these pages, you will discover the ultimate guide to great remote jobs, where to find them, pay ranges, and qualifications needed. I'll give you the action steps to take to find a job that works for you and guidance on how to succeed as a remote worker.
Great Pajama Jobs is divided into three parts:
Part I profiles work-from-home jobs. You'll find lots of professional occupations and some that may require retraining and adding a degree or certificate. And you'll also find a large selection of jobs geared for someone who wants a little income but doesn't want to do much heavy lifting. Many of these jobs offer flexible schedules—a week, a month, a few months a year, or even on-again, off-again contract work, as well as full-time positions. Don't be put off by the random jump from a professional full-time position to a more casual part-time retirement one.Each entry in this section follows this format: the nitty-gritty, the pay range, and the qualifications needed, with a smattering of job-hunting tips tossed in. Note that pay ranges vary widely from employer to employer and city to city and by your experience; they are listed here as a guideline.
Part II presents snapshots of companies with a history of offering solid work-from-home positions. These firms are industry leaders in supporting remote employees to create partnerships where both employee and employer succeed.
Part III is “Kerry's Great Pajama Jobs Workshop,” with advice on finding a great work-from-home job using specific tools: résumés, interviews, social media, and networking savvy. It includes a section on the nuts and bolts of how to work from home productively and profitably, paying taxes, saving for retirement, the inner quest to find work/life balance, dealing with loneliness and isolation, managing your time effectively, and more.
I deliver the professional advice and strategies I've been doling out as a career strategist and as a retirement and personal finance expert and journalist for more than three decades with thousands of followers and millions of readers.
I have developed this material through extensive reporting and interviews conducted for my expert columns that appear on Next Avenue, Forbes, MarketWatch, The New York Times, and AARP.
Those outlets have allowed me to get a conversation going with thousands of people to see what kind of advice they want and what really helps.
My advice also stems from the worries that I hear from audience members at the end of one of my keynote speeches, or during a panel discussion at a conference, or when a listener calls into a radio talk show where I am a guest to ask a question, or when someone calls or emails for one-on-one career guidance.
These requests for advice persuaded me that there's a burning need for this kind of frank career direction.
You can dip in and out of the chapters as they apply to your situation. Throughout, you'll find websites, job boards, and books to help your search.
There's something here for everyone, a remote job-hunter's smorgasbord. My aim is to help you discover job possibilities that spur your imagination about how you can make the most of your talents to create work that, well, works for you.
At the very heart of it, I wrote this book to help you find the work you love with the flexibility that will help you prosper.
Kick off your slippers, let's go job hunting!
PART I GREAT PAJAMA JOBS
You may want a full-time job that can lead to promotions and career advancement, or a job for a season, for a stint of living in a different country or city for a few years, or one that will allow you to gradually unwind into retirement, or even a job that you clock into for a few hours a week to stay engaged and relevant. You may even strategically build an income stream from a tapestry of work-from-home jobs you enjoy and are skilled at doing.
Many remote workers I have interviewed say they aren't looking for high-pay, stressful management positions on the frontlines. Others say that's not so, but don't see why being in an office setting can help them perform better.
Deciding What (Else) You Want Out of Work
Flexible work enables employees to effectively manage their work-life responsibilities, leading to better outcomes in both spheres.
Talk with enough happy workers and you'll find the secret is a job that offers flexibility. For my book Love Your Job: The New Rules for Career Happiness, I interviewed hundreds of workers about what made them love their jobs. Flexibility and a sense of freedom and autonomy ranks high.
And happy translates into productivity on the job: 83 percent of global companies report an improvement in employee productivity after adopting flexible work policies and 61 percent report a rise in profits, according to a study involving 8,000 global employees and employers. The majority of employers with flexible workplace policies also say it has had a positive impact on their organization's reputation and helps retain valuable workers and recruit the best candidates.
For Sandra Molleck, 54, who works as a commercial lines account manager for a large California-based insurance company, the biggest rewards of working from home are “no commute, no drama, no purchasing expensive work clothes (and especially nylons), plus a comfortable and quiet work environment,” she tells me. Her biggest challenges: “Getting into a routine and staying away from snacks,” says Molleck. “It took me a while, but I have a set schedule. I work out before work and on my lunch hour.”
What motivates us to work and what each of us calls a “great pajama job” is as individual as we are. “Different flavors of ice cream,” as my sister, Pat, likes to say. But I implore you: Try to find a job you love and that challenges you. It will make all the difference in your health as well as your wealth.
While Gen Zers believe they are hardworking, one in four (26 percent) admit they would work harder and stay longer at a company that supports flexible schedules, with flexibility desired most in Canada (33 percent), the U.K. (31 percent), and the United States (31 percent). That's according to a global survey conducted by the Workforce Institute at Kronos Incorporated of 3,400 members of Generation Z across 12 countries.
It's easier to create flexible programs as a startup or small business, which gives them the advantage over large global enterprises that have to take many factors into consideration and change long-standing corporate cultures rooted in the status quo, says Dan Schawbel author of Back to Human.
Overall, people want control over how, when, and where they work and will seek an employment situation that satisfies that need, even if it means sacrificing pay, healthcare benefits, a team, free coffee, and office space.
In general, remote jobs come in two broad categories. The first are conventional professional jobs that are full-time or part-time, which pay you a salary or set hourly rate on a regular basis. You're part of a team. And you may be entitled to traditional employee benefits: health insurance, paid vacation time, an employer-sponsored retirement plan. The only difference is where you do your work.
The second type of remote work comes under the umbrella of freelance, consultant, or contractor positions. Typically, you have more control over when and where you work and how much, but you are in charge of paying your quarterly taxes and shelling out for health insurance. And when you go on vacation, you don't get paid. Pay can be project-based or hourly.
In
