Online Work

Crafting: New England Crafters

2007-06-16T04:23:00.001-04:00

This crafting company is one of the few that I have found that enjoy an excellent reputation for paying. Beware though, this is not for the faint of heart. And some crafting experience would probably be helpful, but not necessary.

New England Crafters

Surveys

2007-06-01T15:45:00.000-04:00

Another source of income for some, is taking surveys. Some people make hundreds of dollars a month doing solely surveys, while others (like me) bring in just a few dollars every month.

Telephone Work

2006-10-14T10:19:00.000-04:00

One of the most proliferate type of homebased employment in telephone work. It can consist of incoming or outgoing calls or, often a combination of the two.

Sento
Hiring: At-Home Customer Service Representative. Check under each city.

Writer

2006-10-02T12:28:00.000-04:00

There are many ways to be paid as a writer. The most commonly known way is to write some type of book or article and find a publisher.

Some companies, however, will hire you to write about whatever you want and submit it for payment.

Associated Content

Medical Billing and Coding

2006-06-14T13:03:00.000-04:00

Medical billing is the practice of submitting claims to Insurance companies or the United States government, specifically Medicare in order to receive payment for services provided to a patient by a medical doctor or other licenced health care provider. Bureau of Labor Statistics (US Department of Labor) projects that medical information and claims processing will continue to grow much faster than other occupations throughout the year 2014. Unfortunately, it is difficult to get a homebased position without experience so you may have to work in an office for a year or two.

Most employers prefer to hire Registered Health Information Technicians (RHIT), who must pass a written examination offered by the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA). To take the examination, a person must graduate from a 2-year associate degree program accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Health Informatics and Information Management Education (CAHIIM). Technicians trained in non-CAHIIM-accredited programs or trained on the job are not eligible to take the examination. In 2005, CAHIIM accredited 184 programs for health information technicians.

MedicalBillingandCoding.net
MedicalBillingandCoding.com
Occupational Outlook handbook
National Cancer Registrars Association
American Academy of Professional Coders
American Health Information Management Association

Data Entry

2006-06-14T12:54:00.000-04:00

Data entry is one the hardest jobs to find for online work because it is in such high-demand. In addition, there are alot of scams going under the name "data entry". There are a few exceptions that I know of, however.

Keyforcash
I currently work for this one and have been since May 2006. I have always received my appropriate pay via mail. The work is relatively easy. There is a long waiting list for this position but I can honestly recommend putting yourself on it. If you do, please put my name in the referral line like this: Katrina McClain (Timetokey)

Professional Resume Writer

2006-04-17T12:53:00.000-04:00

Professional Associatioin of Resume Writers and Career Coaches
The National Resume Writers Association
Career Masters Institute

Forums

2006-04-07T11:22:00.000-04:00

There are lots of forums dealing with the telecommuting industry. Some established, some just getting started.

Wahm
Workplacelikehome
Cyberjobcafe
Telecommuting Moms
FreelanceMom
Virtual Assistants
Mommysplace

Mock Juror

2006-04-07T11:16:00.000-04:00

If you've watched any of those legal shows on tv, then you've occassionally seen them use (or mention) a Mock Jury. Now, you can get in on the real thing for fun and profit.

TrialPractice
Pays $10/hour

100 million Americans to Telecommute by 2008

2006-04-06T12:47:00.000-04:00

100 Million Americans

Blogging

2006-04-06T12:21:00.000-04:00

Blogging has become another source of homebased income. The way to make money with blogs is through affiliate marketing. But, first, you need to develop a good niche in which to write. For example, the blog is about working from home. Make sure that it is something that you are truely interested in so that you will be encouraged to keep on writing.

