A reliable work-at-home job

April 6, 2008 2:33 PM

A reliable work-at-home part-time job?

I graduated from college about two years ago and I have a full-time job. I'm looking to pay off as much debt as I can in the next year without sacrificing going out with friends etc. I figure if I can make an extra $250/week I'll be completely out of debt in a year and can start a decent savings plan.

The problem is that my full-time job may not like the fact that I'm looking for a part-time job because some days I work late and I don't want them to feel that I won't be reliable. Also, because there may be scheduling conflicts, I'm looking for a part-time work-at-home job that will realistically pay at least $250/week without any set hours.

I've looked online but have heard that many work-at-home jobs are a pipe dream or don't pay what they promise. I'm not looking to get rich quick, just something that will consistently bring in extra income. I've got programming and web development experience and photoshop/illustrator skills.

Does anyone have any recommendations for work-at-home jobs that:
- will realistically earn me $250/week
- doesn't have set/minimum hours
- is reliable (isn't a pipe dream)
- are good about payouts

posted by deeman to work & money (10 comments total)

Well, what are your skills? I clear quite a bit of money writing PHP code from home ... I'm a sysadmin/programmer by trade. But that's not the easiest thing to do/learn for a temporary basis.

I don't know if there's really anything you can do from home that would meet this. When I was looking for extra cash as described, I worked for a limo company over christmas and made about $100/drive... did about 2/3 a week.
posted by SpecialK at 2:53 PM on April 6, 2008

I've read that you can make decent part-time money moderating online forums and chat rooms. However, I have no idea where you would look for those opportunities.
posted by COD at 3:14 PM on April 6, 2008

If you have some basic web skills you might look into Affiliate Marketing. Here's a link to the Wiki article explaining more about what it is. Link

The profit potential is quite astounding if you're willing to put in the work.
posted by ISeemToBeAVerb at 3:14 PM on April 6, 2008

Oh... I might add that there are quite a few shady sites and products about Affiliate Marketing, so I thought I'd throw in a few good blog links if you think you might want to learn more.

UberAffiliate

DerekBeau

CDF Networks

Kristy's UK Afiliate Blog

Super Affiliate Mindset
posted by ISeemToBeAVerb at 3:20 PM on April 6, 2008 [3 favorites has favorites]

Brijit was recently on the blue. Around $5 per accepted post.
posted by Xere at 4:09 PM on April 6, 2008

Copyediting might work. You would have to find clients, but there are probably places that need someone to copyedit technical manuals and similar publications.
posted by selfmedicating at 5:23 PM on April 6, 2008

Virtual assistant?
posted by stephthegeek at 11:13 PM on April 6, 2008

scan craigslist for these types of things. not the scammy ones of course, but i got a gig one time printing address labels and sticking them on envelopes for a local realtor. she was a raging bitch and i quit after three days, but it would have been quite lucrative, and i could do it at night watching tv.
posted by misanthropicsarah at 7:31 AM on April 7, 2008

Just keep the math in mind. If you're working full-time plus, say 50 hours a week including commutes, and then you're trying to fit in another $250 income, that means even if you weren't paying taxes on it (and you will, oh man will you!) then you pretty much have to find a job that pays at least $25-30/hour and work another 9-10 hours for that week. That's 60 hours of your week devoted just to working.

May I make a suggestion? If any of this debt is student loans, ignore it. Seriously. By which I mean, consolidate it (soon, because with the current low interest rates I'm guessing you can snap up a bargain) and then make the teeny tiny payments over a long period of time. You're just out of college, and you'll be fine, really, if you have some debt on you for a few years.

Rather than trying to earn more income, curb your spending and eliminate the highest interest debts first if you can.

If you do still decide to go for a job, odds are pretty good that you may end up working as a freelancer. This means you will get a 1099 at the end of the year. Unless you get in touch with an CPA and set something up specially, you will find the amount of taxes you owe due to the 1099 to be surprisingly painful. So definitely do not pay off all the debt with the money coming in without reserving some of it for taxes, otherwise you will end up having to pay your tax bill with your credit card, which is the worst kind of thing to have to do with a credit card.
posted by Deathalicious at 1:16 AM on April 8, 2008

One of the businesses I own is a restaurant delivery company. Our drivers differ from regular pizza delivery guys. They are considered independent contractors, get $5 per delivery, plus tips. They get to pretty much pick their own hours. Most of our deliveries are between 4-9pm. My guys average about $25 per hour, plus the cost of gas.

You might want to look around your area for something similar. Pays good, flexible hours. Can't beat it.

Send me a meMail if you want/need any more information.
posted by enobeet at 11:28 AM on April 9, 2008