The 3 best work at home jobs

Searching for jobs that you can do from home used to be a matter of scanning the Sunday classifieds for offers to get rich quick by stuffing envelopes.

Now, exposure to at-home employment opportunities has multiplied, and a wide variety of job ads are just a click away. But so are the scams.

1. Translator
People with fluency in more than 1 language translate audio files or documents, not just word for word, but often with cultural differences in mind. "Companies can access home-based translators with hard-to-find language skills without being held back by geographic location," says Fell.

Foster's site lists jobs for home-based translators. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Outlook Handbook 2012-13, which groups translators and interpreters, notes a projected employment increase of 29% over the 2014-to-2024 decade, much faster than the average for all occupations.

The national median hourly wage for translators and interpreters was $20.96, with a median annual wage of $43,590 as of 2014, according to estimates by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Some industries pay significantly higher, with the highest paying jobs generally in the government area, in which the annual median wage was $52,480.


2. Web developer/designer
Information technology is the sector, Durst says, where most of the home-based hiring is being done. Terri Orlowski, a virtual assistant and Web developer based in Pittsburgh, offers services such as custom website design, template modification and redesigns, code updates, hosting and usability reviews. She previously held administrative positions in a variety of industries and makes a higher per-hour rate now. Out of the many new monthly work-from-home job postings on Upwork.com, Web developers are in high demand, says former CEO Gary Swart.



3. Writer/editor
Yes, the print publishing industry has been suffering, but Durst is seeing frequent listings these days for writing, editing and proofreading, particularly for the Web. Even those without writing experience can join the blogosphere. Not only can blogging be lots of fun, Foster says, but also there's money to be earned blogging for someone else's site, getting paid to post on your own blog or through revenue-sharing arrangements. A list of blogging opportunities can be found at HomeWithTheKids.com.