Are you a one income family who is looking for more ways to afford autism or bring money in to help with family finances? Single parent, perhaps? Being an autism parent of any kind means spend a lot of money on special needs and therapies. It would be extraordinary if you could work from home with a flexible schedule. You need a job that’s going to make a difference, pays halfway decent, plus has the flexibility that autism demands.
Lucky for you, the skills you’ve picked up as an autism parent can prepare you for a number of incredible and meaningful jobs. Don’t hesitate to substitute experience for education when filling out applications and updating your resume. You may be surprised at the jobs available with experience only.
Monster List Of Work At Home Jobs!
Online Teacher/Tutor
Are you good at math? Can you speak a foreign language? Are you so familiar with a curriculum you could teach it in a co-op or online? What are your good at?
For online options, Outschool is a fantastic platform to use for weekly classes. Some of us homeschooling parents aren’t good at those things and will gladly pay someone else to teach our child that subject.
For local options, advertise in your homeschool group, your church, or in Facebook Marketplace. Tell everyone you know that you have openings so they tell their friends and family too. My husband tutored a few students in Algebra one year and made $20 per hour per child. Yep, that adds up quickly and it was only a few hours a week.
Transcriber
According to ZipRecruiter, the national average of a transcriber is $15/hour. If you are a fast typist with strong punctuation and grammar skills, this job may be for you. This type of job offers great flexibility because you are able to make your own schedule and work at times that are best for you.
You also have the flexibility to choose jobs that work best for you, and according to due dates. You need to be able to listen to a recording and type it out quickly. Strong listening and typing skills are a must. Check out Rev.com for opportunities.
Virtual Assistant
Starting your own virtual assistant business is the perfect opportunity to work from the comfort of your own home! Businesses and bloggers, to name a few, are always looking for people to help them manage mundane tasks like social media and making graphics. If you have internet access and are proficient at either of those things, you can make some serious cash being an independent contractor. Premiere Executive Media has a phenomenal course to help you start and succeed in this business.
In their 6 week Virtual Assistants Making Money course you will:
- Receive 30+ content rich classes
- Personal small group coaching and mentorship
- Workbook with hands-on course activities
- Real world insight into the VA industry including pricing and networking
- Practical advice from an industry veteran
Graphic Designer
Although this could technically fall under the Virtual Assistant category, being a Graphic Designer is a genre all on its own. If you are the creative type with a good eye for designing images that stand out, consider this as the perfect work-from-home job. There are many platforms to choose from when deciding what to use with Canva and Adobe as the main go-tos.
With the expansion of online businesses, finding work for this job isn’t too hard. My typical teenager has been able to find work making posters or printables for bloggers easily. Why not use your strength of having a good design eye to your advantage? Fiverr or Upwork are good places to look for freelance options in this area.
Copy Editor/ Proofreader
You don’t necessarily need to be an English major to be a copy editor or proofreader. For this job, you typically need to be able to read a document to ensure it makes sense. The major things to look for are sentence structure, word choice, and spelling. If you don’t mind reading documents in order to make corrections, then you’ll be happy to know that a job of this sort can bring an upwards of $32/hour.
Lots of bloggers hire proofreaders for their ebooks. Newspapers are a great place to look as well. Fiverr, Facebook groups, and Upwork would be great places to look for these opportunities.
Freelancer
Good at bookkeeping, photography, whatever? Become a freelancer in something you’re really good at. Work as an independent contractor and set your own hours.
Lots of companies will hire independent contractors as they don’t have to pay taxes for them or benefits like a regular employee. The trade off is you get to set your own hours and decide who to work with. Indeed would be a great place to check for freelancer jobs. Think of what you do well and offer your services.
Upwork is also a great place to look for jobs.
Event Planner
As a mom, you have planned many events already. Think birthday parties, sleepovers, baby showers, and surprise gatherings. Believe it or not, all those party planning days can be put to use by helping others plan events of their own. It also works in your favor if you simply love planning anyways.
Put your skills of being detail oriented & able to meet deadlines to work creating memories for everyone. You’ll also be happy to know that event planners typically charge at least $25/hour. I know many busy autism moms who would rather pay someone to do all the details than add it to their schedule. Start with family and friend’s events to build up your portfolio.
Financial Planner
The role of a financial planner could be a great freelance position. This can be a ‘by appointment’ job that can suit your schedule perfectly, helping you to fit everything around your kids and lifestyle. You have to be on top of your game here in order to pay for all the moving parts in Affording Autism.
Take a quick tax preparer course to make extra $$ during tax season. Lead a Financial Peace class through Dave Ramsey.
Life Coach
Life coaching doesn’t require years of training, as it’s not really a regulated industry. You could use your experience as an autism mom to help other autism families. There are many families that could use that individualized attention. Being an education advocate is another great idea that goes along with this.
An autism consultant who helps families navigate the road you’ve already walked with your child could be invaluable. This means you need great listening skills, problem solving skills, and communication skills – all of which autism moms have. This can be an extremely rewarding job as you are helping people to improve their lives on a daily basis
Brand Ambassador
This is a work-from-home job that can be easily overlooked, but is a great way to put extra money in your pocket (and get you free products). If you have a background in sales or retail, then you are most likely already familiar with the power of having brand ambassadors. These are the people that team up with companies and help sell their products or services on social media. Mom Select is an excellent company to help you find jobs for this !
Translator/Teach Foreign Language
Do you know a foreign language? You can help others who can’t speak English by translating/ helping to fill out forms. Legal Aid, migrant farmworkers union, schools are all great places to look for opportunities. I know a mom who translates legal documents for Spanish speaking migrant workers. Reach out to charitable organizations as well.
You could also teach/tutor your foreign language for students. High schoolers need 2 years of a foreign language credit to get into college. I would expect to pay $25 an hour for this service.
Entertainer
All great moms could be children’s entertainers. Reading bedtime stories often means putting on voices of the characters and going from a tone of horror to a tone of delight in a matter of seconds. It may also mean participating in plays, making your kids laugh to distract them, and just keeping them occupied in general.
These skills can be great for short gigs at local restaurants. Learn to make balloon animals and make some serious dough for a couple of hours of work. Ausome Balloon Creator makes some amazing ones. It’s not a work at home but you can make the hours at your convenience.
Give lessons
Can you play an instrument? Do you know how to can? Crochet? Sew? Sing? All of these things can make you money teaching them to others. You make your own schedule and decide when to have classes. I’ve taught several things at churches, in my home, and other people’s homes as well. You also get to decide how much to charge.
Sell Your Plasma
If you can get away for a few hours every week and have a plasma center nearby, you can make a good chunk of change selling plasma. Even if you did it only once a month, it’s easy money.
My husband does it a couple of times a month to pay one certain bill. Worst part for him is the wait. lol
Make stuff to sell on Etsy
If you have talent in crafting, crocheting, selling. soap making, you name it. Make the item then throw it up for sale plus shipping. I’m currently snuggled up in a crocheted afghan sent to me as a gift. People love the simplicity of sending personalized gifts.
Websites to Look For At Home Jobs
- Rat Race Rebellion
- FlexJobs
- The Mom Project
- Progressive Work From Home
- Amazon
- Indeed
- ttecjobs.com
- Live Ops
- kforce
- https://www.randstad.com/
Whether you are applying for new work-from-home jobs or looking to keep track of the work you are doing from one you’ve found, I have a free job tracker printable for you. It’s simple, practical, and will help you notate jobs you’ve applied for or job interviews you have that need to be written on the calendar. Good luck!
