Top 10 Work From Home Careers

In this post, we will cover 10 of the most remote friendly, or work from home friendly careers. We will briefly cover the positions, requirements, and other high level information.  A deeper dive into individual positions will be done in separate videos on our YouTube Channel. Stats that you see are sourced by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

1) Sales representatives - Wholesale and Manufacturing, Technical and Scientific Products

1. Entry Level Qualifications: 2 Years of Post-Secondary Education (Associates Degree)
2. Job Description: Sell goods for wholesalers or manufacturers where technical or scientific knowledge is required in such areas as biology, engineering, chemistry, and electronics, normally obtained from at least 2 years of postsecondary education.
3. Median Salary: $86,650
4. Workers Who can work Remotely: 86%

(Note that the salary can include sales reps of all levels, and Sales Salary consists of base pay, and commission)

Remote Professional Network's take: 

• Sales can get a great position, especially for entry level professionals, and new grads. It can be a stressful position, but it’s lucrative, and has lots of opportunities for career growth. Our take is that this is one of the best positions for new grads to pursue for a few reasons:

1. You will build an abundance of skills that are transferable not only to future jobs, but just in your life in general.
2. Good salespeople are never without a job.
3. Typically, you will receive a base salary, and commission on top of that which can result in some great paydays.
4. Networking in Sales tends to be a little easier - you’re around people who are typically sociable, networking well really boosts your career
5. There are many different career paths sales people transition into after their time in Sales

My entire career has been in Sales/Sales Operations/Lightly in Marketing, so if you want to get more in depth take on these career paths, check out the deep dive videos afterwards.

2) Market Research Analysts & Marketing Specialists

1. Qualifications: You may be able to sneak into a position with an Associates Degree, but typically you’re going to need a 4-Year Degree, or work experience. Having a portfolio could help a ton if you don’t have a degree.
2. Job Description: Research conditions in local, regional, national, or online markets, gather information to determine potential sales of a product or service, or plan a marketing or advertising campaign.
3. Median Salary: $65,810
4. Workers Who Can Work Remotely: 63%

Remote Professional Network's Take:

• This is another great field, and if you are interested in sales, but don’t like the job - marketing works closely with sales. You could be doing things like Digital Marketing, Finding Leads for the Sales team, Graphic Designing, and more. This is another field that offers quite a few career paths under the Marketing umbrella.

3) Software Developers

1. Qualifications: Bachelor's Degree may not be required, but can be preferred. More about skill than qualifications. SWE Bootcamps can teach you skills you need, and also have job placement programs.
2. Description: Design computer applications or programs
3. Median Salary: $110,140
4. Workers Who Can Work Remotely: 63%

Remote Professional Network's Take:

Note that being a Software Developer, and a Programmer are typically 2 different things. Software Development has tremendous growth potential, great income, and is a career where you will never stop learning. If you enjoy solving problems, are a lover of logic, or you’re just intrigued by how applications run, this would be a highly recommended career path to check out.

4) Computer Network Architects

1. Qualifications:
2. Description: Design and build data communication networks, including local area networks (LANs), wide area networks (WANs), and Intranets.
3. Median Salary: $116,780
4. Workers Who Can Work Remotely: 62%

Remote Professional Network's Take:

Becoming a Network Architect itself, has higher requirements like a bachelor’s degree, sometimes a graduate degree can be beneficial, but not always. Certifications really help you excel in this position.

HOWEVER:

• You can break into this line of work with lower requirements.
• If you enjoy working with computers, there are somewhat similar positions to this, that require just a certification in something like CompTIA, CCNP, etc.
• We will cover what IT Help Desk support staff do, and how to go from IT Help Desk to Network Engineer/Architect

5) Lawyers

1. Qualifications: Bachelor’s degree, and then law school. Paralegal is another popular position in the Law career area which has a lower barrier to entry, but does not offer as many remote opportunities just yet.
2. Description: Advise and represent individuals, businesses, and government agencies on legal issues and disputes.
3. Median Salary: $126,930
4. Workers Who Can Work Remotely: 61%

Remote Professional Network's Take:

The path to becoming a lawyer is one of the more difficult ones, you need to be a great student in high school, a great student in college, get into law school, pass the bar, and then work your way up. Lawyers don’t always start out making a whole lot of money, and can take on a decent amount of school debt. With that being said, this is still a pretty rewarding career, with great income potential, and the paths you can take careerwise are far larger than some people may think.

