Remote work is very attractive. 

In fact, “work from home” as a search term remains a steadily growing trend on Google. 

This is partially because, during the pandemic, a large chunk of the professional world got inadvertently introduced to remote working.

Yet, interest in remote work has continued and even increased post pandemic.

Unfortunately, opportunities have not. In fact, as of the start of 2024, less than 10% of postings advertised on LinkedIn are remote. Remote jobs are becoming harder to come by. 

Worry not!

For many in our network, finding remote work is NOT a pandemic novelty…

Some of us have been involved with remote work arrangements for nearly three decades – decades where employers were significantly more hostile towards and scared of remote work. And the tactics we used to get such positions before the pandemic still remain valid.

That being said, in order to be successful in finding lucrative remote work, you need to understand the environment you are operating in…

Remote Work Contentious Among Employers

Some employers love it, others hate it. 

You have to understand that while there is some material and financial basis toward their feelings, it is primarily an emotional and irrational issue (because humans are humans).

Of those that hate it: Some employers have invested heavily in commercial real estate assets, which incentivizes them to discourage remote work. Others have troubled executives who call all workers back into the office as a quick and dirty productivity ploy, in order to make investors think their company will yield greater profits because – “Look! I’m putting everyone back to real work!”. Even others believe that unless you can see someone doing work, they’re just going to slack off and be un-manageable. And even others, like Elon Musk, think that it’s a moral issue (see video below).

Whatever the case may be for all the variants of haters, in the long run, we believe the lovers are going to win. And no one in the business world expresses this fact as succinctly as Shark Tank’s Kevin O’Leary:

Ultimately remote work is an optimization for all parties involved in employment. And given enough time, efficiencies in production, as the arc of history has shown, always win.

It is simply more profitable, more appealing, and more productive for people to work from home – as long as they have the kind of job that can generate value remotely.

Getting Started with Work-from-Home Jobs

Now that you have the basics covered, and understand the way employers feel about remote work, let’s get to business…

Understanding the Work-from-Home Landscape

The work-from-home landscape has experienced a significant evolution. These are caused by technological advancements such as the ubiquitous availability of high-speed internet or video conferencing, changing workforce preferences, as well as global circumstances such as the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Today, remote work is not just a hype or an exceptional deal some high-hitters get, but a viable, and often a preferred option for many professionals. Companies of all sizes are increasingly embracing remote work models. The employees get flexibility, freedom, and greater autonomy. The businesses get reduced overhead costs and access to a wider talent pool.

Benefits of Working from Home

Working from home offers numerous advantages:

  1. No Commute: This is obvious, but it’s so life changing, it’s worth stating explicitly.
  2. Flexibility: Create your own schedule – to greater or lesser extent depending on the hours of operation and your specific contract.
  3. Greater Autonomy: You are not constantly under your employer’s or boss’ surveillance.
  4. Cost Savings: Can lead to significant savings on transportation, meals, and work attire.
  5. Access to a Global Job Market: You can get a job anywhere in the world without having to move.
  6. Increased Productivity: Remote workers work longer hours than their in office counterparts, which all other factors being equal, means greater productivity.
  7. Enhanced Work-Life Balance: Remote workers report improved work-life balance as well as experiencing less stress.

Downsides of Working from Home

The allure of working from home is undeniable, but you also need to consider the following factors.

  1. Requires Self-Discipline: Self-motivation and discipline are crucial if you are going to succeed without direct supervision. If you have never been in an environment where you could model successful behavior through supervision, you can develop some horrible habits working from home.
  2. Requires Home Office: You will need a dedicated workspace as well as an appropriate level of privacy. A kitchen in a flat with several roommates, or a dining room with two kids running around in the background are not feasible dedicated work-spaces. You will likely need an office.
  3. Higher Level Communication Skills: You will need to develop more proactive as well as highly effective communication skills. 
  4. Office Incursion into Home: When you work from home, your office comes into your home. Along with a variety of privacy concerns, this also usually means you will not be able to clock in and clock out like a typical employee. Don’t be surprised if you find yourself replying to messages or fielding phone calls late into the evening because you “just got carried away”.
  5. Global Competition: An engineer 10 years ago, would need to compete with local talent, or those willing to relocate. Today, in a remote work environment, the same engineer is competing with the entire English speaking world (and sometimes the entire world)! 
  6. Sets You Up for Greater AI Disruption: The engineer mentioned above, is also competing with AI models. Interestingly, the more a company is structured to work with remote employees, the better they are going to be at incorporating AI and replacing workers. This is not to say that remote jobs are going to go away in 2 years. But it is to say that remote jobs are easier to both outsource and automate away, since the inputs and the outputs of the employee are all digital.

Now that you understand what it’s like and what to expect, let’s look at your options…

Exploring Work-from-Home Job Options

To start with, we are not going to talk about work from home income opportunities that don’t relate to a career. Jobs like “survey taker” or “short-task completer”, as well as anything that is unprofessional or related to gambling are deliberately left out.

