

[Johnny Dangerr]

I get calls at 9pm and 7am. Wish folks would get the time zone thing...

[Matt_C]

I do... The company I work for is worldwide and I'm on the technical side of things. I get called all hours of the day and night.

[Artos]

I spend most of my working hours working from home...have a nice office & conference room at our warehouse but it's on the south end of town in the trade zone and no reason to go there unless I need to visit a customer. My sales position actually allows me to work from anywhere I have phone and PC connect.

~~~~~~~~~

I wonder how the online teaching deal works?? We homeschool our little girl through the TX state system and she has a dedicated teacher and does some real time online classroom setting stuff with other homeschoolers and even voice conferences with the 'class' so to speak.

Now, if her teacher is working from home or a govt supplied building, I can't say...just kinda jumped to me as a suggestion if you wanted to stay in the profession and it presented itself as such.

[M-2]

Artos, that may well be an avenue the OP would want to look into.
Not sure how to look into it, but, still it's a good idea. This would be called "instructor-led training" and is done virtually quite often (huge cost savings over travel to brick and mortar classrooms).
My gig is corporate - company sells courseware/training to other companies and the US military, plus the portal by which to access the assets, to help them come up to speed with business/mgt/leadership skills, computer desktop skills and many certification areas for IT professionals.
SaS (software as service) companies are growing.

[txdukklr]

my wife is a senior vp that "works from home"

she works as much as I do but she could be on a conf call at 6:00 a.m., at one of the kids events at 1:00 p.m. and back on a con call at 9:00 p.m.

I tried it and absolutely hated it. Drawback for me is that she's getting sick of the house and everything is a renovation project. it's costing me more for her to work at home then if she was in an office!!!!

[Loreva13]

I write for various online companies, sellers really, from home. I started in 2009 and it's been ok not making a lot but getting by while I finish up college. at the least it pays the rent and bills. Usually I contact sellers off of places like ebay and offer to write their product descriptions, etc. for a small commission of the sale price. I do the same for different smaller sites.

I have a professor who teaches online classes for the University of Phoenix and another national university like Phoenix. He teaches courses dealing with teaching elementary students science, math, and classroom management. He tells us that he teaches his online courses from home and will be doing this full time soon so he does not have to drive out to the university anymore. Maybe you can look into that as it might match your current income.

[txrdkng]

I've travelled most of my professional career (just hit 1 million lifetime miles on Continental). Last year I took a new position within the company and work from home. Hate it. Like others have said I never really leave the office. No one to talk with except conference calls. Virtual meetings are okay once in awhile but a LOT of productivity is lost doing everything over the phone. No substitution for looking someone in the eye where they can't hide. I do hate commuting but the house just closes in around me. Good luck, hope it works out better for you.