Online Tutoring - a great work from home employment opportunity for moms and dads

hhhhhOnline tutoring is a wonderful source of income for a stay-at-home mom. Many mothers dream of finding a way to make money at home so they don't have to put their children in daycare. Legitimate work-at-home positions are few and far between because of all the competition. Sure, there are plenty of phone jobs out there, but with noisy kids running around the house, it won't sound very professional and most companies will not allow noise in the background. Luckily, there is a growing demand for online tutors and it is strictly an computer business; no phone required.

Most online tutoring companies require their applicants to have at least a Bachelor's degree, although some require a teaching certificate as well. For women who have put their careers on hold in order to rear children, tutoring is a great way to supplement their husband's income while maintaining activity on one's resume. A background in tutoring is a plus, but not required, as it is easy enough to be trained for the position.

Typically, an online tutor will teach via an electronic whiteboard and chat session. With the whiteboard, both tutor and student are able to see each other's work and are free to draw math problems, load lesson plans and homework, etc. The chat portion of the screen is, of course, a way to speak to each other. The fact that student and tutor are not physically in the same room does pose an additional challenge to the lesson.

Some online tutoring businesses have been funded through the No Child Left Behind Act. Because of this government funding, tutoring has been made available to many at-risk, inner city children. Again, this poses another challenge, as the tutor may encounter troubled kids that don't want to be tutored at all. Tutors are instructed to be friendly and personable, but not to address any crass or rude remarks made by the students.

Online tutoring will not make anyone rich. It does, however, provide a respectable part-time income, with most companies starting at $10/hr. Certain businesses allow tutors to bid for jobs and claim their own hourly rate, with some successful tutors making as much as $50/hr. That is, however, rare. Although a stay-at-home mom may not be able to make full-time income from one tutoring company, scheduling with several different companies may be a viable option and a way to increase earnings. Either way, it can be a blessing for those wishing to stay at home and it certainly beats telemarketing.

Little White Ebook recommended by SavvyMommy.com

Victoria Pericon of SavvyMommy.com recently recommended the Little White Ebook of Homeshoring Jobs for moms looking for work from home jobs. If you are unfamiliar with Victoria's work, she's one of the top moms-businesswomen on the web, and has been featured in countless national publicications and been on hundreds of television show across the US. We sent her a review copy back in December and she's a busy woman - but we still wanted to thank her for her recommendation! Check it out.

Blue Zebra Appointment Setting is Hiring Experienced Telemarketers to Work from Home

Blue Zebra is hiring experienced telemarketers to join their home-based telemarketing team. The pay is $15-$25 dollars an hour to start, with an increase after an initial probationary period. View the job listing to apply here.

Team Double Click is Hiring for Several Work at Home Positions

Team Double-Click® is looking for qualified candidates for the following positions:

Real Estate Virtual Administrative Assistant - Experienced Only

Real Estate Virtual Assistant Familiar with the Asheville, NC area

Cold Caller Located in United States or Canada

Cold Caller Located in the United Kingdom

Experienced Cold Caller/Real Estate Virtual Assistant Experienced with Top Producer

Real Estate Virtual Assistant Experienced with Relay Transaction Management System

Marketing Assistant

Public Relations Virtual Assistant

Please visit the website for detailed job descriptions. If you would like to be considered, are interested, motivated, and have a great attitude, please apply today by visiting our website at www.teamdoubleclick.com. Click on the “I want to work” button and you will be taken through the interview process.

Convergys is Closing Call Centers in Canada

The recent changes in the economy, specifically the US to Canadian dollar, are hitting Canadian call centers pretty hard. Convergys, a company that has standard brick and mortar call centers in Canada, and across the world, is now considering closing several of its Canadian call centers. It could be the first in a line of call center closings in Canada, as US companies can't afford to spend the money with the plummet of the US dollar.


Convergys also employs home-based agents in the US and other locations, but it remains unknown if they plan on replacing some of the Canadian jobs with virtual call centers.

