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Work From Home As An Online Tutor
If you have a talent for explaining academic subjects to children than you might enjoy working from home as an online tutor. As an online tutor you will work one on one with students, helping them in a particular subject. You need to be well versed in the subject you are teaching. You will need to be able to explain concepts to students, and help them to understand the subject. All the sites I looked at required you to be able to communicate well in English, and to have a high speed interent connection.
There are many different ways to find work as an online tutor. I think most people would prefer to work with an established company. These companies have tools to help you as an online tutor, such as online whiteboard programs. They also take care of all the billing and paperwork needed. Unfortunately, none of the companies I found stated how much they pay, but judging from what they are charging students, my guess is that pay is in the $8 to $12 an hour range. All the companies I looked at paid their tutors as independent contractors. That means there are no benefits and you are responsible for paying your taxes.
Tutor.com seems to be the leader in online tutoring. They require that you live and are legal to work in either the United States or Canada. You must also be a college graduate, or be currently enrolled in an accredited US or Canada college degree program. You must pass an education and criminal background check. You can work from 5 to 30 hours per week. Mostly during the hours of 4pm to 11pm Eastern time Sunday through Thursday.
Tutorvista.com does not have a country requirement. They are active in both the US and UK markets, so English is required. They offer 24/7 availability so there are more potential hours available for work. To work for tutorvista.com requires a masters degree in the subject you are teaching, plus some teaching experience. They also require that you work at least 4 hours per day.
AimforA offers tutoring to students in North America, Europe, and Australia, offering a large range of teaching opportunities. The require excellent verbal and writing skills in English and a bachelors degree and teaching experience in the subject you would like to teach.
If you prefer to work on your own, BuddySchool.com is an interesting alternative. They are more of a matching service. You register for a free account, set up your profile and availability, and then students will be able to sign up with you for a session. You set your prices and BuddySchool takes care of the invoicing. Right now it is completly free to use BuddySchool, both for students and tutors. They have a rating system for both students and tutors. Anyone can sign up as a tutor at BuddySchool, however, there is heavy competition in popular subjects. Some tutors are as low as $5 per hour, and in fact I saw some tutors who were free.
I did find a few services that offered online tutoring jobs, but charged a membership fee. I did not review them because there are plenty of options that do not require any fees at all. Many of these fee based job services just give you information you can find out on your own for free. In general, you should not need to pay to apply for a job.
Do you work as an online tutor? Do you work for a company or are you offering your own service? Please leave a comment and let us know about your experience!
Work From Home as a Call Center Representative
With the advances in technology many companies are moving away from large call centers, and outsourcing their call centers…to home. There are many legitimate opportunities to work from home as a call center rep. Most call center representatives answer calls from customers wanting to place an order. If you have technical skills you might be placed as a technical support person, where you will be helping customers with support issues. There are also opportunities for people with financial and insurance backgrounds.
Pros
Like all work from home positions you have the benefit of no commute costs. Because you will never need to meet with clients in person you will also not need to spend any money on special clothing or dry cleaning. With most call center companies you have the flexibility to choose when you want to work. Also, many call center companies will hire you as an employee, not an independent contractor, so you have a guaranteed hourly wage, no matter how many calls you take.
Cons
You must provide all your own equipment. Including a computer with high speed internet access, a dedicated corded phone, (No cell phones or portable phones)and a hands free headset with noise canceling microphone. This is not a good position for parents who need to take care of children, because you are required to have a work space that is quiet with no noise from children or pets. The companies don’t want their customers to know that you are working from home!
What to Look For
Before you are hired make sure you know whether you will be working as an employee, or as an independent contractor. As an employee, you will be guaranteed a minimum hourly wage, and taxes will be withheld from your paychecks. Some companies also offer benefits for their work from home employees.
As an independent contractor you will be paid based on the number of calls that you take. It is possible that you will commit to a shift and recieve very few calls. You will be responsible for paying your own taxes. However, as an independent contractor you have your own business, and it is easier to deduct the expenses of working from home. Depending on the number of hours you work you may be able to deduct some or all of your internet and computer costs. Please consult with a tax advisor about your particular situation.
Requirements
The companies I looked at all had the following requirements:
- You need to be a United States legal resident and speak English
- You need to be at least 18 years old
- You need to have a high school diploma or GED
- You will need a tax ID number
- You will need to pass a background check
Fees
The companies I looked at did not require any fees to apply for a position. However, all of them required you to pay for a background check after you were offered a position. The cost for the background check varied widely, anywhere from $35 to over $100, depending on the type of calls you will be taking.
How Much Can You Make as a Call Center Rep?
Working as an employee, it looked like the starting pay was anywhere from $8 to $12 per hour, with opportunities for bonuses for working during certain hours, or for exceptional performance. The companies that hired independent contractors reported around the same potential income.
Working from home as a call center representative looks like a opportunity for someone who can dedicate a block of time with no distractions. This may make it difficult for parents with small children, as you would need to arrange for childcare. The pay is actually pretty good for this type of work, and without the costs of working outside the home makes it a very attractive work at home opportunity.
Here are a few companies that I found.
With Convergys you are hired as an employee. They offer paid training and a full range of benefits.
Live Ops hires independent contractors. You are paid per minute of call time. They do not offer paid training.
Alpine Access hires reps as employees. They state their average rate of pay is $9 per hour. Certain jobs will pay more. They offer paid training and limited benefits after 3 months of working an average of at least 20 hours per week.
Work From Home as an eJuror
If you like watching courtroom TV, you might enjoy working from home as an eJuror. The United States is a country where anyone can sue anybody, anytime, for just about any reason. Attorneys will use mock juries to help them determine various issues that may come up in court. With a mock jury an attorney can test out their arguments before they get to court, they can determine a settlement amount, and they can get a feel for what the average person thinks about their case.
Working as an eJuror you will be asked to review cases from your local area. You will read a summary of the facts of the case, arguments from both perspectives, and then you will answer questions about the case and what went into the decisions you made.
There are a few sites where you can sign up to be an eJuror. All require that you be at least 18 years old and a U.S. citizen. You will be asked to provide demographic information about yourself, and agree to standard terms and conditions. According to the websites, cases will take around an hour to read the summaries and answer all the questions.
Trial Practices, Inc. says they pay $10 per hour to their eJurors. There site does not have much information for potential jurors, just a sign up page.
Online Verdict.com has an informative site that says they pay $20 – $60 per case, depending on the amount of time required. They pay monthly by check.
eJury.com pays $5 to $10 per case and pays by PayPal. They have a very informative site, and include sample cases. The sample cases are a nice way to preview what you will be doing.
Unless you were able to take on many cases per day, I don’t think you could make a living as an eJuror. But it is an online opportunity where you could make a decent amount of money per hour, working from home with a flexible schedule.