Great Pajama Jobs

Your Complete Guide to Working from Home

Kerry E. Hannon

• Publisher: Wiley
• Year: 2020
• ISBN:
  9781119647751
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Desarrollo personal
• Subtopic: Carreras

Find out how to secure and thrive in a work-from-home or remote-access job. Get out of your work clothes and into pajamas for good!

Did you fall in love with working from home during the months of coronavirus restrictions? Is working in your pajamas appealing? Do you want to earn some income on the side? In 2020, the workplace has been transformed and working from home has exploded. It may, in fact, be the new reality of working for many of us, some full-time, some as a hybrid work scenario.

With some information and expert guidance, you can transform your workday, take control of your time, and explore exciting new opportunities. Great Pajama Jobs: Your Complete Guide to Working from Home is your playbook.

Until recently, you may have gone to an office that was uninspiring or chaotic, or spent a large part of your busy day responding to emails and working on computer–tasks that could easily be accomplished from home. You may have spent hours commuting each day.

Then too, you may be a military spouse in search of an ideal remote job to take with you to a new base, or you may need to manage your personal health issues or caregiving duties. Or you may simply want to inch a little closer to a more favorable work-life balance. The truth is you may need the autonomy and flexibility of working remotely for a myriad of reasons.

Great Pajama Jobs is your ultimate guide to finding a job where you can work remotely and advance your career while working in pajamas (or certainly something more comfortable than traditional work garb).

• Learn the nuts and bolts of how to land a remote-access job you love that will allow you to thrive in your career or bring in extra income in retirement
• Discover up-to-date resources for finding a solid work from home job for professionals
• Read insightful interviews with professionals who have already made the move successfully
• Learn more about leading companies recognized for providing remote employment opportunities
• Explore great remote jobs in a variety of fields

There's something here for everyone, a job-hunter's smorgasbord. No, this is not the master list of every job under the sun, but you'll discover plenty of ideas to spur your imagination about how you can make the most of your talents to create work that, well, works for you. Each job description follows this format: the nitty-gritty, pay range, and qualifications needed, with a smattering of job-hunting tips tossed in.

In "Kerry's Great Pajama Jobs Workshop, " you'll reap the benefits of professional advice and strategies with information to help you land that work-from-home job, including a resume revamp, the best online job boards for home-based positions, tips on time management and organizing a productive home office, tax advice, and help with saving for retirement when you're on your own.

Working from home is here, and it's real. This year's work-from-home mandates for many workers around the world, due to the coronavirus, has pushed many employers to embrace and trust remote work.

Technology has already boosted the phenomenal growth of home-based employment in recent years and continues to do so.

Remote jobs are popular for a good reason. They save you commute time and allow you to focus on completing your work productively and successfully, and they typically provide employers significant cost savings as well.

You have the flexibility to choose career opportunities that do not require you to commit long hours inside an office environment. Experience all that a more flexible position can offer when you look to the guidance found in this remote employment roadmap. If you land home office work, comfortable work clothing or even PJs may be your wardrobe of the future. Great Pajama Jobs will help you get on track to finding the best remote job for you.

PART I
GREAT PAJAMA JOBS

You may want a full-time job that can lead to promotions and career advancement, or a job for a season, for a stint of living in a different country or city for a few years, or one that will allow you to gradually unwind into retirement, or even a job that you clock into for a few hours a week to stay engaged and relevant. You may even strategically build an income stream from a tapestry of work-from-home jobs you enjoy and are skilled at doing.

Many remote workers I have interviewed say they aren't looking for high-pay, stressful management positions on the frontlines. Others say that's not so, but don't see why being in an office setting can help them perform better.

Deciding What (Else) You Want Out of Work

Flexible work enables employees to effectively manage their work-life responsibilities, leading to better outcomes in both spheres.

Talk with enough happy workers and you'll find the secret is a job that offers flexibility. For my book Love Your Job: The New Rules for Career Happiness, I interviewed hundreds of workers about what made them love their jobs. Flexibility and a sense of freedom and autonomy ranks high.

And happy translates into productivity on the job: 83 percent of global companies report an improvement in employee productivity after adopting flexible work policies and 61 percent report a rise in profits, according to a study involving 8,000 global employees and employers. The majority of employers with flexible workplace policies also say it has had a positive impact on their organization's reputation and helps retain valuable workers and recruit the best candidates.

For Sandra Molleck, 54, who works as a commercial lines account manager for a large California-based insurance company, the biggest rewards of working from home are “no commute, no drama, no purchasing expensive work clothes (and especially nylons), plus a comfortable and quiet work environment,” she tells me. Her biggest challenges: “Getting into a routine and staying away from snacks,” says Molleck. “It took me a while, but I have a set schedule. I work out before work and on my lunch hour.”

What motivates us to work and what each of us calls a “great pajama job” is as individual as we are. “Different flavors of ice cream,” as my sister, Pat, likes to say. But I implore you: Try to find a job you love and that challenges you. It will make all the difference in your health as well as your wealth.

