Telecommute / Work from Home jobs (organizing my thoughts)

[mooncrater]

I have a dream, and that dream is to work from an internet connection so I can roam where I may. Now, I think I may have my puzzle solved, but I would like to know what you think.

Career Timeline:

2000. Graduated high school.

2000-2003. Office/Customer Service jobs.

2004-2007. IT Helpesk, IT Admin, Software Testing. Also finished 2 year Lib. Arts. transfer degree.

2008-2009. Finished BA in Political Science and Asian Languages and Lit.

2009-2014. Taught English in Japan.

Now, the main reason why I got my degree was so I could fill a requirement for a Japanese work visa. I chose liberal arts degrees and not Computer Science because I was much more passionate about politics. American IT hiring managers don't like this. A Japanese speaking poli-sci major fresh off the plane from five years overseas and a four month world trip to boot? He probably ain't stickin around here too long before he gets the itch.

I decided to get back into IT because it's my best chance of a rather solitary, non-teaching job in Japan...and it's a well-paying fallback option to work IT in the US too.

I do get some minor harassment from Japanese recruiters looking for bilinguals to fill jobs related to the automotive industry, but all of these are in Ohio, Kentucky, or Indiana, and I'm not at the point of accepting to live there (sorry).

So, my dream options (for the next few years) in order of preference:

1. Work remotely and visa-hop travel the world. If in IT, this would very likely at least require a few certificates and plenty of new connections for contracts.

2. Do IT related work in Japan. I may be eligible for the associated engineer visa if I get a few certificates, but it'd still be a question mark.

3. Work temp jobs in the US for 6-12 months, then travel as long as my budget allows. Repeat. The least ambitious (considering the future) and the most feasible option.

Options one and two aren't looking so good because I'm having trouble finding any somewhat decent IT job in the US, let alone something I could telecommute to. Even if I do get certs. to strengthen my CV, I'd be very lucky to get into a position to request to work from an internet connection. I could try to freelance it, but it seems as if the competition is already quite stiff, and it seems tricky.

Earlier I said I thought I may have it figured it out. I could go back to my university and get a BS in Technical Writing. It'd be hassle-free to get in, and I could knock out that BS in 1 or 1.5 years. Now, I hate the idea of adding on more student debt, but I think if you want to achieve something ambitious, aiming for slight overkill is best.

From what I understand, a simple BS in technical writing will sooner or later land you a technical writing job, and sooner or later I could start making realistic requests to work remotely. This would help option 1, it would give me the solid tech degree visa requirement for option 2, and would give 3 a boost of course.

I'm 33, and I slightly cringe at the thought of taking undergrad classes again. But the only other option that considers the long-term future I see would be grinding away at low-level IT jobs and certs....which is not a terrible idea.

I couldn't include everything, but it's enough information for you to comment/critique. Please, do as you will.

 

[Analyzer]

What about other online related work? E-commerce, blogging, marketing, web development, ect...

 

[Jaffa]

SEO is big business, have you considered that as a possibility given your IT background? - the only true way of working from an internet connection is by working for yourself.

There's not many (in the UK, at least) jobs where you can truly stay at home and earn a decent amount of money whilst in employment working for somebody else.

 

[mooncrater]

Re: web development and SEO, I've been heading in this area for some time. I'm about halfway through learning Javascript, and once that's done and my promo site that I've redesigned a dozen times is back up, I'll be ready to bid on some freelance web projects, and then move on to studying PHP or SEO.

But I feel that I'm a long ways away from being able to support myself by doing these projects. I do have some raw talent in design, but I kinda feel that I'm late to the party, with developing world folks working for cheap. Am I right?

 

[mooncrater]

Is anyone else surprised telecommuting hasn't caught on like wildfire yet? The technology is certainly in place. I can think of soo many reasons why it would be preferable in a number of situations. You could get rid of: the sounds of your coworker eating crunchy snacks at his/her desk, the body odor, the loud mobile ringer, the personal calls in the cubicle, stinky foods in the microwave, etc.

People in my office only talk to each other like twice a day anyway. Why not have them available on screen on demand?

 

[Jaffa]

Re: web development and SEO, I've been heading in this area for some time. I'm about halfway through learning Javascript, and once that's done and my promo site that I've redesigned a dozen times is back up, I'll be ready to bid on some freelance web projects, and then move on to studying PHP or SEO.

But I feel that I'm a long ways away from being able to support myself by doing these projects. I do have some raw talent in design, but I kinda feel that I'm late to the party, with developing world folks working for cheap. Am I right?

You could sign up on oDesk and sell your skills that way? It's predominantly filled with people from Asia (India especially) and people seem to be crying out for English speaking professionals like yourself to work for them, if anything it could be a bit of money on the side and could help you to build a portfolio of work.

Do it alongside the day job until you are able to support yourself with it full time.

 

[computerhxr]

Telecommuting is a pain for employers and you should charge double to cover overhead costs of being independent. Unless you get something full-time, you will have to spend time prospecting and continued education. You also have to pay for office supplies, hardware, and software. Independently you are taxed more than as a business. You have to pay for your own health insurance and stuff like that.

I had 3 "real" jobs that all resulted in telecommuting. Prior to that, I had been telecommuting to other jobs that I found on the side for a while. And I have been independent for several years (100% telecommuting).

My advice is to not worry about competition. The businesses who hire cheap labor aren't the ones that you want to work for. The businesses that pay more are friendlier, more understanding, and less concerned with budgets. They value communication and quality.

Learn to do one or two specific marketable skills, and then promote them. If you're good at JavaScript, then you can create interactive web forms and calculators. Just get one design and re-use it over and over again. Lots of businesses need interactive calculators for quotes and estimates. Plus, this would satisfy the Blue Ocean Strategy.

Most developers choose to list their programming languages but that's a mistake. You're better off listing specific types of development that you do rather than programming languages that you know. Business owners want to solve a problem, and if you're the only one promoting the solution, then you won't have competition. Business owners typically know very little about development and they want someone to tell them what's needed to solve their problem.

Best of luck! Let us know how it goes.