The Benefits of the Top Work from Home Jobs

Even just a decade ago, the concept of working from home wasn’t one that was realistic for most people, and if they did find the opportunity for home-based work, it tended to be low-paying or in many cases even a scam.

That’s changed now, however. There are a few big reasons that home-based work is becoming more mainstream. The first is the advances that have been made in technology.

It’s easier than ever before for people to work remotely and to work from home online because they can use software and technology including Skype, project management platforms, and other communication tools.

Even when people work in a traditional office setting, they tend to be communicating using the newest technology, so much so that there’s not a reason for them to be physically present in one office.

Some of the many advantages of working from home include flexibility, the ability to spend more time with family, and less time spent commuting.

There are also advantages for employers who hire freelancers, contractors, or remote employees. They don’t have to pay the overhead costs that come with full-time employees, and hiring people for home-based work allows them to expand their potential talent pool and ensure they’re recruiting the most talented individuals.

The following ranking of the best work at home jobs covers some of the ways to work from home in a general sense and also some of the fastest growing and top work-at-home jobs, which can be useful for people who are considering a move to working from home.

See Also: Best Work from Home Jobs for Moms



AdvisoryHQ’s List of the Top 6 Best Work from Home Jobs

List is sorted alphabetically (click any of the work from home jobs below to go directly to the detailed review section for that job):


Top 6 Best Work from Home Jobs| Brief Comparison & Ranking

Top Work from Home Jobs

Key Responsibilities

Required Training or Education

Average Pay

Call Center RepresentativeInteracting with customers, troubleshootingNo specific education requirements, some on-the-job training may be required$13.20 an hour (according to Payscale.com)
Data EntryInputting data efficiently and maintaining accuracyProficiency in programs such as Excel$13.83 per hour (according to Payscale.com)
Freelance Writer or EditorWriting content for websites, blogs, social media, and digital platformsExcellent writing and research skills, some technical knowledge$79,190 annually (according to Glassdoor.com)
Technical Support (Apple At Home Advisor)Troubleshooting and customer service related to all Apple productsExperience troubleshooting operating systems and participation in a 5- to 7-week training program$30,600 annually (according to Glassdoor.com)
Virtual AssistantVaries but could include social media management, data entry, digital marketing, schedulingNo formal training or education typically$15.86 per hour (according to PayScale.com)
Web DeveloperCreating the code for functional websites and appsTraining varies but can include bachelor’s or associate’s degree or certification$55,813 annually (according to PayScale.com)
Table: Top 6 Best Work-at-Home Jobs| Above list is sorted alphabetically


How Do You Avoid Home-Based Work Scams?

Often people will feel unsure about whether they should consider working at home jobs because it can seem too good to be true. In reality, working from home can be incredibly demanding, as with any job, although there are benefits of working from home as well.

At the same time, when searching for jobs that would allow you to work at home online, it’s important to be aware of the potential for scams.

best work at home jobs

How to Work From Home?

Scams aren’t reserved exclusively for people searching for ways to work from home, and they can happen with traditional job listings as well, but the following are some red flags that could be scams you may run into while looking for top work-at-home jobs.

  • If you’re searching for the top work from home jobs and a potential employer asks you to pay start-up costs to begin the position, it’s more than likely a scam. As with any job, when you’re working from home, you’re doing it to earn money, and you shouldn’t be expected to pay.
  • Many times scam artists will post as employers to launch phishing attacks on people. This means that if you get an email or another form of contact from someone posing as an employer and they’re asking you to click a link or share your personal information, particularly financial information, it’s almost always a scam.  
  • If you’re looking for employment and you see a job that’s offering you what seems like a lot of money in exchange for very little work, it’s probably too good to be true. As with any job, you should look for ways to work from home that seem to pay a fair salary for the work an employer is asking you to do.
  • If you’re considering ways to work from home and you come across a company asking you to participate in extensive up-front training, this is probably also a scam. You may have to train before beginning any position, but it shouldn’t be a costly program.

These certainly aren’t all of the potential red flags you should be watching out for if you’re looking for working at home jobs, but they are some of the most common.


Is Working from Home Right for You?

As mentioned above, there are many benefits of working from home. You can often make your own schedule, you save time driving to work, which can also save money, and in many situations, if you’re a freelancer, you are your own boss. It’s also great for moms and dads who want to be at home with their children and who want to save money on the cost of childcare.

However, home-based work isn’t for everyone. If you want to learn how to work from home, you should first think about whether it’s right for you.

For example, if you work from home online, you have to be self-motivated and efficient with time management. This can be difficult for some people who tend to perform better when they’re in a traditional work environment.

It’s also important that you have things such as high-speed Internet and the necessary technology if you plan to work from home online.

