You are using an outdated browser. Please upgrade your browser to improve your experience. Working from home promises big benefits: The trick, of course, is finding legitimate, well-paid positions because work-at-home scams abound.

To assemble our list of top work-at-home jobs, we combed through employment data to identify occupations with good hourly wages and promising growth prospects. We then researched actual companies that hire home-based workers as well as career Web sites that strive to post legit work-at-home job openings. To weed out scammers, we checked out companies with the Better Business Bureau and other professional associations. Average pay estimates are based on compensation data from the U.

Bureau of Labor Statistics, Glassdoor. Actual pay will vary depending on many factors including education, experience, location, responsibilities, job performance and employer.

By Cameron Huddleston , Online Editor and Caitlin Dewey , Online Associate Editor Originally Published July Web search evaluators test the accuracy of online search results, examining different search terms and the Web sites they turn up.

The job involves a lot of analytical thinking, so applicants must pass a test before companies such as Appen and Leapforce will hire them as independent contractors. Appen also hires social media evaluators. Web search evaluators generally choose their own hours. Look for openings on the Appen and Leapforce Web sites, and browse a career site such as FlexJobs.

Check out more of the Best Jobs You Can Get Without a College Degree. Home-based transcription predates the Internet, making it, in some ways, the quintessential work-at-home job. Medical transcriptionists type doctors' dictated notes and use them to prepare memos and reports. A good transcriptionist is more than a typist.

Increasingly, medical firms want their employees to have associate's degrees or vocational certificates, as well as an advanced understanding of medical terminology.

Amphion Medical Solutions requires experience but promises flexible hours and a full range of benefits.

Great Work-From-Home Jobs

Precyse, a large health information management firm, also hires experienced home-based transcriptionists. When you dial a company's help line, the call typically goes to a large call center in the U. But increasingly, customer service calls also route to home-based agents, who answer questions, help customers place orders and maintain accounts through their computers.

Hours are flexible and few firms require specific education or experience. Training usually paid is provided, and you will be expected to have phone and Internet service that meet minimum standards.

Also expect to undergo a credit or background check. SYKES Home Powered by Alpine Access, Convergys and West Corporation rank among the prominent employers. All three are highly rated by the Better Business Bureau, usually hire reps as employees rather than contractors, and offer benefits such as paid vacation and medical insurance to full-time workers.

Thinking of going back to school? Review the 10 Worst College Majors for Your Career before you do.

Computer geeks can make solid salaries as computer support specialists, where demand is high and hours flexible. Working out of home offices, many computer support specialists are hired on a contract basis by tech support firms to provide assistance to a range of businesses. Duties typically include testing, evaluating and troubleshooting computer network problems and providing assistance to computer users. Find work-at-home job listings on sites such as CareerBuilder. Major corporations from Apple to Xerox also hire workers to provide tech support from home.

A virtual assistant does everything a traditional assistant might do: That means administrative experience is necessary. Most VAs are contractors , not employees, and they operate out of their homes as independent businesses with multiple clients.

Newcomers can market themselves to potential clients through local business groups, social media networks such as Facebook and Twitter, or join the International Virtual Assistants Association to take advantage of its job board.

You also can find listings for virtual assistant jobs on career sites such as FlexJobs. Media, corporate and nonprofit Web sites turn to freelancer writers for content. Some pay by the word, some by the hour and some by the project. Web sites hire writers to craft all manner of online content, from quizzes and infographics to video scripts and top 10 lists. Expertise in a particular subject, a computer and a bit of patience are what it takes to break into online tutoring, a field that can be both personally and financially rewarding.

Web-based tutors typically are hired on a freelance basis. Most of these teachers are hired and paid as part-time employees.

Disqus - 10 Great Work-From-Home Jobs

Online tutors can also list their credentials and availability on GetEducated. If you have a degree in English, journalism or a related field, or some writing or editing experience under your belt, you may find steady work as a proofreader, especially for academic and technical assignments.

Cactus Communications, for one, hires proofreaders and editors — most with advanced degrees — to check academic papers and medical documents written by non-native speakers. Specialized sites such as Mediabistro.

If you speak at least two languages and have an Internet connection, you're well on your way to becoming a home-based translator. A number of firms hire multilingual people to freelance translations of business documents, consumer Web sites, computer software and academic papers.

Preference often goes to applicants who speak in-demand languages, such as Chinese or Japanese, and have backgrounds that would help in translating technical material.

SDL, a global translation firm, hires translators with two years of freelance or one year of in-house translation experience. Cactus Communications employs freelance translators with advanced degrees to work on academic manuscripts written in several languages.

According to an American Translators Association spokesperson, top experienced translators who can handle complex projects can earn six-figure pay annually. The growing popularity of e-commerce and mobile devices is fueling demand for people who can design and maintain Web sites. While many companies have full-time web developers on staff, plenty of businesses and even individuals hire freelance developers for both one-off projects and ongoing support.

Bureau of Labor Statistics. You can find thousands of Web development projects listed on freelance job site Upwork. Several high-tech occupations rank among our 10 Best Jobs of the Future. Not all work-from-home job opportunities are legitimate. Here are tips on identifying and avoiding common work-at-home scams from consumer groups including the Better Business Bureau, Federal Trade Commission and National Consumers league.

Some legitimate work-at-home employers may require applicants to pay for a background check, depending on the industry, and some direct-sales companies may require products to be purchased upfront with clear policies on product returns; more on direct sales below. The check will bounce and the bank will hold you accountable for the missing funds. If all you are doing is getting paid to recruit other people, who in turn recruit other people, you are involved in a pyramid scheme. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

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SLIDE SHOW Best Credit Unions Anyone Can Join, Slide Show 1 of Slide Show 2 of Great Work-From-Home Jobs Web Search Evaluator. Slide Show 3 of Great Work-From-Home Jobs Medical Transcriptionist. Slide Show 4 of Great Work-From-Home Jobs Customer Service Representative. Slide Show 5 of Great Work-From-Home Jobs Computer Support Specialist. Slide Show 6 of Great Work-From-Home Jobs Virtual Assistant.

Slide Show 7 of Great Work-From-Home Jobs Web Content Writer. Slide Show 8 of Great Work-From-Home Jobs Online Tutor.

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Slide Show 9 of Great Work-From-Home Jobs Proofreader. Slide Show 10 of Great Work-From-Home Jobs Translator. Slide Show 11 of Great Work-From-Home Jobs Web Developer. Great Work-From-Home Jobs Work-From-Home Job Scams.

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