• Arden Anglican

Many mums would agree that motherhood is the most rewarding of all jobs. Unfortunately, it’s a job that doesn’t provide a paycheck – so if your family is in need of some additional income, you might be thinking of making the transition from stay-at-home mum to work-at-home mum.

One of the most important considerations when making this transition is whether you have the skills needed to be successful at a job that can be done from home. Happily, many suitable work-at-home jobs don’t require extensive knowledge beyond what you’ve already learnt in school. For those that do require additional skills, in many cases, online courses are sufficient to help you acquire the skills you’d need.

The experts at training.com.au, a local Australian academic portal, have extensive experience helping job seekers find exactly the right training courses to meet their needs. They recommend the following 5 jobs as excellent possibilities for mums who want to work from home:

  1. Virtual Assistant

This is one of the up-and-coming jobs out there and many recruiters are looking for someone to help them get more organized, reach out to clients and send out documents for them. There is literally no limitation to what a virtual assistant type of job can ask of you – the requirements can get pretty creative and you’ll know you haven’t signed up for a dull position. All you need to have before you proceed is a good internet connection and a decent computer. Among other things, you may also be required to know how to use word processing programs like Microsoft Word, spreadsheet programs such as Excel and cloud storage programs such as Dropbox.

How to become a Virtual Assistant:

Virtual assisting generally falls under the umbrella of administrative and support services. These jobs might or might not have requirements for formal education; however, a specific skill set is typically required:

  • Computer skills are essential. You will typically need to know how to use Microsoft Office and email. You will need to understand how to upload and download. Knowledge of cloud computing is becoming increasingly important.
  • Communication skills are an integral part of this job.

If you don’t already possess the entire skill set you need to succeed with this job, virtual assistant courses can help you learn what you need to know.

There are multiple ways to find jobs in this niche. Typically, the most successful approach is alerting your personal network that you are looking for work as a VA.It wouldn’t be unusual for a friend of a friend to contact you with a job offer. You can also answer job ads or use a service such as Upwork or Flexjobs to find work.

  1. Tutor

This is one of those timeless jobs there’s always going to be demand for. Regardless of the subject you’re best prepared in, chances are you can always find adults or children in need of your knowledge as a  tutor. The best part about this job is that it allows you the schedule flexibility you need to also care for your own children and engage in household work, while also being paid quite a decent amount for the service you provide. Spreading knowledge is rewarding in itself and it’s also a great way to keep you connected with the community, instead of becoming an isolated stay-at-home mom.

How to become a Tutor

There are several skills you’ll need to succeed as a tutor:

  • Teaching and communication skills
  • Subject matter expertise in at least one niche like music, art, computing, maths, science or English.

If you hope to tutor university students, it would be ideal to hold a degree in the subject you wish to tutor — or, at least, you will need to have some credible way of verifying that you’re a subject matter expert in the topic you’ll be tutoring. Education courses are also helpful for acquiring the necessary teaching and public speaking skills you’ll need.

Face-to-face networking is one of the most effective ways to find tutoring clients. Advertisements on university-oriented websites or social media groups can also help to attract business. Sites like Tutorfinder can also connect you with potential clients.

  1. Direct Salesperson

There are many companies out there who are looking for people that can work remotely and efficiently in selling their products and services. This fits stay-at-home moms perfectly, since most of them only require you to phone customers or approach them via email or messages. You’ve probably already brushed up on your persuasion skills every time you had to convince your child to do something they didn’t want to do.

How to become a Direct Salesperson

You don’t need to obtain a degree to become a direct salesperson. However, sales training courses can be helpful for empowering you to perfect the skills you’ll need for success with this job.

Businesses typically advertise when they need new salespeople. To find work, check job listings and company websites under the “employment” or “careers” section.

  1. Freelance Writer

There’s a flourishing market for freelance writers out there and this can come as the perfect job opportunity for a stay-at-home mom, regardless if you’re more into ghostwriting or content writing. There are plenty of writing platforms such as Upwork and iWriter to browse from or Fic Fun, if you’d like to engage in creative writing and get paid for it. Even though you’ll get deadlines with your content writing or copywriting requests, most of them are permissive enough to allow you quality time with your children when you need it the most. All you need to know is that with most requests, you’ll need to set some time apart for research regardless if you’ve been writing for one week or one year.

How to become a Freelance Writer

Choosing a specialty is the first step in launching a successful freelance writing career. Will you be a product copywriter? A web content writer? A journalist? A blogger? Writing is the main focus in all these jobs, but the customer base, skill set and approach you’ll take all differ slightly depending on which specialisation you choose. Your approach to seeking work is also likely to change slightly, depending on what kind of writing you want to do.

It will be helpful for you to understand how to pitch stories or article ideas to publishers if you hope to succeed as a journalist or a web content writer. If you want to become a copywriter, you’ll have to learn to market your services to business owners. It also helps to have a broad knowledge base in a specific niche such as finance or health.

Many successful writers have obtained university degrees in subjects such as journalism, English or creative writing. A degree is likely to be important if you’re seeking a career in journalism, but not so essential if you plan to become a blogger. But, in any case, your writing skills will need to be excellent, and education can be helpful for improving your writing.

  1. Website tester

As a website tester, you’ll be tasked with visiting under-construction or freshly developed websites to check how well certain features work. Your monitor and screen will most likely be recorded during these tests, for increased accuracy and additional proof of your work. The feedback you’ll need to provide won’t take long to complete and the pay can be very generous with some websites. This is ultimately a comfortable and accessible way to bring in additional income for your expanding family.

How to become a Website Tester

Website testing can require a broad variety of computing skills; the specific skill set you’ll need will vary depending on the types of websites you’ll be testing. In general, coursework in web development or IT would be helpful; however, in many cases, formal education is not a requirement for securing website testing jobs.

There are many possible ways to find website testing jobs. Starting your own business as a website tester is one possibility. An alternative would be to join a service such as Usertesting.com (see reviews here) or Testmate.com.au. These services may be able to connect you with paid website testing tasks you’d be qualified to perform.

The opportunities for stay-at-home mums who still want to keep engaged in the work force are plentiful and it’s up to you to pick one that best suits your budget needs and schedule requirements. After all, it’s essential to strike a balance between caring for your children and feeling good about yourself and strive to keep it from there on.