While Gen Zers believe they are hardworking, one in four (26 percent) admit they would work harder and stay longer at a company that supports flexible schedules, with flexibility desired most in Canada (33 percent), the U.K. (31 percent), and the United States (31 percent). That's according to a global survey conducted by the Workforce Institute at Kronos Incorporated of 3,400 members of Generation Z across 12 countries.

It's easier to create flexible programs as a startup or small business, which gives them the advantage over large global enterprises that have to take many factors into consideration and change long-standing corporate cultures rooted in the status quo, says Dan Schawbel author of Back to Human.

Overall, people want control over how, when, and where they work and will seek an employment situation that satisfies that need, even if it means sacrificing pay, healthcare benefits, a team, free coffee, and office space.

In general, remote jobs come in two broad categories. The first are conventional professional jobs that are full-time or part-time, which pay you a salary or set hourly rate on a regular basis. You're part of a team. And you may be entitled to traditional employee benefits: health insurance, paid vacation time, an employer-sponsored retirement plan. The only difference is where you do your work.

The second type of remote work comes under the umbrella of freelance, consultant, or contractor positions. Typically, you have more control over when and where you work and how much, but you are in charge of paying your quarterly taxes and shelling out for health insurance. And when you go on vacation, you don't get paid. Pay can be project-based or hourly.

In the following pages, you'll find a plethora of professional occupations, some that may demand retraining and adding a degree or certificate. And you'll also find a selection of jobs geared for someone who wants a little income but doesn't want a full-blown commitment on a daily basis.

There are adaptable schedules, from a few days a week to a few months a year to a steady gig, or even one you might consider launching as a home-based business. Each job description follows this format: the nitty-gritty, pay range, and qualifications needed, with a smattering of job-hunting tips tossed in.

I’ve structured the snapshots roughly by career field: creative, financial, education, tech, and healthcare. Of course, pay will depend on myriad factors from the employer to your own negotiating moxie, but I've provided averages to give you a sense of current demand.

While remote work exists in most career fields, it is growing more quickly in some fields than in others. With that in mind, FlexJobs analyzed more than 50 career categories in its database to figure out which remote career categories have grown at a high rate.

Seven of the fastest-growing remote job fields are art and creative, bookkeeping, internet and ecommerce, K–12 education, graphic design, translation, math, and economics. Leading job titles include accountant, engineer (civil, mechanical, electrical, etc.), teacher or faculty, writer, consultant, program manager, project manager, customer service representative, business development manager, account manager, and executive.

In the following chapter you will find snapshots of remote jobs that allow you to work from home either entirely or part of the time. Remote jobs are also known as telecommuting jobs, virtual jobs, and work-from-home jobs. This list is culled from ones from my extensive research on legitimate remote positions.

My aim is to help you explore remote jobs that suit your goals, ambitions, and life stage. It is by no means a definitive list, but a starter kit for you to begin your personal exploration. As employers accept the power and possibilities that remote teams can add to their success, great new pajama jobs are popping up all the time. Let's roll.

CHAPTER 1
Great Remote Jobs

Art Director

• The nitty-gritty: Style and creative magic with a dose of management savvy as you ensure that the trains run on time for project deadlines and reaching goals is your mojo. The end product may appear in print magazines or online websites, packaging for products, web advertising and online promotions for products and services, video games, and more. You craft the overall visual path with input from your team of designers. A growing area of opportunity is web design for a company's website.
• Pay range: An art director salary typically falls between $98,937 and $132,784, according to Salary.com. Average hourly wages are between $48 and $64.
• Qualifications: A bachelor's degree in art or a related area and earlier work experience as a graphic designer is generally a prerequisite. And increasingly, most positions today require that experience to be within the realm of digital or online media publishing. Employers run the gamut from advertising agencies to publishers to movie production companies. Some art directors earn a master of fine arts (MFA) degree to supplement their work experience. And you can't just be lost in your artistic vision; the ability to listen and translate your concepts to your employer and other artists and staff working alongside is essential.

Voice-over Artist

• The nitty-gritty: The need for voice talent is rising due to the ramp up in multimedia websites and audiobooks, podcasts, and so forth. The diversity of jobs an employer might need you to master range from commercials to web videos, audiobooks, documentaries, business and training videos, telephone messages, and applications. Keep in mind this is typically a part-time position.
• Pay range: The average salary for a voice-over artist is $50 per hour, according to the job board Indeed.com.
• Qualifications: If you're working from your home office, you'll probably have to shell out for the proper equipment such as recording software, a microphone, and headsets. You'll also need a professional demo to share with potential clients. Training as an actor or public speaking skills are a plus. Some websites to tap are Voice123.com and Voices.com. To get higher-paying voice-over jobs, you may need to join a union such as SAG-AFTRA, the combination of the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. Union fees will depend on your market.

Interior Designer

• The nitty-gritty: Interior designers style indoor spaces that are functional, safe, and beautiful for almost every type of structure. Your canvas is space that you imbue with colors, appropriate lighting and furniture, floo...