6) Fundraisers

1. Qualifications: Being a fundraiser, typically you will need a Bachelor’s Degree.
2. Descriptions: Organize events and campaigns to raise money and other kinds of donations for an organization.
3. Median Salary: $59,610
4. Workers Who Can Work Remotely: 61%

Remote Professional Network's Take:

This is another position for those who are a little shy about the full blown sales position. You will definitely need most of the same skills, but it’s a different ask. Fundraisers may be needed for Hospitals, Non-Profits, Educational institutions like universities, and more.

You’ll be connecting with alumni, donors, etc to raise funds to support the non-profit organization. In addition to a pretty healthy salary, and work from home options, this career also has a great job outlook, looking at a 16% growth over the next 10 years.

7) Computer Programmers

1. Qualifications: Can find a way with a High School Degree, Software Engineering Bootcamp, but Bachelor's Degree may help. Need to be competent in coding.
2. Description: Write and test code that allows computer applications and software programs to function properly.
3. Median Salary: $89,910
4. Workers Who Can Work Remotely: 60%

Remote Professional Network's Take:

Like we noted, Computer Programmers, and Software Developers are similar, but not the same. Typically, Programmers are more limited in what they do coding wise, where Software Developers take a full scope involvement in a project.

There is still massive opportunity in this career path with tons of job opportunities, high paying remote jobs, and rewarding work.

8) Computer and Information Systems Managers

1. Qualifications: Bachelor’s in Computer/Information Science, possibly a Master’s, experience in related position.
2. Description: Plan, and coordinate direct computer-related activities in an organization.
3. Median Salary: $151,150
4. Workers Who Can Work Remotely: 59%

Remote Professional Network:

Another STEM related position, as you can see, computers, tech, etc career areas are filled with opportunity. Most Managers here probably have a Masters, but the juice is worth the squeeze. High median salary, about 42,000 openings each year makes for a healthy career outlook

9) Sales Managers

1. Qualifications: Typically a Bachelor’s Degree, but not “Required”, experience in related positions.
2. Description: Direct Organizations’ Sales teams
3. Median Salary: $132,290
4. Workers Who Work Remotely: 56%

Remote Professional Network's Take:

Sales Managers can earn a great living. If you enjoy training, coaching, strategizing, and leading a team, this would be a great position for you. As a manager, you will be reviewing your pipeline, monitoring your team's performance, and serving as a resource for your reps. This is a fantastic, and rewarding opportunity for those who enjoy working closely with others, and having more capability of earning a higher income.

10) Computer Systems Analysts

1. Qualifications: Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science, or Information Systems is typically common, but you can have any other bachelors degree as long as you have the necessary skills in information technology, or computer programming.
2. Description: Study an Organization’s current computer systems and find a solution that is more efficient and effective.
3. Median Salary: $93,730
4. Workers Who Work Remotely: 55%

Remote Professional Network's Take:

Computer Systems Analysts use their knowledge of IT, and business to create, or improve a business’ systems and processes. Understanding a client’s business is critical, and they need to research the best technologies available to help an organization’s computer system/networks run more smoothly.

This career has solid job growth, remote work potential, and a healthy salary. Ideal for someone who is tech savvy and also business minded.

That wraps up our top 10 careers with the most remote work opportunities. We are going to release videos for each of these positions that go a little more in depth, go through some job descriptions, and walk through some ways to get started in these positions. Join us next time, or keep watching to learn more about being a Remote Professional!

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