Here are some excellent places to submit your blog.
Blogwise
Blog Catalog
Bloggernity
Bloglines
Daypop
Feedster
Syndic8
Technorati
Blogdex
Blog Street
Boingboing
We Blog Alot
Globe of Blogs
Blogarama
Feedburner
Blogrolling
Ice Rocket
Hits4blogs

Proofreading/Editing

2006-04-06T12:11:00.000-04:00

Freelance Mailing List
Editfast
Grammatika
Internet Homeworking Directory
Getting Taken by Bogus Test
Writerers Resource
Learn Direct
Learn Proofreading

Courses:
Grammatika: Essential Skills for Proofreaders

HIRING:
Sage Publications

Courthouse Research

2006-04-05T12:40:00.000-04:00

The following companies hire you to go out to your local courthouse(s) and dig up the information that they requested. Usually, the pay is by the record that you submit. Many require that you have a laptop or at least a PDA.

Sunlark
Quotenow
Accurate Background

Captioner

2006-03-31T11:05:00.000-05:00

Broadcast captioners, also called stenocaptioners, use court reporter skills on the stenotype machine to provide captions of live television programs for deaf and hard-of-hearing viewers, through realtime technology that instantly produces readable English text. Stenocaptioners work for local stations and for national channels and networks captioning news, emergency broadcasts, sports events and other programming.

The federal Telecommunications Act of 1996 has some very specific mandates for closed captioning of local programs around the country with phase-in dates in 2002, 2004 and 2006. What this means for the reporting community is an enormous increase in the demand for realtime captioners to cover local news broadcasts all around the country, mornings, afternoons and evenings.

Captioning is an evolving and maturing profession, and the available technology associated with captioning is rapidly advancing.

NCRA
Vitac
CaptionColorado

Skip Tracing

2006-03-29T12:50:00.000-05:00

WebTracer

Skip Tracing 101

USAtrace

Skip Tracing

Bankruptcy Petitioner

2006-03-29T11:46:00.000-05:00

A bankruptcy petitioner works with lawyers to file bankruptcy petitions with clients. The bankruptcy petitioner and the client accurately complete the forms and a lawyer reviews and submits them to the courts.

713training

How-to-Start-an-Online-Bankruptcy-Forms-Processing-Service

Notary

2006-03-28T11:33:00.000-05:00

Another career that I have been considering is becoming a Notary. At first, I thought I just had to get myself certified and off I go. Turns out, to be an effective notary, I will need extensive training. Fortunately, this training appears to be relatively affordable.

Here are some of the useful sights that I found if you would like to do your own research.....

50statenotary
Notarylinks
National Notary Association
USAnotaries
123Notary
NotaryDatabase
The Mobile Notary
FieldInspector
Notarytrainer
Notarybeware GoGetNotary
USAsigning

The Dabbling Mum
Notary Interview
The Dabbling Mum "Become a Notary Signing Agent"
The Dabbling Mum "A Day in the Life..."

Scopist

2006-03-22T12:58:00.000-05:00

Scopists are generally employed by court reporters to read and edit computer-generated machine shorthand notes taken by court reporters. Using a computer program called computer-aided transcription software (CAT), scopist edit written text for transcript production. The scopist reviews a rough copy of the proceeding -- whether it is on disk, has been sent as an e-mail file or is simultaneously displayed on a computer connected to the court reporter's machine. The scopist carefully reads the stenograph-to-English translation to check for any "mistranslates" such as homonyms ("here" instead of "hear")and correct words such as proper names or technical terms that were not in the court reporter's computer dictionary. The scopist reads the reporter's notes and takes responsibility for transforming them into transcripts of proper written English. The scopist rereads the CAT versions of each document, edits and punctuates the material, researches or double-checks the spelling of technical terminology, medical words, and people's names, and proofreads the document. If the scopist cannot understand a computer-translated portion of the text, he or she must also know how to read the raw stenotyped notes that are contained on the court reporter's disk.

Scopists make any necessary edits, ensure the transcript is in the requested format and send the it back to the court reporter. When the scopist is working on a simultaneously displayed transcript, he or she make corrections or highlights questionable items as the transcripts scrolls by on the computer screen. Inherent in this definition are two basic skills: Good English/punctuation, and the ability to read machine shorthand. People who make successful scopists have an aptitude for and enjoy working with words, are good spellers and have a good vocabulary. They must be highly motivated self-starters, capable of meeting deadlines, researching elusive spellings, dedicated to spending long hours in front of a computer and producing meticulous and accurate transcripts.