This brings up an interesting point of note: There are a lot of scams on the Internet. When looking for an opportunity to work from home, be sure to orient yourself towards professional organizations.

If it looks weird, or sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

Entry-Level Work-from-Home Jobs

Here’s a list of entry-level work-from-home jobs that you can get started with regardless of your level of experience. They include both gig-work, part-time as well as full-time jobs.

  • Google: Ads Quality Rater
    • $12 to $15 per hour
  • Google: Web Search Evaluator
    • $12 to $15 per hour
  • Customer Service Representative
    • $8 to $15 per hour
  • Data Entry Clerk
    • $10 per hour
    • Salary: $40,389 per year
  • Customer Service Representative
    • Salary: $38,964 per year
  • Virtual Assistant
    • Salary: $40,842 per year
  • Virtual Assistant
    • $16 to 40 per hour
  • Editing and Proofreading
    • $20 per hour
  • Transcriber/Transcriptionist
    • $25 per hour
    • Salary: $34,270 per year
  • Online Juror
    • $5 to $150 per hour

Lucrative Work-from-Home Careers

These are lucrative work-from-home careers that usually require specialized skills and/or credentials. They are primarily full-time jobs, but can also come in the form of gig-work.

  • Graphic Designer
    • $13 to $37 per hour
    • Salary: $38,000 to $71,000 per year
  • Animator
    • Salary: $42,000 to $100,000 per year
  • Programmer
    • Salary: $42,000 to $160,000 per year
  • Clinical Research Coordinator
    • Salary: $48,000
  • Tax Preparer
    • $10 to $46 per hour
    • Salary: $47,000 to $70,000 per year
  • Patient Advocate
    • Salary: $46,673 per year
  • Internet Security Specialist
    • Salary: $44,411 to $143,101 per year
  • Medical Coder
    • Salary: $52,746 per year
  • Accounting Clerk
    • Salary: $50,618 per year
  • Google: Search Engine Evaluator
    • Salary: $50,884 per year
  • Social Media Manager
    • Salary: $55,933 per year
  • Virtual Recruiter
    • Salary: $60,500 per year
  • Copywriter
    • Salary: $58,458 per year
  • Licensed Insurance Agent
    • Salary: $58,509 per year
  • Sales Associate
    • Salary: $62,315 per year
  • Website or Software Tester
    • Salary: $77,211 per year
  • Senior Software Engineer
    • Salary: $126,956
  • Senior Project Manager
    • Salary: $104,496
  • Product Manager
    • Salary: $106,525
  • Regional Sales Director
    • Salary: $109,268
  • Engineering Manager
    • Salary: $121,560
  • Senior Data Engineer
    • Salary: $128,783
  • Senior Product Designer
    • Salary: $128,618
  • Senior DevOps Engineer
    • Salary: $129,515
  • Senior Product Marketing Manager
    • Salary: $135,558
  • Senior Machine Learning Engineer
    • Salary: $155,722
  • Virtual Public Relations Representative
    • Salary: $90,250
  • Web Developer
    • Salary: $55,000 to $175,000 per year

Specialized Work-from-Home Roles

These are usually gig positions as well as jobs that start stepping into the world of entrepreneurship. Some require highly specialized skills, as well as talents. Others require specific credentials.

  • Translator
    • $14 to $43 per hour
    • Salary: $47,985 per year
  • Virtual Tutor
    • Estimated Income: $24,000 and $39,000 per year
  • Writing Gigs
    • $20.43 per hour (on average)
  • Voice Acting
    • $48.17 per hour (on average)
  • Management Consulting
    • Salary: $94,000 to $220,000 per year
  • Telephone Nurse
    • $39.78 per hour
    • Salary: $82,750 per year
  • Patent or Intellectual Property Lawyer
    • Salary: $177,555 per year
  • Affiliate Marketer
    • Estimated Income: $45,000 to $250,000 per year
  • Blogger
    • $31 per hour
  • Bookkeeper
    • $14 to $35 per hour
  • Event Planner
    • Estimated Income: $35,000 to $81,000 per year
  • Grant Writer
    • Salary: $66,107 per year (on average)
  • Online Teacher
    • Salary: $28,000 to $90,000 per year

Five Keys to Getting a Remote Work Position

Here’s the deal: It’s more challenging to get a remote job than an on-site job for the vast majority of professionals. But if you use the keys listed below, you can level the playing field, and build a career where remote work is your norm.

Key #1: Develop In-Demand Remote Skills

Some skills add a lot of value to companies remotely. Other skills are only useful at a particular location. Chances are, remote Massage Therapists aren’t going to be anything big soon. Remote working Software Engineers, on the other hand, have been a thing since the start of the Internet.

You need to acquire proficiency in specific skills that can create value remotely and are in demand. We recommend you also investigate the 5 Core Skills and 7 High-Value Disciplines.

Key #2: Highlight Your Remote Work Experience

If your new employer can see that your previous employer trusted you to work from home, they are much more likely to trust you to work from home themselves.

