Why?

These people aren't stupid; they're just desperate. They want to believe that this time things will be different. People will write to me and ask me to check out this site or that one. They're all pretty much the same, really. Rarely do they have sufficient contact information, and no guarantee if you're not satisifed with the product. Just a lot of pie-in-the-sky promises.

That makes me angry. Really angry.

These so-called "work-at-home" sites lead their visitors to believe that out there, somewhere, are thousands of employers ready and willing to hire them for minimally-skilled jobs, pay them a set salary (with benefits) like they would be in an office environment, and give them the same hours, time off, etc. that they would expect in an on-site position.

But the reality is this...most employers simply aren't going to do that. The reason is simple - employers keep these types of jobs in house for a very specific reason - to maintain control of their employees.

In this way they can be sure that the work is being done in a timely fashion. It simply wouldn't be practical, for the most part, to hire people to do this work at home for the same amount of money and benefits as they pay their in house employees.

It is true, however, that some companies do hire home-based workers to do data entry, word processing, etc. - but they are generally not paid a set salary but rather are paid by production. They get no benefits, nor are they entitled to paid vacations. These jobs were rare in the past, but I do see them on the rise as employers are learning that by outsourcing these jobs to individuals who are willing to work for less money and little or no benefits, they can reduce their own costs. However, these jobs are difficult to locate as they are rarely advertised but are usually filled by word-of-mouth. Since there are always so many people who want these jobs, they are usually grabbed up quickly.

If you truly want to work from home, you may have to change your mindset just a bit. Know that many, many people work from home these days. They generally fall into one of these categories:

• highly-sought-after individuals whose skill sets are in high demand
• people who have worked for their employer in-house for a number of years and who have negotiated with their employer to bring their job home
• freelancers who work on an as-needed basis for a number of different employers (again, these people generally have a strong skill set)
• individuals who have started their own home business

As you can see, these people didn't wait for a job to fall into their lap. They all, in one way or another, created their own opportunity.

And you can too - if you're motivated enough and are willing to do what it takes to make your work from home aspirations a reality.

Cathy Bryant

P.S. - You might enjoy my article, "Is Working At Home Possible for ME?"