Finally, if you’re someone who enjoys being around other people, you might find that working from home becomes too lonely for you, and you may do better in a conventional office environment.

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Detailed Review—Top-Ranking Best Work from Home Jobs

Below, please find the detailed review of each of the top work-at-home jobs on our list of the best opportunities for home-based work. We have highlighted some of the factors that allowed these best work-at-home jobs to score so well in our selection ranking.



Call Center Representative Review


Becoming a call center or customer service representative who’s home-based is an increasingly viable and popular option for people searching for the best work-at-home jobs.

It should be noted that a call center or customer service representative position is usually different from a job in which you cold call to make sales for a product or service.

Home-based sales jobs tend to be difficult and often commission-based, so you don’t make money unless you make a sale.

Call center representatives, on the other hand, often work for well-known national and international companies, and they interact with callers on a daily basis to help them with everything from troubleshooting to product questions.

According to a Yankee Group survey, about one quarter of all North American call center agents work from home. It’s expected this number will continue to grow, particularly as more companies downsize their physical locations and instead hire remote workers.

Reasons call center and customer service representatives are included on this list of the best work from home jobs are detailed below.

The Role

Like many of the jobs on this ranking of the top work from home jobs, being a call center or customer service representative is a broad role, and it can vary significantly depending on the company you work for.

In general, you can expect to talk to people on a daily basis and also handle specific accounts in some situations.

You may be taking orders or making sales for an online retailer, or you could be providing technical support for a software company, for example. You may also find jobs where call center representatives are needed to make reservations or handle travel plans for customers, similar to a modern version of a travel agent.

If you’re looking for work as a call center representative, ranked as one of the top work-at-home jobs, you can look at major companies such as American Express, Sitel, and AT&T, all of which hire remote workers. You can use traditional employment sites such as Monster and Glassdoor as well since these jobs are frequently posted on these sites.

Who It’s Good For

First and foremost, to be a successful call center representative or customer service representative, it’s important that you have excellent phone and computer skills. It can be a fast-paced environment, depending on the call volume you’re responsible for handling.

It can also be frustrating, particularly if you’re dealing with clients who are demanding or you’re helping customers with troubleshooting issues.

While a call center representative job can be good for parents who have older children, it’s not necessarily ideal for people who have younger children, since it does require you have a quiet work environment.

Some other qualities that can make a good call center agent include an eye for detail, the ability to multitask and manage time efficiently, organization, the ability to work quickly, and strong communication skills.

According to Payscale.com, the average pay for a customer service representative is $13.20 an hour, although this can go up over time.

What happens most often with this pick for one of the top work-at-home jobs is that it provides an entry-level opportunity to work from home online, and then ultimately employees are promoted during their time with a company.



Data Entry Specialist Review


On this ranking, it was important to show how to work from home even if you don’t have specific training or a college degree, and a data entry position is a great opportunity for people who want the flexibility that comes with working at home jobs but don’t necessarily have an advanced degree.

Essentially everything businesses do in today’s technologically driven marketplace is based on data, from very small businesses to large corporations, which is why the role of a data entry professional or specialist is one that’s commonly offered by many employers.

The general objective of a data entry specialist or professional is to efficiently and effectively manage the processing of a wide variety of data and information.

It’s a job that often falls into the larger categories of administrative or clerical work.

Below are some of the features of a data entry clerk or specialist, one of the best work-at-home jobs.

Data Entry Specialist - Top Work From Home Jobs

Work At Home Jobs – Data Entry Specialist Review

The Role

A data entry professional is someone who takes information, whether that information already exists online or is text-based and inputs it into a system, which is often a database.

It can be any kind of information. For example, if you work for an e-commerce company that sells products to customers, you may be entering customer information data and sales data. If you work for a market research firm, you might be responsible for entering research results.

The good thing about the role of data entry and a reason it’s ranked as one of the best work-at-home jobs is because it’s such a widely available career, and it’s something so many companies require.

Many positions may actually combine the job of customer service representative with data entry.

Who It’s Good For

While being a data entry professional doesn’t necessarily require you to have a college degree, it is essential that you have an eye for detail and that you can comb through vast amounts of information for accuracy. You need to be able to spot possible mistakes quickly, and it can be a repetitive job.

You also need to have excellent computer skills, and you may be responsible for working in various software platforms and systems.

Some of the specific skills you should have include data management and analysis and proficiency in Microsoft Office and Microsoft Excel.

According to Payscale.com, the hourly rate for data entry ranges from $10.52 to $18.72, and as professionals gain experience, they often earn the opportunity to move into supervisory roles.

