The Work At Home Link Blog

Archive for March, 2009

What are the pros and cons of working from home? If you hate the 9-5 rat race, you may think there are no disadvantages to working from home. Chances are, all you can think of are the pros, such as the following:

 Avoiding rush hour commute. Most people who have to sit through traffic wish they didn’t. For many people, avoiding exposure to road rage is right at the top of the list of pros.

1. Flexible hours. If you work from home, you can work exactly when you want. There is no time clock to punch. If you’re a night person, you can work in the middle of the night.
2. More time with your family. This one is a great pro for working at home – if it works out that way. Some people find when they’re self-employed they actually are working more hours than when they had a day job.
3. Being able to work without supervision. No more bosses looking over your shoulder, no more annual review. But are you disciplined enough to handle it/

 What about the cons?

 No benefits. No more getting paid for holidays and vacations. No one is matching your 401K payment or contributing to group health insurance.

1. Lack of a salary you can count on. You will only get paid if you work, and in the early months and maybe years of your business, you may not make much. You have to plan for your own health insurance and retirement needs.
2. Lack of interaction with other adults. Some people may miss the office gossip or feel trapped when surrounded by small children all the time.

I’m sure you can think of other advantages and disadvantages to working from home. Only you can decide whether the pros outweigh the cons.  

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Medical transcription is a career that offers a true opportunity to work from home. Many people are interested in this career for that reason. The fact that medical transcription offers a legitimate work from home opportunity makes it a career in which scammers may try to con people out of money for inadequate training.

 What does a medical transcriptionist do?

 Medical transcriptionists listen to tapes dictated by physicians and other health care professionals and transcribe them to documents, medical reports, or correspondence. Recordings are listened to through a headset, and a foot pedal is generally used to stop and start the recording. Text is input into a personal computer and edited for grammar and clarity. Some documents typically prepared by transcriptionists include physical examination reports, autopsy reports, discharge summaries, diagnostic imaging studies, etc. Documents are returned to the physician who prepared the tape for signature or correction. 

 Medical transcription training

Training will include anatomy and physiology, medical terminology, pharmacology, legal issues involving medical documents, and English grammar and punctuation. Most courses are two year degrees or certificates. There are correspondence courses available, but not all offer adequate training to become a medical transcriptionist. Be sure to thoroughly investigate any school you are considering by calling the Better Business Bureau and asking for references.

 If you are interested in becoming a medical transcriptionist, the most important thing you need to know is that even though you can eventually work at home, you will have to have at least two years of on the job training before you will be considered for most telecommute positions. Still, two years isn’t a long time to invest in order to be able to work at home after that. Medical transcription is a field that once you have some experience, you will definitely be able to find steady work from home.

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Why do you want to work from home? For many, the answers seem obvious. You want to be with your kids, of course. You hate your boss. You want to stop sitting through rush hour traffic. You’re tired of sitting through staff meetings.

But are those reasons enough?

What I mean by that is:

Do you want to make it happen enough?

You may say you want to work from home, but what did you do today to work toward that goal? There are many places to start. The first thing you have to know is what you’re going to do. Are you going to offer a particular service, such as dog grooming or house cleaning? Are you going to start an online business?

Make a plan.

Whatever path you want to take, picture in your mind where you’re going and how you’re going to get there. List the reasons you want to work from home. Decide what type of service you will offer, or what types of items you will sell. How much money do you want to make? Do you need a certain amount to quit your job, or are you looking to save money for a specific goal, such as orthodontist bills, or sending a child to college?

Set goals on paper. What is the next step you need to take? The next step may be deciding for sure what your source of income will be. Or it may be deciding how you’re going to finance your business. If you’ve already started a business, the goal you write down may be how much money you want to be making in six months, or how to market your business and attract new clients.

Don’t underestimate the importance of written goals. Knowing where you’re going is the only way to get there.

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