Work-at-home Jobs Scarce or Just Do Not Exist?

United States
June 7, 2009 5:39pm CST
I have tried applying at Cha Cha to be a guide, but to no avail. I have also tried MyLot, but the earning is slow. I have been laid off since October of 2008, and can not find a job anywhere - NO ONE IS HIRING!!! The only jobs that ARE hiring pay low wages - from minimum wage to around $8/hr. THIS DOES NOT PAY MY BILLS, and I am sick and tired of people telling me that I'm acting like I'm too good for these jobs. NO, I am NOT TOO GOOD for these jobs - the problem lies in the fact that these jobs pay too little, therefore, are of no use to me if they can't even allow me to afford the gas it takes to get back and forth to the job, let alone be able to allow me to pay my bills. It's called common sense, people! Grrr... Anyway, I have been looking for ways to supplement my income online but haven't had any luck. The only thing I really qualify for that would replace a regular job's income would be transcription, but they require you to have "X" software, which usually cost $400 which I don't have, and a headset. I have also tried LiveOps, and Willow, and they require some sort of set-up fee, or some other aggravation that totally kills the excitement of starting, making it not worth it. Mystery Shopping is out of the question, also, due to the fact that most of the legitimate companies want you to make the purchase first and they will reimburse you - I HAVE NO MONEY TO SPEND - that is why I am looking for a JOB! Also, they want you to scan items such as receipts, and bill for service, and I don't have a scanner. I am looking for a legitimate online job where I don't have to: 1. Jump through hoops in order to be considered. 2. Sign up for this, that and the other offer. 3. Pay to sign up or receive information about it. 4. Download software, placing me at high risk for getting a virus. 5. Require me to pay money to be a member before I can see the jobs "supposedly" available. 6. Have to click a million ads, etc. to get paid... 99 years later. 7. Have to refer thousands of people. 8. Argue to get credited what I earned (when they say I didn't). So basically, I want an online job where I can find the job listing for free, not have to pay to get more information about it, or pay for software in order to be able to perform said job. Does anyone have any suggestions?
2 people like this
17 responses
• United States
8 Jun 09
Go to wahm.com. That website has a current up to date HUGE listing for real work at home jobs and if you check out their forum you will find people what are successfully working for some of these work at home jobs.I use to work at home for a local company in 2007, so these type of jobs do exists.. Sometimes you can find telecommuting jobs from businesses in your area, check your local classifieds, they often post in the jobs wanted section.Local thrift store's often hire people to work at home to solicit donations for their store , some pay better then others.Good Luck!
3 people like this
@JOIEMARVIC (2335)
• Philippines
8 Jun 09
I do symphatize with your situation right now. Try out www.mturk.com and www.shorttask.com.. I do believe your staying at home for quite some time so you can really focus in this two sites. But mathematically speaking the most I got in this site was 200$ a month. The 8$/hour job is far more much better than this. I ope you would take this advise positively.You seem to be in a very pessimistic mood right now. Try to look on the brighter sides of things, no matter how hard to find it. The more you will bad the more things will likely go bad. Try to think positively and act positively , things may go positively for you if you start it in your self.
2 people like this
@jeiay41 (674)
• United States
7 Jun 09
Hold your horses. I know your upset you lost your job. But let me tell you this, theirs a way out of this misery. Work smart and work hard. There's tons of work online you can apply. I just saw a job like virtual assistant earning 12$ per hour. Lot of thing to do when your infront on your computer you just need a searching of what new and what's hot. I have some list in my blog, maybe it may help you on finding those money on the internet.
1 person likes this
• India
8 Jun 09
Can you just tell me the sites which pay 12$ per hour,I too have tried many but none of them were success.
@rosekiss (30380)
• Eugene, Oregon
8 Jun 09
Finding jobs online that don't ask for a fee are few and far between. There are so many scams out there, that you have to be so careful, as they will ask for money upfront. You pay it thinking that the program will work for you. It doesn't and you are out your money and a lousy program that leave you wondering why. I have been down that road and I never will ever do that again. I would be very careful before i would ever pay for anything. Well, good luck on your search, and happy mylotting.
• United States
8 Jun 09
That's a pretty stiff demand. I don't think your going to find anything like that. Mturk is great. In fact my room mate has been unemployed for months now and I just told him about it. Hes now at least making money to live off of. The money is not min wage ... not even close but when you have no other means of support it's pretty darn fantastic and you don't have to pay gas. I use Mturk to pay for a few bills a month and I'm fully employed. If you do end up finding something let us all know about it because if finding an online job with those restrictions was that easy none of us would ever go to work. Making money is easy online. Making a full time income online is darn near impossible unless you want to put more work into it then you are getting in return for a long time.
1 person likes this
• United States
8 Jun 09
Yeah, Batakitten I think that you are right... Its possible to make decent money online but you have to a hard worker, creative and willing to jump through hoops to get the all mighty dollar!