As independent contractors, scopists must also be able to handle their own billing and accounts receivable, preparatory tax paperwork, and withhold and pay applicable state and federal taxes. A successful scopist will always be seeking ways to improve his skills and his mastery of the ever-changing English language. He must also possess keyboarding and computer skills, learn to troubleshoot software and hardware problems, and keep up with the rapid-pace advancements in the computer industry and in court reporting software.

Scoping provides flexibility in choosing how many hours you want to work. You can work out of your home, in a Scoping freelance firm or in a Court Reporting firm. Scoping is an ideal career for a person who prefers to work at home. All the work is completed by computer software that can easily be transferred via online services. Freelance scopists are usually hired directly by self-employed court reporters or by agencies that supply freelance court reporters. They hire scopists because the reporter only gets paid while he or she is taking notes in the courtroom or at a deposition, so it's preferable for them to utilize their time by taking notes, not transcribing and editing them. Whereas the court reporter must go to the deposition or courtroom, scopists can usually work from home unless they need to go into an agency to have access to the same software used by the court reporter they're working with.

As CAT software becomes more proficient at automatic translation of court reporters' notes, the nature of scoping may change. For the moment, however, freelance scoping can provide a good living, and thanks to the Internet, entry into this field is no longer limited to metropolitan areas. Since most work in this field is or can be transmitted electronically or via tape or disk sent by priority mail, scopists can work with clients from any part of the country. Scopists are paid by the page and receive between fifty and seventy-five cents per page. Depending on the density of the material and the clarity of the court reporter’s shorthand notes, Scopists can edit between 15 and 30 pages an hour. Scopists earn an average of $7.50 to $22.50 an hour for an average salary of $15,600 to $46,800 a year. A beginning scopist is much slower at editing than his experienced peers and must establish a clientele to provide him with the desired amount of pages. In his first year a scopist may only earn $8,000 to $12,000, but as he builds his client roster and establishes himself with better writers, an income of $30,000 to $40,000 is possible. A realistic figure for a scopist working full-time, with a fairly steady inflow of work, is probably in the $30,000 to $35,000 range and increasing.

What equipment/supplies should home-based scopists purchase? What are approximate costs?

The rule of computer equipment is "get the most bang for your buck": A Pentium computer with the largest hard drive, the fastest processor, and the most RAM you can afford (minimum 128 preferred). For more specifics on equipment needed to run CATalyst software, click here or call at 800-323-4247. If you can get/afford a cable modem or DSL line, so much the better; meanwhile, a 56K modem will work - Cost: $700-2000
Scopist training course - Cost: $1500-2500, more if taken at court reporting school
Reference books, CDs, etc. - Cost: $200-500
Internet provider - Cost: $10-45 per month. You will need a high-speed Internet connection once you’re ready to go to work. A dial-up connection will suffice while you’re taking the training.
CAT software key (edit version) - **Cost: $1000-1500
Optional:

Professional fees (NCRA/state association membership) - Cost: $125-200 per year
Forum subscriptions to scopist sites - usually free
Attendance at user group meetings, conventions - varies

(The following poll is brought to you by: http://www.brennerbooks.com/scopist-rates-pg.html)

Normal turnaround time is 3 to 7 days for freelance work, 30 to 50 days for trials.

What do you charge for no tapes, normal turnaround time? $0.75 $1.00 $1.25
What do you charge for taped work, normal turnaround time? $1.00 $1.10 $1.45
What do you charge for videotaped work, normal turnaround time? $1.00 $1.25 $1.50

What is your EXPEDITED turnaround time?
Expedited turnaround time is anything less than three days. Most call "expedited" turnaround two days.

