Aug 3, 2008 10:52 pm US/Eastern
Legitimate Ways To Work From Home
(CBS)
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For years, Kim Wood worked in call centers. Today she's an independent contractor working at home for a company called LiveOps.
CBS
Spend any time watching Kim Wood and it's hard to believe her typical work day. After taking a break to bake cookies with her kids, she's back to work. Wood works from home.
So does Eric Howell.
"That person that you're calling on the reservation line may be in their house slippers," he said.
Howell and Wood work for two different companies but are part of a growing trend. Companies that once outsourced to other countries like India, realize they can get good quality workers by asking employees in the United States to work from home. They save money on overhead and benefits.
For years, Wood worked in call centers. Today she's an independent contractor working for a company called LiveOps.
"I thought it was something that would be nearly impossible to do from home," she said.
Wood is the person who you'll hear if you order something off an infomercial or place an order from some of your favorite, local restaurants.
Howell is also an independent contractor working as a quality assurance coach for Working Solutions; he basically listens and critiques calls.
However, it's not just call centers looking for help. There are dozens of companies looking for people to work from home. Companies need virtual assistants, even mentors to help students.
As far as the pay, most of the companies that hire people to work from home pay between $10 and $18 dollars an hour. Howell said he's been surprised how easy it is to make a living working from home.
"There are people working full time; the pay scale rate identical to what you would make corporately according to your skill sets," he said.
Wood sets her own hours so she can adjust them depending on her week. A couple of things to keep in mind, she gets paid by the minute, so if there are no calls she makes no money.
"You, of course, want to schedule yourself during the times when there are infomercials running or around meal times because that's when a lot of the restaurants will be calling," Wood said.
Because Wood and Howell are contract employees, they get no health or retirement benefits. However, they say the benefits outweigh the costs.
"When I'm waiting at the airport, my flight's been delayed, I can pull out my laptop, put my headphones on and work," said Howell.
"I really like the flexibility, because I'm able to spend the time with my kids. I can do things with them throughout the day. They both play sports so I'm able to work around their schedules," said Wood.
Many of these companies are actively looking for help.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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