Working from home is a fast growing trend. Thanks to the internet, more and more people can do their jobs from home while still staying connected to their teams.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics found that almost one in four employees works from home at least part of the week. A Gallup poll indicated that 43 percent workers spent time working remotely.
According to remote job marketplace FlexJobs, seven industries stand out as the biggest providers of work from home jobs. If you’re interested in working remotely, the industries below offer the greatest number of telecommute opportunities.
People are working remotely in these 7 industries
1. Medical and health
FlexJobs analyzed its database of over 47,000 companies to find the industries with the greatest number of work from home jobs. In 2016, it found that the most remote work was available in the medical and health fields.
You might work as a patient advocate or healthcare information specialist, or you could manage billing, insurance, or scheduling. You could even work as a registered nurse and provide phone-based service to patients.
United Healthcare, Humana, and Allergan are just a few of the major companies hiring remote workers in 2017. Whatever your role within this large field, you can find lots of part-time or full-time telecommute jobs.
2. Customer service
Customer service representatives typically help consumers over the phone or via email, meaning that most can fulfill their role from anywhere.
Lots of companies hire customer service representatives in work-from-home roles. Common job titles include customer care associate, contact center agent, technical support, and client service representative.
As a customer service rep, you’d provide timely, clear support and resolve customer concerns or complaints. Plus, you’d need to understand the product or service that your company offers inside and out.
3. Administrative work
Not all administrative professionals sit behind a desk at the front of an office. In fact, many administrative assistants work virtually for a company.
You might handle scheduling, manage projects, and process communications. Since these jobs are largely online, you’d have to be comfortable using various computer programs. Even though you’re remote, interpersonal skills are crucial in this role.
Common job titles include administrative assistant, executive assistant, office manager, coordinator, and business development specialist. Since you’ll be making sure a company runs smoothly, you’ll likely need to be online during typical business hours.
4. Sales
Do you enjoy working with customers and promoting new products? Working in sales is demanding, requiring a serious amount of drive and motivation. But because many sales professionals communicate with clients over the phone or email, they can telecommute easily.
Some typical job titles include marketing manager, lead generation associate, and business development and account executive.
5. Computer and information technology
Unsurprisingly, the computer and information technology fields offer a lot of online work. This industry casts a wide net when it comes to occupations, but all of them require serious computer skills.
Beyond software development and programming, computer and IT jobs may involve computer repair, website maintenance, or web security. You could work as an IT specialist, systems engineer, or technical support representative, among a number of other roles.
If you know how to code, you’ll find lots of remote freelancing work on websites like Upwork and Freelancer. If you’re not looking to go full time, these sites will keep you in touch with employers as you build up your portfolio.
6. Education and training
There are more and more opportunities to teach in an online classroom. You can connect with students anywhere in the world or provide training to adult learners.
Almost all the roles you’d find in a school are also represented online. You could work as a teacher, tutor, curriculum developer, or program director.
If you’re involved in education, you can find a virtual role at just about any level. Not ready to commit to a full-time gig? You can dip your toes in the field through part-time tutoring or by providing course content for a marketplace like Udemy.
7. Accounting and finance
Not surprisingly, accounting and finance offer plenty of telecommute jobs, too. Typical careers include finance manager, auditor, bookkeeper, and accountant.
You might process financial data, handle accounts, organize records, or help with taxes. Roles are available for both entry-level workers and experienced professionals.
Where to find telecommute jobs
FlexJobs has one of the largest databases of telecommute jobs, but it’s not the only remote job board. You can find work from home jobs on sites like We Work Remotely or Remote OK, or you can type “work from home” or “telecommute” when you search for jobs on a site like Indeed.
While these seven industries have the greatest number of work-from-home jobs, there are many others that offer telecommute jobs, too. If you’re itching to get in on the telecommute trend, head to this guide with the top 13 websites for work-from-home jobs.
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