LiveOps is hiring

LiveOps is currently hiring agents for the following positions:

Inbound Sales
Casual Dining Orders (Food delivery) - These positions are primarily working Friday, Saturday, and Sunday
Bilingual Agents
Financial Services & Insurance Industry Positions

Visit the website to learn more about becoming an independent contractor with LiveOps and their current requirements.

Homeshoring Employer Alpine Access Awarded Above and Beyond Award

From TMCNet.com:

"Home agent call center service provider Alpine Access today announced that it has been honored with the “Above and Beyond” award from the National Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR).

The Above and Beyond award is presented in limited numbers to employers at the state and local level who are recognized as having "gone above and beyond the legal requirements for granting leave and providing support for employees serving military duty."

Homeshoring Company Affiliated Computer Services acquires German company

BPO (Businss Process Outsourcing) services provider Affiliated Computer Services is acquiring SDS Business Services from Waterland Private Equity Investments for approximately $67m. SDS will continue to be managed by its existing executive team, and will add approximately 160 employees to ACS's Europe workforce.

Details (admittedly, boring details aimed at stockholders) are here... But the bottom line is, if you are looking for work for virtual call center job in Europe, try after the deal closes in March. ACS hires people to work from home around the world.

Team Double Click expands services to nonprofit sector

If you haven't heard of Team Double Click, they are one of the largest companies employing virtual assistants in the world. They place administrative professionals with businesses and handle the contracts and logistics. They also employ virtual personnel to handle customer service calls, answering services, and do telemarketing from home.

Team Double Click's virtual assistants go through a rigorous screening and testing process before receiving work, and they currently have a pool of over 34,000 trained professionals to choose from.

Hopefully, by expanding their virtual services to a new industry, more of those professionals will be able to get work from them, and work from home.

Esurance and Working Solutions in the News

There's a nice writeup in the Argus Leader Media - News today about how Esurance is employing people is Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Esurance currently employs 100 employees that work from home, and their shift schedules are self-designed.

They also speak with Nedra Harris, of Working Solutions, about the homeshoring model and the companies that aren't quite ready to adapt to the virtual call center model.

Check it out more about working from home in South Dakota here.

American Kidney Fund Pickup is Hiring Work from Home Telemarketers in Georgia

AKF Pickup is currently hiring people to schedule pickups from home in the Atlanta area. They don't pay per hour - rather, they pay per scheduled pickup. They provide you with all the information and training and pay $2.50 per scheduled pickup of donated goods. They DO pay via direct deposit an provide all training, call lists, and scripts .

Visit their website to apply.

APAC is hiring work from home customer service in Green Bay, Wisconsin

APAC Customer Service is hiring for both their on-site call center and work from home positions in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are a W-2 employer and offer benefits after a certain probationary period. You can find out more about the company and current openings here.

Is Amerisave a legitimate work from home employer? Or a scam?

I thought I would bring this up, since Amerisave tends to advertise a LOT on the various employment websites. And we've been updating our spreadsheets today.

We chose not to list them in our homeshoring employment directory because we don't really like the way the word their ads and don't feel that they are exactly honest about Amerisave - it's more of a business opportunity than a job. The positions we've investigated are actually commission-based - they're not salaried jobs, you're not paid a base. And yes, if you qualify (after earning a certain amount) you can qualify for benefits.

We're not saying you can't earn money working for them, we just don't feel comfortable with commission-only jobs as a viable career option. Maybe somebody who works for Amerisave can step up to the plate? If you're out there, let us know.

Convergys, homeshoring employer, is hiring in Omaha, Nebraska

Just a heads-up, Convergys is hiring and advertising on Monster.com

I didn't notice this before, but apparently they hire employees age 16 and up - so this could actually be a good opportunity for a younger person or college student to work from home as well.

Right now, they are specifically hiring in Nebraska. They have other positions as well, but the one in Nebraska seems to be an immediate need. Click here to apply.