Related: How to Work from Home, Opportunities & Ideas



Freelance Writer or Editor Review


The Internet and the information it contains is a key driver of much of the world’s economy, from e-commerce to online services, which is why freelance writers and editors are in such high demand. Content is essential to drive traffic to websites and businesses large and small realize that.

At the same time, many employers don’t have the budget to hire full-time onsite copywriters, which is why they look at remote hiring. Copywriting and editing are two of the most popular and well-paying top work from home jobs.

These job roles are also included in this ranking of the best work-at-home jobs because they allow for creativity, and often even more flexibility than options such as being a data entry specialist.

Essential elements of being a copywriter or editor are detailed below, as are the reasons it is part of this ranking of the best work from home jobs.

The Role

The role of a copywriter who works from home online can vary pretty significantly between professionals. This pick for one of the best work-at-home jobs may require that the copywriter work for a set number of hours each day for one company, or the freelancer may work for many employers simultaneously and juggle projects accordingly.

While some freelance writers work for media outlets such as magazines, the majority often do business-based writing and advertorial writing for websites, blogs, social media, and other places where web content is utilized.

While there are many benefits of working from home as a writer, including some of the most flexibility, it’s also a job that does require writing skills and an eye for detail in terms of editing your own work. There is also the need to do a lot of research in most cases and to be able to work relatively quickly.

Who It’s Good For

While many employers looking for employees who want to work at home online as a writer don’t require specific education credentials, most successful writers working from home have a journalism or English degree.

They also tend to have some level of knowledge and skills in areas of not just traditional writing, but digital marketing, SEO, and related concepts.

According to Glassdoor.com, the national average salary for a freelance copywriter is $79,190, but this can vary significantly depending on your skill and experience level, how many jobs you can take on at one time, and how many hours you work in a week.

You may consider working for a copywriting company that finds work for you which can ensure you have steady opportunities, or you might instead work on your own and find clients directly.




Technical Support (At Home Apple Advisor) Review


While many of the working-at-home jobs included in this ranking of the best work from home jobs are a general profession, the role of technical support is a bit different.

This ranking includes a specific technical support job, which is one of the most popular. The role of an At Home Apple Advisor is one that’s growing rapidly, especially since Apple continues to expand as one of the largest companies in the world.

Apple customer support has consistently been ranked as the best in the world, which is why this is one of the top work from home jobs. Apple is a unique company that understands the important role their support team plays, so they put a lot into ensuring they thrive in their home-based work.

The role of an At Home Apple Advisor is a general technical support position, and there are similarities, but there are also ways Apple is a unique employer, which is why this is featured as one of the best work from home jobs.

Specifics of why a technical support job, specifically as an At Home Apple Advisor, is one of the top work from home jobs are cited below.

The Role

At Home Apple Advisors, ranked as one of the best work-at-home jobs and a great opportunity if you’re looking for how to work from home, are the first point of contact for Apple Customers.

They’re a combination of technical support and customer service representative, and the primary objective of people who are employed in this pick for one of the top work from home jobs must bring a comprehensive skillset to the table.

They have to be excellent at customer service as well as troubleshooting and technical support.

The role of At Home Advisor, one of the best work at home jobs, requires the professional to answer customers’ questions either by phone or chat. Questions may pertain to Apple products, services, or accessories, including hardware and software. This could include the Apple Watch, iPhone, iPod, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, iTunes, and more.

Who It’s Good For

The role of an Apple At Home Advisor, like so many of the jobs on this list of the top work-at-home jobs, is one that’s ideal for motivated self-starters, but there are unique features of this job as well. This particular pick for one of the best work-at-home jobs provides many perks that most of even the other best work-at-home jobs on this list don’t offer.

For example, when you’re working from home for Apple, they provide you with an iMac and headset to be used for your work. Also, both part-time and full-time employees in this selection for one of the best work from home jobs receive a benefits package which includes product discounts and paid time off.

Apple does have some requirements, along with technical and customers service skills, however.

If you’re searching for how to work from home and you’re considering the role as an Apple At Home Advisor, they require that you have a quiet room with no ambient noise, a high-speed Internet connection from a reliable provider, and you have to participate in training that lasts anywhere from five to seven weeks, delivered through a live, virtual program.

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Virtual Assistant Review


When you first hear the term virtual assistant, which is ranked as one of the best ways to work from home online, you might automatically think of administrative and clerical work.

While it’s true that the role of a virtual assistant often includes these things, there are any number of tasks a remote assistant might do either for one particular individual or an entire company.

When professionals are researching how to work from home, a virtual assistant position is often one of their most viable options because it is flexible, is suitable for a wide variety of schedules, backgrounds, and experience levels, and these jobs are relatively easy to come by.

