What are some legitimate ways to earn extra money while working at home?

September 2, 2004 4:20 PM

Work from home!!!! But seriously, are there any legitimate ways to earn extra income at home? [Come inside, won't you]

Not looking to quit my day job and make millions stuffing envelopes. Actually, my wife is looking to earn us some extra cash during her pregnancy by working at home. She can type and is computer literate. Suggestions?

posted by Otis to work & money (7 comments total)

Transcription, medical or otherwise.
posted by falconred at 4:27 PM on September 2, 2004

There are companies that pay people to proof-read or edit documents from home, per page. They're heavily used by international business men who aren't confident in their written English and are willing to pay to have letters, etc. proof-read. I don't know how hard it is to get a job working for people like this, but I know that they email you a bunch of documents, you edit them and return them, and they pay you something.
posted by jeb at 4:29 PM on September 2, 2004

She should contact career services at a university nearby and read up online at Monster.com, etc. I believe you can restrict searchses to be virtual work only. See what's out there.
posted by xammerboy at 5:36 PM on September 2, 2004

I have a friend who just had a baby and has been looking to pick up a little extra income while looking after the baby and has been doing some translation work [she speaks Russian and English]. If you Google around a little bit for "mommy jobs" you'll find a lot of people discussing how to do this. Sorry I'm not more helpful but sometimes knowing the terminology can be useful.
posted by jessamyn at 5:43 PM on September 2, 2004

Ouch - that EditAvenue site listed above requires a $250 registration fee and 50% of all commissions. Meaning... $4/page tops in earnings.

I'm ignorant of how that rate compares to "real" editing jobs, mind you.
posted by Hankins at 7:07 PM on September 2, 2004

There are plenty of small companies which would pay you to do sales work from home. Another work from home job can be sex lines, but she may not be "barely legal" enough for that!
posted by skylar at 2:24 AM on September 3, 2004

Hankins: It's pretty poor. You won't get good editing for $4 a page. No offence, but that's 'ship to India' rates. ;-) (Although, yes, Indians are pretty good editors as it goes)
posted by wackybrit at 8:48 AM on September 3, 2004