@wisdomt (99)
• United States
7 Jun 09
I have just been turned on to Amazon Mechanical Turk you may want to try it. As for another opportunity I am not so sure. I am a guide on ChaCha so I don't know why you did not get that. I also do freebie trading but that would require you to do offers not expensive ones but still they are offers. I understand your frustrations but taking a low paying job is better than nothing.
1 person likes this
• United States
8 Jun 09
Thanks. I have signed up for mechanical Turk. Still kind of confused about it though... lol! I did try an assignment. Hope I get credit for it.
@earning (141)
• United Kingdom
8 Jun 09
Have you looked into freelancing? There are no fees to apply for the jobs. Freelance work are real jobs that websites/companies need doing. So far I've done freelance writing, freelance jobs using Excel and freelance data entry work. Take a look at http://jobsforhomeworkers.com - there's new stuff all the time. Apart from that, you could try starting a blog maybe, but that can be slow to get going and you need a lot of tenacity. Good luck.
1 person likes this
@Theresam (1177)
• United States
15 Jun 09
I do understand your need to make some extra money at home. I have been working for several call centers for a few years now at home including West and LiveOps. Mostly early morning and while the kids at school because I need to keep the house somewhat quiet when doing it. It is legit work and there is decent money to be made. http://wahjobs.blogspot.com has a listing of some of those companies.
@koalatbs (2229)
• United States
8 Jun 09
Hi ihearttinytim - I know what you mean... over the years I've searched & searched for online jobs too. Like you, I used to do transcription and that would definitely be my preferred job. I haven't worked outside of my home for almost 2 years now due to medical problems yet to be diagnosed. This past January, however, I started selling for a big skincare & make-up company. I figured it would be good for me because I am my own boss, would be working from home on my own time, it was only $10 to sign up and it is a company that has been around for a very long time which makes it a stable job. You can also have your own website for online orders as well. Most of my sales have actually been online from people out of state. If you are interested in learning more just PM me and I will be happy to help you. I never thought of myself as doing this type of work but it is really starting to pay off lately. Jill
@koalatbs (2229)
• United States
8 Jun 09
Yes, it is Avon. Sorry to hear you had a bad experience with them. I've been doing pretty well with it so far. It has been slow to start with me because of my medical problems but business is starting to pick up recently. It is just a little hard for me to get going with it since I have to rest a lot... makes it difficult to physically get out there to pass out my brochures, etc. This past campaign I did much better though and hopefully it will continue. My husband & my teenage son helped me pass out books this past weekend. They weren't thrilled with the idea but it sure helped me a lot. I hope you find something legitimate for working from home. I have had luck with a few survey sites but they don't provide enough to put food on the table, that is for sure. Let me know if you find anything worth sharing! :) Take care, Jill
• United States
8 Jun 09
If it's Avon or Mary Kay, I'm really not interested; I have dealt with both companies before and had bad experiences with both of them. I do thank you kindly for offering though.
@Lukkyr (67)
• United States
27 Jun 09
Another good work at home opportunity is the oDesk Freelance Marketplace. You get an oDesk Debit Card and you earn money for referrals. You also get free certification tests and free certifications. www.oDesk.com
@deejean06 (1952)
• United States
12 Jun 09
Hi ihearttinytim...I too have been looking for work at home jobs. I listed myself on odesk and have had a couple of interviews but have not been hired yet. I still try each weekend to apply for as many jobs as the website allows. Since I am lucky and do currently have a full time job I don't have much time during the week to look for something else. However I would love to find something that I can do in the comfort of my home. I wish you luck in your job search!
@jedelac (201)
• Philippines
8 Jun 09
wow you are very good in english actually there is how about blog commenting task you could practically earn a living here for more info go to my blog it's on my recent post
@tundeemma (894)
• South Africa
8 Jun 09
there are hundreds of work at home jobs if you really want to work, i am currently a freelance writer and all i do is log unto the internet and go to the websites and apply for many at a time, i do get jobs on weekly basis so i write a lot of blogs and i het paid for them , i can say i make few hundreds of dollars from it on monthly basis
@jenny007 (46)
8 Jun 09
Heehee,your list is interesting.Now many websites claim to be "online job sites".But actually the job they offer is boring,mechanical.And we always need to work hard for a small amount of money.I think this is unfair.
@polachicago (18716)
• United States
8 Jun 09
I do understand your position. You may try many sites with same result, because work online doesn't exist. You can only make spare cash online. You can send me a message, I may have something real for you (not scam on work online)
• India
8 Jun 09
Many of the sites that specify work at home ,easy money making,earn dollars in seconds bla bla bla are scams,you better depend on mylot because it pays you,it is better to have something than nothing.
8 Jun 09
What's Chacha? Has anyone had any success with getafreelancer.com?