West at Home releases environmental impact statistics for telecommuters

Admittedly, it's self-serving, but at the same time, frighteningly clear - West at Home employs several thousand work at home call center agents. And they're really helping the envirnment. According to Fox Business News, West's home-based employees prevented an estimated 17,000 metric tons of air pollution from reaching the earth's atmosphere in 2007. West at Home agents also reduced gasoline consumption by more than 2 million gallons and saved approximately $22.9 million in commuting expenses.

When you think about the thousands of people NOT telecommuting, it's a scary thought. Telecommuting drastically reduces our carbon footprint. And it makes a lot of people happier. And it saves gas...

I would love to see more statistics like this from other homeshoring companies.

Work at Home Reservations Agents - a Growing Trend

How many times have you wished that there was a work at home opportunity for an entry-level office job applicant? Do you daydream about the time you would save each day if you didn't have to make that commute to work? Do you wish you didn’t have to dress up to attend that lame morning “pep talk” during your first cup of coffee?

You’re in luck – the times are changing. Many men and women across the country have changed career paths – and their lives, by cashing in on the latest trend in the travel and tourism industry – homeshoring. For reservation agents that work-at-home, the commute is simply moving from one room to another to start their day. It’s happening on a regular basis in the time (and sometimes cash) strapped travel and tourism industry, and most of these companies provide local training before their employees take their virtual jobs home.

Companies that hire homeshoring workers in these industries provide a full course of paid training. If you're looking for a work-at-home opportunity, and have a home office complete with computer, Internet connection, and a second phone line, then you may be able to find employment as a reservation agent with airlines such as Jet Blue, American Airlines, Continental Airlines, or hotel chains such as Outrigger Hotels, Marriot Global Reservations, or Fairmont Hotels and Resorts.

JetBlue’s virtual opportunities set the homeshoring trend.

Jet Blue, who started their work-at-home program during the company's infancy, quickly saw a 25% increase in productivity once employees were allowed to work from home. It is for this reason the company continues to hire work-at-home reservation agents today and why so many other companies are following their example.

In an effort to control the costs of operating traditional call centers, many US-based companies have created programs that allow employees to work-at-home instead. As a result, fewer jobs are being outsourced to countries like India and Mexico. Because most US customers would rather speak to someone whose native language is English, these companies feel they are providing better customer service in addition to providing jobs to those in the US. It’s also easier for them to schedule people during peak hours when the weather’s bad – an essential component for an industry whose reputation is at stake during the holiday season.

Currently, there are about 112,000 people working from home as customer service representatives (reservation agents, telesales, insurance agents, etc.). By 2010, this number is expected to increase to about 330,000.

Jet Blue Airlines is a success story because the company has always relied on work-at-home employees to help Jet Blue customers book reservations and answer their questions or complaints about flights and airline policies. Based in Salt Lake City, Utah, Jet Blue Airlines employs over 1,200 reservation agents who work locally.

In fact, many of the companies who hire people to work from home expect them to work locally so they can be contacted quickly to work extra shifts or to cover shift changes. Some companies even provide additional space in their home offices for employees to complete their shift if employees are having technical difficulties with home office equipment.

Looking for an opportunity as a virtual reservation agent?

To become a virtual agent, you may need to have prior customer service experience or you may receive on-the-job training in a nearby facility. Depending on the company, you may have the option to work part-time or full-time, you may have to work weekends and holidays, and you may be asked to cover additional shifts when necessary.

When researching possible virtual opportunities, finding companies that are within driving distance is important because many companies require that you be able to commute for on-site training. Paid training is usually provided. Keep in mind that you may be responsible for finding your own health benefits, however, as some companies do not provide health coverage for those who work from home.

Job duties vary based on the services provided by the company, but for many virtual reservation agent opportunities, you should be able to research flights, hotel room availability, make recommendations to customers about travel, quote accurate prices, input reservation data, send verifications, and answer most questions or address complaints that customers have.

