Chris Durst and Michael Haaren
Dear Rat Race Rebellion: My husband and I are retired, and my background is in bookkeeping. I'd like to supplement our retirement income, but I'm not looking for a full-time work-at-home job. I just need something to help pay the bills at the end of the month.
A friend of mine recommended data entry jobs. But when I search for them online, I don't have much confidence in the results. They look like scams. Can you help? -- Carla, Chicago
Dear Carla: We get many queries about data entry jobs; it's one of the most sought-after types of home-based work. The scam artists, who track job-seeker preferences more closely than economists at the Bureau of Labor Statistics, know this. They also know how scarce data entry jobs are, so they design their scams accordingly.
We screen 4,500 to 5,000 work-at-home job leads weekly for RatRaceRebellion.com, and currently only one out of 62 is legitimate. As bad as that "scam ratio" is, it's even worse among data entry leads. You are right to be cautious.
Most data entry work goes offshore to India, the Philippines and other locations where labor is cheaper. The best way to find data entry work is to approach smaller companies directly. Look for newer companies that are growing rapidly. These are more likely going to need administrative help. Start with local or regional companies, where you can actually visit and introduce yourself before taking work home.
Start by putting up a basic website with your credentials and a photo -- GoDaddy.com offers simple and inexpensive options with fill-in-the-blank templates. Get a professional e-mail address. Then identify decision makers, e-mail them a short "bio" (a brief summary of your qualifications), and follow up with a phone call. As an independent contractor rather than an employee, you'll also have an edge, as recession-wary companies currently favor "contingent" workers.
Dear Rat Race Rebellion: My husband lost money in an envelope-stuffing scheme a few years ago, and now he says that all home-based jobs are scams. He says that I shouldn't even look for home-based work. But you say these jobs do exist. What should I tell him? -- Wanda, Walla Walla, Wash.
Dear Wanda: Tell your husband that, although we sympathize with his point of view and unfortunate experience, you talked to a "higher authority." (That would be us!) While the scam ratio is high, many home-based jobs are perfectly legitimate.
Point out to your husband that telework is an established trend and it's growing steadily. Employers now include Aetna, American Express, Google, 1-800-FLOWERS, U-Haul and many more.
If he needs more persuasion, tell him that hundreds of thousands of home-based customer service agents are already employed in the U.S. alone. Tell him that entire companies have been built "virtually," including MySQL, which was sold to Sun Microsystems in 2008 for $1 billion. That's a lot of stuffed envelopes!
Christine Durst and Michael Haaren are leaders in the work-at-home movement and advocates of de-rat-raced living. Their latest book is "Work at Home Now," a guide to finding home-based jobs. They offer additional guidance on finding home-based work at www.RatRaceRebellion.com. To read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.
A friend of mine recommended data entry jobs. But when I search for them online, I don't have much confidence in the results. They look like scams. Can you help? -- Carla, Chicago
Dear Carla: We get many queries about data entry jobs; it's one of the most sought-after types of home-based work. The scam artists, who track job-seeker preferences more closely than economists at the Bureau of Labor Statistics, know this. They also know how scarce data entry jobs are, so they design their scams accordingly.
We screen 4,500 to 5,000 work-at-home job leads weekly for RatRaceRebellion.com, and currently only one out of 62 is legitimate. As bad as that "scam ratio" is, it's even worse among data entry leads. You are right to be cautious.
Most data entry work goes offshore to India, the Philippines and other locations where labor is cheaper. The best way to find data entry work is to approach smaller companies directly. Look for newer companies that are growing rapidly. These are more likely going to need administrative help. Start with local or regional companies, where you can actually visit and introduce yourself before taking work home.
Start by putting up a basic website with your credentials and a photo -- GoDaddy.com offers simple and inexpensive options with fill-in-the-blank templates. Get a professional e-mail address. Then identify decision makers, e-mail them a short "bio" (a brief summary of your qualifications), and follow up with a phone call. As an independent contractor rather than an employee, you'll also have an edge, as recession-wary companies currently favor "contingent" workers.
Dear Rat Race Rebellion: My husband lost money in an envelope-stuffing scheme a few years ago, and now he says that all home-based jobs are scams. He says that I shouldn't even look for home-based work. But you say these jobs do exist. What should I tell him? -- Wanda, Walla Walla, Wash.
Dear Wanda: Tell your husband that, although we sympathize with his point of view and unfortunate experience, you talked to a "higher authority." (That would be us!) While the scam ratio is high, many home-based jobs are perfectly legitimate.
Point out to your husband that telework is an established trend and it's growing steadily. Employers now include Aetna, American Express, Google, 1-800-FLOWERS, U-Haul and many more.
If he needs more persuasion, tell him that hundreds of thousands of home-based customer service agents are already employed in the U.S. alone. Tell him that entire companies have been built "virtually," including MySQL, which was sold to Sun Microsystems in 2008 for $1 billion. That's a lot of stuffed envelopes!
Christine Durst and Michael Haaren are leaders in the work-at-home movement and advocates of de-rat-raced living. Their latest book is "Work at Home Now," a guide to finding home-based jobs. They offer additional guidance on finding home-based work at www.RatRaceRebellion.com. To read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.
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