These days, thousands of parents are looking for jobs, not only to fight boredom, but also to generate needed income and put them in a position for career advancement.
These jobs sometimes are suggested for people who want to work out of their homes, but they aren’t always a good fit for parents, typically because they require so much focus or attention to detail.
1. Telemarketer
Telemarketers try to get people to buy something over the phone. This is a tough job for anyone, because most of the time, people don’t particularly enjoy being interrupted for the purpose of sales.
When people can hear children in the background, they are even less likely to say yes to what you have to offer, as it can come off as unprofessional.
Many telemarketers get paid based on commission, which makes the situation even worse.
Even with an hourly wage, the maximum you can expect in the field is only $38,640 annually, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
2. Technical or customer support specialist
Technical and customer support specialists can enjoy the fact they help clients solve problems and have a better brand experience, but many people who call these workers are upset and irate because of the issues that need fixing.
You have to be able to deal with the stress of this on top of the stress that naturally comes from being a busy and watchful caregiver.
As with telemarketing, many clients will perceive you as less professional if they can hear your children in the background during a support call, even if you are extremely competent in your area of expertise.
3. Data entry keyer
Data entry keyers input information into various computer systems, either through keyboarding or other equipment such as scanners.
Similar to many other individuals who work with computers, these workers have a high risk for repetitive stress injuries such as carpal tunnel and back problems from sitting, which can interfere with regular caregiving or household tasks.
The work also requires attention to detail. If you cannot focus because your children are distracting you, it is easy to make mistakes that can land you in hot water with your boss. Most of these jobs are also temporary to boot.
4. Freelance writer or editor
Writing and editing is very flexible work, but competition is extremely high.
People from all over the country and even the world will be quick to underbid you, especially if they’re trying to build a portfolio.
Much of your time will be spent trying to find legitimate projects. Additionally, it’s not unusual for writers to not get paid.
It’s usually not worth it to sue on small balances due, even when there’s a contract.Many parents who try to write find that they simply cannot focus enough to construct documents quickly with the high level of creativity clients want.
5. Tutor
As a tutor, you must give one-on-one attention to your clients.
You have to be able to listen actively and quickly analyze what the student needs from you, which are difficult things to do when you also are trying to keep an eye on what your children are doing, too.
Another problem with tutoring is that, unlike other at-home jobs, you have to be ready to work when your clients have scheduled their session.
If you have an emergency, need to discipline or something takes longer than expected (it’s inevitable), it’s a challenge to juggle your students and kids.
6. Artist
In a lot of ways, being a parent encourages creativity, be it making animals out of paper plates or finding innovative ways to stay organized.
Parenting is also extremely demanding, however. In the quest to provide everything your children need, your own needs can get pushed to the back burner, and it’s easy to forget who you really are.
Without that connection to yourself, you might find it a struggle to stay inspired and let the creative juices flow from your heart, whether you’re splashing paint on canvas or creating images with the latest graphic design software.
7. Transcriptionist
Transcribers take various media such as video or audio recordings and convert what’s said in them into written documents.
This is easy enough work, and it supports a wide range of fields, such as the legal and medical industries.Even so, it relies on your ability to hear what’s in the media.
Kids don’t always listen when you ask them to be quiet or tell them they’re too loud, and even when they’re discoursing at a reasonable volume, it’s tricky to block out what they’re saying and type what’s in the audio rather than in their conversation.
8. Medical coder
Insurance companies and hospitals use various codes in order to make sure that patients are billed the right amount for the proper services.
Coders make sure that the right codes are on all the necessary documents. The bottom line here is that your work, despite being fairly straightforward, has to be as close to perfect as possible.
Mistakes can cause huge conflicts between providers and patients, as well as significant payment delays.
Even if you are good at multitasking as most parents become, achieving this kind of attention to detail when you have children buzzing around you is no cakewalk.
9. Computer programmer
Computer programmers write the lines of code that make software applications work.
This requires a high level of focus, because you must think very critically about all the constraints you have to set up so a given command works properly.
You also have to pay attention to every small part of your work – leaving out a single element can render a section of code inoperable.
Most parents who try to code when kids are around find it extremely frustrating to not be able to maintain the solid train of thought they need to come up with the right sequences.
10. Wedding planner
Much of what wedding planners do, such as booking venues or calling florists, is easy to do from the comfort of your home.
It’s a pretty regular occurrence for wedding clients to change their minds frequently about what they want, however.
You must be able to coordinate changes quickly, sometimes within the hour.Parents can’t always drop what they are doing as is necessary for this.
Additionally, some elements of the job, such as showing samples of decorations or other materials, are best done in person. That means you’d need to be able to keep appointments, as well.
11. Survey taker
Filling out surveys is a good option from the standpoint that it’s usually easy to handle even with interruptions.
You also can pick your workload with most companies. The problem is that most legitimate survey companies (there are far more scammers than there are good businesses) pay very little.
There are some surveys that are longer to complete, and these might generate around $50 or so, but the bulk pay as little as $1.
With 10 to 15 minutes being the average complete time, this rate simply isn’t good enough for parents who are trying to support their kids.
12. eBay seller
Selling items on eBay can be a great gig, offering lots of flexibility without the requirement of a lot of expertise.
The main issue you face trying to do it as a parent is in physically handling the merchandise, which you generally have to keep at your home.
Older kids usually understand this stuff is off limits and might even help you pack it up, but younger kids sometimes can get into your items and damage them.
Income from eBay selling can be decent, but it is also unpredictable, which isn’t what most parents are looking for.
13. Sales representative
A huge number of companies are looking for people to demonstrate or sell products in person.
Well-established businesses such as Avon and Mary Kay are examples here.
You would host these demonstrations at “parties” in your home.The problem in this case from the parent perspective is safety.
Most visitors are perfectly harmless and polite customers, but you still won’t always know everyone who shows up, and you don’t know what they’ll say or do around your kids.Making a sales pitch doesn’t always go off as planned when Junior comes screaming into the room, either.
14. Day trader
Day traders purchase and sell stocks, usually liquidating everything they have by the time the market closes in the evening.
In some instances, they hold onto stocks for as little as just a few minutes. To do well in this job, you have to be able to act in the moment and quickly analyze what might happen in the next minutes or hours.
If you get pulled away from a trade because your kids need something or are arguing, you can lose out financially. Most experts agree that day trading is risky even for experienced individuals with no distractions.
15. Caterer
Catering is generally not a good choice for parents for three reasons. First, even simple dishes can require close attention to temperature and time that might be hard for you to guarantee.
Second of all, tasty foods can be all too tempting for little mouths, so even if your work comes out well, you’ll still might end up guarding it or, in the worst case, having to start over.
Lastly, when your work is finished, you still need to be able to deliver it quickly so that it’s ready for guests on time, and more importantly, so it doesn’t spoil. Parents sometimes have trouble coordinating this.