Being a virtual assistant is included on this list of the top work from home jobs for reasons like the ones listed below.

The Role

As mentioned above, the function of a virtual assistant is one that interests a lot of people because not only is it a flexible opportunity to work from home online, but it can also pay well depending on who you work for and your skill level.

The role can vary significantly from employer to employer and even day to day on the job. A virtual assistant can often handle a range of administrative tasks, but they may also take on some of the things that you would associate with a personal assistant, for example, scheduling travel and personal plans, paying bills, or making appointments.

Virtual assistants may also be tasked with things such as maintaining a calendar, keeping a business website updated, managing social media, researching, writing, graphic design, or really anything the client needs.

Who It’s Good For

If you’re researching how to work from home and you’re considering virtual assistant home-based work, you might want to begin by creating your own website. This will showcase your talent and skills and will help potential employers find you.

With this home-based work option, you may work for a company that will outsource your services to an employer, or you might find your own work directly and manage your client or multiple clients on your own without a third party.

It can also be a good idea to look at sites like Upwork.com to find open jobs or even social media sites such as LinkedIn.

A good virtual assistant is often someone who has a strong level of technical knowledge and is willing to go above and beyond to make the life of their client easier. You may work completely independently, or you might find yourself having daily or weekly meetings via Skype with your employer. Being able to take instruction and follow directions is also important.

Multitasking is essential when you’re working from home as a virtual assistant, as is the ability to work efficiently.

One of the benefits of working from home as a virtual assistant is that it often gives you the opportunity to learn a broad set of other skills that you can later use to start your own business. For example, you might learn blogging, digital marketing, or social media management that you can use later on in your career.



Web Developer Review


The role of a web developer is one that typically requires the most training and technical skills of any of the other jobs on this ranking of the best work-at-home jobs, but it also tends to pay very well and be rewarding for the professionals who are in this field.

Before exploring these specifics of why this is one of the leading working-at-home jobs and a great opportunity to work at home online, it’s first important to note what a web developer is.

Essentially, any website that you see online is created by a web developer. This can include anything from blogs to online stores, and that’s why it’s part of this list of the best work from home jobs—it’s incredibly in-demand and that demand is only going to go up in coming years. Web developers also often create mobile apps.

If you’re exploring how to work from home and the best work from home jobs, the following are some things to consider about the role of a web developer.

The Role

If you’re looking for jobs that allow you to work from home online or a job that has all the benefits of working from home, becoming a web developer is a great option.

As mentioned above, a web developer is someone who creates websites or apps, but it can be divided into more specific categories.

For example, some web developers who work from home online may focus on the client side of creating a website, while others are based on server-side coding. Web developers work with code and scripting languages to build sites, and they can be creative in their job in terms of designing and editing page content.

It should be noted, however, that web development doesn’t have to necessarily be web design. In some cases, a web developer will take the work of a web designer and then make it into a working website.

Also, while being a web developer may mean that you work for a company onsite, increasingly web developers are exploring how to work from home as freelancers or a remote employee since it does give them creativity and more employment options outside of their geographic location.

Finally, web development was included on this list of the top work-at-home jobs and one of the best ways to work from home because employment is expected to grow 27% through 2024.

Who It’s Good For

If you’re trying to decide how to work from home to enjoy the benefits of working from home, a web developer can be a good option because it offers a strong average salary and plenty of freedom if you’re a freelancer.

Web developers have to undergo some level of training. For some professionals, this might be earning an associate’s or bachelor’s degree, or you may instead opt for online-based training and certification. Web development is a quickly evolving career, so it’s important professionals are constantly learning the newest skills and coding fundamentals.

Web Developer - best work from home jobs

Work From Home Online – Web Developer Review

This job is good for someone who has strong communication skills because you have to communicate with clients and other key stakeholders frequently, and problem-solving is also an important skill for web developers to have.

The salary for web developers varies significantly, depending in particular whether you’re a freelancer or you work for a top company such as Amazon.

Read More: Best Ways to Make Money from Home


Conclusion—Top 6 Best Work-at-Home Jobs

Working from home is no longer a rarity, but instead, thanks to factors including the rise of communication technology, working at home is incredibly popular.

There are professionals who work on their own as freelancers or contractors, who own their own businesses, or who work for large companies but do so remotely.

The above list of the top work-at-home jobs certainly isn’t exhaustive in terms of ways to work from home and the best work-at-home jobs, but it does give you an overview of some of the most popular ways to work at home online.


Image Sources:
  • https://pixabay.com/photos/hand-laptop-freelance-computer-1757224/
  • https://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Data_Entry_Specialist/Hourly_Rate
  • https://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Web_Developer/Salary


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