What do you charge for no tapes, expedited turnaround time? $1.45 $1.50 $1.60
What do you charge for taped work, expedited turnaround time? $1.45 $1.60 $2.00
What do you charge for videotaped work, expedited turnaround time? $1.55 $1.85 $2.50

What is your DAILY turnaround time?
Daily turnaround is anything less than 24 hours for most scopists. Poll Question Low Rate Average Rate Highest Rate
What do you charge for no tapes, daily turnaround time? $1.85 $2.00 $2.20
What do you charge for taped work, daily turnaround time? $2.00 $2.20 $2.50
What do you charge for videotaped work, daily turnaround time? $2.00 $2.50 $2.75

Most scopist charge more for technical and or medical jobs. The rates were as low as .10 more a page to a high rate of .65 more a page.

Only a handful of scopists discount their rates for excellent writers. The average discount was .10 a page, although a couple scopists gave a bigger discount.

Most scopists either charge more or simply refused to work with a writer who was either a terrible writer or one that refused to update his/her dictionary. Rates varied from .25 more per page up to double the normal page rate.

Part-time scopists had an income goal of $500 on the low end, $750 average, $800 high end. Full-time scopists had a low income rate of $800, average rate of $2000, high rate of $5000.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Attention proofreaders! You have not been forgotten. Although many of the questions posted here were not applicable to you, the following reflects rates you charge.

Poll Question Average Rate
What do you charge for proofreading, normal turnaround time? $0.20 - $0.30
What do you charge for proofreading, expedited turnaround time? $0.40 - $0.50
What do you charge for proofreading, daily turnaround time? $0.45 - $0.65

I checked the DETC website (Distance Education and Training Council)and found that the only company available is Penn Foster (formerly Education Direct). With this program, I will not only be able to be a scopist, but a court reporter or captionist, as well.

Anyway, here are some other resources that I have found, if you're interested.

Best Scoping Techniques
National Court Reporters Association
Scopist
Scopeschool
Stenovations
Stenosearch
Scoping Central
National Professions
Scoping Careers
Mazco
Scopist
Best Future
Reporter Support
Stenograph
Depoman
Verbatim Reporters
Scopist Support Group
Court Reporters Forum
T3

Other Reference Material that you may find helpful:

Morson's English Guide to Court Reporters
The Gregg Reference Manual
The Complete Court Reporter's Handbook
Reverse Dictionary for Stenotypists
A Court Reporter's Guide to Medical Terminology

As promised...

2006-03-08T12:59:00.000-05:00

Here's the list of programs that have thus far paid me (and are still active)...

My Survey
Lookabc
It Pays to Learn
Donkeymails
Domino Cash
Classical Mail
Cash for action
HYIP.US

I know that it's not very many, but pennies make dollars as I always say...

On the hunt...

2006-03-07T12:19:00.000-05:00

If you are like me, you are on the hunt for a legitimate opportunity to work from home.

You may have been scammed by envelope stuffing sceams or just feel frustrated by the hundreds of resumes and applications that you have sent out to no avail.

Well, so am I...

So, I am creating this blog to list my successes and failures so that others can learn from them and perhaps not repeat them....

Currently, to make ends meet, I have a part-time job at my local library as a computer aide. The jobs great! I mostly just do my thing on the internet. Occassionally, I have to help a patron but because I have the day shift most of the clients are adults and are somewhat computer literate.

As I "work", I am also doing autosurfs, ptrs, and surveys. Unfortunately, just when I was getting ready to get more involved in the autosurf industry the bottom fell out with the 12dailypro and stormpay scandal. But, I have been paid by a few of my ptr programs.

To see a complete list, please visit my yahoo group at A Paid to....Group

I'll be posting them here in my next blog for those who are interested. I only recommend those that actually pay, so you'll have no worries joining any program under me.

Meanwhile, for a more steady source of income, I am considering going to school for either scoping, closed captioning, indexing, or medical coding. I'll also be going over these careers in more details later in the future.

Anyway, I guess that's all for now. God willing, I will talk to you tomorrow...