Just a vent - If you work at home do you get this?

Tell them that you'd love to, but the only opening they'd have would be yours - when you quit/retire. And your'e not ready to do that yet. (Said with a great big smile, of course.)

L

We're currently not looking for more people, sorry.

How is that any different that any other work place? It is difficult to find a good work at home job. What a better way to find one then with the help a friend already doing one. It's really no different then working outside the home and dropping off a resume for a friend, or putting in a good word etc. People treat their jobs like an exclusive club. How would it be giving your job away to give your friend the contact information for your employer? Either they need another at home transcription person or they don't. Or giving your boss her name/number. It's not your job to determine if she is qualified. Some offer on the job training as well.

If you have a job in a desirable place you are going to get it. I just direct people to our hiring site so they can see if there is a job opening. Then they can apply through the proper channels. Our hr isn't going to take a resume from me on behalf of someone else. I just explain that little fact to them and point them in the right direction to send in their application themselves.

I get it. I am a medical transcriptionist. It doesn't happen much anymore because I have been doing this a long time and my friends all know that it takes a lot of work.

The type of people that have asked me in the past about it think they can do this as a way to make a little extra money when their kids are sleeping. They don't understand that I had to have a lot of training and then pass tests before a company would even consider me. Sure, I could give them my company's information, but without the proper training, they would not get past the initial test. I got my job from my own work, not as a favor from any friend. I definitely asked questions along the way in my training and when I was ready about which companies to apply at, but I am not about to "put in a good word" without knowing if the person actually has experience in my area.

Usually what happens when people ask what I do and how I got to where I am, most lose interest really fast and realize it isn't the dream job they thought it would be.

I farm with my husband. So there are times of the year where I actually am not doing that much (if you don't count laundry, accounting, cooking, housekeeping, etc. LOL).

But the fact that I can work during busy times saves us at least $50K a year in hired wages, not to mention other expenses involved with hired labor. Plus I don't tear things up because I own the equipment! And I don't quit right in the middle of the busiest time of the year (I wish!)

But I get that a lot. "Oh I wish I could stay home like you...." I said I would give them a call when it was 12 degrees and we are castrating calves. Or when it is 102 and I am in the timber fixing fence.

I am asked frequently about what I do by people who would like to work from home. My company requires a degree to be hired to do what I do so not everyone is going to qualify. Then there is the issue that not everyone gets to work from home and in fact, they have a push to get people back in the office. None of my work team is local; therefore, so far, I have been able to continue to work from home. If I go into the office, I will still be working by myself and using instant message and the phone to work with my teammates. I usually tell people that want to work from home that they should try to find a job that can be done from any location. Work from the office for a while to prove their work and then talk with their management to see if they can try work from home.........maybe starting part time at home, part time in the office. There are positions that are specifically work from home like what Scrappower does but most of the work from home people I know used to work in the office and moved their job home.

I think asking about doing your job because you work at home is like saying to someone who is a travel writer - oh! I want to work where you do because I love to travel. That's great and all, but do you know how to write? Because that's the actual job.

It's not an exclusive club, but some folks don't understand that working from home is just a *way* of working; you still have to have actual skills and qualify for a job.

I can relate. I used to get that a LOT when I owned my LSS. Many people seemed to think all I did was sit around and make scrapbook pages all day, when in fact I was working my butt off 70 hours a week running a retail BUSINESS. Anyone who hasn't ever worked in retail management (or retail in general) didn't understand what the "job" entailed, and once I explained everything I needed to do every week--and for considerably less than minimum wage, it didn't seem quite so fun anymore. Now that I work from home, I almost never see anyone so almost no one asks. And on the rare occasion when they do ask, I just tell them I'm a designer. Most people don't believe they have the skills to do what I do (and they're probably right).

That makes sense that at one time this was all in house.  There are some jobs that can move to homes much easier than others.  I always tell people that if my job can be done from India, China, Mexico, etc. then surely it can be done from my home.  LOL  I am curious.........for future inquires..........does your company hire work from home people in only specific states?  I believe you are in Florida and you mentioned Tennessee and Virginia.  Are they sticking to these states for now?    

Yes only those states. And actually it is specific areas. Roanoke, Virginia, Nashville, Tennessee and then only the 727 and 813 area codes in Florida. We do have warehouses and other places in other states but those are the only WAH for now.

I haven't gotten it yet, mostly because my friends are all happy with what they do. I have considered giving up my WAH job to go in somewhere because my home job is almost exclusively swing shift hours. It is really hard to get my family to adjust to the idea that dinner time means mom's working. I'm sitting right there in the family room after all (I'm ok to work with standard family distractions. i don't need an office with a door that shuts.) It's been the hardest for my husband. For 20 years, dinner has been my job. Now I need him to step up and help out there nearly every day. We're trying to work out a system that works for both of us, but it's still rocky.

It doesn't help that this week between both my part time jobs, I'm going to have worked nearly 50 hours and my family still treats me like the SAHM with all the same responsibilities and expectations. sigh.

I did transcription at home after many, many years in a law firm specializing in medical malpractice defense and after completing several classes specifically for medical transcription, anatomy, medical terminology, etc. Even then, I was lucky to get a well paying, consistent gig at home without first putting in time at a clinic or hospital setting.

I think "transcription" is one of the most misunderstood work at home fields that there is because people seem to simply think if they can type that they can transcribe. That doesn't even get into the unrealistic expectations that they will be able to put in a few hours during the day while their little darlings are napping or playing quietly . . .

It was a good deal for me because I had a daughter in high school and a husband who worked the overnight shift, so I was able to transcribe in the evening and overnight while he worked and she slept or did homework, etc., but then I had to play catch up on my sleep during the day - almost always to be interrupted with a call for some emergency transcription job that was needed right away. I actually had less time for social interaction and free time working at home than I ever had working full time outside of the house.