When you are looking for a remote job, your resume needs to be crafted toward a remote job. Be sure to showcase your track record of successful remote projects, demonstrating your ability to succeed in independent work settings and deliver results without direct supervision.

Key #3: Build a Strong Online Portfolio / Personal Brand

Companies who are looking to hire remote employees, especially for high value and lucrative roles, are looking for these employees online. Your online presentation and personal brand is of paramount importance when looking for remote work.

Curate a comprehensive online portfolio or personal brand – depending on your industry. Showcase your remote work projects, achievements, and skills to provide tangible evidence of your capabilities to potential employers. They want proof not promises. Show them the proof. (i.e. “I’ll build you an amazing website” bad. “Take a look at these 7 amazing websites I built” good.)

Key #4: Target Remote-Friendly Companies

While over time we believe that more and more companies are going to embrace remote work, for the time being, especially for the near future, it is much more productive to go after companies who already offer remote positions.

This doesn’t mean you can’t apply to a company, and negotiate to switch to a remote position during the interview. But for that to happen, you really have to build a lot of value and cultivate sufficient power in the negotiation.

Especially if this is your first remote job, direct your job search towards companies already offering remote positions. 

Key #5: Network Strategically with Remote Professionals

People who work remote, know people who work remote. Even if you are not yet invited to the party, you can still network through online communities, social media platforms or industry forums. (Reddit, Facebook groups, LinkedIn, YouTube, etc… Take your pick, start making friends.)

Bonus Key: Start On-Site then Switch to Remote

This is our favorite. You can transition from on-site roles to remote positions. This can be achieved much more easily when you are already on the job, as opposed to during the job interview. 

You can transition from on-site to remote with the following strategy: First do good work. Focus on demonstrating your value and getting your employer to both trust and rely on you. Once they start relying on you, you’ll have sufficient power to negotiate a remote work arrangement. You can start small (i.e. one day out of the week), and expand until you become completely remote.

The keys to this strategy are your timing as well as your ability to negotiate. (Details of both can be found through our resources)

Maximizing Earnings from Home

Not every remote job is the same. And it pays to pay attention to the following…

Strategies to Make $80,000+ Annual Salary with Remote Work

Achieving an annual income of $80k+ from a salaried job at home requires a combination of strategic planning, skill development, and commitment. Here are three key pointers:

  1. Identify High-Paying Opportunities: Focus on roles in industries known for paying well. Since you have the freedom to work at any company at any geographic location, focus on companies that operate in places where the average salaries are high.
  2. Invest in Skill Development: Enhance your skill set through online courses, self-starter projects, or workshops. When you’re working from home, your output becomes a critical component of how much you get paid – much more than a traditional company where your personality, connections, and ability to play the corporate game matter a lot, perhaps even more than your value output. Remote work pays disproportional homage to your work output. (As the gamers say: “Git gud, scrub!”)
  3. Specialize in In-Demand Fields: Target niche markets or specialized areas where demand is high and competition is relatively low (Note: high demand areas with excessive competition is a race to the bottom where your work gets comodified. Avoid positions like Uber Driver, which have a lot of demand but also massive competition… Not lucrative.) Learn more about navigating demand through Launch Your Career.

Achieving $150,000+ Income from Home

Here’s the gritty truth: It takes guts, hustle, and a strategic mindset to get to $150k. No sugar-coating here… Brace yourself for what it takes to get a high-value career:

  1. Network and Build Relationships: Referrals already play a big part in job placement. This is even more so for high-value positions. You need to cultivate professional connections within your industry or profession. This way, you can access exclusive job opportunities before they are advertised.
  2. Learn The “Warm Application Process“: The most lucrative jobs are rarely advertised to the public. If you cannot access them through your network easily, you need to develop a system for getting in front of the right people who can give you such desirable positions. We break this down in our Warm Application Process.
  3. Diversify, Diversify, Diversify: Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Explore multiple income streams like freelancing or consulting. This is not recommended because you want to have multiple jobs, but because you want to generate a more lucrative track record. Gaining experience outside of your immediate domain of expertise opens more desirable, higher paying, and higher level roles. (i.e. being a Tax Preparer is OK. Being a Copywriter is also OK. Being a Tax Preparer who is also a Copywriter, is a rare specialization)
  4. Challenge the Status Quo: Break free from conventional wisdom and embrace calculated risks. Conventional wisdom says that sometimes you need to take a lateral step before you can climb up further. Other times, you may need to get a job at a smaller company in order to get a much more desirable title. Ultimately, though, these are all status quo corporate games. To break free from it all, aim at “creating value” rather than chasing credentials or titles. Once you’ve mastered creating and controlling value, you can start to challenge industry standards and demand higher pay. 

Conclusion

Embracing remote work opens doors… It can give you unprecedented autonomy and free time. It can even lead to financial independence… All from the comfort of your home. 

Sure, it is getting slightly harder and more competitive to find remote work. But then again, it is also getting slightly harder and more competitive to find any kind of well paying work!

If you are going to go through the trouble of building a career anyway, you might as well go after what you want.

We are here to help.