The income level you can earn for most of these virtual opportunities will vary based on company criteria. Most jobs start between $7.50-$10.00 with salary differentials given on weekends and holidays. All paid employees reap the benefits of the travel industry, such as free and discounted travel, as well as qualify for standard benefits after a certain probationary period.

Although salaries tend to be on the lower end of the spectrum, home based reservations agents save, on average, up to $4000.00 on their commuting expenses alone. Not sure you can take a salary cut? Add up the cost savings of wardrobe, daycare, and eating out for lunch – and you’ll see there’s a lot more take home pay in the home-based reservation agent model. And don’t forget that you can often write off your job-related expenses in your taxes.

In the end, most employees find working from home, especially in a job that can be stressful at times, allows them to remain focused, relaxed, and gives them more time to spend with family or to pursue other interests.

MetLife sends their Indianapolis call center home

A new trend seems to be following call center closings - the call center closes, but the employees keep their jobs. MetLife, of Indianapolis, IN has closed the call center to save money. However, the are converting their call center jobs to virtual call center jobs. Which means, in the future, they will be hiring more people to work from home.

Cool, huh? You can read more about it in the IndyStar.

Is Work at Home Agent a Scam? (i.e. west at home)

Somebody emailed me about West at Home today, asking if it is a legitimate opportunity. Yes, it is just that - an opportunity. West hires independent contractors, not employees. West at Home Agents are paid per minute of talk time - some people are comfortable with that, while others aren't - if you're squeamish about a part time income, paid by the minute, then West may not be the opportunity for you.

Here's a bit of the information we've profiled on West from the Little White Ebook of Homeshoring Jobs:

West at Home / Work at Home Agent / West TeleServices

Scheduling: Depending on client projects that you work - some people work up to 100 hours a week. Available shifts are posted by West. It is up to the contractor to monitor the schedule and pick up hours they want to work.

Training/Experience: Training is unpaid and provided for every client project you work on.

Compensation: Pay rate is usually in "talk time", which means by the minute. The per minute rate can range from .17c to .30c a minute. A Full Time (30-40hr) contractor could expect to make $200-500 a week depending on call volume. West At Home employees are paid on a biweekly basis and Direct Deposit and/or Pay Card options are available immediately


Employment Page: http://apply.westathome.com/
Main Page: http://www.westathome.com
Yahoo Group for Agents: http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/WestWorkAtHomeAgents/
WAHM Forum for West: http://www.wahm.com/forum/forum_topics.asp?FID=84

Homeshoring Company Hiring in Raleigh, North Carolina

We just came across a call center that's based in North Carolina, and currently hiring.


RTI International plans to double the size of its Raleigh Call Center, adding nearly 600 employees.

Expanding the call center is necessary to handle interviewing requirements for the National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS), which RTI is conducting for the U.S. Department of Education. The NPSAS work will entail more than 200,000 hours of interviewing and tracing over a six-month period.

The call center will contract about 600 additional temporary workers to fill all the additional interviewing seats, including 100 remote interviewers working from home via RTI's Virtual Call Center infrastructure.

"The call center's growth will give RTI extra capacity for taking on additional large interviewing projects in the future," Richard Heman-Ackah, RTI's director of Call Center Services.


If you're interested in applying with this company, visit Green Resources and scroll down to "Telephone Interviewers Click Here".

Psst... The Little White Ebook of Virtual Assistant / Admin Jobs

First of all, if you want to get an EXCLUSIVE great deal on BOTH The Little White Ebook of Homeshoring Jobs and The Little White Ebook of Virtual Admin Jobs in the next week, jump on our email list now.

If you are a member of the media or a blogger, and would like to review either ebook, email melissa at littlewhiteebook.com

And if you just want to see the super-secret sneak preview, with over 70 employers that hire work from home administrative professionals, download it below. You're the first to set eyes on it - and we're doing the final edit as I type this.