Are there any LEGITIMATE work from home companies out there that are not out to scam you?

Well, there are legitimate companies that allow employees to telecommute (I work for one of them). But those aren't so much "work from home" companies as regular companies that allow employees to telecommute.

I have to agree with mandalinn. I worked from home for 3 years, but it was for a company that I'd spent the previous 7 years working for in their office.

These days, unless your skill set is particularly specialized, if they're soliciting you, it's probably a scam.

It really depends.

Right now, I work part-time from home for a company located in Ontario (I'm in B.C.) and I get paid eh..not BAD but certainly not great (not enough that I could survive on it). It's a legitimate company.

The only catch is: You have to be a certified medical transcriptionist. And they usually want you to have at least a few years in an acute care (hospital) setting.

There is an American equivalent company though, I think it pays a bit less than the one I'm working for and it's standards are way higher (blessing/curse).

The Canadian one is called: Accentus.
The American company is called: MedQuist.

There are absolutely legit work at home companies. Check out workplacelikehome dot com. I've worked for Alpine Access taking orders for American Express customers and West At Home taking orders for Home Shopping Network. I just got hired on with West at Home again and will be taking orders for those 800 # products you see advertised on tv. It's money at least. Live Ops is another company that you take orders for advertised products on tv. But check workplacelikehome dot com for a whole list of companies.

I worked as a legal secretary/paralegal to an attorney out of my home. I think it's much easier to be an admin person from home now, and more possible.

I love this website! I have been a member for years. I have found quite a few work leads from here. I've worked part-time from home for over 5 years now. There are definitely companies out there that hire work at home agents without having to work in their brick & mortar world first. Just be aware that a lot, not all, but quite a few hire you as an independent contractor instead of an employee. This means you will be responsible for paying your own taxes. Good luck in your search!!

Agreed that the straight-up "work from home for $500/day!" ads you see everywhere are usually not legitimate.

However, there are many opportunities to work from home- consulting and freelance work being some of them. If you want to work from home, look into those types of opportunities.

I am working as a consultant right now and do almost all of my work at home... or coffee shop

Hi Indiblue,
Will you pl tell how to find consulting opportunities?

puneri, it depends on what industry you're in. For me, it's a lot of networking networking networking. I'm an American doing human rights work in India (just saw you are Indian in the http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/gene...-you-know.html thread! I live in A.P. ). Because I have worked for large, well-run human rights organizations in program management, these are skills that smaller organizations and companies in India want to glean. I've gotten all my short-term consultancies through networking.

I agree with indiblu - it's much easier to do consulting if you have a long track record in that industry, whether it's HR, fitness, business operations, etc. I work from home as a consultant, but really wouldn't have been able to do it without working in an agency for 15 years prior. Almost all my clients come from my old contacts.

One thing I have seen a lot of people do is "life coaching" from home -- but I don't know how easy that is to break into.

Two ladies at my workplace also work part time for Arise. It is a customer service work from home position.

I asked one of them about it and apparently you pay for the training courses you have to take and you agree to work so many hours a week (a minimum of 15). Although you do have to pay a bit upfront, it is a legitimate place to work for. Arise handles telephone/internet customer service for companies like Disney, Carnival Cruises, AT&T, etc.